It's only Monday and I'm already tired of this week. Ugh. First I didn't get up at 4am like I should have and it's now 2:40pm and I am unable to get into the work system due to having to change my password. Modern technology isn't all that it's hyped up to be. And it's this kind of aggravation that really annoys me especially considering we had a great morning of school. So once again, which one should I have chosen to do? My full-time work for my employer or school my children when their minds were more apt to learning? Definite rock and hard place.  Because we are having a "yellow" crayon day (bright, sunshining, happy), let's concentrate on all the great things we learned about today. 

• From the "Bedtime Bible Story Book" by Jesse Hurlbut, we read Day 7: Abram's Journey from Genesis 12:1 - 13:4. When I read this passage from the Bible, I skipped some verses that would have gone over the boys head.
• From " Devotionals for Children" by -Stephen Douglas Williford, we read "When Nobody Else Believed." It's about David and Goliath from I Samuel 17:48-51. I read the Bible passage before reading the devotional story.  Unfortunately this is a library book that is already overdue. I'd really like to find a used copy of this book as the stories are easy to read and I am very able to apply them to our lives.
• Then we moved into attempting to combine the easier activities of two weeks of Konos: Obedience into about four days.
• From the Authority/Light week we did ~
• Who is the child's authority when at the library, (um, let's return those overdue books), church, etc.
• Who is the hightest authority (God) from Luke 22:42
• Play "Mommy Says" (like Simon Says)
• Play "Mother May I?"
• Briefly talked about how was Adam and Eve obedient - um, they weren't. 
• Also reviewed the verse Jeremiah 26:13 ~ obey the voice of the Lord, your God.
• From the Bible week we did ~
• Reviewed II Timothy 3:16 & 17 which lead into a brief rabbit trail discussion about "inspired" by  God, does Wal-Mart make Bibles (um, no, but they do sell them), how do we get the Bible, etc.
• Back on track, we discussed why did God give us the Bible (II Timothy 3:16 & 17)
• I did an introduction to the two sections of the Bible - Old & New Testaments (which Caleb had just learned for Awana Sparks Skipper)
• Briefly discussed and showed them what a "sword drill" was. But they wondered where the "sword" was - um.... but I was able to help them understand that it's important to really know your way around the Bible
• Discussed that the Holy Bible is from God and because of that we should always show respect when we talk about the Bible and when we handle the Bible. I've begun to notice some serious disrespect when reciting our Sparks verses - um, from the Bible, so this definitely needs to be discussed and discussed and discussed some more.
• We also sang the B-I-B-L-E many, many times.
• Did you know there are four stanzas to the song Jesus Loves Me? I didn't until I dug out my very old hymnal. I was amazed. I think it might be good for us to actually learn all four stanzas.
• Tonight we are going to be doing a bit more on our Lapbook: Caleb's Surgery. Honestly, it's many pictures and discussions, so it's not that difficult for the boys and won't take that much to finish it. But hopefully it will provide an avenue in which to help Caleb prepare and ask questions.
• And lest I forget, they also did their Handwriting Without Tears workbooks and copywork; and their respective Math U See lessons and copywork.
• I almost forgot about the Awana Sparks sections the boys have been working on. Joshua is in his 2nd year of Sparks, so he is in the Hiker book.  He is doing Red Jewel 2, section 5, Red Jewel 3 sections 1 & 2. They are only allowed three sections a week.
• This is Caleb's first year of Sparks (we purposely held him back a year in Cubbies ~ one of the best decisions we made), so he is in the  Skipper book.  He is doing Red Jewel 3, sections 3, 4 and 5. Section 4 is where he starts learning the books of the New Testament. Even though I can't find the CD from the Skipper book, thankfully I remember the tunes. Having these verses set to music is about the only way the boys and myself are learning.

So until my password issue is resolved, I guess I am going to enjoy being a "stay at home mom" and actually work on getting some clutter outta here.

I thought I'd take a few minutes to share what we are doing this week. As I had to explain to my brother, we are tad behind in the number of days (180), but then we are always learning something, right? So we are still 'doing school' this week.  About a year ago we did an abridged version of the Obedience unit from Konos out of the older book. Since having the updated book, I hadn't looked at the Obedience unit until today. WOW was I shocked at the way it was organized. Definitely better than the older version. So here's what we are focusing on this week.

 

Konos: General Week 1 of 1

Bible: Hebrews 12:9-11~because the Lord disciplines those he loves. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Examples: Adam & Eve (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:14-19)

Definition: Obedience is being willing to do what one is asked

Objectives: Knowing whom to obey; knowing how to obey; realizing there are consequences for disobedience

Vocabulary:  disobedience; consequence; punishment; discipline; sin; wages

Books: "The Book of Virtues" by William J. Bennett. I'll be looking at the Self-Discipline section and pulling appropriate material. "The Children's Illustrated Bible" by Selina Hastings (A Dorling Kindersley book). " "The Little Book of Obedience" 31 Daily Devotionals "Egermeier's Bible Storybook", story 2, "The Story of the First Earth-Home" "Pinocchio" from Childcraft, book 1, Once Upon a Time. Our local didn't have any "easy books" for Pinocchio for the boys. Thankfully I already had one.

We read about Adam and Eve’s disobedience from Genesis 2:15-17; 3:14-19 from the NIV. Then we discussed how God had given an instruction and also the consequence of death. I briefly talked about how God didn't have to give the consequence at the same time He gave the instruction. Reviewed about what the instruction was (not to eat the fruit of the one tree) and what was the act of disobedience (eating the fruit from the specific tree) and then the consequence (toil by the sweat of the brow, etc.)  Also, Joshua read aloud to Caleb and myself from the Beginners Bible, the story "The Sad Day".

Have your child pretend they are the parent and write a list of rules for the children. Have them explain the reasons; what happens if they disobey; and the consequences

Read the books: Curious George Rides a Bike; Peter Rabbit; and Corduroy: were they just curious or were they disobedient?

What are the rules in our house?

Make a sign with the family rules on it; frame it if possible

Design a point system for approved and disapproved behaviors in your home. See example below

Make different signs for in-house rules; in-car rules; outside rules; public places. Explain how & why those rules differ. Set up consequences for each

For younger children, work on a behavior chart (for example, immediate, cheerful, thorough obedience) by using a Velcro “thermometer”. On a sheet of poster board, tape a vertical length of white Velcro. Cut out a red construction paper circle for the bottom of the thermometer. Give your child a jar of Velcro squares. Whenever they obey in a submissive way, have him add a red Velcro square. When the thermometer “mercury” reaches the top, reward.

 

Give rewards at the end of the week (e.g. 5 points earns a yogurt cone; 10 points, having a friend over to play; 15 points, a video or special event).

Our main curriculum this year will be Konos. I have been very, very blessed to be able to purchase all three volumes second hand. Previously I thought we would be doing the NERF unit - Nutrition, Exercise, Rest, Fun - NEFF!!!  Then we continued to see some serious behavior issues and decided that we needed to get some JOY back into our home. So last weekend I planned the 4 weeks of Joy and Cheerfulness. Yesterday because I was unable to work due to systems issues, we went to the library and have now checked out most of the books I had wanted. This evening I've been entering week 1 into Homeschool Tracker Plus -- excellent program and great customer service. They also have a FREE basic version.