We are enjoying learning about the Sumerians in world history.  They were a very advanced civilization that developed about 3500-2500 b.c. shortly after the Flood.  We did some very cool hands on projects to help us remember some of their advancements and I wanted to share them with you. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sumerians had a  written language called cuneiform writing.  The kids made their own tablet out of clay and wrote some of the cuneiform alphabet which by the way had more than 600 characters.  How would you like to sing that alphabet song?

                                                      

                                         

                                           

                                         

                                      HaHa wanted to learn her cuneiform writing too!

 

We baked the tablets in the oven to harden them and give them the appearance of age.

Finished Work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Sumerians also built temples called ziggurats, a kind of flattened pyramid.  The kids made a model ziggurat out of cuisenaire math blocks.

Working together on a model ziggurat.

                                                             

Our model ziggurat.                                                A  Sumerian ziggurat in Ur, Iraq

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To decorate the temples, Sumerian artists carved elaborate masterpieces (reliefs) out of gypsum or other soft stone.  

                                               

Our reliefs weren't quite as elaborate but they gave us a deep appreciation for the art of the Sumerians.   We had a great and very messy time doing it!

NaNa sketching the images onto polystyrene foam.

Here is the picture that Bubby chose for his relief.

The kids "carved" out the images with metal finger nail files.

HaHa poked holes around the edges with a stick.  She wanted to help too!

I broke off the extra foam around the image to give it an ancient ruin kind of look.  Sis and Bubby painted the reliefs with a coat of all purpose primer (outdoors).

Then they painted the entire surface with a watered down mixture of acrylic paints (black, blue, grey and brown).  The paint mixture seeped into the carved lines and the kids blotted the excess paint with paper towels.

 

Then we (mostly me) painted the sides and the area surrounding the relief with melted wax that had bits of crayon added to give it a little color.  We added the wax several times which gave it a layered stone effect.

Sis' Sumerian Masterpierce!

Bubby's Sumerian Masterpiece!

Who needs Home Interior when you have home school?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We also read the flood account in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known books besides the Bible.  It is an epic poem.  The kids thought it was amazing that this very, very, very long piece of literature was written on clay tablets with an alphabet that had about 600 characters.  Talk about hard work! 

It was really interesting for us all to see the many similarities between these two flood accounts.  Of course we know the biblical account is true because it was inspired by God.              

                                       

After the dispersion of the different people groups at the tower of Babel, the flood account would have been handed down orally and changed over time.  We also read about flood legends from several cultures.  Very interesting stuff!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fun Facts:

*Some Sumerian homes had hot and cold running water and flushing toilets. 

*They had schools (edubba or tablet houses) that were dedicated to teaching cuneiform writing. 

*Sumer was located in modern day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates river.  This is the spot where some people believe the Garden of Eden was located. 

*Sumerians had beautiful art work, poetry, calendars and even libraries.

*There is evidence that the Sumerians may have invented the wheel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Today in science, we were reading about some of the "missing links" that have been discovered.  After reading the text, the kids and I did some online research.  Here is a neat video we found to help the kiddos remember some of the information about "missing links".     

We talked about the discovery of Nebraska Man which consisted of a single tooth.  From this single tooth the Illustrated London News published a picture of Nebraska man with his wife.  It was later discovered that the tooth belonged to a pig. 

We were particularly interested in Lucy who is one of the most famous finds.  Here is a free Video series about Lucy from Answers in Genesis.

I took this picture at the Creation Museum when we visited last May.

This is a copy of the fossil find for Lucy:

         

Today is my 35th Birthday.  Milestones are always an occasion for reflection. The older I get, the more time seems to fly.  Maybe it's because we are having so much fun!

In honor of my birthday, I put together this little song and picture tribute to my baby.  Scroll to the bottom and hit play on the media player to hear the song.

I heard this song, In My Arms for the first time on someone's blog.  It is a beautiful lullaby.  The description of the child in the song reminds me of Ha Ha (baby blues, curly q's and contagious smile) but the words apply to all my babies.  They are growing up so fast.  Where has all the time gone? 

2006                                                                           

Of course, we know that it is Jesus that keeps them safe in His arms but He has entrusted them to us.  I love having mine safe at home where they belong! 

2007

Abba Father, help me to be a daughter that is an honor to You. Help me to be more like Your Son each day.  Teach me to be the Mama that my babies need.  Help me to always show them the love of Christ.  I want to cherish every moment and hold them tight.  

    

        Ha Ha when Mama straightened her hair!

2009

Have a blessed day!

When I was growing up, I enjoyed history stories but despised learning all of those dates.  I also remember never having a true understanding of chronology especially when it involved biblical history.  I learned secular history in school and biblical history in church.  It left me with the feeling that these things happened on different worlds at different times.  It all felt so disjointed.

This year, we began using the Mystery of History Vol. 1 for Bubby and Sis. 

  www.themysteryofhistory.com    

This curriculum is amazing.  It covers world history chronologically from Creation to the Resurrection.  The most wonderful thing is that biblical and secular history are taught together to give you a more accurate picture.  For example, did you know that King Tut and Joshua were living in the same century or that the first Olympics in Greece were held around the same time as Jonah?  Did you realize that Helen of Troy and Ruth were contemporaries?  Needless to say, this book has been an eye opener and we are all falling in love with history.   

We are moving slowly through the text and enjoying all the enrichment activities.  After the lesson on Adam and Eve the kids "created" a unique animal out of playdough and had to come up with an original name. 

            Bubby's Hizzle 

             Sis's Noozle                          

After this activity, they really appreciated the creative genius that Adam displayed when naming all the animals. 

Another more in depth project came after studying Noah and the Flood. The kids made their very own "fossilized" fern.  It was hard work but alot of fun.  As soon as Na Na (daddy) gets the hangers on the back they will be proudly displayed in the school/dining room.   

                 Finishing Touches                                                              

        And here are the finished products.

  Ancient Fossilized Fern by Sis

Ancient Fossilized Fern by Bubby                     

 This project idea came from "The Mystery of History & Enrichment4You.com Vol I Craft Pak CD-Rom.  Stay tuned for updates and more cool projects.

We have been homeschooling our three children since the day they were born.  There were plenty of reasons that we decided to home school.  We love our children and want them home with us.  We want to learn with them and witness all those special moments.  We want to protect them from physical harm and from negative socialization.  We want to give them an individualized, quality education. We want to sleep late and have school in our PJ's. 

All of those are very good reasons to homeschool but there is another reason, one that is infinitely more important.  We want to teach our children to know and love Jesus.  The theme for our homeschool comes from the scriptures.  II Peter 1:5 says "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge".  Academics are very important but faith in Christ and virtuous character are so much more important.  When I keep these priorities in line, everything else falls into place.  When I don't, well, that's a story for another day.

One of my favorite scriptures is Deuteronomy 6:4-7.  It says "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." 

That is my idea of the perfect homeschool day!