all about walls today

We had a fun day of school today.  K built the walls of Jericho out of sunbutter & crackers after we read the Bible story about Rahab and the spies & listened to her song about Jericho's walls falling down.  After she had built the wall, I asked her what the Israelites did to the walls of Jericho?  Her reply, "They ate them!"  D and I both got a good laugh out of that one.  :o)

She like using the knife to spread the sunbutter...lately she's been pulling out her ponytail holders minutes after I do her hair in the morning.  Halfway through her project I found her ponytail holder downstairs and put her hair back again...

D's Bible story was about God writing on the wall after King B used the temple things for a party & continued worshiped idols and not God.  We talked about his hand - various aspects of it (veins, knuckles, each finger, fingernails, etc.)  He then drew his hand, cut it out and pretended to write on the wall.

See the dark green lines...those are the veins. ;o)  I had asked what they were and he said, "Veins, though I should have made them lighter green."  I assured him it was okay - this is the frist time he's tried to draw a "real" hand.

Pretending to "write" on the wall...

After we were done with this activity, I had to tell K specifically that we don't ever write on the wall because I had visions of her actually drawing on the walls at some point.  I hope she understood!  We'll see...

D began chapter 10 for his math today which was adding 8.  A lot like adding 9 - making the 8 block gain 2 units to make 10 then adding the remaining units.  He's enjoying, but still refuses to use the blocks to help him sometimes.  Today he missed 4 problems on his page because he was rushing, not using the blocks.  Oops!  I make him do them over and get the right answer...he's not too pleased about it, but he needs to learn to use the blocks when he's stumped and not just guess the answer.

He is enjoying his rhyme for unit 10 since it's to the tune of "Jingle Bells" and is about all of his Bible stories for this unit.  He also knows his verse for this week already and wrote it today.  His handwriting is improving.  Hooray!

house, fire & 10 men

We had a great school day this morning again.  It really helps when C naps the entire hour a half that it takes us to do school.  D and K each began Unit 10 today.

D's Bible story today was about the Shadrach, Meshach & Abindigo who King Nebuchadnezzar had thrown into the fire for worshiping God and not idols.  We read the story from the Bible story book first and then went to Daniel in the Bible to read a few verses.  The book left out the part about the men coming out of the fire not even smelling like smoke.  D and I talked about the few times we've been near a bonfire at Grandma & Pap's house and we smell like smoke just sitting near the fire.  How neat it was that these men weren't burned and didn't smell like fire/smoke!  D's words, "That's amazing!"  He then went on to tell me how amazing God is that He could make a man walk just by speaking (NT story he's heard before).

I love teaching him at home and know this is where God wants me to be right now.  I also love having this curriculum that is Christ-centered.  I'm so thankful he's getting knowledge of the Bible so young and has a relationship with Jesus.  My prayer is that he'll continue to grow his relationship and be the man God wants him to be.  I want to ..."have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 4).  I always have thought of this verse in terms of children being grown, but God's brought it to my mind a lot lately and I think it applies to the present.  Walking in truth is a lifestyle - I want it now for them not something they'll just "do" later on...

Back to school - for an art activity to go with his Bible story - we wrote 3+1 (3 men plus the angel God sent to protect them) with Sharpie on white paper and he painted over it with a thick layer of  red, orange & yellow paint.  D then used a toothpick to make the paint textured & move the paint into flame shapes.

 

His Thinking Skills page today was a large blank box where he had to draw a picture of the front of our home.  We went outside (D, K & I) stood on the sidewalk by the road and D drew his picture.  Not bad...left out one window on the right because it wouldn't fit. :o)  He brought it back inside and colored it and filled in more details as I read a chapter of Peter Cottontail.  Don't you just love the jumbo jet on top of the roof?!  We have these airplanes fly over a lot on their way to land.  They are so loud, but fun to watch.

D took his math test for chapter 9 today.  Originally, I was going to have him do another review page, but when I went through the +9 flashcards, he knew them better than I thought he did.  He really wanted to do his test, so I let him.  He got everything right!  :o)

K's Bible Story today was about God telling Moses that Joshua would lead the Israelites.  For her #10 page (last page of her counting book), she cut out 10 men or "Joshua's" as she called them. :o)  She did it all by herself while I was helping D with his Phonics.  When she was done she counted all of them - 1-10 correctly!  We then looked back through her book - 1 tree, 2 hands...etc.  All the pages are hole-punched and in a 3-prong paper folder. 

K has a letter review this week: A-H and so her rhyme reviews all the letter sounds & motions.  She did them correctly when I went through her flashcards with her.  I was happy!  She knows C now!  :o)  We also went back through the 4 pages in her devotional book for letters E-H.  She loves this book and especially the pictures of the little kids doing the right/wrong things.  Each letter had a specific verse we reviewed.

When I told her she was done with school, she said, "No, I want to do more school today."  She stayed at the table and played with the math blocks while D worked on his math test.  :o)  I love that she loves school!

Tonight we're headed to a bookstore to meet Mike Berenstain and pick up the Give Thanks book. I'm so excited!  D told me he doesn't want to go - but that's what he always says about doing something new/different.  He's going.  :o) 

Grapes, H & Spies

We had an uninterrupted school morning today because C was actually a good little napper!  K's Bible story was about the 12 spies who went to look at the Promised Land  - 2 came back with a good report & grapes and 10 came back and said the people were giants and they couldn't defeat them.  K's art activity was to make bunches of grapes.  I opted to have her stamp them with a cartoon-font "o" after drawing brown vine/stems with crayon.  She stamped for awhile then used her finger to make "baby grapes" and she had fun.  ;o)

She finished Unit 9 today and so I taped the "H" to floor for her to walk on.  It was significantly smaller than the other taped letters of prior units because we ran out of tape...oops!

D wanted to participate in her Bible activity and so they both pretended to tiptoe around the playroom in search of grapes (large beachball).  They really had to watch their step as the playroom was an incredible mess!  It gets cleaned about once a week, but this weekend we didn't make it a priority.  It's funny to see where the "invisible" line of the school area begins - at the bottom of the picture on the other side of the Lego pile. :o)

D learned about Joash & Josiah - young kings of Judah who obeyed God.  His devotional today was about the Bible and spending time reading it.  He read a few verses along with me from 2 Timothy 3 and 4, too.  I'm encouraging him to begin to read it on his own and may pick a verse from his Bible story for him to read each school day to get him started.

D also told me today that he likes to do the left side (Bible & History) of his guide last because he likes it the best.  So when we began with his Phonics, he said "I like these, too, I just like Bible better." :o)  It made me smile.

D completed a review page for math chapter 9 today, but still has a few issues adding 9.  I made him the 9 facts flashcards today and he breezed through the +2, +3, +4 & +5, but slowed down at +6 to +9.  We'll keep reviewing until it's mastered...another few days I think.

He read through his Phonics Pathways page and another HOP book to add to his November Book-It List (he's completed 4 of his 16 for the month now).  His mind moves quickly and sometimes I have to slow him down - he will add an -s or something else to the end of the word instead of letting his eyes look at all the letters before moving onto the next word.

We're just about done with Peter Cottontail and should finish next Monday.  The past few chapters have been about Peter learning about hibernation since a lot of the animals in the forest are telling him "I'll see you in the spring."  I think I'm enjoying reading these books to D as much as he enjoys listening to them. :o)

counting to 9

K counted to 9 today and cut out 9 perfume bottles I drew on paper for her.  She did a great job cutting & gluing again.  I see a future crafter!  :o)

D worked his way through all his subjects and chose to do his science last - which was related to objects that sink/float as his Bible story today was all about Jonah.  Both he and K brought various toys and things in the basement to the tub of water I had on a towel on the floor to see which objects would float or sink.  We have to work on our listening skills during science projects though...a few things got wet that weren't supposed to get wet.  :o(

We were going to do our storytime today, but ended up not doing it because we ran out of time since J arrived home from work really early.  When I was looking for Berenstain Bears printables, I happened to find a book-signing near us.  The kids & I will go next Tuesday.  I'm so excited!

I printed off the bears paper dolls - made them this morning while the kids were working on their school work.  They're so cute!  The website has a lot of different outfits you can print, too.  Choose activities from the menu on the left side of the page.

Letter "H" and skin

We had a good school day today.  Everyone was in a good mood which really helped!

K made her letter for the unit "H" with glue & dry macaroni noodles.  It took her awhile to complete it because she had more fun dumping & picking up the noodles from the table than actually gluing them to the paper.  :o)

Her Bible story was about the Israelites worshipping the golden calf instead of God.  So we talked briefly about her worshipping God because He is the one true God. Her devotional was about "helping" and she always likes to look at the pictures of the other children.  Today she had to point out "helpers" and what they were doing.  It was good to talk with her about helping around the house and ways she can help me more often.

She especially likes her song this week - Ten Commandments from The Singing Bible (click HERE and choose #16 from the demo to hear a sample of it) because it's a hip hop song.  D even sang it with us this morning.  :o)  I've said this before, but those of you with little kids need to get this CD set (or ask for it for Christmas!).  It's great for in the car or around the house.  D enjoys listening to it, too.

D's Bible story was about Naaman - a man with leprosy who Elisha sent to wash in the Jordan River 7x to be healed by God.  For D's science activity we talked about our skin - sense of touch.  I drew a circle on a small piece of saran wrap with a black sharpie marker to be a "sore" like leprosy.  D then colored it with washable brown marker and wiped oil on it.   (K wanted to do it - so she did everything, too).  They dipped their "skin" (a.k.a. saran wrap) into the water 7x.  The "dirt" (a.k.a. marker) washed off.  I added some soap to the water and they dipped their "skin" 7x again.  The oil came off, but the "sore" remained because only God could take them away and bring true healing, not the water.

D read another book today for his book-it list (makes #2 or 16 books), completed another math page adding 9 which he did correct except for 1 problem.  He even read and wrote the story problems without any assistance from me!   Hooray!

Back into routine...

We ended up not having school the past 3 days after getting the van new tires for our travels to attend the funeral...I'm not sweating it.  Life happens.

Finally yesterday (Tuesday) we were back into our school routine.  D was complaining about having school after so many "days off" but he quickly realized I meant business and we had to get back to work.

The Bible story yesterday was about God using the ravens to feed Elijah food during the drought in the land.  His activity was to use a clothespin to pick up dry macaroni noodles and take them back to a small bowl which was "Elijah."  He did it only a few times and asked to stop because he was frustrated that the clothespin kept going sideways...cheap clothespins!

 

 

K's Bible story was about God feeding the Israelites "manna" and so we used the dry macaroni noodles to be manna and K picked them up and put them in her bowl.  I reminded her they had to do this EVERY day of the week and so she dumped and picked up the noodles about 5 times symbolizing 5 days.  :o)

Today K learned about the 10 Commandments and stamped various shapes & letters on a big sheet of paper.  I helped her count groups of 10, circle them and write the number 10.  She loved it!

D's story was about Elijah taken up in the chariot to heaven.  He was to draw a picture of heaven using chalk dipped in sugar water (4T sugar to 1/2 c. warm water).  When it dried it was sparkly.  He drew a mansion, light rays, clouds and an angel.

He began chapter 9 in math yesterday.  He's adding 9 and it's been a little challenging for him (I'm glad!).  Finally something that slows him down a bit.  After 2 days, he's catching on but still struggles with a few problems.  He tries to hurry and then makes mistakes.  :oS  I like the way the curriculum teaches him to add 9 though - he makes his 9 block take a unit block to make one 10 block and then counts the remaining unit blocks.  Today he finally used the blocks on his own.  He kept telling me he doesn't need them and up until this chapter with adding, he could get by without him, but now he's using them.  Whew!  God teaches me patience...DAILY!

He's continuing to read through Phonics Pathways and we're reading through one Hooked On Phonics book each day.   He completed his Book-It book list yesterday (even though it was November).  He was delighted.  Now today we began November's book list - which his goal is 16.  A bit less due to less school days this month because of Thanksgiving.  He's reading well, I just hated to see him discouraged attempting some of the bigger words in the Magic Treehouse book.  We'll get there eventually...I want him to enjoy reading, not dread it!  :o)

For his handwriting today I had him write the date and a sentence about Legos.  I know if I make it about something he enjoys, he writes better.  He did a great job keeping his letters on the lines and putting the proper space in between each word.  

2 in 1

It was 2 school days crammed into 1 for today.  My heart wasn't 100% in the schoolwork, but I knew we had to get 2 days done after skipping school on Tuesday for the party and not knowing how the rest of the week would play out with traveling.

Overall the kids did a great job.  There were a few complaints from D about doing 2 math pages and completing his handwriting, but he worked really hard and we were done in  2 1/2 hours this morning.

K's story and activity today was about God parting the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross and get away from the Egyptian army who was following them.  Her project today was to paint a piece of paper with "sea colors" only blue green & purple after I placed a piece of tape down through the center.  When she was done painting, the tape was removed to reveal the "dry land" God provided for the Israelites to walk on.  She did a great job using only the 3 colors to paint (good listening!).

At the beginning of the painting...(yes, those are Legos all over the floor on the right side of the picture - D was building something while I was working with K...we school among the mess somedays!).

Picture completed &  tape removed...she's so proud of her work!

 

K told me that the letter for the Unit was "G" and it said "F-F-F" - at that moment I realized we wouldn't do 2 days worth of work for her today.  We need to stay on letter "G" and practice that it says "G-G-G" another day!  Today was the day to tape the letter on the floor and she danced around the taped "G."

D coloring King David's crown to add to his timeline on the wall.  He was so excited we finally added something new after weeks of not adding anything because there's a gap between the history book we're using and the Bible stories we're learning.  His Bible stories today were about King David & King Solomon.

 

For Phonics today, D read two Hooked on Phonics readers instead of a chapter or two in the Magic Treehouse book.  While he reads the chapters in that book well, I think he's discouraged by the number of words on the pages.  Somehow books that have pictures on each page are more fun to read.  I don't want to discourage his reading endeavors, so I gave in today.  We'll pick the Magic Treehouse back up in a few weeks maybe?!  :o)

He finished chapter 8 in math today and will take his test tomorrow.  He did much better today concentrating and getting every "unknown" number problem correct on his own.  Yeah!  He even figured out a "tricky" (2 step) word problem all by himself.

I read two chapters of Peter Cottontail today and K was sitting at the table coloring as I read.  When it came time to ask questions about the chapter I read, K answered before D (and she was right!).  I'm so glad she can listen in...the chapter & question were about one of the animals helping another animal do something bad.  Even though they were "helping" it wasn't right to do something bad and K knew it.

Side Note: In the car tonight while on our way to pick up the van from the mechanic's - D was telling J about his rough behavior this afternoon.  K chimed in "It makes Jesus sad when we disobey."  I couldn't turn around and let D see a huge smile on my face, but if I had I'm sure I would have seen a look on D's face that read "can I smack her?"  I'm glad she's getting it and able to see wrong behavior in others...now, if she can only see it in HER behavior.  :o)

C enjoyed hanging out in her pack'n'play while the "big" kids do school.  D and K had used her gate yesterday to make a "boat" in the basement and I wasn't about to destroy the boat today in order to confine C.  The pack'n'play was the easier option. :o)

Two budding pianists and a third observing...(yep, K's wearing her tutu again).  The kids LOVE the piano whether they're playing with me or on their own and they have observed our 3 piano rules for the past 3 days...no banging the keys, no lowering the fallboard (cover that can pinch fingers), no kicking the piano.  I think it helped to give them a mini beginner lesson on Monday about soft & loud sounds...not banging.  :o) 

I should have taken a picture on Monday, but I didn't.  This is K's "8" page from Monday...she did all the cutting by herself and automatically added the blue sticker at the bottom right when she was finished without asking me...to make her paper "just like D's."  (He always picks a sticker for his math, handwriting and thinking skills papers once I've checked his work.)

 

I'm not sure when I'll post again - it may not be until next Tuesday.  We'll be doing school tomorrow, Friday and Monday whenever we can fit it in...