Week 23 - China, Haiku, and the Samurai

Here are a few highlights from our week...

Art

We opted not to paint a Diptych because it was so similar to the Triptych the kids painted from last week and the kids already got the jist of it. Instead, we saved our Haiku activity for art time.

I think the kids did a great job!

Sorry, I cut off part of the word...it says, "some have eyes and some do not"...pretty clever ;)

Bible
I had never heard of Peter Waldo and the Waldensians. It has been both fascinating and sickening learning about the early Church of Rome. With so many atrocities being committed by the supposed Christian Church in that time, it is easy to see how the Reformation period was ushered in.


History
Here is a link to the art of a Japanese Samurai Warrior Dance.

Sumo Wrestling  to which my daughter said, "Inappropriate!"


Science
Last week was the sun and this week is Mercury. Both of the kids planets are coming along nicely. My son has been working in astronomy all year long and his planets are stored at co-op until the last class day. My daughter is doing hers at home though b/c she is not in the astronomy class at co-op.

We did not complete any of the projects on Mercury b/c the kids still remembered doing these same activities from a few years ago when we studied astronomy.

Sun

Mercury

Week 22 - The sun, melting chocolate and a sunset/color experiment, and a FREE Ancient China Lapbook

Here are a few highlights from our week...

History
We watched a 5 minute video about Israel's history. The kids thought it was pretty entertaining ;)

Here is a FREE lapbook all about ancient China.

Here is a link to several short 1 and 2 minute videos about the Great Wall of China.

We also watched a silly song about Chinese Dynasties as well as viewed some pictures and video footage of the terracotta warriors.

Here is a video about the Old Silk Road.

Science
We also learned about the sun and watched a video showing the revolution and rotation of the sun, earth, and moon. There was also a catchy little song that immediately follows about the sun.

Here is another song about the planets.

We also completed 2 experiments. We melted chocolate using the sun's heat and a magnifying glass and we also showed a sunset demonstration . 

Read Aloud

Here are the video links to the daily readings for Dangerous Journey/Pilgrim's Progress:

Part 5 - The Valley of the Shadow of Death
Part 6 - Vanity Fair
Part 7 - Doubting Castle
Part 8 - The Dark River


Extras
We also went on a field trip this week to see Dino-Light put on by the LightWire Theater that was featured on America's got talent. The show was really good, but the story line was a little hard to follow. Of course, the kids loved the dinosaur light saber battle...lol!

Week 13 - Constantine, the Nicene Creed, and the fall of Rome

Here are a few highlights from our week...

This week was a short schooling week for us...just 3 days. The next was just 2, so together, it was one full week ;) Our church is one of the drop off locations for the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, so we volunteered several hours by collecting the shoe boxes, redoing labels that were faded or missing, 'rubberbanded' shoe boxes so the contents wouldn't fall out, and taped up a ton of large boxes. On Sunday, we prayed over the shoe boxes and a large portion of the congregation stayed behind for about an hour to pack all these shoe boxes into larger boxes to send to the next location. 

Bible
More Revelation. I try to explain the simpler things, but this book is hard to understand.


History
Trial and Triumph is a great book! While it is sad to hear about what these brave early Christians went though, it is amazing to read about their faith and courage for Christ.

The kids started putting the bigger picture together in how riches and greed began to play a part in early Roman church history and how, as beneficial as Constantine was to the early church, played his part in all of that by 'glorifying' church leadership.

We learned about Athanasius and the Nicene Creed and saw how and where the early disputes of the Trinity began. We talked about current religions that are still divided on this topic today and those that still side with the early Arian beliefs to this day.

We learned where the lie of earning your salvation and salvation through works entered into the picture with the Pelagians and how Augustine fought for the truth of salvation through God's grace alone. We also talked about current religions that still believe in the lie of earning one's salvation.

Science

We never did get to that bone experiment from several weeks ago. We forgot that we had left the bone in the vinegar. It was there for at least 2 weeks before we remembered. By that time, it stunk, was gross, and none of us wanted to mess with it.

We are now on to the digestive system. We labeled all the pieces from The Body Book and added those to our skeletons. The kids finally got around to putting their skeleton model together too.

We are taking off the entire 1st week of December. We all need a break. School prep is getting to me and things are piling up at the house. We are gonna try to get away for a few days and just spend some quality time together  having fun :)

Week 12 - Gladiators, the early church, and a few good emperors

Here are a few highlights from our week...

Art

Pretty simple this week. The kids got to draw whatever Christian artwork they wanted according to early church history, so there was very little push-back. Of course, my blue-eyed boy didn't want to color anything, so his were just pencil drawings.

Bible
We are in the book of Revelations now and I have to say, I am very disappointed in the commentary and explanations (or lack of them) for this book on the Rome to Reformation teachers manual. This is a very difficult book to read through for an adult much less a child. Lots of imagery and symbolic language. Aye! - So easy to get confused :/ I just wish there would have been more info behind the passages in the teachers manual.


History
We learned about the gladiators, played an online game, and watched some Rotten Roman videos (animals and gladiators), (gladiator vs mouse), and (gladiator school).

Watched a few more Rotten Roman videos about Nero, reviewed the most evil emperors of Rome, learned about the terrible Christian persecutions, learned more about persecutions, and finally got to the 5 decent emperors Rome had. Whew! It's about time for someone decent...


Science
Still truckin' along with Galen. We also learned more about the brain. It was also interesting that our guest speaker at church talked about the brain. Because the kids had been studying about the brain, they totally knew what he was talking about. Love it when things line up like that!

Week 11 - 2 field trips in one week!

Here are a few highlights from our week...

So, this week proved to be just as crazy as the last with 2 field trips AND a co-op day, but again, we managed to get in 3 days of school work and the kids got to do lots of things they have never done before. I think we are making up for our lack of field trips last year. This year may be a record :-O

Art

With such a busy week, something had to give...and this was it. Besides, the kids remembered the portrait of Caligula they drew last year in God and the History of Art.

Bible
Paul was one busy guy. It has been interesting tracking all of his trips tho and to see how everything fits together with history.


History
Caligula (Gaius) was one messed up dude! He tried to attack the sea, killed numerous people (just because), and made his horse a senator...among other things.

Here are a few Rotten Roman videos to go along with history this week:

Caligula's crazy speech
His attack on Poseidon


Science

Galen and the Gateway to Medicine is actually a pretty good read. We thought it was going to be boring, but it's not too bad.

We also learned about teeth. Here is a short video from Chloe and the Nerb about teeth.

The bone activity and the skeleton model we were supposed to do last week, but moved to this week, will have to be moved again...to the next week. Maybe, just maybe we'll get it done then :/  



Since we are studying Rome to the Reformation this year, we decided to go to the Texas Renaissance Festival. We went on a school day and BOY am I glad we went then. I can't imagine what it is like on a regular day! Some of the comments and attire pushed my limits of acceptability especially for a school day.  

We went with their cute little cousins which made the day even more eventful :-D

We also went to Berryland farms. The kids got to launch mini pumpkins, walk through a corn maze, climb a hay bale tower, ride a culvert swing, go on a hay ride, and slide about a gazillion times down this HUGE hill slide.

Week 9 - Peacock poo, a pumpkin carving contest, and a vortex cannon

Here are a few highlights from our week...

Well, we ended up just going on one field trip, but throw in our homeschool co-op group, a contest, and a fun science activity with Dad, and you have a pretty full week :)

On Monday, we went to the Lufkin Zoo. We love that zoo. For one, we got in free, and two, it's never overly crowded. 

They don't have some of the big name animals most zoos have, and it is fairly small, but they do have LOTS of free-roaming peacocks...and where there are a lot of peacocks, there is A WHOLE LOTTA peacock poop. The test was to see who could make it through the entire zoo without stepping in poo. My blue-eyed boy and I failed :( 

White peacock

Hippo Crossing - thanks hon, I love you too ;)

Long lost....cousin?

Guess who else we saw at the zoo...lol!

After that, we visited the Texas Forestry Museum. Too bad all the cool outside stuff was closed for renovations :(

He's not really thrilled about the new look :/

Bubba had a long hard day at work so sister was making him a good home-cooked meal ;)

Art

We only completed one of the art lessons listed in the TM since science was heavy on the cutting and coloring again. I don't want to push my blue-eyed boy too far this week...lol! We skipped art lesson #152. 

Bible
We came to Jesus' death and resurrection. Believe it or not, but we were actually looking forward to making the resurrection cookies. We have always heard about them and always meant to make them, but they just never fit into the schedule.

They were good, but a little too sweet for me...almost like an airy, crispy divinity cookie.

History
We said farewell to Augustus and hello to Emperor Tiberius. I wonder what type of ruler he'll turn out to be?

We finished up the Bronze Bow. We really liked the story, but dislike the kind that leave you hanging or wondering what happens next. Ugh! And this one did a little of that. If it was up to my brown-eyed girl, she said Thacia and Daniel would get married and Leah would be healed and eventually marry the soldier. Yeah, I'd probably end it that way too..lol!


Science

This week was all about the eyes. We watched another Chloe and the Nerb video and did another activity from the Body Book.


Friday was our homeschool co-op. The kids had a blast in their classes with their friends, but the highlight of the day was the pumpkin carving/decorating contest. They did an awesome job on their pumpkins. 

Sonic the Hedgehog

Felix the Cat

My blue-eyed boy even won 3rd place and a $5 gift card to Sonic. My kids had decided beforehand that whichever one won would share with the other. So...guess who all had ice-cream from Sonic after the park?

The final touch to the end of the week was when Dad built a "vortex cannon" with the kids. He explained to them how it worked and they had loads of fun playing with it until the box pretty much pooped out.

Now to gear up and get ready for next week...which is lining up to be even crazier than this week :/

RtR Week 8 - LEGO aqueduct, an "electrifying" field trip, and lots of rotten Roman videos

Here are a few highlights from our week...

On Monday, the kids participated in a free online Lego class about aqueducts through Currclick. The instructor always does a great job providing the history behind what the kids are going to be building as well as step by step instructions as they build. They had lots of fun. My daughter built the kit that went along with the lesson and my son built his own creation from the Legos he already had on hand.

Art/Music
We have been VERY relaxed in this area. We watched a cutesy video made by kids that sort of caught us up on the life of Haydn tho. So, we called it good and are ready to move on.

Bible

We finished up the Mystery of the Bible series about Herod. The kids lost interest somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd segment, but I was interested so I watched them all. There was only 1 part that I disagreed with. I believe it was somewhere in the 3rd or 4th segment. To some degree, it sounded as if they suggested Herod murdering all the male babies under age 2 was a made up story simply because it wasn't found in Josephus' book of writings. Really?!? There are a lot of things that happened around that time period, but were not mentioned in Josephus' book, so I guess they didn't happen too? The Bible states otherwise, so I know it to be a fact. Other than that, it was pretty interesting.


History

This week, we focused in on the Roman army. Here is a comical Rotten Roman video to go with Roman armies. The kids love it when they get to watch the Rotten Roman videos and this week was full of them!

Here is another one about surviving in the Roman army.

And another funny about deserting the Roman army.

And yet one more about executions since that was covered in The Roman Empire this week when discussing what would happen to slaves if they tried to sneak in and join the Roman army.



In Augustus Caesar this week, one of the chapters was about Germanic tribes, we we watched a video to go along with it. It really didn't add much to our studies and we could have left it out all together.




Science

There were several Chloe and the Nerb videos to go along with everything we learned in science this past week.  Hair video, nail video, skin video

The kids also completed the activity from the Body Book. This activity had a lot of cutting and coloring. Even my brown-eyed girl thought it was a bit much.

Extra

We finished the week up with an "electrifying" field trip. We watched the ArcAttack show at the local theater. This was a group that was featured a few years ago on America's Got Talent. It was a ood show. The kids learned about the Tesla coil and how it goes with music. Here are a few pictures...

Next week, we have not one, but TWO fun field trips planned...and i guess we'll fit a little school somewhere in there too ;)

RtR Week 7: Pax Romana, hearing, and mission projects

Here are a few highlights from our week...

This week has been extremely stressful and busy. Anytime we start a new mission project there is an adjustment time in trying to make it all work and flow smoothly. It didn't help that we were already behind from the week before AND we had 2 mission projects this week. 

Last week, we participated in 40 Days for Life which is just a 40 day stretch, once a year, peaceful prayer vigil against abortion. Basically, for a few hours on one of the 40 days, we stand outside of our local abortion clinic silently praying with some holding various signs about praying to end abortion, or how we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God in the hopes of deterring just one person from getting an abortion or thinking twice about what abortion really is. We also had on hand literature to help those women considering abortion as well as those who may have had an abortion for counseling and after-care.

This week, we volunteered at the Clothes Closet at our church. We spent a few hours sorting and hanging clothes. The very next morning, bright and early, we helped with Kids for Christ at one of the local public schools. My little brother attends this particular school so we like to stay involved in what he is doing. It is a great way for him (and my kids) to reach out to their friends so they can hear about the love of Christ. My kids really enjoyed this one :)

And finally, we also had co-op at the end of this week. The kids ALWAYS enjoy their classes and especially playing at the park afterward. Mom, however, is thoroughly worn out!

Art

Another easy and complaint free week of drawing books, Bibles, and boxes in art - Yay!

Bible
We have started back at the beginning in the life of Christ with the birth of John the Baptist then went on to cover the birth of Christ to the Magi. I totally forgot about the Drive Thru History Series I had stored away on the shelf, so we are going to be viewing several of those videos in the weeks to come as well as a little bit of catch up ;) I will try to post the videos soon that correlate with the various weeks in MFW.

History
We didn't enjoy Augustus Caesar's World as much this week. I felt like we jumped around a lot in time and I had a hard time following the chronological story line when it came to talking about the Greek philosophers and trying to figure out how/where they fit into the timeline. There just seemed to be a lot going on and it doesn't take much for me to get confused anyway :/ At the end of the week though, we were back on track somewhat in discussing Augustus and Jesus again. 

We watched another silly Rotten Roman video about Caesar Augustus.

We also started watching a series of YouTube videos about Herod and plan to finish up next week.

Here is a video that goes along with Pax Romana.

Science

This week, we focused on the ear. The activity listed in The Body Book was not all that clear when it came to putting all the pieces together. I *think* we did it right. I do SOOO much better when it comes to gluing and taping if I can see the finished product or at least step by step pictures or diagrams. Either way, the kids got the idea ;)

Be sure to check out the Usborne Internet Links that go along with the First Encyclopedia of the Human Body. There are some fun games and videos about the ear that my kids enjoyed this week.

RtR Week 6 - Arch Activities, internet links, and an upcoming FREE online Lego aqueduct class

Here are a few highlights from our week...

My husband and son attended a hunter education course on Saturday. It was 6 hours long, but for a 10 year old, our son hung in there and did very well :) He was the youngest in the class. The next in age were teenagers from one of the local high schools who *ahem* slept through some of the course material. My husband was not impressed with their behavior, but was glad the instructor called them out on it...lol! Our blue-eyed boy was answering questions out-loud and made an awesome grade on the test. 

My brown-eyed girl and I did not get our mother-daughter date. She was not feeling well from possibly eating something containing gluten earlier in the week and slept most of the day :( 

Art

Another good week...drawing boxes and paper bags without using horizon lines and starting points...all went well, no complaints :)

Bible
This week, we are focusing in on Old Testament prophesies and their New Testament fulfillments.


History
We always look forward to history each day. So many new things to learn!


Science

The kids had fun completing the first arch activity using index cards.

Flat bridge

Only held 9 pennies

arch bridge

20 pennies and counting!

adding a few horses (nickels) and soldiers (quarters)

final count: 20 pennies, 5 nickels, and 3 quarters before collapsing 

Here is a link to a brief, but informative video overview of arches.

Here is a link to pictures of the Tiber river bridges mentioned in the teacher's manual.

And here is a link to pictures of the Pantheon also mentioned in the teacher's manual.


Instead of doing the jello/pudding box arch activity, we chose to play a game called Arch Rival. It is a VERY old game that hubs and I had long before we ever had kids, but the kids enjoy it, so we've kept it around.

First, they constructed their arch using the help of the green/blue frames.

After removing the frames, they were left with a very nice arch.

After that, they played the game a few times.


The kids are really looking forward to building a Roman aqueduct out of Legos in a few weeks through a free online Currclick class. The lady who teaches the classes always does such a wonderful job explaining the history behind whatever it is the kids are making. The Lego classes are free and they always have a supply list you can gather yourself or you can purchase inexpensive Lego kits from her. Find out more here :)

Week 5 - a light school week, but busy everywhere else...soaps, sponsors, and sickness

Here are a few highlights from our week...

For starters, the father-son hunting class was rescheduled for this weekend which meant the mother-daughter outing was also rescheduled. It was ok though...the kids have been really wanting to build a fort or a playhouse or something. So, that 'spare' day was spent with dad and the kids setting the posts and laying the floor for the fort. The kids had not just one, but TWO friends sleepover, so the weekend was packed with non-stop fun for them :)

Art/Music

It went ok this week. I compromised with my blue-eyed boy as far as adding any "fluff" to his artwork. As long as he practiced the particular technique they were learning that week (drawing houses with perspective), he could leave all the "fluff" to his sister for her artwork ;) 

Ahhh, music... This is the one area I have been relaxed in. We did the first 2 lessons where it talked about the life of Haydn, but past that? We haven't done much. This happened to us last year, but we eventually caught up. I'm hoping that happens this year too. If not, it won't be the end of the world in the whole scheme of things ;)

Bible
This section touches on some of the main themes/points throughout the book of Romans. I personally wish it was more in-depth, but for my kids ages, it is sufficient.

Because I have 2 kids doing RtR and 2 sets of NT cards,  they turned the New Testament game into more of a matching game instead of the game listed in the teacher's manual.


History
Augustus Caesar's World seemed a bit slow and uninteresting this week. It looks like it will pick up next week though. The read-aloud is going well. Sometimes we read a little head because we are all enjoying the story so much.


Science

During the read-alound, the kids completed the tongue activity from The Body Book.

They also tasted 4 different foods to reinforce sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.


*Extras*

The kids recently adopted 2 dogs...Bowser and Maisey Jewel.

One of our dogs was sponsored which meant we got a price break on the overall cost. 

So, the kids and I thought it would be nice to "pay it forward" and sponsor another dog for someone else. They found out there were two 8 year old siblings who were having a hard time getting adopted. So, instead of sponsoring one, they sponsored 2 dogs. Siblings sponsoring siblings :)

The kids got to go down and meet the dogs, play a bit with them, and take pictures with them. The dogs are sooo sweet and very well behaved, but because they are older and black in color, they are having a hard time getting adopted. 

Anyway, to save up money to sponsor the dogs, the kids are doing extra chores and even washing their own dogs instead of taking them to get washed. 

We also went to the Hope Women's Resource Clinic to volunteer this week. The kids helped sort, fold, and put out LOTS and lots of baby clothes for the ladies who came into the boutique.

And on yet another day, we went and purchased some soap from a fellow homeschooling mom and friend. We LOVE all of her soaps and other goodies! Margery Mae's has such great prices and the products are awesome and full of essential oils which are great for your body and skin :) Check her out here if you are interested...

The only downside to our week was our brown-eyed girl did not feel well several days this week. We *think* she ate something that contained gluten which gives her intestinal system a terrible time :(  We are also headed back to Texas Children's soon to rule out any kidney problems since that is where the most of her recent pain has been localized especially when she eats/drinks anything high in sugar content. 

Well, that about sums up our week. Kinda slow as far as school is concerned, but busy everywhere else :)