What's up....

Quick update....

 

In language arts we are reading "A Christmas Carol" and adding to our vocabulary...
Chapter 1 words- official , properly, witnesses, clergymen, undertaker, executor, estate, decreed, will, mourner, beneficiary, wrenching, solitary, shriveled, wiry and grating.

 

Of course we are still doing our Lifepacs and Daily grams.

 

Killian and Lotus are reviewing combining sentences. Here are 2 examples...

• The Lord is good. / His love endures forever.
• I love Christmas cookies / I hate Christmas fruitcake.

Killian is also working on auxiliary verbs, dependant and independent clauses, subject and verbs, present participles and participle phrases. He will also be starting a report on Charles Dickens and continuing is work on homonyms, antonyms and synonyms. I am using words from the book as well as our bible verses for these. He is also using these for our copywork, narration and memory work.

 

Lotus is continuing to work on coordinating conjunctions. Plus she will be learning about the difference between parables and fables. She is also using the book and bible verses for copywork, narration and memory work.

 

I found this awesome tongue twister for Lotus which will help her with her "R"s....

 

Running reindeer romp round red wreaths.

 

I also found these sites to help us add a little Christmas to our math....

 

http://www.blogger.com/goog_1672407749
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1672407749
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1672407749
http://math.about.com/library/xmas7.pdf

 

In geography/ social studies this month we are learning different ways to say Merry Christmas and learning about the country while were doing it. This is also doubling as online research.

 

If you would like to learn the different ways to say Merry Christmas go to http://www.santas.net/howmerrychristmasissaid.htm and then take it further by learning about the country of origin.

 

To top it off we are doing a study of the different symbols of Christmas which is giving us our fair share of bible study, art and history.

Tim Hawkins - A Homeschool Family

If you cant laugh at yourselves what good is life. Plus I accept all the above minus the conversion fans, the truckload of kids and the never leaving our dwelling part. I proudly accept the geek part. Have a wonderful homeschooling day!

Thanks-teaching...

Thanksgiving is upon us and thankfully this happened to coincide with Lotus' study of the pilgrims. We also have started a reading a book called "The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce" which is a fictional journal acct of a boy traveling on the Mayflower. Most of the words in the book are hard for us to understand, but we have learned a little bit about the language of that day. For instance.... "mayhaps you would like to know more?" which equals perhaps and "Prithee come with me?" which means please, will you. We even had a little fun using a pilgrim-english translator. Well I had fun and the kids thought I was crazy.

The great thing about the book is it a piece of historical fiction so your getting bits and pieces of history thrown in amongst a great story. So we are learning a lot about the story behind the pilgrims and the other travelers aboard the ship. It has also sparked some discussions about the roots of our faith today.

We have also started a character study on Thankfulness and have been adding thanks to our blessings box. Our bible verse we are memorizing and using as copywork is 1Thesallonians 5:16-18. Which Killian is memorizing from the NIV and Lotus is memorizing a childrens version of the verse. We are also continuing our study of John.

All in all the idea of thanks has become the core of this months studies. It is has been the topic of our writing, reading, bible study and history. I havent quite gotten to the point of adding it to our math, but Im sure it could be done. In fact Im pretty sure this site has something like it and it also has virtual tours of Plymouth colony and the Mayflower.

Next month we will be starting a Christmas study that will also incorporate all of our subjects so check back in. In the meantime have a blessed Thanksgiving and whatever you do; do not study the process of getting a the bird to your table. Yuck!! It's way more info than you want to know.

Thankfulness...

It has been awhile since my last post and Part 2 will have to wait. So what have we been up to.... tons!! Learning and living doesnt leave a lot of room for posting, but we are steadily making our way through the school year.

We have started working in our Daily Grams workbooks and have went back to working in our Lifepac language arts workbooks. Although we still use our daily reading and writing for most of our grammar activities. In math we are continuing to work on those multiplication tables, but I must admit that it is becoming tedious. It looks like we will need to come up with another way to practice those facts. 

This week we are focusing on all things Thanksgiving which includes history, poetry, and our read aloud times. We also started a character study on thankfulness today and will be working to memorize 1Thessalonians 5:16-18....

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Beautiful verse and so very important to our faith. After talking about this verse and what it means we read a post from a friend of mine which exemplified what it means to give thanks in all circumstances. She and her family are counting their blessings in the face of cancer. Very inspiring stuff and it led to a very good discussion about how we might deal with the same circumstances and why they have so much hope. This is the post from Nov 2, 2010 below....

No greater love...

There is no greater love in this world that the love of God! In fact, at times, I find it quite overwhelming. Not overwhelming in the sense that it makes me uncomfortable...overwhelming in the sense that I cannot possibly understand and fully grasp the depth and magnitude of it. In spite of all I've been and all I still am...He chooses to love me so deeply and bless me so generously. After all...He IS love...He cannot be anything apart from love...it is who God is....not what He chooses to do...He is perfect, holy love!
Sunday, Mike was asked to say a few words to our church family about our journey. I was so incredibly proud of him. As difficult as this journey is for me, it must be exponentially difficult for him. I try to understand, but I am not sure if it is possible to walk in his shoes and experience what he is experiencing. He is so strong, determined, and disciplined. He has such faith and genuine love for God. He is truly an inspiration to me and to so many of you, I am sure. As I sat in church Sunday, I thought the many ways that God has blessed my family over the past 6 months. I thought to myself how in the world can I ever thank you, Lord, for the outpouring of your grace on my life? The only thing I came up with was that I could live my life as a constant prayer of thanksgiving to God...ever aware of His presence, grace, and mercy...ever aware of and responding to His touch...with words of praise continually on my lips and in my heart.

Both Lotus and I cried as we read the words.. "How in the world could I ever thank you , Lord, for the outpouring of your grace on my life?" Im pretty sure I noticed a tear in Killian's eye as well. Those are words coming from someone who has 2 kids and whose husband has one of the most deadliest forms of brain cancer known to man. That is a faith I want to pass on to my kids and hope to have myself. So as I said to the kids today... "We have a hope that surpasses our troubles, our fears and all our circumstances. We can, in the face of adversity, give thanks! We have a saviour that calms the storm." That hope alone is worth being thankful for; even when everything around you is falling apart.

**On a side note.. if you are interested in learning about their story and praying for them as they navigate this time in their life go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mikehearn1. You might have to register, but it will be well worth your time