A Visit from Cousin Jon & Sam Judd

Cousin Jon from Kentucky came to visit us for a week. He and JJ are not just cousins, but the best of friends. They talk on the phone almost daily, text each other, Skype, and play some online games together. Their interests are very similar. So, when we found out my brother's friend, Sam Judd, was going to come minister at our church on October 15th, we worked out a way to have Cousin Jon dropped off on Sunday, October 8th. Jon is also homeschooled, so he was able to take the time away from home. However, the boys did not get away from doing ALL of their schoolwork. 

Jon and JJ took Monday, October 9th off from schoolwork because it was Columbus Day. But, they were required to spend the mornings of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday doing their work. Then, Friday was another "holiday" for us, just because we wanted it to be.  It's not every day that we get a visit from Cousin Jon, seeing as how he lives at least 6 hours away.

They also did some chores together while Jon was here. Here they are picking up the pears that continually fall from the tree in our front yard every Fall.

They also took numerous bike rides around town on the days it wasn't raining. Great exercise for them, and kept them off the video games for awhile.

Sam Judd came on Saturday, October 14th, and ministered at our church on the 15th. It was a great visit with him, and we enjoyed getting to know him. He is an excellent speaker, and a great musician. So, be sure to check out his website, listen to samples of his music, and contact him to see when he might be available to minister at YOUR church:  www.samjudd.com

 

Sam left on Monday morning, the 16th, and took Jon home with him. It was fun to have him here. I am glad we were able to take advantage of this opportunity for the cousins to spend some enjoyable time together.

Make A Card for Grandparents Day

Lee Hansen Graphic

Next Sunday, September 13th, is Grandparent's Day! 

I found a few sites online that will allow us to make and print out  greeting cards for free, so we decided to make one for each set of grandparents. (Mom & Dad, if you are reading this, I know the surprise of a card in your mailbox is ruined, but I hope you enjoy what the kids sent. Be watching for them!)

Here are the links I found for making/printing your own Grandparents Day cards. I hope you will use this simple idea to show the grandparents in your life that you care about them:

• HALLMARK - GOT FREE CARDS 
• DLTK's CUSTOM GREETING CARDS 
• GRANDPARENTS.COM COLORING PAGES & PRINTABLES
• PRINTFREE.COM GRANDPARENT'S DAY CARDS
•  LEE HANSEN GRANDPARENT'S DAY PRINTABLES

 

Our Roman Meal

Thanks to a minor surgery for me (a lump removal in early November), a diagnosis of cancer, then a major surgery on December 11th, it's been awhile since I've done any updating on here about our school year. I am still recovering, but feeling good enough to briefly tell you that we finished our main study of Rome early in December, and finished the unit with our own version of a Roman meal...


Since the ancient Romans mainly ate finger foods while reclining, we used a card table on the floor and placed couch cushions and pillows around it. You can also see a white sheet tied around Coyote, which was his attempt at making a toga. The meal consisted of fried chicken, grapes, cheese and crackers, and lettuce salad. Even though forks were not used in ancient Rome, we did "cheat" a bit and used forks to eat our salad. But, it was all a fun little experience for our family.

We were sort of "forced" to take our Winter break early this year, due to the surgery on the 11th. So, our last day was December 7th. We will start up again early in January and begin learning about the Renaissance and Medievel Times.

Have a blessed Christmas as you remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and focus on the reason he was born!

Thanks to Veterans

March Holidays, King David, and Other Fun Stuff (CTG Weeks 21-23)

Dr. Seusses birthday was early in March. We went to an event at a nearby library where the kids were able to do a few crafts, including making a Lorax plant. We have not seen the new Lorax movie but, apparently, that is what this plant is based off of. The kids decorated the pot, then planted grass seed. Over the next several days, they watered the grass, put it in the sun, and were so excited when it finally began to sprout. Now, as you can see, the Lorax has plenty of long, green hair.

On St. Patrick’s Day, to celebrate our Irish roots (mostly from my side of the family), we all wore green and ate a meal of Irish Stew and Irish Bread. The bread was wonderful! (I'll give you the recipe at the end of this post). But, next year, I think we will go back to our usual Reuben Sandwiches instead of the stew. It wasn't bad, but my family is just not a big fan of it.

The kids also made a 3-leaf clover craft, representing the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).

We have been learning about King David these past few weeks, and the events of his life before he became king. Of course, the big event of interest for the kids was David & Goliath. But, what made it really interesting was how we first read the story in the Bible, then watched several different versions of it on You Tube. While watching the videos, we were able to discern what parts of the clips were not accurate, because of the way it was mentioned in the Bible. It was a good lesson on how everything we see in videos (even Christian videos) is not always true, and we need to use Scripture to discern the truth.

We also learned that the Psalms in the Bible are songs, and that David wrote many of them and played them with his harp. One of the Psalms we read was Psalm 142, which was written as a prayer of David when he was hiding in a cave from King Saul. We made up our own tune to the first part of this Pslam, in hopes that we will be able to remember it better and maybe use it to encourage us in our own lives:

I call out to the Lord,

I pray to him for his favor.

I pour out my problem to him.

I tell him about my trouble.

We did a review of the 5 Senses, and had a smelling test. I put 6 different things into little cups, covered them with a piece of napkin, and poked holes in the top. They had to write down what they thought was in the cups. They both did a pretty good job. I think Road Runner got all but one correct, and Coyote got all but two. I used:  ketchup, mustard, medicine, chips, pickle juice, and soap.

We also reviewed the food groups, and played a little game we borrowed from the library.

In between all of this, we've been roller skating on Sunday afternoons (Road Runner actually got up on skates for the first time this past Sunday!), attending Cub Scout events, learning verses in AWANA, and enjoying the beautiful Spring weather we've been having.

Here is the recipe for the Irish Bread. Try it! You'll like it!

IRISH BREAD
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 cups milk
1 stick butter, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Combine all in a bowl, stirring just until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch square baking pan, coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 F for about an hour, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool and eat.

The First Thanksgiving

Scholastic has a website specifically dedicated to THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. We are using this site this week to learn more about the pilgrims, the Mayflower, the Wampanoag Indians, and what life was like for all of them.

Have a GREAT Thanksgiving!

Russia, Easter & Safety Day

As we're nearing the end of Exploring Countries & Cultures, I have slowed down on my enthusiasm, but we are still learning.

Over the past couple of weeks, we studied the country of Russia. We didn't make or do anything real exciting, so I only have one picture to show. We tried a Russian recipe called Pirog, which is a type of Russian apple pie. It was okay. It turned out more like a cake than a pie. Road Runner liked it the best out of all of us. She loves cake.

During the week before Easter, we spent time going through the Resurrection Eggs. And, on Easter Sunday, we made Resurrection Rolls. Those were yummy!!!

Last Friday, we attended a Safety Day and the kids enjoyed learning about the ambulance, fire department, electrical safety, personal safety, etc. Here is Coyote being put into the back of an ambulance...

And, here, the kids got to meet Jesse Walker, a weatherman from WTWO in Terra Haute. They enjoyed talking with him and were also excited to see their picture on the evening news that night.

Other than that, I don't have much to share. Hopefully, next week, we will get more "into" our subjects again. We will be learning about Australia, and it looks like it will be fun!
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Thankful for Our Family, and Thankful for Our Freedom

Valentine's Day was this past Monday. In the past, our family has not really done anything to celebrate this holiday - except for the kids maybe making a card for me and their Daddy. However, this year, I wanted to do something different. So, for "Home Economics" class, the kids helped me make a large cookie in the shape of a heart.

After we made the heart, I realized my husband could not eat it, due to the chocolate chips in it. I didn't want him to be left out, so I made him a separate batch of heart cookies without the chips. When it came time for supper, I set the table nicely for us all, including lit candles. We had Tortellini Soup and bowls of fruit - and, of course, cookies for dessert!

My husband also surprised me with a bouquet of flowers that night, so those also went well with our nicely decorated table. :-)

After supper, we had a family game night and played a couple rounds of Wii Bowling. We really enjoyed spending time together, and I think I can foresee these types of activities becoming a favorite family tradition for future Valentine's Days. 

As for our studies with ECC, we began studying about Asia this week, and are currently focusing on Saudi Arabia. Another mother who is also using My Father's World for her homeschool, gave this neat idea to help us supplement our studies. She said to get onto the site for Voice of the Martyrs and use their children's site called "Kids of Courage". There, you can find an activity book download about Saudi Arabia. We used part of that activity book this week and it was interesting for the kids to learn about the types of clothes they wear in that country. It was surprising for them to learn about all the rules the Muslims have and how badly they are treated if they go against those rules, especially the women. It was also saddening to learn about how its against the law for Christians to talk to others about Jesus.   

We are thankful for our family, and thankful for the freedoms we have here in America!

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