First Week of Creation to the Greeks

Life has been rather hectic lately, but in a good sort of way. For example, Coyote decided he wanted to be baptized, family came for a visit (due to Coyote's baptism), an AWANA program began at our church, events are being planned for our local homeschool group, etc. So, with all we've had going on, it took us 2 weeks to get through the first week of Creation to the Greeks.

As you can see by the picture below, each student has their own notebook to keep all their papers in. At the end of the year, it makes a nice keepsake of all we've learned.

Creation to the Greeks is the beginning of a chronological account of historical events, beginning with the Biblical recordings of Creation. One of our activities is to make a timeline to be displayed on the wall or in a notebook of some sort. Two years ago, I put a timeline on our wall with poster putty and, when I removed it, some of the paint was removed from the wall also. So, this year, I decided to put our timeline in a 3-ring binder. We are going to add to it through-out the year, and then continue with it in following years. It will be a nice record of things that took place in history, and when they took place.

 
Along with Biblical history, we are also learning about various Jewish celebrations and feasts. Tonight, we had our first experience as a family with celebrating a Sabbath (Shabbat) meal.

We are using a book recommended by My Father's World. It is "Celebrating Biblical Feasts" by Martha Zimmerman. Its a neat book that explains the various symbols and traditions of each celebration, and takes us step by step on how to celebrate them on our own. The first thing we did today was set our dinner table with our best dishes, and we also baked bread. The blue bowl at the end of the table is for washing our hands during one portion of the meal. The hand washing and the blessing beforehand is intended to show our gratitude to God for his sanctification of us.

As supper was being prepared, the kids helped me make candlestick salads. Lettuce on the bottom, pineapple rings, half a banana, and a cherry attached on top with a toothpick (for the "flame.") It added a nice, fun touch to our meal.

At another part, before the meal was eaten, the father blesses each of his children with a special prayer for them. This was really neat. He also takes time to honor his wife.

There is a recommended menu in the book, but it is not mandatory. We partially followed the list and ended up with baked fish, cooked carrots, buttered noodles, fresh bread, candlestick salad, and creamhorns for dessert. It was a really neat experience for all of us, and I wouldn't doubt if we did it again sometime in the future.
.