Two Reminders for when "Spring Fever" Hits

As the "Spring Fever" hit our household, and we all wanted to be doing something rather than schoolwork, there were two things I needed to remind myself of.

#1 REMINDER:  Teaching kids about perseverance is important, for them and for ME!

We must all do things in life we don't like (or want) to do, but giving up when things get hard is not the answer. After all, perseverance produces character. We want to please the Lord with our actions, and that includes not giving up when life is not what we want or expect it to be.

Rom 5:3-4  ...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (NIV)

Of course, we ALL need to take breaks! We all need to walk away for a little while to renew our minds and gain a new perspective. But, that is not the issue I am addressing. The point I'm making is that, quitting "because its just too hard" is not a valid reason for quitting.

 

#2 REMINDER:   Being flexible is a key to remaining sane as we persevere.  Flexible with our schedule, flexible with our location, and flexible with our curriculum.

• An example of being flexible with our schedule:  As we have been winding down our school year, my children have become rather "antsy" and in need of a change of pace; but, rather than take an extended amount of time off this close to the end, we only took off  one or two days to do something different. For example, we took a day off a couple of weeks ago to visit family 3 hours away. Then, this past week, to attend a different family reunion. I also took the day off on my birthday! These one-day breaks are helpful in keeping us going.

• An example of being flexible with our location:  I allowed my son to choose where he wanted to do his book work. It didn't really matter to me where he did it, as long as he got it done. For several days, he chose to remove all the stuffed animals from their container and sit inside of that...

Other times, he chose to sit on the stairs...

• An example of being flexible with our curriculum:  This week, we are going to be finishing up our school year, so instead of doing absolutely everything listed in Creation to the Greeks, I decided to combine a few lessons in order to get through the most important parts. 

After this week, we will take two weeks off to do absolutely nothing school related. We will, however, be attending Vacation Bible School for a week, and both kids will be taking swimming lessons the following week. After that, we will continue with doing some schoolwork, but will only focus on Math and Reading throughout most of the Summer. We will also plan some hands-on projects and accomplish some things around the home. As I am able, I will post about some of these projects.

Have an enjoyable Summer!

 

  

Enjoying the Outdoors in May

The weather has been nice these past few weeks. So, aside from our usual studies in CTG, we have been spending some time exploring and enjoying things outdoors...

One early day in May, we noticed a bird's nest sitting nicely on top of our coiled water hose.

We took a peek inside the nest and found four eggs. We will enjoy watching baby birds emerge from them soon, and see how the mother takes care of them.

On a nice evening, my husband took us all out to a local grassy airport to fly his remote-controlled airplane (his newest hobby). While we were out there, the sun began to set and we saw one of God's beautiful paintings.

And, as the sun set, the moon began to rise on the opposite side. This was the night of the BIG moon! It was another beautiful site.

The kids and I went for a walk one evening and noticed a flattened snake on the road. Coyote was especially interested in it, and was excited that he was able to see the snake's spine and bones.

On the same walk, we noticed purple clover growing. I showed the kids that the root of a clover petal tastes sweet, and that's why the bees like it so much.

And (last but not least), on a day that was sunny but a little bit cooler, we had a lesson in our Science book (Genesis for Kids) that talked about the ultimate cure for worry. After we read Matthew 6:25-34, the kids were instructed to find a comfortable, quiet place where they could be alone. Here, they were to write (or draw) about anything that worries them. Then, pray and ask God to take care of these things. (I would say, it was sort of like an introduction to a "prayer journal.")

Road Runner chose to stay inside the house, as that is her comfort zone. However, Coyote put on his jacket and went outside to the swingset. There, he proceeded to draw all the things that bother him - things like thunderstorms, heights, and losing a loved one.

This exercise was a great way to introduce the kids to how we should pray about our worries and give them over to the Lord. After all, if he cares for the birds and provides what they need, he will certainly provide what we need as well. Our prayers may not always be answered the way we want them to be answered, but they are always answered in a way that is best for us. Even if we have to endure a thunderstorm or experience the loss of a loved one, God is there to help calm our fears and to give us the strength we need.



The Fun of An Unplanned Day

This past week, we continued with our regular studies and completed Creation to the Greeks week 27. However, there were a couple of days when I wasn't feeling the best, so we had a much lighter work load. One day, the kids spent part of the morning drawing and making up their own stories. So, later that afternoon, we stopped at a friend's house (another homeschooling family) and used the opportunity for the kids to practice "public" story-telling. I had them stand in front of their friends with their story notebooks and tell their stories. They both enjoyed that, and it was a good experience for them.

The next day, we spent a good part of the morning reading on the couch. We read various books from the library, and one that I recently purchased at our homeschool curriculum swap. It is one of ten books in the "Tales of Virtue" series for children. This one was called "Stone Soup" and was meant to convey the virtue of cooperation.

After reading the story, and discussing it, my 9yo son said, "Let's make stone soup!" Hmmmm. Well, it wasn't in my original plan but, since he brought up the idea, why not? After all, the only ingredients in the soup are potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and salt & pepper. JJ says he wants to be a Chef someday when he grows up, so why not foster that and begin teaching him how to cook? Just call it Home Economics. Even if he decides to do something else when he is grown, at least he will have some cooking skills, right? So, fortunately, I just so happened to have some carrots in the refrigerator already peeled. They just needed to be chopped up, so JJ got to work doing that...

While he chopped the carrots, I peeled some potatoes and put EL to work chopping those...

We didn't have any cabbage on hand, so I added some frozen green beans to the pot instead.  Then, we added salt and pepper, and I also snuck in some beef bouillon for some added flavor. We did, however, leave out the stone!

Next, JJ stirred the pot and we waited for it to boil...

Once the vegetables were tender, we each had a bowl of warm, homemade vegetable soup for lunch!

I so enjoy taking advantage of unplanned days like this - unexpected opportunities to use for teaching, learning, cooperating, and spending quality time together.

Go check out "Stone Soup" from the library, and have fun making your own memories...



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OT History Continued AND A Cool Eye Trick (CTG Weeks 24-26)

OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE & HISTORY Topics Covered over the past few weeks:

• The events surrounding Easter/Resurrection Sunday
• King David & Bathsheba
• King Solomon & how he turns from God
• The prophet Elijah vs. the false god Baal
• Elisha takes Elijah's place
• Elijah taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire
• India's Caste System
• The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism

Here are some pictures...

On Palm Sunday, Road Runner got up on roller skates again for the 3rd time. When we first arrived at the rink, she wasn't thrilled about skating. But, after tightening her skates and having some of her favorite music played, she began enjoying it. We have learned that if you ask her if she wants to do something, she will generally say no if it is an activity she is not used to doing. But, if we want her to try something, we tell her to give it a try and gently ease her into it.

During the week before Easter, we watched The Jesus Movie, read books about Easter, and decorated eggs with some friends.

We spent Easter Sunday with my parents and had the kids search for plastic eggs after lunch.

The following Sunday, we attended another Easter Egg Hunt especially for families with autistic children. I don't have any pictures to share, but it was a beautiful day, and a fun event.

~*~*~*~*~

SCIENCE Topics covered:

• Bugs and Slugs
• Seeing things at different distances

This is a neat eye trick... roll up a piece of paper into a tube and tape it shut. Look throught it with one eye and, while keeping the other eye open also, put your hand next to the paper about half way down. If you look carefully, you should be able to see through a hole in your HAND! We all tried this and it worked. Very cool to see.

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.

Pictures from CTG Weeks 16-20

Much has been happening at our house during the past few weeks, so I haven't had much chance to update this blog, although, our schooling has definitely continued. We have had some great days with school, as well as some days I wish had never happened. But, overall, we are happy with the progress we are making in our goals. Here are some pictures I'd like to share of some of the things we have done since I last wrote...

Here, we tried to make "match rockets" by using a wooden match, aluminum foil, and a paper clip. The match was supposed to have launched as the heat from the flame ignited it. But, we tried it 4 times and, each time, it just went "poof!" and then went out. No launching. It was a bit disappointing. But, at least we tried. And, when Coyote noticed the pile of used matches on the counter, he decided to put them to good use by making a mini campfire and roasting mini marshmallows! (Yes, I was there the entire time with him and made it a point to remind him that WE DON'T PLAY WITH MATCHES unless an adult is there to supervise.) He enjoyed his gooey marshmallow treat...

We learned about the parts of a cell...

Along with that, we used an egg to give an example of a cell. We soaked a raw egg in vinegar overnight and then gently scrubbed off the shell. What was left was the membrane (outer part of a cell), and we were able to see the yolk floating around inside (the yolk being the nucleus, and the clear fluid the cytoplasm).

We continued learning about and practicing telling TIME, and made our own clocks out of paper plates.

We also learned about birds and their feathers, and how they sometimes use them to camouflage themselves to hide from their enemies. The kids drew and colored their own birds and hid them around the room for me to find them. Here, you can see two of the birds hidden among our stuffed animals.

We have also had an introduction to Greek gods and godesses, and the story of the Trojan Horse; and we have learned about Joshua, Ruth, Samson, and Samuel from the Bible.

In the next few weeks, we will learn about King Saul and King David, as well as continue learning about ancient Greece. Spring fever is beginning to make its appearance, so hopefully we'll be able to stay focused. We still have at least 13 weeks of studies before we can take a Summer break. 

Making A Milky Way (from CTG Week 15)

Science this past week lead us into learning about the Solar System and the Milky Way Galaxy. We watched several different videos about these things on You Tube (there are MANY to choose from!) Some of the videos included Pluto as a planet. Others have removed Pluto, saying it is no longer classified as a planet, but is now considered a dwarf planet. I don't know what I think about it all just yet, but the kids seem to think Pluto should still be included. Hmmm.

We also made our own "milky way" by pouring a little bit of milk into a spinning cup of coffee.

Here are a couple of pictures to share. I had a short video to show you also, but I tried uploading it and, 3 hours later, it was still not done loading! So, I gave up. Anyway, here are the pictures...

 

God Answers Prayer: An Idea for Motivating Your Kids

This time of year seems to be more difficult for our son, as he seems to battle countless bouts of uncontrollable tics, due to Tourette Syndrome. When his tics are active, other issues make their appearance as well. His behavior was at its worst a couple of weeks before Christmas. I was never more happy to take a week off of school. (Actually, with the weekends included, it turned into more like12 days off without doing any schoolwork).

We decided to start back up on Tuesday, January 3rd, and I can’t tell you how nervous I was about it. I did not look forward to starting back up, and was nervous to the point of having an upset stomach. It didn’t help when I announced on Monday morning that we would be starting back to school the next day, and Coyote showed me a scowl that made me realize I was in for a battle.

I prayed hard for wisdom that day, and asked for prayer from a group of praying moms. Later that afternoon, almost miraculously (or at least with perfect timing from the Lord), I read a blog from another homeschool mom in our area. She had started back to school that day, and shared an idea she used to help motivate her boys. You can read about it HERE.

I decided to use her idea, modifying it a bit for our own family. I found two empty pizza sauce jars I had saved, and remembered I had a roll of nickels in my coin jar. For each subject the kids accomplished without giving me trouble, they received a nickel for their jar. Coyote could use his nickels for time on the Wii or for computer games. (Each nickel was worth 5 minutes of time). Road Runner does not play video games, so she could turn in 3 nickels for one sticker.

On Tuesday morning, I had the kids decorate their jars with stickers and told them what the jars were for. Coyote was very upset at first, and I really didn’t think this idea was going to work after all. But, I know now that he just had to get used to the idea. I did not back down on the new rules, and he eventually realized it wouldn’t take too long to earn 30 minutes on the Wii (or even 60) if he did what he was asked. He even did some extra reading just to earn extra nickels! God is so good. He provided a great idea for me at a time when I needed it the most.

The rest of the week's school time had a few wavering moments in it, but quickly got back into balance. It also helped that we didn’t do a full workload this first week back. Next week, we are getting back into it full swing, and I’m praying the nickel system will continue to help. If not, I know the Lord will give me the wisdom and the strength I need to get through it.

Quick Update (CTG 11-13)

It's been awhile since I've added anything about our schoolwork. Nothing is wrong. We just don't have anything overly exciting to report about. After Thanksgiving, we did make it through weeks 11, 12 and 13 of Creation to the Greeks. We've been learning about Moses in the Bible - his rescue as a baby, his visit with God through a burning bush, and about the 10 plagues God inflicted on Egypt to make Pharoah let the Israelite slaves go free.

We tried an experiment to show how a chemical reaction from salt and vinegar should shine up a penny. But, it didn't work out too well for us. I think I used the wrong kind of salt. The experiment said to use regular table salt, and I used Sea Salt. Not sure if that would make a difference or not, but it didn't really do anything for the pennies.

This past week, we decided to take a break from our CTG studies as we get ready for Christmas. Instead, we concentrated on a bit of spelling and reading, did some Christmas themed word finds, and watched some Science related videos on You Tube. One day, we learned about the Solar System. Another day, we watched a glass making demonstration. We also made goodies for Christmas to hand out to our neighbors, and made some homemade presents as well. Here is one that Coyote made for his sister. She loves dogs, so he made this for her out of pipe cleaners. He came up with the idea and the design all by himself! I love his creativity.

 Tonight, we will probably go driving around looking at Christmas lights. Its a fun, yearly tradition that we all enjoy.

Merry Christmas to you all!

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!

Egyptian Costumes, Weaving, and Clouds (CTG Week 10)

The kids really enjoyed making their own Egyptian costumes this week. Coyote is Pharoah, and Road Runner is the Queen.

We used the book "Ancient Egypt" to give us an idea of how to make the costumes.

We also used this book to learn more about the Egyptian craft of weaving. I remember the kids' Aunt Jackie giving them a weaving loom for Christmas one year, so we pulled that out and used it to weave some pot holders.

A Science experiment we did this week involved making a cloud in a bottle. We used a clear, empty sodapop bottle and matches. The book "Genesis for Kids" gives the complete instructions.

Basically,  you put very warm water into the bottom of the bottle and lay it on its side. Light a match next to the opening, blow it out, squeeze the bottle to suck in the smoke, then quickly screw on the lid. Sqeeze the bottle several times. As you put pressure on the bottle, the air inside is clear. When you release the pressure, a cloud forms. Its hard to see it in the picture, but it really did work! The entire bottle clouded up.

Next week, we are taking a break from our regular MFW curriculum and will be focusing on Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims & Indians, the Mayflower, etc. I'm looking forward to it!

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Ancient Egyptian Homes, Air, and Veteran's Day (CTG weeks 8 & 9)

For the past couple of weeks, we have continued our studies about ancient Egypt. One of our projects was to make a model of what their homes might have looked like. We were able to use cardboard, or modeling clay. Coyote chose to use clay and, with a little bit of my help, this is what we ended up with:

Road Runner does not enjoy getting her hands dirty with clay, so I allowed her to draw her own version of an ancient Egyptian home. She loves to draw, so this was right up her alley.

We have also been continuing our voyage through Biblical history. Our travels have now brought us through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Esau, and Joseph. As we learn about these people from the Bible, we have been reading it from the Scriptures and also watching a cartoon version of each event on You Tube.

For Science, we are learning more about AIR. One of our experiements was to find out what happens to a candle after all the air has been used up by its flame.

Of course, the flame went out! And, a vacuum was left inside the glass. We did this experiment several times, as the kids thought it was pretty "cool."

TODAY is Veteran's Day. Since Fridays are usually our Creative Writing days, I found a project for the kids to do related to Veteran's Day. I found it on CurrClick.com for only 50 cents! It's a downloadable project, so all I had to do was save it on my computer, then print out the pages I wanted for each child to do. Today, the kids used their imagination to see what it might be like for soldiers who have to leave their family and friends to go overseas to serve our country. They had to figure out what kinds of things they might miss the most, and then write a letter to someone telling them about what they miss and look forward to coming home to.

Here is what Road Runner wrote. (Remember... She is a 13 year old with autism and this was her best work. I think she did a GREAT job! The only thing I needed to help her with was where to place the periods at the end of each sentence.)

Dear Grandma & Grandpa,

I miss my mommy and daddy.
I miss 2 cats.
I miss my room.
I miss my house.
I miss my table and chairs.
I miss the clock.
I miss the TV.
I miss the bathroom.

Take care,
"Road Runner"