Little Homeschool on the Prairie

A Blogger Friend Has a Surprise Giveaway

2012-02-10T07:45:00.000-06:00

A Blogger Friend Has a Surprise Giveaway on her blog Glow Academy. She is a lot of fun and has some encouraging post. Stop by say hi and become a follower of her homeschool blog.

Week In Review-Week #22

2012-02-10T07:31:00.000-06:00

We are in Sonlight Core C week #22

Scripture memory this week:

John 14:26

Bible

We are still enjoying, "The Narrow Way" by the Pearables. This week we are still learning about faith and the various scriptures found on faith. Some of the topics this week have been: God is King, Our Lord's Kingdom, and How to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We have had some good conversation on this study.

The kids are learning how to look up scriptures in the Bible. We continue to learn the books of the Bible to make this easier in looking up scriptures.

Read-out-louds

We finished, "Good Queen Bess""Story of Elizabeth I of England" We started, "White Stallion of Lipissa" by Marguerite. The kids wanted to find out if the Lipizza are true. We found a fun video on You Tube about them. My kids couldn't believe that a horse could do such an amazing performance. My kids are convinced that if you want to learn something go to You Tube. Not good, but we have fun looking up subjects on it.

For our poetry "Aesop's Fables" and "A Poke in the I".

Physical Education

PE didn't happen this week as Bug had an appointment that went longer than expected and we left the Dr. office right when class was starting.

We had a little snow coming down on Thursday night and I think the kids got enough exercise for the whole week! They had a blast running and sliding outside. It was dark out but, they had fun and came inside cold, wet, and ready to go to bed. You would of thought it was a blizzard with the way my kids reacted. We haven't had any snow this year. Even last night was minimum and it has already melted.

Therapy

On Monday Bug had Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy this week. Then on Thursday we had Horse Therapy. She is counting down the weeks she has left and asking if she can keep doing it after her 7 weeks are up!

Window on the World

The kids visited several cultures this week: Yao-Mien, Dai Lu, and the Hui. Most of these groups are in Asia. China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. We located then on our wall map and stamped our Passports.

History & Geography

We finished up with Queen Elizabeth and the, "Age of Elizabeth" as it in now referred to. During her reign, England became a world power.

Tobacco was introduced to England and became very popular. With the popularity of tobacco it brought in slavery from Africa to Virgina so they could tend to the tobacco crops. We had a discussion about tobacco and the effects of it on our bodies. We talked about slavery.

First Colony started in America on the island of Roanoke in North Carolina. Which the entire colony disappeared somewhere in the 1590's?

English made settlements in India and America. We touched on the establishments of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Pilgrims later arrived in 1620 to America at Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Mayflower. Most came over for freedom to worship God freely. We had some fun conversations talking about the pilgrims coming to America and being able to have freedom to serve God.

We meet King James I of England and how he had the Bible translated into English. Then I showed them that we still use this translation today. The Kings James Bible.

Little Man is still learning about landforms. We are just about to finish up on this unit study.

Bug is still in the state of Oregon. She is learning about the logging industry. We are almost done. I think this unit has not been either one of our favorites.

Both kids are still working on Kansas history. We started on some of the Native Indians on the Plains.

Science

Science didn't happen to much this week. We touched on how color's are made by light and raindrops. We talked about the prism.

The kids wanted to play with the microscope. We pulled it out and looked at various slides.

Language Arts, Math, and Misc Studies

Bug is still learning about the various reference books. She is learning how to find things in the Encyclopedia, dictionary, Atlas, and the Library card catalog.

I was disappointed about how Bob Jones English and Grammar did the card catalog. They went by the old files when in my days you had to look it up in the drawers. Maybe, I am wrong but do any Library use the drawers anymore? I will show her next time we go to the library how to use the computer. This has been the only part of BJU that I haven't liked. Other than that I really love the curriculum and would recommend it.

Bug finished her Horizon math book that was left over from a previous year. Not sure which direction to take her in. I have book 2 for Horizon. I am holding off on Math U See Gamma for next year.

Both kids had fun doing math facts with bean bags tossing them back and forth and reciting the facts. We also did math facts on the iPad.

The kids are still learning their Hebrew-Alef Bet and some vocabulary. They are doing well in Hebrew. I will start them in class next time our synagogue starts a new class. Both the kids can recite some of the prayers in Hebrew. I mix them up at times and the kids correct me.

In art this week I let the kids pick what they wanted to work on. We used pastels as our medium.

Bug choose to do a castle with a horse outside of the drawbridge. She is getting pretty good at adding small details.

Little Man wanted to find something in one of our art books. He did a good job choosing a picture.

Much to my embarrassment I had to make a deal with my kids for art! If you remember a prior post with art I was informed that I am part of the school and if I put up their art work mine has to go up too. They even want to see the blog to make sure I added mine. The kids love me drawing with them.

I let Little Man choose my drawing also. Which was the same as his! How fun for me. Pastels sure are messy.

Friday I have a friend coming over who has a boy that is only a few months younger than Bug. So we will have a play day. The rest of the stuff will just be added to next week. Don't you love homeschooling. We can take a day off when needed. Sometimes it is just because we feel like it and no other reason!

My Son is a Genesis! He Solved a Major Problem

2012-02-09T06:52:00.013-06:00

My Son is a Genesis. Well, maybe not a genesis. He has gotten lots of thanks from his mom.

Socks are no longer my dreaded nemesis. Anyone who has been following my blog for awhile knows that Bug has sensory issues. Socks are very difficult to get on her without lots of screaming and crying from her. It usually takes a couple of tries getting them just right. She takes them off and I put them back on. So we repeat this a couple of times every time we need to go somewhere.

I practically pounce on her in morning while she is in bed to get her socks on so she doesn't have a chance to wake up and process that socks are on her feet. Yes, socks hurt her feet. The seams are like nails to her. Then the strings and balls of fuzz drive her crazy and she informs me that they hurt her.

I dream of being able to afford seamless socks. Then when I go to the website to order them. I stop dreaming and the cost of $7.00 for a pair of socks makes me cringe and I may then just shed a few tears. So I deal with the drama of the socks and pants and other sensory issues.

Then the other day ago I notice that Little Man had his socks inside out. When I pointed it out he told me, "he knows they are on the wrong way"and "that the strings keep catching on his toe nails and it was bugging him." It was a new pair of socks with lots of stuff hanging from them. He told me, "that I should turn Bug's socks the wrong way" then he informed me, "then she won't feel the seams and the strings."

Why didn't I think of something so simple! I no longer have to pounce on her to get socks on her feet. She can't feel the seams or the strings, and the balls of fuzz. I don't dream of buying seamless socks anymore.

Through the eyes of a child. We complicate things and forget to look outside of the box for a solution. Now both Bug and mom are happy. Too bad I couldn't turn all of her clothes inside out! I'll just dream of seamless pants now. Yes, they make seamless pants and shirts!

Kansas Aviation Museum Field Trip

2012-02-08T06:50:00.006-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Kansas Aviation Museum. The kids had a blast exploring all the airplanes. They had lots of history on the airplane. Not to mention both real airplanes and models.

They enjoyed being in the control tower and looking out on the airplanes and the view of the city.

Bug thought you'd be crazy to be in this basket with a big balloon carrying you. Smart girl!

This plane had a bat that they used as the throttle. The kids couldn't go in the planes. It sure is tempting for a 6 year old boy!

It was so windy outside. Bug thought she was going to blow away.

The kids got to play inside the cock pit and press lots of buttons.

"Mom can we come back with Daddy!"," I want to play in here with him." He loved being at the co-pilot seat and wish he would of known the other side was the pilots seat. Better luck next time.

V room, such fun!

"MOMMY", "I am stuck!" Hee hee! I had to help her out. The wind was making her joints stiff and hurt from her arthritis.

Happy kids! We had lots of fun.

Then we ended the day playing the stimulator over the city of Wichita. Little Man landed his plane smoothly.

Then Bug had a meltdown. Our tour guy seen it was 12:10 and he was over due for his lunch. He just turned it off and left. Bug didn't get a chance to fly. She was the last one waiting. To bad because she would of only taken a minute or two. I don't think she would of kept it up that long in the air. She didn't understand why he didn't let her fly it. So, she had a meltdown. Mommy had an embarrassed moment. I am glad we were the last one left and no one seen the drama. I was sad for her. Then I distracted her with a granola bar and all ended well with smiling faces. Never a dull moment.

Week In Review-Week #21

2012-02-06T14:46:00.001-06:00

Last week was busy and I am just now getting up our Week In Review!

We are in Sonlight Core C week #21

Scripture memory this week:

John 14:26

Bible

We are doing The Narrow Way family devotions by the Parables and the kids are loving it. They told me they wanted a break from Grapevine. We are studying about faith. What is it and looked up several verses in the Bible this week.

Read-out-louds

We finished, "Michelangelo" by Diane Stanley. Started, "Good Queen Bess""Story of Elizabeth I of England" For our poetry "Aesop's Fables" and "A Poke in the I".

Physical Education

Little Man worked hard in PE this last week. He ran 9 laps around the gym today. It made me tired just watching him run. They then had a timed relay with grabbing a bean bag. Little Man must of had a good day because he was the fastest this time. Not usually the case but he sure was proud of himself. They finished off with lots of push-ups.

Therapy

Bug did Speech Therapy which she completed some of her yearly testing with the OWLS (Oral and Written Language Scales) she did very well and we continue to see some improvement in her skills. There are a few problems that are still consistent with her.

She did Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy this week. We had an appointment free week! We did add one therapy for the next few weeks~Horse Therapy! Bug loved this. At first she was a little scared to get on the horse.

She rode on a Welsh Pony. His name is Lollipop. He was a big gentle boy who is getting his exercise also. I was told he quite round and he is on a weight lose program.

Bug relaxed rather quickly and was a star student. She had Lollipop following her commands rather quickly and kept her balance well.

What fun! Therapy on a horse. Little Man was a bit envious and wants to ride a horse himself. I guest I better find a place to have him get on a real horse. He has rode on pony at the local park. He informed me, "Mom it isn't a real horse thing being lead around on a tied up pony going in circles" He doesn't miss a beat~smart boy!

Window on the World

The kids visited several cultures this week: All in Africa. The Vagla,Wodaabe, and the Xhosa. For some reason I had a first ~we didn't locate each region on the map or stamp our passports. The kids told me it was okay :0). We learned about the believers and the hardships they face. How hard they work on just surviving and providing for their family with the basics that we take for advantage.

History

We are starting the Reformation Period this week. The kids were introduced to Martin Luther and I took this study a bit further as we learned about the antisemitism that he later brought against the Jewish people. Martin Luther did a good thing translating the Bible from Latin to German. Another area of study how the Protestant Church was formed and the persecution it brought among Europe among the Catholics and Protestants. Our field trip this week went along this theme with our homeschool group. It wasn't planned making it go along with the study this week. It just happened to be the subject we are studying!

The kids learned how the Church of England began and how Henry VIII and how he married six wives so he would have a son to be heir to the throne. Most of them were executed for not producing an heir for the throne. Eventually his daughter Elizabeth became Queen of England. She was beloved and a good Queen to England.

Science

Weather is still our topic of study and this last week we learned about Tornado's. How are they formed and Tornado safety~ especially in Kansas how can you ignore that.

We did practice tornado drills. Which the kids thought it was a lot of fun running to our shelter. I pray that we never have a real one come our way.

We watched some movies that I got from the National Weather Center here in Wichita. It has all kinds of weather safety, experiments. They have a DVD for all ages. Of course- we had to make a tornado. We do this one every year. This year the kids had a lot more fun with it.

I would think most of you know how to do this experiment. We added food coloring to the water. In the past we have added glitter. Which is a lot of fun and pretty. Then we added the plastic Monopoly houses. Little Man wanted to add an army man and a toy cow! Boys! I told him to save it for next year.

Don't you love those faces when they're having that much fun.

Little Man added the sound effects to the tornado!

Then we created a super cell. If you look at the funnel you can see that it is larger all around. You just shake it hard when the bottle gets lower. More sound effects from Little Man having the cows moo, people screaming and things breaking up. Are all boys like this?

Language Arts, Math, and Misc Studies

The kids got a lot done this week in the 3R's. Bug is learning more this year about how to use a dictionary, Thesaurus, and other reference books. She likes looking at this type of material and finding things. She calls it a treasure hunt.

She also had to identify parts of books like the table of contents, glossary, and title pages is another thing we touched on this week. So many other fundamentals of grammar she is learning. She does extremely well in grammar.

Math facts are still a struggle and I still haven't started on her multiplications. She is having fun doing the facts on her iPad. I pray it will help her overcome learning them. If not I will have to re-evaluation my plans. I may introduce the calculator to her.

Little Man this last week was introduced to nouns and pronouns. So far he is taking it all in with ease. He is still wanting to get through school at the speed of light and has to re-write some things. He gets sloppy and I can't tell what he is writing!

Art

We are studying the Reformation period in art. We didn't finish our drawings last week and will continue it this week. We learned about the elements in art and how to define them in drawings to make them stand out. Like spacing and dept of a picture.

Field Trip

Our field trip was to the Kauffman Museum. It has a lot of Kansas history. Mostly the Anabaptist-Mennonite history.

The first thing the tour guide did was introduce the kids to immigration of the Mennonite to Kansas. What they saw when they came to this new country. How hard they had to work to live.

We learned about the sod houses. Bug remembered our study on the different types of sod houses. Then they went into a log cabin.

Next was the animals of Kansas. They had a room of preserved animals and got to touch the skulls, and hides.( See Little Man reading the information on the display! I love it.)

It was pouring raining on the last part of the tour and we went outside to look at the houses, and the barns. Learned how they kept the house warm, lighted, and much to Little Mans horror a bath in a large round pail. We were soaking wet on the 35 minute ride home.

After the guided tour we walked around and explored the museum alone. Bug found the insect drawers of all the pinned insects!

They had a display of the, "The Mirror of the Martyrs" Which touched on our studies this week. They seen a stake which still had the chains to hold the hands above your head. It was burnt from the fires. Most of it was from the Reformation period. They also had an exhibit on the Jewish persecution from War World II.

Little Man's favorite part was the horse and cowboy artifacts. Then he found the bows and arrows.

Bug loved the beaded dolls.

A very productive, and busy week of school this last week. We had lots of fun learning. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Sharing a Post from Another Blog

2012-02-02T06:16:00.000-06:00

I came across a post from another blogger that really spoke to me this morning that I can relate to. Twingle Mommy has special needs kids and she wrote a wonderful post about being a mom with special kiddos. Stop by and read her post here.

Common English Bible with the Apocrypha Review

2012-01-31T05:49:00.001-06:00

If you have been following my blog for awhile you may of noticed that I having been quoting a lot from a new Bible translation, the Common English Bible. This blog tour has been going on for the last 3 months.

I chose the Common English Bible with the Apocrypha for my review. The Bible is black leather type material. The binding is excellent. I hate it when I get a book and the binding is looking like it is going to come apart quickly. Easy to carry, as it is not a large bulky bible as you would think with it having the Apocrypha in it. Having the convenience of a not so bulky Bible does make the print smaller. I would say that it is a 9 font. The back of the CEB has 9 colorful, easy to read maps. The paper is a good quality with a silver edge around the ends.

They are adding many new editions with lots of choices of the Common English Bible, including a Reference Bible and a Daily Companion Bible, they have the CEB available for you're E-Reader. You’ll find information here. Reference books for the Common English Bible are available, such as a dictionary and an over-sized map guide (with National Geographic maps!). I suspect that the list will keep growing so check out the site often.

I used the CEB for our various studies at my congregation and during my daily personal reading. First and foremost let me say that I am no scholar when it comes to studying God's word.

What do I think of the Common English Bible translation?

First off let me say that I am a King James or a Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern reader. I love the beauty of the KJV, and I am just use to it. It has been the Bible I have always read it as long as I can remember. I have several other versions which I also enjoy. I am not so dogmatic that I don't consider other versions viable. I can only think of one version that I can honestly say that I do not care for.

You won't have any thees or thou's or the old English wording in the CEB.

I like having the Apocrypha in my Bible. As I enjoy reading it from time to time. You can read my thoughts on the Apocrypha here. I don't see repeating myself in this post.

Pros:

This is an easy to read version. Much to my surprise it has a lot of the translation elements as the Complete Jewish Bible by David Stern besides the Hebrew names and a few minor things. That surprised me in the translation. The CEB words had a lot of verbatim to the CJB. Our congregation teachers use the CJB during our various studies and I would say that it flowed easily with it as far as wording is concerned. Which the KJV doesn't.

The words are contemporary and very easy to read the version is easily discernible for most people. You won't be intimidated by the wording in the Common English Bible. That is an excuse I have heard many people use as why they don't read the Bible? So no more excuses! It reads easily and flows naturally. I can see this having an appeal to the younger generation who aren't stuck on a translation they have grown up with. Overall, this new version is pretty accurate reading of the Biblical text. They don't paraphrase the CEB or water it down. It is a good version for all age groups.

Cons:

The font size is a little smaller than I would prefer. I think if I had a choice I would rather have a little bigger book with around 12 font. I am getting older and my eyes seem to get tired quickly with smaller print.

I find that I am old school as the Common English Bible uses English or Western idiom as I like to call it instead of eastern mind set idiom. In my opinion I would rather see the Bible from the culture that it came from not a Western culture. I feel that when you are reading God's word you can fully understand it when you look at it in a whole from the eastern mind set.

One example the CEB uses is "human or human one" instead of "man" or "Son of Man" and "Behold" as "Look" are translated. I prefer "Son of Man" rather than " Human One". In my mind "Behold" is a much stronger word than "Look" Behold seems to have stronger implications in it and seem to be have more meaning to it. Some of the passages related to gender seem to leave gender specific out of it. Making it more gender friendly or gender neutrality. For instance, one verse in Luke now reads "brother or sister" instead of just "brother." In my quest to learn Biblical Hebrew I find that Hebrew words are suppose to be gender specific. Biblical Hebrew is either masculine or feminine. So I don't care for gender friendly movement especially concerning God's word. In other words, the Common English Bible is a little more politically correct.

So would I recommend the Common English Bible?

Yes, I would. There are some things that bug me as I mentioned. Overall, God's word is powerful and if the CEB gets people reading His word.~ then I can live with the translation. I mean the salvation issue is still clear for someone to accept Yeshua/Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Sin isn't watered down in this translation. You can still see His message clearly in how we live for Him, what He wants from us, and how much He loves and desires us to spend time with him.

I will continue reading the Common English Bible myself along with my beloved KJV and CJB.

§ Website http://CommonEnglishBible.com

§ Twitter http://twitter.com/CommonEngBible

§ Facebook Group Page http://facebook.com/groups/CommonEnglishBible

§ Facebook Bible Like Page http://facebook.com/LiveTheBible

* Video http://vimeo.com/CommonEnglishBible

This book has been provided to me my by B&B Media Group, Inc Publisher free of charge and in no way was I asked to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Snowflake Craft

2012-01-30T19:42:00.000-06:00

We have been studying the weather in our homeschool these last few weeks. Right now we are studying the winter weather. Blizzards, ice storms, and how snow and ice are formed.

After searching the internet for a snow craft I kept running across making a snowflake out of Borax and pipe cleaners. I dropped the ball and kept forgetting to pick up the Borax at the store for the craft. Better late than never! What fun the kids had making snowflakes.

It is a simple craft all you need is:
1. Borax- -1/4 cup per 2 cups of water
2. Pipe cleaners approximately 3 per snowflake
3. Scissors to cut pipe cleaners
4. Glass jar wide mouth
5. Pencil or stick
6. Boiling Water

First we cut the pipe cleaner in 3rds. Twist them together in the center. Bend the pieces to create square or rectangular or any shape of snowflake you want.

This twisted part was a little difficult for Bug. She threw it a few times out of frustration. As always she is a trooper and kept at it.

Now she is smiling and happy. Mom had to add the little parts in for the snowflake.

Attach a long pipe cleaner in the middle of the snowflake. Which will be used to hold the snowflake in the container. You can use string also.

So the kids wanted me to show both of the snowflakes. Purple is Bug's and the green is Little Man's. I know that's not so hard to figure out. I tried talking them into making a different styles each so we could see what it looked like. They both wanted the same one :0)

You will need a container that is wide and deep enough to allow the snowflakes to float freely. Find a stick or pencil that can sit across the top of the container.

You will heat the water to boiling and pour it into the container. Add about 1/4 cup of borax for every 2 cups of boiling water. Stir the Borax until it dissolves. If all the borax dissolves, continue adding more borax until a bit is left not dissolved.

Put the stick over the container so that all the snowflakes are floating in the borax solution.

You can see the crystals forming in around an hour. We left the snowflakes in for around 2 hours. Add more Borax if it isn't crystallizing. I also read that you can leave them over night to let the crystals form.

There you have it snowflakes in a mild Kansas winter without the snow!

Psalm 23

2012-01-30T05:29:00.000-06:00

Little Homeschool on the Prairie

A Blogger Friend Has a Surprise Giveaway

Week In Review-Week #22

My Son is a Genesis! He Solved a Major Problem

Kansas Aviation Museum Field Trip

Week In Review-Week #21

Sharing a Post from Another Blog

Common English Bible with the Apocrypha Review

Snowflake Craft

Psalm 23

Psalm 23

Common English Bible (CEB)

The Beatitudes Matthew 5: 1-12

Matthew 5:1-12

Week In Review-Week #20

Galatians 6:9

Common English Bible (CEB)

9 Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up.

Bug only had her regular therapy for the week plus appointments this week. We had to help out a friend at the last minute. So it was a busy week.

Ayshet Chayeel~A Woman of Valor Proverbs 31:10-31

Proverbs 31:10-31

The competent wife

Scripture Memory Verses in our Homeschool

Common English Bible (CEB)

12 But those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children,

Bo: "Come" Gospel Reading

Healing and throwing demons out

Jesus appoints twelve apostles

Studying the Clouds

Inca Quipus Craft

Bo: "Come" Prophets Reading

This weeks Torah portion from the prophets-Bo: "Come" Prophets Reading Jeremiah 46:13-28

Jeremiah 46:13-28

Bo: "Come"

The Torah Reading portion this week is from Exodus 10:1-13:16.

Exodus 10:1-13

Invasion of locusts

Monster Trucks

Week In Review-Week #19

Yawning Sirens

Seasons Experiment

Va'era: "I appeared"

Exodus 6:2-9

Aztec Shields

Little Man's Birthday

⁹ Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up.

¹² But those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children,