Weekly Homeschool and Life Wrap-Up 5/29

Giving Thanks

Psalm 100:1-5 A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

I'm Grateful For...

~ God's exquisite creation and its power to soothe, refocus, delight, amaze, and center us.

~ A 13-year-old son growing in grace, leadership, power, and purpose

~ The Busy Hive of Bees character training books....my children love them and me too

~ Lessons taken to heart

~ Little sisters as best friends

~ Library books and learning enhanced

~ Children with disorders developing a testimony of His grace

~ Low-income children developing a testimony of his provision, and the power of imagination

~ Children learning to discern wants from needs 

~ Children investing in their Compassion sisters and brothers

~ The complete transformation family devotional time accomplishes

~ Kids delighted with smores and a make-shift cornhole game

~ A husband's love and understanding

~ A farmer at church agreed to have us over for a field trip, along with another homeschooling family. I told him Peter wants to be a farmer, so he was happy to oblige. Peter will arrive with many questions about the ins and outs of farming for a living. They have beef cattle, chickens, and will obtain pigs soon. This farmer also has a friend who goes to Uganda in the summers, so Peter can ask questions about that as well.

Activities This Week

Memorial Day and a field trip day made it a shorter school week.

Peter and Daddy went on two bird watching field trips, and Paul joined them for the second one. These involve rising early, which isn't the best thing for my girls. We will go with the whole family this weekend, hopefully, but without the early rising. Following are Peter's photos from the trips. He is working on the library's annual photo contest, as well, with these field trips.

It's hard to discern, but this is a Momma with her babies following.

Again, hard to see but this is a muskrat, above.

Beth continues to create all kinds of things with recycling. Last month it was dolls and stuffed animals with whatever materials she could find, and this month...engineering creations, I guess I'll call them. 

A dragon, above.

Our Memorial Day feast, complete with smores for the fire.

The children, especially Peter and Mary, delighted in the tree frogs in our yard. Can you see this one on the couch? Mary prays when she goes outside and tells God exactly what she'd like to find. Sometimes, he gives her something entirely different, but just as good or even better.

Mary learning to cook.

My life is really changing as my boys grow and mature. They're a big help now, with things like taking out the trash, cleaning the yard, mowing, and putting things together, like this grill (our gas grill is broken). Peter does so much now without even being asked.

Mommas, they do grow up, they do mature, and they do internalize all those Bible and character lessons you're instilling. Your time and devotion to them will not go unnoticed or unrewarded. They will make mistakes, but far fewer thanks to your devotional time and the Lord's mercy and grace.

Paul continues on his quest to learn about every American president. This week, he read about William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. Daddy borrows the library books and reads them at night after the kids go to bed. He too, is interested in this aspect of American history.

Paul is using the Spirit of America Our Presidents series, found at the library.

We enjoyed some good books from the library and would love to share them (many published this year):

First Garden: The White House Garden and How it Grew 

by Robbin Gourley, published 2011

Synopsis: The White House kitchen garden, part of Michelle Obama’s campaign to encourage healthful eating, was established in 2009. This book tells the story of Mrs. Obama’s garden, as well as the story of the White House grounds, the other gardens (including Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden in World War II) that came before, the White House children who have played there, and the teamwork, involving local children as well as the Obama family and White House staff, that led to the garden now flourishing on the South Lawn. This is a lighthearted, entertaining, and lavishly illustrated introduction to an inspiring and much-publicized project. Includes recipes.

Toad Weather 

by Sandra Markle, published March, 2015

Synopsis: There's nothing to do on a rainy day—or so Ally thinks. But Mama says she's seen something amazing, so despite Ally's misgivings, she sets out on an adventure with her mother and grandmother. On her journey, she sees all sorts of things: dripping awnings, wet cardboard, splashing cars...but also earthworms, storm drain geysers, and oil slick patterns. And then they turn the corner, just in time to see a big crowd. What's happening?

Take Shelter: At Home Around the World

by Nikki Tate and Dani Tate-Stratton, published December, 2014

Synopsis: A roof, a door, some windows, a floor. All houses have them, but not all houses are alike. Some have wings (airplane homes), some have wheels (Romany vardoes), some float; some are made of straw, some of snow and ice. Some are enormous, some are tiny; some are permanent and some are temporary. But all are home. Take Shelter explores the way people live all over the world and beyond--from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from an underground house in Las Vegas to the International Space Station. Everywhere people live, they adapt to their surroundings and create unique environments, using innovative techniques to provide that most basic of needs: shelter.

Yard Sale 

by Eve Bunting, published April, 2015

Synopsis: Almost everything Callie’s family owns is spread out in their front yard—their furniture, their potted flowers, even Callie’s bike. They can’t stay in this house, so they’re moving to an apartment in the city. The new place is "small but nice," Mom says, and most of their things won’t fit, so today they are having a yard sale. But it’s kind of hard to watch people buy your stuff, even if you understand why it has to happen. With sensitivity and grace, Eve Bunting and Lauren Castillo portray an event at once familiar and difficult, making clear that a home isn’t about what you have, but whom you hold close.

The Grasshopper and the Ants 

by Jerry Pinkney, published April, 2015

Synopsis: In this stunning companion to the Caldecott Medal-winning The Lion & the Mouse and the highly acclaimed The Tortoise & the Hare, a playful grasshopper wonders why the busy ants around him won't join in his merrymaking as the seasons pass by. But when winter arrives, he soon sees the value of his friends' hard work--just as the ants learn the value of sharing what they've worked for. Featuring a striking, surprise gatefold page, this third book in Jerry Pinkney's gorgeous trilogy of picture book fables subtly suggests a resonant moral: Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today.


My comments: The illustration are exquisite! Maybe a 2015 Caldecott winner? Great story too.

On the blog this week:

Not An Easy Week for Christians

A Word to All the Christians


Around the Web:

Reading Readiness Has to do With the Body

How was your week? Have a wonderful weekend!

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