Showing posts with label Heart of Dakota BLHFHG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heart of Dakota BLHFHG. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Beyond Little Hearts For His Glory Unit 3

I do not have many photo’s for this Unit, but I wanted to give an overview of what we learned anyway.

Reading About History / History Activity

For this unit our readings came from Stories of the Pilgrims. Christopher seemed to enjoy this book more that the previous one, which is funny because I prefer the fist book American Pioneer’s and Patriots. Here are some key points from our stories.

  • The Brewster family ran an inn in England. The king’s messenger’s came to let William know that Queen Anne was coming to stay at the inn on her way to her new home.
  • Patience talked to the Queen in the garden. She told Queen Anne about the secret church meetings that were held at the inn, and queen Anne told her not to tell that secret.
  • King James ordered the people of Scrooby to go to his church. He did not want them to worship on there own. He sent a soldier to find out where the secret church meetings were.
  • King James caught the people worshiping in a barn and put the men in jail. The people wanted to be free to worship God according to the bible so they secretly planned to leave England and move to Holland in autumn.
  • The pilgrims at that time wanted to so what was right in God’s eyes. They were more worried about God than King James.

Christopher played a game with his siblings called King James. They stood in the middle of the room. The front wall represented King James’ court. The back wall represented prison. Each roll of the dice represented something that would either take them closer to prison, or closer to King James’ court.

The point was to show that King James persecuted anyone who did not believe as he did.

Artistic Expression

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This is  a wall with rose vines growing on it.

Bible Study

Memory Verse for this unit was 1 John 4:15-16 “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

A few things we discussed about the memory verse; (I record his answers because I like to remember what he says, but rest assured I do explain things to him)

  • If you believe in Jesus HOW does he live in you? His answer – He lives in me by my heart
  • How can we live the way God wants us to live? His Answer – By obeying him
  • Can we be good enough to earn  God’s love? His Answer – No
  • Why does God love us even though we sin? his Answer – Because he’s always in our hearts and because he just loves us very much. He created us and loves us.
  • What are some ways you can show love to others? His answer – Thank them, forgive them, protect them
  • What are some ways you can show God that you love him? His Answer - praying to him, thanking him,
  • Who did God send to earth as an example of his love? His Answer – Adam and eve were the first two people to live on earth. (ha)
  • How can you be more like Jesus? Hos Answer – reading my bible, feeding hungry people,

Science

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We learned about how bees pollinate.

Poetry

Up-Hill

Up-Hill

By Christina Rossetti 1830–1894 Christina Rossetti

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

   Yes, to the very end.

Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?

   From morn to night, my friend.

But is there for the night a resting-place?

   A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

May not the darkness hide it from my face?

   You cannot miss that inn.

Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?

   Those who have gone before.

Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?

   They will not keep you standing at that door.

Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

   Of labour you shall find the sum.

Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

   Yea, beds for all who come.

 

I read this poem to Christopher without telling him the title and then had him think of titles for the poem. So without making you wait any further here they are.

  • The winding road
  • The dark winding road
  • The Hotel

Reading/ Story Time

I have not been following the story time schedule and instruction in the HOD manual. I regularly read aloud to the kids. We do what is called 20 minute read. I read to them for 20 or more minutes a day. We are currently reading The Wright Brothers.

I am still thrilled with the Bible reader that Christopher is working through. I love to hear him read the stories in the Bible.

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 Math

This week we really worked on Addition Facts for memorization. New concepts this week was Adding money, adding a string of numbers like 2+4+9+6 =

Language Arts

We worked on spelling words he basically knew the ones for this unit, so we worked on using the words in sentences, and I taught him about looking the words up in ghe dictionary on his iPod. It has a function where it will read him the definitions if he can’t.

Geography 

This lesson was a HUGE flop. Sort of. We talked about how people used to think that the world was flat. I took out a map, and showed what would have happed to Magellan’s crew if the world was flat and they kept on sailing. And we talked about several other things pertaining to the world being round instead of flat. Even looking at the horizon etc. At the end I asked him how we know that the world is round and not flat and he says, “Because you can see it from space, duh! That’s a silly question!” So there you have it. He is HALARIOUS!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Beyond Little Hearts for his Glory Unit 2

 

I want to first say that we are loving this curriculum. I am so thankful that the Lord led us to Heart of Dakota.

 

History/Reading about History:

Our history readings this week came from American  Pioneers and patriots. This is not Christopher’s favorite time, but he listens and answers the questions. A few key points from our reading were;

  • Men settled in Jamestown to find gold.
  • Sally could knit, mend, and babysit. She was a good helper to her mother.
  • Sally prayed for God to help her.
  • The pioneers could have given up and gone home but they persevered.

 

For the history project this week we talked about timelines. I drew a time line on a marker board and he learned how timelines worked. We talked about Jamestown being settled in 1607, and we added that to our history timeline.

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Bible Study:

This weeks Memory Verse was Galatians 6:9  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

He worked on this verse in several ways, repeating three times, Saying it while doing push ups, playing scripture verse freeze, and through song.

Here are a few things we discussed;

  • What does it mean to grow weary or to give up when you are doing good things? his answer – “well, I give up sometimes and sometimes you make me do it anyways.  What if I had a race and gave up? then they would win”.
  • If you don’t give up you will reap a harvest.
  • Will things always go well when you are trying to do good? his answer - “No, but sometimes it will”
  • How can this Bible verse comfort you? his answer- “It won’t, but if we read it we might learn a lot of stuff about God or something.”
  • What are some jobs that you do at home? his answer – “Cleaning my room, watch Liam, clean the living room”
  • How well do you do those jobs when no one is looking? his answer- “Like super well…… Well, actually I don’t usually do them if no one is looking”.
  • How can you be a better worker? his answer- “By, obeying God, obeying your parents, following Jesus, Cleaning when I’m told to.”

Science Exploration:

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For this activity we talked about how the pilgrims did not know what type of animals they would  find where they were going. I had him name animals from different parts of the world. We read about different animals in different climates in God’s Wonderful World. Then we played a game using beanie baby’s. I named a place like “The Rainforest” and he would try to name an animal from there. Then I would pull that animal out of my bag. After we named several animals he and his brother played with them and put on a little play which consisted of the alligator eating all of the other animals until the hippo stomped on him. (I know violent right? LOL)

We also learned about flying squirrels. We watched a video, and then read a section of god’s Wonderful Works about flying squirrels. I had him stand on a stool and drop a crumpled sheet of paper, and a flat sheet of paper to demonstrate the way the squirrels glide.

 

Poetry & Rhymes:

We Thank Thee
By: Ralph Waldo Emerson


For flowers that bloom about our feet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For tender grass so fresh, so sweet,
Father, we thank Thee.
For the song of bird and hum of bee,
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For blue of stream and blue of sky,
Father, we thank Thee.
For pleasant shade of branches high,
Father, we thank Thee.
For fragrant air and cooling breeze,
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.
For this new morning with its light,
Father, we thank Thee.
For rest and shelter of the night,
Father, we thank Thee
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee.

Christopher made a list of things he is thankful for.

  • Parents
  • Food
  • Grandparents
  • Food
  • Toys
  • Food
  • God
  • Food
  • Oh yeah FOOD!

Geography:

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I will explain this drawing in grave detail, but I feel it is important to note the intricate way Christopher’s brain works. It far exceeds my feeble mind. I only wish you could all hear him explain this, but he will not explain it on video.

I think one thing is clear. This lesson was about maps. Winking smile  Ok, here were the instructions.

  1. Read the first six paragraphs from our history book (won’t give everything away lol)
  2. At the bottom of your paper draw a brown rectangular wall
  3. I the middle of your paper draw green rows of corn
  4. At the top of your paper draw a forest of trees
  5. Make a gate in the wall leading to the cornfield
  6. Draw footprints on your map to show where Richard went
  7. Draw red strawberries to show where Sally found Richard

And now you understand to map.

Artistic Expression:

This was going to be a really cool craft where we made bundles of grain etc. However, after explaining this to Christopher he decided that he was not going to do that, he wanted to color instead. this was not a battle I was going to fight.

Math:

We are continuing with Abeka math. This week we really focused on math facts and measuring. We introduced three digit addition.

Language Arts:

We used many different activities to practice his spelling words. His favorite was using the white board on his ipod. We also did a lesson in First Language lessons Level 1 about common and proper nouns.

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Reading:

Christopher is still reading through his Bible book. I am so pleased with how well he is doing. Several times this week he asked if he could read the Bible study for that night. He is really starting to develop a love for reading.

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That pretty much concludes our week. We had a blast!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Beyond Little Hearts For His Glory Unit 1

What a fun week we had with unit 1. We are very pleased with this curriculum so far. So here are some highlights.

 

Reading/Literature:

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The first reader that Christopher is working through is The Early Readers Bible. He surprised me with how well he did with the weeks reading. One evening he read the story of Noah’s Ark for our family devotion time. It made me cry. (in a good way)

For literature (Story Time) we focused on learning about different Genre’s. Unit 1 focused on Biography. We are reading Gladys Aylward. We completed a fun activity to start our conversation about biography’s. I gave Christopher 2 minutes to gather 5 items that tell something about him. Then I had him show me the items and tell me what they said about him. Then I told him that a biography is a true story about someone told by someone else. We learn all about someone just as we learned about him as he told us about the items he chose.

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Bible Memory/Study/Music:

Psalms 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, keep me safe”.

We talked a lot this week about how God keeps us safe, and that we do not need to worry.

Christopher is loving the Hide ‘Em in Your Heart CD that goes with the scripture. We listen to one track each week to help him memorize his scripture. He always wants to do this first.

Math:

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This week in math he had several new concepts.

*Half Past, 15 after

*Pints, Gallons, Cups, Quarts, and how many of each equal the other.

*Half a dozen

*Two digit multiplication

Language Arts:

This week Christopher worked to complete his Explode the Code book 2. He was so excited about it. At the end of the book they get a little certificate and he was thrilled. He also worked on his spelling words using several multi sensory outlets. Music, Jumping Jacks, push ups, trampoline, chalk, dry erase board.

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Geography:

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We stepped outside and he drew the earth with chalk. I then helped him locate where the seven continents were and he placed a card with the name in that area. We then did a little Simon Says game to help him learn the continents. “Simon says, jump up and down on Asia”, “Simon says, put one foot on Africa, and one foot on Europe”.

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He along with his sister open up a Little passports package from South Africa. We talked about this being one of the seven continents.

Science:

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We talked about how God made the seas and that the earth has five oceans. He located those on the map in his book. We talked about how the ocean has currents. I do not have photo’s but we filled a bucket with water, and put his little toy canoe in the water, then I had fill a squirty toy with water and hold it under the surface of the water behind the canoe and squeeze to create a current.

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We talked about some of God’s amazing sea creatures and how some sea creatures like the dolphin have blubber to help keep them warm. I filled two small ziplock bags with vegetable oil and then put those two bags inside one bag. He put one hand in the bag with the oil the oil bags fit like a glove of sorts. He stuck the “gloved” hand and the free hand in a bowl of ice water to see which hand got cold. Naturally within seconds he removed his free hand from the water. So we talked about how blubber works.

History: 

We read some great stories from American Pioneers and Patriots this week. We started a timeline which I do not have photo’s of. on the timeline we added St. Augistine 1565, and Columbus 1492.

Art:

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Christopher made this shield to represent Psalms 18:1-6. Key idea- The lord is your shield. When you are scared you need to trust God to protect you.

And that was how we did Unit 1.