Monday, November 24, 2008

Free Thanksgiving copywork, NB pages, Lapbook, book recommendations! :)

Since Thanksgiving is Thursday, I am taking a "break" from our normal literature and history schedule to spend the next few days enjoying America's TRUE Thanksgiving history! I have found NUMEROUS free items and have not had to buy anything so I thought I would "share the wealth!"
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~1 Thessalonians 5:18


As we read and study the Bible in chronological order, we will continue our regular readings for the week as we make our way through God's word. We will, however, be focusing on thankfulness in our devotions. We use SEVERAL devotional books throughout our Bible Study- this way I always KNOW I have one that relates to what we need.

Here are a few good books we use as children's devotions and the page numbers we'll use this week:
God and Me! Devotions fo Girls Ages 2-5 -
`Pages 71-71 - Sharing - we will discuss the sharing of blessings that took place between the Indians and the Pilgrims. We'll also begin discussing ideas for our service work for this term and really look at just how blessed we are to have love and family during this season.
-Pp. 74-75 - Comfort - discussion on the losses the Pilgrims suffered (the lost lives) during that first year and how Jesus kept them strong and comforted them.
-PP. 78-9 - Compromise - "Two are Better than one." ~ Ecclesiastes 4:9 - the relationship between the indians and pilgrims and how they survived with their help.
-Pp. 82-3 - Possessiveness - "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love." -Romans 12:10
Gotta Have God! Fun Devotions for Boys - Ages 6-9 -

Pp. 58-9 - God's Awesome Power - trusting in God - The Pilgrims put all of their faith in God and He provided for them
Pp. 70-1 - God's Awesome Power- God's strength -
Pp. 84-5 - God wants me to share with others
Pp. 88-9- Big things can happen when I pray
Pp. 130-1 - God will not forget me
Leading Little Ones to God
Chapter 13 - God is Faithful
Chapter 18 - God Always Does What Is Best


"Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." ~ Revelation 15:3
Chapter 28- God Takes Care of Us



Chapter 29 - God Turns Our Troubles into Good



Chapter 30- God's Angels Watch Over Us



"But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." ~ 1Timothy 6:8




Child's Prayers for this week:


"For what we are about to recieve May the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen. " ~ Anonymous



"O God, I thank Thee for all the joy I have had in my life." ~ Earl Brithnoth



"Thou art great And Thou art good, And we thank Thee for this food. " ~ Traditional



"God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed, Give us Lord our daily bread. Amen. " ~ Traditional



"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." ~ Psalm 19

Books that we are reading this week:

"Mary of Plymouth: A Story of the Pilgrim settlement" by James Otis. IF you take advantage of it right away - (before Monday, Dec. 1st - you can obtain a FREE copy of this book at Homeschool Freebie of the Day. Click on the link and downoload a free version of this fascinating "living book". This book is on the "Living Books Curriculum" 1st grade booklist.





"Pilgrim Stories, Book III - Little Pilgrims & The Red Men" by Margaret Pumphrey. You may also find this title free for download this week at Homeschool Freebie of the Day. Click here for the link. Description from Homeschool Freebie of the Day site -




"Pilgrim Stories III: Little Pilgrims & The Red Men (PDF ebook) - This absolutely delightful three part serialization of the story of the Pilgrims - perfect for “read aloud” and sharing with the kids
over the next couple of weeks! In Part Three, we learn how children from the Pilgrim settlements fared with their encounters with their Native American neighbors - this includes some outstanding stories of danger, adventure & friendship! Also included in Part Three: A short but helpful “Teacher’s Guide” to learning more about the Pilgrims’ life and times through play-acting and other fun activites. Great stuff! SPECIAL NOTE: All three parts of
“Pilgrim Stories” will remain available here on the site for you until the end
of this week, so be sure you get them all… and tell a friend!


Here are the link for Book I & II.

Book I - "From Old Homes to New"


Book II - "The Wild Land & Thanksgiving"








YES! They are being so incredibly generous for this gracious time of year! YET ANOTHER freebie that is STILL available this week from Homeschool Freebie of the Day! Here is the description from their site:

"An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott (PDF ebook) - In this delightful short story, the author of “Little Women” tells this classic tale that re-captures the celebration of Thanksgiving as it wasobserved in the early 1820s in rural New England. It is a tale full of family, fun, humor, long-lost
traditions, and the smells and tastes of a Thanksgiving day “way back when”.





" Three Young Pilgrims" by Cheryl Harness - I REALLY like this book. It is exactly what I want out of a "Living history Book" for my young children. It is both well written and beautifully illustrated. The author tells the story from the viewpoint of three young children of the Allerton family. It is a book about a family which is in MHO exactly what Charlotte Mason called for in a "living book." For your visual learner - the illustrations are great! The book begins with a fascinating map of their journey and the following page has an illustration of a ship with the bottom "cut away" so the children can have an idea of the ship's layout. It also helps to see just how CRAMPED the space was. I will note that Mama and the new baby pass away in this book so you may want to take note for younger or sensitive children. I have one daughter in particular I was careful with explanation in the story because she is quite sensitive.






"Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation" by Diane StanleyGREAT little book discussing the true meanings behind Thanksgiving. There is an author's note in the back for parents giving a nice timeline of the true dates of "Thanksgiving Day". Depending on the age of your children - you can discuss the information there.





Here is a map of America in 1621. Point out to the children how large Virginia is (just as they say in "Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation."

Find a FREE lapbook minitbook to go with this map here.



Crossing of the Mayflower Map from Enchanted Learning -



The Pilgrims' Voyage Map & Mayflower Projectx at Enchanted Learning.





"The Story of the Pilgrims" - by Katharine Ross - There were a couple (2) negative reviews about this little "Read to Me" book on Amazon. They noted the "historical inaccuracies" of the book because the Pilgrims were not Pilgrims at first but Separatists. While I agree with this comment - I chose to still read this book to my children. It is delightfully illustrated and gives a very brief overview of Thanksgiving. It was clearly written for YOUNG children, however, while I am using the other books for a more historical standpoint - I chose to read them this book for enjoyment. My fear being that the text is quite simplified so it could easily be considered "twaddle". For this reason- we are reading it as a bedtime - type book. You will have to decide if you want to read it to your children. I wanted to make everyone aware of the negative comments. :)




Easy Reader -

"I am the Turkey" - An I can Read! Book 2 - This is a cute little book. I will tell you there is one or two spots of young humor that is a bit crude - crude may be a strong word - there's an incident with a brother's nose. Although this book is about a school play - my children still enjoy it and I love how the boy decides to help out in the end although he didn't want to be the turkey. This is NOT a Charlotte Mason type book or educational book - just purley a bit of fun for Thanksgiving and for us - a book that is easy enough for my son to read independently to his sisters. :)





Thanksgiving Handicraft & Art Ideas:

Decorating the House Together - NOTE: Something I do not consider twaddle but rather an enjoyable time with my children is decorating our home for the holidays. I understand the desire to stay away from "busy" projects that are just that - projects to keep the children busy. However, I find that baking, cooking, and decorating with my kids add to our holidays. I have chosen projects - art, baking, decorating, etc. that we are using this year for fun but that do have a place in the home during this season. My children are still young (7, 5, & 5 yos) so a string of cut out leaves to dawn our dining room doorway might be fun and bonding for my children and I - someone with a 15 year old might not. To me - twaddle is at the discretion of the mother and family and what's right for you. Anyway - here's what we're hoping to do. :)










My children had a bit of a difficult time cutting out the more detailed leaves from their leaf template so instead, they began using real leaves to draw and color their own leaves and then I helped cut them out. It was more fun, creative, and they recieved a study in leaves and their shapes and characteristics without realizing it :)!



Corn Husk Dolls- What a GREAT time to do this project! I've had the husks dried out for some time just waiting on the opportunity to make these with my daughters and here it is! I found SEVERAL links to instructions in this native american craft and they all seem basically the same other than different patterns in the "skirts" and "legs". Just choose which you and your children like best!













These Corn-Print Placemats also caught my eye- I LOVE setting the dining room up for the holidays- esepecially when it is done at no/low cost and created by the hearts and hands of our family! :) We have a modest home, nothing fancy to it but I believe when you decorate with your children - with things made with your children - you look around and see the power of family and love and most importantly our Lord!.

 These also go great with the placecards you can print out on cardstock and create from the FREE Thanksgiving lapbook from Melissa (below). Just have your kids use similar colors as your fabric paint and you're coordinated!





Ship Shaped Favors- http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf117tabletop/famf117tabletop5.html





These were just adorable ~ and that's all ! :) Just plain old adorable!







Autumn Wreath: What better way to invite your guests in than with an autumn wreath - celebrating the end of the season! The kids and I took branches from our flowering pear trees while the leaves were still beautiful! They had turned to an amazing burgundy color. We carefully bent the branches into circles and used bag ties and gardeners' twine to hold the branches together (you can use just about anything and cover it with bows or flowers). We read that you can also soak the branches in water first to make them more pliable but we didn't have to do this. We then walked the yard and found pinecones (you could use acorns or anything you find in your own yard) and picked some autumn colored flowers (we used yellow lantanna).

I brought the wreath and our finds in the house and used a hot glue gun (adult's job of course) to glue all of the different cones and flowers to the wreath. We added some seasonal ribbon that I picked up for $1 at Walmart and then gathered some more of the pear tree leaves to glue on. We used the extra leaves to fill in holes or cover pieces of the twine that was showing through. My husband happened to bring home some strawberry popcorn indian corn that he was given at work and it was perfect! Certainly not professional ;) but the BEST wreath I've ever had! WE are so proud of it and the enjoyable few days we took in gathering and creating it! If you can do just one project - we REALLY enjoyed this one! :)



Free Materials:

Free Thanksgiving Lapbook - from Melissa Telling -









It is their free page. For Thanksgiving, she has a coloring page, several notebooking pages with Thanksgiving designs and lined paper, and also a card you can print out for your kids to make.





She also has a "Student Sheet for your homeschool yearbook" page on this freebies list. I realize it may not have much to do with Thanksgiving but if you've not started anything like this (we hadn't until I saw this) - it might be a fun project to sit and do together with your children on Thanksgiving Day (you know - :) between the cooking and serving and entertaining :)) Part of it Provides a place for your child to note what they are most thankful for right now. Its a great time of year to take time and do this together then allow the kids to decorate around the box (while you cook :) as a fun project :).















Other Links:

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Your blog is full of all sorts of wonderful information!! I love it!

I couldn't get the links to the goops copywork to work for me. We have read the goops poems, but have never used it as copywork. I'd love to use it though!

Ali
www.mygodgivenmissionfield.com
www.missionfielddesigns.com

December 20, 2008 at 5:16 PM

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