We are so excited to finally be reading Lewis Caroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland!" I have been wanting to share this amazing read with my children for some time! I wanted to ensure my younger daughters (6 yo) would be able to comprehend and keep up with the story.
With Tim Burton's"Alice in Wonderland"releasing in March I thought it was a great time to read the original story! My plan is to read the original story and study it with my children, culminate with a family 'outing' to see the new movie, rent the Disney version of "Alice in Wonderland," and then have my children compare/contrast the different versions! Obviously- my kiddos are 8, 6, and 6 so I'm not expecting college essays but I'm hoping to use my son's IEW lessons to assist him in writing a short review, and helping my daughters to learn to organize their ideas by way of narrating (while I write) their opinions to me and allowing them to illustrate it and put these with thier 'lapnotes' and notebooking pages. My prayers are this will be a fun and enjoyable unit study for us all!
My goal is to complete the weekly unit study lapnotes and notebooking pages about a week ahead of my children (always the goal!) and post them here so others can enjoy them as well. The chapters can be long and I want to stop often for narrating to ensure that my children understand the plot and characters. This is such a lively and interesting story but has so many off beat twists and turns - I want to be careful that they are not lost! If you would like- I would love for you and your children to journey with us intoWonderland!
**NOTE: I am not promoting the new movie in any way- I have made a personal choice knowing my own children and what we find appropriate for them and after reading several reviews, parents' guides, and advisories chosen to take my children to this movie. This does not mean that I am in any position to make this decision for anyone else! It is a personal, family choice. **
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685. As a child, Bach's father taught him to play violin and harpsichord. His uncles were all musicians, serving as church organists and court chamber musicians. One of his uncles, Johann Christoph Bach, introduced him to the art of organ playing.
In 1707, Bach married his second cousin Maria Barbara Bach. They had seven children. In 1720 Maria died and Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilcke in 1721. Bach had 13 more children with Anna Magdalena. He was a father to 20 children in all.
In 1723, Bach became the cantor, organist, and music composer for St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany. Bach remained there for the rest of his life.
Some of Bach's most famous works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and the celebrated organ work Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750. Bach was not appreciated during his own lifetime and was considered an "old-fashioned" composer. Today, Bach is considered to be one of the most influential composers of all time. In fact, he is now such an important composer that the year of his death is a defining point in music history. It marks the end of the Baroque Era. PRINT the above Biography & Picture
Great lapbook resource from A Journey Through Learning ~ The 2010 Winter Olympics 2010 Lapbook with Study Guide
I purchased this unit this morning - it's on sale at Currclick for only $3.75! It had everything I needed in it to teach my children about the Olympics prior to the opening ceremonies and great information that I think we will use as we watch! I'm hoping to put a schedule up today or tomorrow showing how we are going to get the information in (since I'm late starting it) while enjoying the Olympics together!
Basic information on the 2010 Winter Olympics From Wikipedia: The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be a major international multi-sport event held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler, British Columbia and in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC). The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.
Following Olympic tradition, then Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The flag was raised on February 28, 2006, in a special ceremony, and will be on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. The event will be officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.[3]
The Torch Relay The clock counting down to the opening of Olympics Games in downtown Vancouver.Main article: 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay
The Olympic Torch Relay is the transfer of the Olympic flame from Ancient Olympia, Greece — where the first Olympic Games were held thousands of years ago — to the stadium of the city hosting the current Olympic Games. The flame arrives just in time for the Opening Ceremony.
For the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the flame was lit in Olympia on October 22, 2009. It will then travel from Greece, over the North Pole to Canada's High Arctic and on to the West Coast and Vancouver. The relay will start its long Canada journey from the British Columbia capital of Victoria. In Canada, the torch will travel approximately 45,000 kilometers over 106 days, making it the longest relay route within one country in Olympic history. The Olympic Torch will be carried by approximately 12,000 Canadians.
Lapbook Piece - World Map
You could use this map to track the torch relay or to identify the countries that are participating in the Olympics!
Sports
Fifteen winter sports events have been announced as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The eight sports categorized as ice sports are: bobsled, luge, skeleton, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating and curling. The three sports categorized as alpine skiing and snowboarding events are: alpine, freestyle and snowboarding. The four sports categorized as Nordic events are: biathlon, cross country skiing, ski jumping and nordic combined.
I truly enjoy this entire series written by Barbara Taylor. It is perfect for younger and older elementary students. We homeschool and my children are in 1st, 1st, & 3rd grade and this geography series has been a perfect match. I originally discovered Barbara Taylor's series on the Mater Amabilis website (a free Charlotte Mason style curriculum) and I was not dissapointed.
The illustrations are colorful and pertinent. They assist the younger child in grasping the concepts without being "twaddly". You may find free schedules and lesson plans to go along with this book at:
http://www.materamabilis.org/mountains.html
I will be posting more on this geography book and others as I finish developing our new geography studies. I am trying something a bit different and so far, the children are not only truly enjoying the studies but quickly absorbing information. I highly recommend this little book as part of your elementary geography studies.
For this week's Nature Study and this week in my animal habitats co-op class, we focused on animals in the winter and how differently they survive this difficult season.
We talked about what the Bible says about our role in caring for the Earth and its inhabitants.
Read, Gen. 1:26 ~ The Message and discuss what it means to have “dominion” over God's creation.
God has entrusted us with the care of His creation and that means we have a responsibility to be good to the animals and our planet.
Children can start by being kind to their pets and helping with their care and helping care for their own backyard.
Different examples of how to show having “dominion” is not an excuse to use the Earth in any way we want but rather a GREAT responsibility that God gave us! How amazing it is to be in “charge” of something SO important and how much God loves us!
(We reviewed what we learned last week about how to classify animals.) Why is it important to know how to Classify Animals?
According to the Bible, God charged mankind with being the stewards of the Earth, wouldn’t we need to know what all of the flora and fauna are and what their needs are in order to care for it?
Examples to help with understanding of this – what if we didn’t know about fish and we put them in the desert? What if we put polar bears in the rainforest? The kids got a laugh out of this! If we don’t understand the characteristics of God’s creation, how can we know how to care for it?
Gen. 2:15~ Stewardship is not God’s afterthought.
What is the first thing God has Adam do?
God declared creation “good” many times before man was even on the scene. (Gen.1)
God created plants and animals to live in perfect harmony (balanced ecosystem)
Having “dominion” is not an excuse to use the Earth in any way we want but rather a GREAT responsibility that God gave us! How amazing!
Book: "Animals in Winter" by Henrietta Bancroft - part of the "Let's Read & Find Out About" series
We read the book, “Animals in Winter.” This is a book from the “Let’s Read & Find Out About” series. This is a wonderful series for children of this age. We discussed the three ways animals survive the winter: Hibernation, Migration, and Overwintering. We learned what these different terms mean and the different animals that adjust to the winter using each of them.
We also discussed how animals that overwinter adapt to survive the colder temperatures and food shortage. Some of these are:
• Changing their summer coats to white, winter coats – hares, foxes
• How foxes hunt mice differently and quietly for winter food.
• How deer and other animals (including the hare) change WHAT they eat to survive the winter. – nice, fresh foliage to tree bark for one example
• Storing food so they do not have to leave their shelter- pikas
• Storing food outside of their home and finding it (or not) – squirrels
We took a brief detour here to discuss how often squirrels forget where they stored their food and how they actually plant a large portion of the world’s tress on accident!
Weekly Project: Materials: This is a simple (yeah!) project for even the youngest nature study participant - you only need: Bagel Peanut Butter Bird Seed Yarn Yes! It's that easy!!
Directions: Tie the yarn in the middle of the bagel hole so you can use it to hang your feeder. Coat the bagel with peanut butter. Roll the peanut butter coated bagel in bird seed. Hang in a easily viewed location. YOU'RE READY FOR SOME WINTER BIRD WATCHING!
Make bagel bird feeders to help feed the birds in your own backyard. This is a first step in caring for God's creation.
Hang the feeder in a location the children have access to (even if from indoors- maybe a location they can easily view from a window.) We will use this feeder for their new animal habitat nature study for this week.
To do this, allow your child to just relax and watch their feeders, they can keep an eye out and stop and do their study when they notice activity around their feeders or you can have a set time for them to sit and watch for 20-30 minutes to see what animals visit their feeders. Take notice if you normally have squirrels in your area if any squirrels visit. Does it seem they visit more now or in the summer? Have the children (your child) to draw (and make descriptive notes) if they like of what visitors they have. For younger children/reluctant writers- feel free to have them tell you about the animals they see and you may do the writing for them.
If they are not sure of the species have them describe the details to you and spend some time identifying the birds (or squirrels) they see either using field guides or online. As always, this does not have to be a perfect or difficult time, just a very laid back time to work on their observation skills and prayerfully learn something new about the ecosystem in their own backyard (without even realizing it!) If you live in a location with snow and/or the opportunity to view other wildlife that overwinters- keep an eye out with your child to see which animals you notice and if they act/look differently.
We have squirrels that are constant visitors to our yard (and our bird feeders) so its a great way for the kids to see them preparing for the winter in the autumn and take notice of how much more/less they see them now. In the summer we have squirrels at our birdfeeders almost within minutes of the daily fill up :) so we are curious to see if they visit these bagel bird feeders before the birds can eat them. I told my children (and my class) if they find thier bagels just totally gone or on the ground and almost gone they may want to watch for squirrels! We are going to take note of how many students had squirrels versus birds!
Follow- & Other Books:
“Taking Godly Care of the Earth.” ~ This book has a lot of worksheets and information that further go into the topic of our dominion over God's Creation.. I am using this workbook as a reference to help keep God’s word in our unit.
I look forward to this upcoming week when we will go into animals of the tundra and artic! Come back to visit my blog for book ideas to gather together for next week's habitat!! :)
For those who are using this in a group or co-op or using the rewards system at home: do not forget to review their nature journals from last week and provide them with stickers on thier "homework cards" and thier "award" (we used Skittles and Starburst in the small sizes.)
"Handbook of Nature Study" by Anna Botsford Comstock For those using Anna Botsford Comstock's "Handbook of Nature Study" - here are the pages that reference
The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing; but in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture." ~ Doug Phillips
HEAV’s Virginia Homeschool Convention offers 301-booth Exhibit Hall; a giant Used Curriculum Sale (39,000+ items last year); a Children’s Program; 119+ workshops on preschool, high school, college and career, special needs, character training, culture wars, courtship, home business; and MUCH more. Speakers include Voddie Baucham, Carol Barnier, Joel Salatin, Inge Cannon, Jessica Hulcy, Steve Demme, Dianne Craft, Adam Andrews, Debbie Strayer, and many others! Four FREE how-to-begin sessions on Thursday and FREE shopping Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. Qualifying parents of preschoolers and non-homeschooling grandparents attend FREE! For more information, call 804-278-9200, e-mail office@heav.org, or visit http://www.heav.org/convention/convention.
The title of today's "Freebie" is "Birdwatching for Beginners: A Guide for Homeschoolers (PDF ebook) "
How to get started, what resources and equipment you need, where to find birds and how to identify them, how to keep records of your sightings, "etiquette" for watchers, how to attract birds to your own back yard, and much more!
I downloaded a copy for myself and there is some great information - download your free copy today only at
After what was suppose to be a "brief hiatus" during the holidays (Thanksgiving & Christmas!) I came back to add to the blog only to find I was unable to access my blog.
I am not a technical expert. I can find my way around the computer and MOST software well enough but I could not access this page no matter how I tried. Then LIFE took over, homeschool, coop, home making--- generally being a mom and a wife (and teacher). I tried here and there and FINALLY asked for help from the Blogger community. Thank you so much to those who take time to help people like me lol to fix thier mistakes. I am (as of today lol) able to access this blog again so I can NOT wait to upload all of the outings and plans we've ben doing since November!! I hope I can catch up and provide everyone with some helpful tips, lesson plans, and insights as before! Bear with me as I try to revamp the blog and get fresh information out!
I will tell you that we have been studying mammals - more specifically lagomorphs. Yes - Lagomorphs- I had not heard of them until we began the study. Lagomorphs include rabbits, hares, and pikas. We are using the Burgess Animal Book for Children, Beatrix Potter, and library books for this study so if you have those resources or want to gather them - I hope to get some notebooking and lapbooking pages as well as some lesson plans up in the next couple of days! Glad to be blogging again!
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 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!
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.
"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 Placematsalso 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!
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! :)
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 :).
