Easter Study--Part One

We have been doing lots of Easter stuff this week. I purchased an Easter ebook a few weeks back and have been planning ever since to use it for an Easter unit. Even though this unit is designed to use the entire month leading up to Easter, I wanted to save it and do all in one week. This worked out great considering we are on break from school. Some of the actual days we are doing activities for have already passed, but I am still doing them this week--Shrove Tuesday being one of them. We are also doing some non-religious Easter activities.



I started the week off by reading to the kids the story of Palm Sunday. Afterward, Joe and I made a paperbag donkey puppet. At dinnertime Joe retold the story to Jamie and used his puppet.











While Joe made his donkey puppet, Hanna made a "Jesus ascending into Heaven" craft that we will use later in the week as we read more of the Easter story in chronological order each day.







Tuesday we read about Shrove Tuesday, Lent and how Shrove Tuesday is also referred to as Pancake Day. I made happy face pancakes for supper. The kids loved their smiley face pancakes and were surprised to see them waiting on their plates.







We also read about the Passover. Joe and Jack made lambs that we used as we again retold the story of Passover to Jamie over dinner.



















I saw a really cool activity using salt paint on my friend Christy's blog. I happened to have everything on hand to make the paint (and the books too) and knew the boys would enjoy doing this. We read the books Owen's Marshmallow Chick and Max Counts His Chickens, and afterward we made marshmallow chicks just like in the books. This paint is so cool! It made the chicks look and feel just like real Peeps. Joe loved the finished product, and Jack had a blast painting his!















Later that day I made some delicious pnut butter chocolate covered eggs with Easter sprinkles. They are SOOOOOO good! I love anything chocolate and pnut butter anyway, but these are super good! They were really quick to make up too. We've been enjoying these all week, and I think I may be making up another batch before the week is over.







This is my first year of planning and doing so many Easter themed activities. It has been so much fun! I can't wait to do all that I have planned for the rest of the week and weekend too. I am so glad I found the ebook we are using. I haven't focused on the real meaning of Easter as much as I should in years past. It has been very inspirational and spiritually uplifting to read with the kids each day in the scriptures the stories of Easter, and then hear the kids repeat what they've learned back to Jamie over dinner.



This is such a special time of year. Christ's sacrifice for us, the Atonement, the resurrection, eternal life, repentance--all that Easter symbolizes have played and do play such an important part in my life--past and present, and future too. I am so very thankful for my Savior. I cannot begin to imagine where I would be had He not made this sacrifice for me. I cannot comprehend all that He suffered and endured to make all these things possible either. His love for us is beyond comprehension.

My Little Green Thumbs

Hanna and Joe had fun over the weekend (while Jamie and I were away) helping Grandpa get the garden spot ready. They weeded while Grandpa tilled. It took quite some time, but they were both good sports and kept at it happily. They both told me they had fun. I am looking forward to having them help my dad garden this whole Spring and Summer. Neither of them have ever seen a garden from beginning till the end. It is going to be fun for all of us.



My dad plants and cares for this garden along with a neighbor of his. They compost all year long and use the compost for the garden. They garden 100% organic--I love this fact!



Here are some pictures of the kids as they helped weed and carry things to the compost bin.















I love that picture of Joe! He looks precious hefting that big plant over his head. I know he had to be feeling proud, big and strong as he posed for this picture.







I'm not sure what this is--it looks like cabbage to me. I'll have to ask my mom or Hanna since I wasn't there, but this is a cute picture.







After they were done, they lounged out in the swing.







I'm looking forward to many more garden times over the next several months. I also look forward to eating some of what we grow. I know the kids will think it's so neat to eat some of what they've helped plant and grow.



My dad grew up on a farm. Planting, tending to and picking crops, as well as tending to some farm animals is something he's done his whole life. Sadly and unfortunately, I never grew to appreciate or learn the skill of gardening from my dad. Looking back now I sure wish I had. Not only would it be so useful, but it could have been time I spent with him as a child doing things he knows well and loves to do. I am thankful he is letting the kids help him garden and learn from him. These are memories we will all have forever, and opportunities they will have to bond with him in the process.

Homeschool Wrap-Up Week 36

We're done! We officially logged our 180th day of school this Tuesday!! I can't believe it--our first year of homeschool has come and gone and we made it--and loved it! It has been wonderful, but I'll save that wrap-up for another post....now on to what we did this week.



I continued to focus on the letter "Aa" and the color red with Jack. Right now all I am trying to do with him are ABC's, colors and very basic counting. He still plays lots and lots, and that's all I intend for him for a while yet. I was very excited about my friend Shannon's idea for a weekly collage box. This is something I plan to do with Jack each week. This week his box was red themed. I followed Shannon's idea for putting down a clear sheet of contact paper and just letting him have fun placing things out of the collage box onto the conact paper.







After he was done, I put another piece of contact paper on top and cut it out into an apple shape. I attached a green stem and hung it in our window as a suncatcher. It's adorable. Jack had fun making this. He took his time and placed everything carefully.







Jack also made a lowercase letter "a" apple picture. He colored it with markers, crayons and used a red dot painter. I attatched a stem and glued it onto paper. This will go in his ABC book for the year.







I didn't have Hanna and Joe work on an art lesson this week. Hanna was very busy finishing up her History curriculum, and Joe ended up doing a couple of artsy things alongside Jack, so I let that count for Joe. He and Jack colored and painted apple trees. Joe did a very nice job on his. He took his time and put a lot of thought into coloring/painting everything.











Jack did a great job too. I am so surprised by how quickly he's taken to these sort of activities and how long his attention span seems to be when we do them. He is doing super!







Joe and I completed Lesson 1 in ETC Book 1, practiced reading and played Happy Phonics games. He worked on daily lessons in Singapore Math as well.



Hanna finished her History Odyssey, worked all of the Bridges for her Life of Fred section she just completed, and continued to read an assigned novel for History.



The plants in the light hut are continuing to sprout and grow each day. I didn't get a picture this week, but it is looking great! We are having fun with this project.



The three of us together dissected an Owl Pellet containing a complete mole skeleton. At first, the kids wanted no part of this. They came around quickly when I told them it would make a complete skeleton--for some reason this really excited them. This was so fun! Hanna and Joe took turns picking the bones out of the pellet with tweezers. Joe enjoyed looking at some of them through the magnifying glass.











After all of the bones were picked out, Hanna organized them according to type--a diagram of a mole skeleton came with the kit--and then, she and I put the skeleton together. This was a long project. The entire thing from start to finish took about two hours. Hanna plugged along nicely. I never lost her attention. Joe didn't make it with us to the end. He ended up outside playing off and on, just running in from time to time to see if we had the skeleton finished.







I can't wait to do more experiments and projects along these lines. It was fascinating to me. I learned a lot. It was fun doing it with the kids too.



Next week Hanna will be taking the IOWA Basic Skills Test. Joe and I probably won't do much school at all until our new year starts up in May. My focus for next week besides Hanna's testing is going to be on Easter--related crafts, baking and activities that focus on Christ and Easter.



We had a really fun week. I am looking forward to our break over the month of April. It will be nice to just play, relax and plan for our new school year.



If you decide to give the Collage Box a try, you can link it up each week at my friend Shannon's blog, Welcome to Wonderland.



For other learning ideas, visit Homeschool Creations and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

My Little Buddy Joe

Today was zoo class again for Joe, or so I thought. We headed out to the zoo all ready for our class. When we got there I discovered that I'd made a mistake and our class was actually last Wednesday. I was disappointed for Joe and upset with myself that I mixed up the dates. I told Joe I was sorry, and he wasn't upset at all. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said stay and look at the animals, but first he told me he wanted to get something for me. He immediately found a small, pretty purple flower and picked it for me. Bless his heart. He is such a sweet boy.



We headed over to the monkeys first. They were very active. Of course, as soon as I tried to video them they decided to be quiet. And, of course, as soon as I tried to take a picture of them they were swinging like crazy:-). They are some of my favorite animals to watch. When they are yelling like crazy and active they are so fun.







We checked in on our koalas next. Mama koala was sleeping.







Baby koala was over in the next tree eating.







We spent a lot of time in the snake house today. Joe is very interested in snakes and lizards of all sorts right now. Since we didn't get to attend our class, I decided we'd spend some time reading about the different exhibits that really interested him. We spent the most time reading about all the reptiles. Joe was able to tell me a few things about snakes that I didn't know--one in particular, he told me that the red cobra spits venom on its enemies. He informed me when I asked him how he knew this, that "I just know. Don't I have to learn things when I grow?" Yep, those were his exact words. I hid my smile, and just said, "Oh yes, you are supposed to learn a lot as you grow." Our ISpy snake was too hard for us to spot today, so no picture--hopefully next time:-). Joe loved these scorpions!







We also looked for quite some time at the fish. I enjoy looking at fish too. I love the brightly colored ones.







For some reason Joe wanted me to take picture after picture of him today. As we would pass different statues or flowers he would ask for his picture to be taken. Sometimes he would ask to have it taken 4 or 5 times on the same animal statue. I took every one that he asked me too. I thought it was so sweet that he was willing to pose over and over again. He ate up every bit of the attention. He loved it. He was so very sweet today.











The gorillas were out in the brush for a change. This was actually the first time I've ever seen them out in this part of their exhibit. I loved seeing them out like this. It reminded me of the gorillas you see in Animal Kingdom at Disney World. The exhibit there is huge, and absolutely beautiful.







The bears were being playful again this zoo trip. I really like it when they are wrestling around.







I got some good pictures of Joe in front of the tulips. I think tulips are so pretty. So does Joe.











I also got a couple of pretty pictures of the flowers on the tulip trees. Hanna and I look forward to seeing the tulip trees bloom in our neighborhood each Spring. I think these trees are so pretty, the color is one of my favorites. I took these two pictures for Hanna.











I got one last picture of Joe and I together. This picture is pretty rough on my end. I have on no makeup because I didn't want to be late for zoo class, and the angle that the picture was taken from is far from flattering to my face, but oh well....







I wanted one of the two of us because it was such a fun day. I am glad it worked out the way it did with us missing class and just hanging out together at the zoo, no real plans. Joe loved the time with me and I enjoyed it too. We talked the whole time about one thing or another.



After the zoo we made a quick stop for a few groceries. Joe insisted on helping load the cart, and then unload it onto the checkout belt. Earlier at the zoo he even opened doors for me. He was such a big boy and a gentleman today. He seemed so happy and proud of himself as he did these things, and I was proud of him too.



I love Joe so much. He is so fun, so happy. He has the brightest smile. He is so smart and is learning and growing so fast.



It has been a good day, and I look forward to all that we have planned the rest of the week and through the weekend too.

Homeschool Wrap-Up Week 35

We had a really fun week of homeschool. We accomplished alot and enjoyed doing it all together. All three kids got along great this week--no fighting at all! That always makes for such a better week for everyone.



I added a new part to our school routine each day--a calendar/circle time board and posted about it *here*. We do this each morning so that Jack can be included too. The kids love it! They ask to do it, and are excited to help fill out each part and put up new cards each morning. I know this will help both Joe and Jack in different ways--colors, letters, shapes, counting money, days of the week, patterning.



I have started doing a tiny bit of school stuff with Jack a couple days a week. Not much, it only consists of reviewing a letter and color each day, one simple craft and reading books centered on our letter. I'm beginning an alphabet book with him like Joe and I made this year. (Hanna has one from her 2 year old Preschool and I still look through it from time to time.) This week was letter "A". Jack really likes crafting. I wasn't sure how he'd take to it. But, he loves it! Surprisingly he is good at following simple instructions and using the materials I've given him. I have everything pre-cut and ready to go. I also apply the glue and he simply places the pieces on the glue spots.



We read:

• Snip Snap!


• Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree

We made:







An alligator letter "A". It turned out so cute. He enjoyed every second of making it too.











I can't wait to do more with him next week.



Joe began Explode the Code Book 1. I remember when this book came in the mail before Christmas. I thought we might be lucky to get to this book by first grade. I was so surprised at how fast Joe took off in the last six weeks with reading. He went from not comprehending blending to reading sentences in a matter of weeks.



I am using Happy Phonics for reading instruction and Explode the Code Book 1 for reading/handwriting practice. I used the Code Primer's with Joe earlier this year and we both loved them. We are enjoying book 1 just as much. We will continue with this series. I can't say enough good about Happy Phonics either. Here are a few pages from the ETC Book 1:







Joe plugged away with Singapore Math. I love all that this math involves in their daily lessons. It is fun, colorful and thought provoking. Joe enjoys it and he is learning to think. A lot of the lessons call for cutting, pasting and using a ruler, so Joe gets to work on fine motor skills in addition to math concepts.







Hanna is halfway through her first Life of Fred book in Math, and still enjoying it and retaining all that she learns in each lesson.



We have used the book Oobleck, Dancing Slime and Spaghetti the past two weeks for Science. This book is awesome! It involves reading children's literature books followed up with a fun Science experiment. I have been able to modify these experiments to include both Hanna and Joe.



This week we read Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and then made oobleck as the recipe called for in the book.







We made three different ooblecks, all with a varying amount of sodium borate solution. We then proceeded to see how the different oobleck's responded to being rolled, flattened, bounced and so forth.











This was fun!



Hanna took chapter tests on chapters 1 & 2 in Apologia Botany.







Hanna's light hut is doing super! The cat grass--an edible grass for indoor cats--sprouted within a few days. It literally grows a noticable amount from the time I check it first thing in the morning till the time I check it before Hanna goes to bed. Our basil has also sprouted, but we are still waiting on everything else.







Hanna has almost wrapped up her History Odyssey. She has 3 lessons to complete this week and will be finished with the course.



Joe and I continued our study of the US Flag in his I Love America history. We talked about respecting the flag, rules on caring for it, watched a Boy Scout flag ceremony on YouTube, went over what key words in the Pledge of Allegiance mean, and read a bit about the state of Pennsylvania--where Betsy Ross is from.



We are going to be using the books Go, Go America and The United Tweets of America on a regular basis. These two books are fun and informative. Very useful reads to compliment a states study with a young child.



The kids completed their fish pictures for art. Here is Hanna's:







Here is Joe's:







We had a great week! As I write up these posts each week it is amazing to see all that we accomplish. I like seeing the progress each child is making and remembering the things we've had fun doing together.



*To read about any of the above mentioned curriculums we are using, check out my "Our Curriculum" page in my top navbar. To see any of the above mentioned books, and all that we are reading currently, check out each child's Shelfari in my sidebar.*







To see what others are doing visit Homeschool Creations and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.