Our First Science Fair.

I had never participated in a Science Fair. The schools I went to never held one. Not in Brazil, not in the US. Last year, my children watched a Science Fair at one of our local co-ops and decided then, for sure, to participate this year. So they did.

DS7 said he wanted to do some explosions. Now how does one do explosions safely in a Science Fair? He had studied and learned about chemical reactions, atoms, molecules and other fun things. His project came together slowly. It really took form a couple of days before the Science Fair.

In the end, we decided to experiment with vinegar and baking soda and see how temperature influenced the reactions. We had a blast. Yes, me included. Sometimes, I feel I am having a second childhood homeschooling my kids. There are so many things I am experiencing for the first time. :)
 

You can see the video/ experiment we put together of his Scientific Experiment on my YouTube Channel. Don't miss it. It's really fun. You can hear the kids squealing in the background and getting excited as the explosions and reactions happen!

DD10 has been reading, listening and studying Creationism for years. This year with the help of a microscope, we dove into the study of cells. You can see HERE the list of resources we have been using. So Cells: God's Creation was nothing more than the natural choice for the Science Fair.

Not only DD10 explained her reasons to believe in a Creator using the evidences she collected through years of study, but she also provided a 3D model of a plant cell. She was so excited to make the Cell Cake. We researched the web intensely and finally found a marshmallow fondant worth of our time. It was so much fun to play with fondant. (Although I would not recommend it for every day eating. It's not healthy food, you know.)

You can see some of the videos we watched on fondant HERE. The Study of cells videos are compiled HERE. And the drawing DD10 used as her pattern to make the cell cake is HERE.

BEFORE the Science Fair

AFTER the Science Fair... the cake was gone!!!

DD5 told me at the last minute that she wanted to participate too. "I want to do a Science Project about bones." We had earlier this year traced our bodies and began cutting out white paper to represent our bones. So we all gathered and together, we finished "her" skeleton.

Her question was "Why do we have bones?" Her hypothesis: "Because without bones we would be a blob." We used FREE clipart images from Windows, the dinosaur bones pdf files to cut out bones for her poster board. You can see HERE where I got the idea for the initial project we did last year. Because DD5 can't read yet (one syllable short sound words only) we had to use pictures to represent what she wanted to say. It was a fun project too.

However....

As I drove to the co-op, 40 minutes away from my house, I kept worrying about my kids' reactions if they were not rewarded for their hard work. I worried about people not following the rules; picking favorites, etc. I kept reminding myself what I had told my children days and weeks prior :"We are doing this for ourselves and for the Lord. It really does not matter what other people think about it. This is for our own learning and pleasure. If we don't get rewarded like we thought we should, we know that we did our best and the Lord is pleased."

Did you catch the WE in all those statements?? Yes, I included myself. I don't know about you, but homeschooling for me is very much a group effort. This was very apparent during these Science Projects. In our house, all 3 projects were a 10-hand effort. All of us helped each other.

The little kids helped DD10 to roll the fondant and make ribosomes and chloroplasts. All of us helped DD5 to cut out white paper and paste the bones for her skeleton. DS7 helped DD5 memorize her bones' names and parts. All of us helped DS7 with his experiments: one was behind the camera, another pouring baking soda into a bottle, another cleaning, cutting and paste.

What project in life do we tackle on our own? We might be doing the cleaning on our own, but someone is cooking our supper so that we can eat when we are done.

The Lord showed me that when we do a job for Him, many times, we will be misunderstood and even judged wrongly. But there is only one person's opinion that really matters: His. When we are done with our work, most of us humble ones (smile), know to give glory to God, because we know without Him we are nothing. At the same time, I can see His proud smile rewarding me for finishing, not giving up, persevering to the end. 

I was proud of my kids. Proud that they wanted to participate in the Science Fair. Proud that they knew their projects, that they were involved and excited about concluding them. For me they were already the winners!

When I know who I serve, whom shall I fear? When I know who I am aiming to please, who cares who is against me? When I know how loved I am, who cares what others may say?

There is freedom in living a life not concerned with other people's opinions. I really enjoy homeschooling. There are so many lessons weaved into our daily grind.

My kids did well. I knew they would. :)

What lessons have you learned recently though your homeschooling? Do you need encouragement? Then check out my GIVE AWAY Now!!!

 I hope you enjoyed the Science Fair post. Be blessed today,

Tereza

Give Away Friday: Encouragement for a Christian Mom

Hey! It's Give Away Friday again! 

My plan when I began this was to do a give away every Friday. But if you are like me, full time SAHM with 4 kiddos that you homeschool and got lots of things going on, you know it can get crazy.

I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time finishing what I start. I get all excited in the beginning and then life gets busy and some things just fall by the wayside. But I will do my best to persevere and keep this Friday Give Aways going!

In the first one, I gave away Teach Them To Your Children - An Alphabet of Biblical Verses, Poems and Stories. It ran for more than  3 weeks... I don't know how long this give away will run.. it will probably end with another post on a Friday or the first day of the next month with my Learning Log... I really don't know.... so, if you want to win "Parenting is Your Highest Calling" and 8 Other Myths that Trap Us in Worry and Guilt by Leslie Leyland Fields; you need to comment quickly. Don't hesitate. Do it now... Tell me one thing that worries you about your parenting or children. (And go ahead and click on the link for the book and read what other moms are saying... this book is amazing!)

As for the first give away... the WINNER is Misty.

You should be receiving an email from me or you can contact me at mytreasuredcreations at gmail dot com

 if you are ....

Now about "Parenting is your Highest Calling"... I don't know about you but as a Homeschooling Christian mom I am always looking for encouragement or advice in what I can do better. Most of the time, the books on parenting or homeschooling leave me feeling LESS than. Do  you know what I mean?

There is always something I am lacking. I am never doing enough and if I don't do things

this way or that way, then my kids are going to turn out so wrong they will never get a job, go to college, make it to Heaven... you fill in the blanks.

Leslie wrote one of the few books that REALLY encouraged me. Basically she says it's in God's hands. Yes, you have responsibilities as a mom and a Christian, but do we really think we are IN CONTROL??? Please don't fool yourself. Relax and enjoy the ride. Stop stressing.

So if you are like me: you worry, you are constantly re-evaluating curriculum, attitudes, etc etc... you need this book.

This book will make you see things differently. It will make you appreciate your family and who God has put together.

So leave me a comment if you would like to win the book. oh, yeah, the book is Biblically sound. At least, I think so. Ha!!

 And what the heck is that picture? That is the cell cake my DD10 made yesterday for the Science Fair she participated in today. I will do my best to do a blog post exclusively about the Science Fair. It was so much fun and we discovered so many gifts and talents. 

Will you come back?? :)

Blessings,
Tereza

Check out my List of homeschool resources for sale HERE.

Learning Log of March 2013

My existing boxes refreshed ready for seeds and new plants.

Spring is here!!! We have been busy this month. I say that every month, don't I ?

My oldest 2 were busy preparing for a Science Fair that will happen in April. I have been decluttering like crazy and selling things on Ebay. God was so good and I had the opportunity to meet a group of like minded Christian homeschooling moms.

To the left my winter garden: collards, kale, green onions and broccoli. We are so blessed to live in the northwest of Alabama and we really don't have much of winter, which I love. :) Now I am getting ready for Spring. My DH built us another 3 boxes this last weekend, and we had our first outdoor grilling of 2013. Green beans and mustard greens seeds are in the ground and I am germinating my herbs indoor for now.

I hope you can find some good links and suggestions of things, books or websites to use with your children. I am doing a give away and next Friday I will be announcing the winner and offer another great book. So if you would like to win a beautiful illustrated book on character and Bible for children, please go post a comment HERE.

Books Read Aloud to All

Dad is reading The Word and Song Bible by Stephen Elkins every night as well as for our daily before bedtime routine the books from the series The Imagination Station: (You will find additional activities and information about each book on the site).
* Secret of the Prince's Tomb # 7
* Battle for the Cannibal Island #8
* Escape to the Hiding Place #9

So far these are all the books released for this series. I am selling them all as a set. If you are interested in them please go HERE or email me at mytreasuredcreations at gmail dot com.

Why is mud so fascinating to kids??

* Amon's Adventure - A Family Story for Easter by Arnold Ytreeide - I have wanted to read this book for the past 2 years, but I thought my children were too young for it. Now, it's just the right time. This book will definitely be a keeper. It's written in a such a way that you can read a chapter a day during Lent or read a few for a couple of weeks before Easter. After each chapter, the author shares a Bible verse and a paragraph to think about related to the chapter. My kids are really enjoying the book, even DD5 is showing more interest in the gospel message. What I really liked about the book: there is lot of information about the Jewish ways of life, culture and belief. The book will transport you to the time of Jesus.I highly recommend it.I think we will definitely read this every year.

The trees are in bloom! Spring is here and the kids are in school. The park is all ours!!!

* Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do by Eileen Christelow
* Press Here by Herve Tullet  - interactive book. :)
* Wild about You! by Judy Sierra - love the illustrations... the mixed media artist in me loved to see the texture of paint brushes on the pages.
* Meet George Washington by Joan Heilbroner - Landmark Books 
* What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz  
* The Winter at the Valley Forge - Survival and Victory by James E. Knight - another book from the Sonlight curriculum.
* When a Dragon Moves In by Jodi Moore - The perfect book for Spring Break if you are going to the beach. :)
* The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore by William Joyce - some books I just don't get it. :|
* Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen
* The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer
* Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado 
* Home to Medicine Mountain by Chiori Santiago - This book led to a discussion about why we homeschool. 
* I want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen - another book that won an award. What for??? :(
* Tuesday by David Wiesner
* Lucas the Littlest Lizard by Kathy Helidoniotis

Spring is definitely here because we are outside playing with playdough.

* Lives of the Musicians - good times, bad times (and what the neighbors thought) by Kathleen Krull  - I had read about this book before and by chance, I found it in our library. So we read it and as to illustrate our reading we heard the Four Seasons and used Classics for Kids website that not only features the classical pieces but the history behind each piece and its composer, as well as worksheets and activities. I highly recommend it!!

Audio Books

* The kids have the files below in their mp5s to which they listen to every night at their choosing: Fairy tales and classic stories , worship music, Story Hour files, The Piano Guys, Jonathan Park and The Brinkman Adventures, The Chronicles of Narnia.

Homemade pickled ginger that DD10 helped prepare.

* The Hobbit -We haven't heard it yet, but it's on cue on my YouTube channel for next month. Or you can FIND IT HERE for FREE on Archive.org and download to your mp3 player.

* The Cat of Bubastes by A.G. Henty - DD10 heard this as an audio book this past month. We downloaded the files HERE. It's a historical fiction about Egypt.

* A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White, Jr.- 
I am done!! I don't think I got to the half of it... it's way too long and since I was only listening to it while driving around the speed I was going was way too slow. I would recommend it though. If you really like history and biographies you will enjoy this audiobook. If I had more time I would finish it, but it belongs to my library I got to return it so someone else can listen to it. :)

DS7 independent reading list:

 * Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems - he read this to his sisters out loud.

* Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judy Schachner - he read this book to his sisters out loud.
* Oscar and the Cricket - a Book about Moving and Rolling by Geoff Waring
*  Lego - Stars Wars - The Phantom Menace by Hannah Dolan

DD10 independent reading list:

* Misty's Twilight by Marguerite Henry
* Crime Lab 101 by Robert Gardner - Experimenting with Crime Detection
* Your Allowance by Margaret Hall - Earning, Saving, Spending - We don't do allowances at our home. From time to time, I will offer money incentives for odd jobs or completed assignments.
* Favorite Norse Myths - retold by Mary Pope Osborne
* Artist to Artist - 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About their Art - I found this

DD10 reading ARtist to ARtist book 23 major illustrators

book at a thrifty store last year and it's a beautiful book. If you have artistic children at home, I highly recommend it.
* A Room with a Zoo by Jules Feiffer - for the animal lovers out there. :)
* Amazon Diary - The Jungle Adventures of Alex Winters - 4th time checking this book out. :) Do you have favorites too at your library??
* The Apple and The Arrow by Mary and Conrad Buff 
* The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy - A to Z Mysteries
* The Kidnapped King by Ron Roy - A to Z Mysteries  
* Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow - 
* Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Velchin -  The link will take you to a website where there is a wonderful book review full of details and useful information about the book and author. I highly recommend this book. AT a time where many in our country are being deceived and have government as their god, we need to study history to see what it has done to people all over the world. This would be a great read aloud.

Playdough Rainbow Dash by DD10

* Clementine by Sara Pennypacker - read once more so we could give it away or sell it.
*  The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl - DD10 own review "This book is great. It's completely unpredictable. You know, how some books you can tell what the plot will be? Like the guys who is bad turns good, or the good guy is actually a traitor? Well, this one you cannot tell what will happen. I liked it." So I guess I will be getting another book from the same author at the library. What do you think? Do you kids like Roald Dahl??
* James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
* Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow - a book about dogs and post WWII, also in Russia. We are looking to read the prequel Finding Zasha. 
* Steal Away Home by Lois Ruby -  DD10 and I are reading this book together at night or when the others kids are occupied and all is quiet. We are in the middle of it and it's taken us about 2 weeks. The book is set before the Civil War during the Underground Railroad and current times. It's 2 story lines in one book. Read the reviews on the link provided to find out more. Another treasure found at our library. The book is interesting enough that although sometimes we go days without reading it, we want to pick it up and see what happens next. I highly recommend it!
 * Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice - this would probably be great for a boy, because it's the story about a boy whose parents are off serving the country and he has to live with his grandparents that don't understand him as well. It's adventurous, but open ended (my daughter didn't like that).
* The Encyclopedia of Horses Ponies by Tamsin Pickeral
* Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like by Jay Williams  

 

Making sushi with cotton balls, electrical tape and foam.

 Activities at Home

* One afternoon, we made cotton balls sushi craft. Instead of felt, we used foam stickers and pieces that we had laying around the house. As a follow up, we made real sushi a couple of weeks later with avocados, smoked salmon, cucumber, eggs and pickled ginger. We made our own pickled ginger, you can see HERE DD10 explaining how to peel the ginger root in a YouTube video. The kids did not enjoy the sushi rolls but DH and I goobled them up. 

* Unit Studies (not on purpose, it just happened!) - Composer Vivaldi... we heard the Four Seasons of Vivaldi ,
 
* DD10 is sewing again... creating her own designs.

* Preparing for Science Fair in April. Lots of research on Cells, watching videos, drawing, making lists, writing, writing, talking and discussion Creationism versus Evolutionism point of views.

* Stories of Adventure and Survival -  The Globe's Readers Collection - DD10 is working through this book. It's a book filled with short stories with writing exercises of comprehension and thinking critically.

* DD5 is working on ClickNKids that we purchased at the end of 2011. She can read all the short A sounds and we are now working with the short I and O sound words. I am using the Hooked On Phonics books I used with my oldest children, as well as Word Family Fun activities, Explode the Code 1, I Can Read It! book 1,

* DS7 and DD10 are doing the Logic of English Language of Arts curriculum together. We meet 3 x a week and for about 40 minutes or so, we goof around, laugh and learn about spelling, grammar and writing. The kids are enjoying and so am I!

* Lots of playing: in the mud; with playdo; outside; in the garden; in the park; on the Wii; with

The dance of glow in the dark sticks in our living room.

friends. We had a couple of playdates.

* DD5 was helping me the other day fold laundry and I videotaped her explaining how to fold socks. She loves to teach and boss her siblings around. I think she will be a great Mom. :)

* One night we had a black out for a few hours and I brought out the last of the glow in the dark sticks from last summer. Got to remember to buy more this summer. They are so much fun when the power goes out, or we swim at night.

Field Trips/ Activities Outside Home

* Karate classes - the kids are now in the intermediate class and sparring a whole lot more. It's amazing their growth in karate in just one year.

* Ballet and tap classes. Preparing for a Recital in May... the costumes are here and they are soooo cute! 

< As a side note and encouragement, I want to share with you how God made it possible for our girls to take these classes. Almost 2 years ago, when the girls began dancing I noticed that the studio was in need of cleaning. I figured the teacher probably didn't have anyone cleaning it for her and didn't have much time to actually do it herself. So I offered to swap services. I offered to clean the studio in exchange for the girls monthly fees. She accepted and since then every month I go there and sweep, dust, mop, clean and feel so good to be helping the teacher and making sure my kids are using a clean place. It was also a blessing when my DH work decreased and all of sudden the fees were just too much for our budget. Since the money wasn't coming out of pocket but sweat, we didn't fret. This month and last month, DD10 began going to work with me. She is becoming such a hard worker. She is so diligent and I am so blessed to work side by side with her. It's amazing the opportunities that God provides to teach our children the importance of work, service and the value of things, if we would just grab them. :) So be encouraged today, look around for the opportunities that present themselves to you. >

Our new pet: crawfishes that DD10 collected at the park!

* Lego Club - this month, the homeschooling Dad hosted the club on a Saturday morning and the majority of the parents were dads. It was a good time for all. They built things that go into water. They talked about buoyancy.

*An out of the blue trip to the park. I had to run to the post office so we just took a couple of hours off and went to the park. We collected crawfishes, checked on the frog eggs, lichens, mushrooms, moss, squirrels; played with children visiting from Iowa and enjoyed a beautiful sunny spring day.
 I decided to do some squats and lunges while the kids were playing and did not realize how out of shape I am until the next day. For the next 3 days I was so sore I could barely walk. :)

* Many trips to the library. Books, DVDs and any other educational items (toys included) are great items for libraries. What are you donating as you Spring clean?

Websites/ Links we found and used/ Apps

* Free Music Archive - where you can find classical pieces performed by orchestras... Here we The Four Seasons ; Mozart and Beethoven.

DD10 using Typing Web to improve her skills.

found the complete works of Vivaldi -

* Classics for Kids website -we listened to the programs about Vivaldi, Bach and used their activity sheets as complementary work, as well as listened to the music with the website above.

* Beethoven's Wig - more classical music with funny lyrics. Get your kids enjoying classical music.

*Animal Jam - According to DD10, it's awesome! It has animals, which she loves. Lots of social interaction, which is fantastic for a social butterfly. You do have to get a membership to get extra fun stuff according to my kids, BUT we are not members. Too much money for something that can get addicting really fast. I would say this is the facebook for kids. I don't do facebook, so what do I know!!?? Anyway, if you allow your kids to do social interactive websites and they are animal lovers, you might want to check this one out.

* Bozeman Science videos - For the science fair project, DD10 watched many of the biology videos on this website to prepare. Although, they are NOT from a creationist point of view, there is valuable information here.

*Typing Web - A few months ago the kids used the BBC Dance MAt Typing Game to learn how to type. Because of Animal Jam and all the chatting that goes one there, DD10 said she needed to improve her typing skills. So I found the Typing Web to be a better typing program since the exercises are more fluent and similar to real typing. You can create an account so you can keep up with your progress and it's FREE.

* Apps Games: Dinosaur War; Carnivores; My Little Pony;

Ballerinas and princesses like to swing!

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube

* The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe - DVD from our library.

* Over the Hedge - DVD from our library

* The Revolution - Disc 2 and 3 - a documentary on the Revolutionary War; from Netflix.

We are watching the videos as we read on the Revolutionary War. This documentary is really good, gives a really thorough perspective on the war that I never got in school or seen in textbooks for that matter. I highly recommend.

* My Little Pony; Doc McStuffins; 

* The Life of Jesus Christ - animated movie on YouTube. 

* Testament - The Life of Elijah - animated movie on YouTube- on this movie Elijah sings opera. I thought it was a very creative take on this story.

* The Life of Elisha - animated movie on YouTube - I think of all 3 this was my favorite.

* Spymate - a silly family movie.

* Good Eats on YouTube - we watched episodes on eggs and did our own experimentation with a variety of brands to find out which eggs where best.

Free range, grain fed, organic eggs?? which one is better??

* Thou Shall Laugh - The Deuce - Christian stand up comedy show on Netflix. So funny! The kids loved it! we will watch it again.. other than references to single parenting and being tempted by seeing a naked women, everything else was clean. Taylor Mason was really funny with all his puppets. He was a hit with the kids. You can watch him HERE on YouTube.

 Mom's Eclectic Reading List

* First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung - This is a dramatic story of family's survival that is torn apart by Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.... if you haven't read anything on this subject you might want to begin with this book. This is the first of a trilogy written by Loung who is a survivor and today lives in America. It will give you a new glimpse into Asian culture and the effect of communism.

* Becoming a Millionaire God's Way by DR C.Thomas Anderson - If you are NOT a tither or a giver, but a Christian this would be a good book to read to find out WHY these 2 things are very important.

* 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum - Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child's Learning Style by Cathy Duff - A friend gave this to me and by accident I read it. What a surprise! Inside I was able to find out what my learning style is, as well as, my kids learning preferences. Guess what?? We are doing exactly what we were supposed to. We are unschoolers, interest led learners at heart. :) I would highly recommend this book if you are doubting your journey, or struggling with a child. You might be able to find out what best learning style fits him. Read the reviews on the link, they are really helpful.

* Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

So that is it for this month! Don't forget to check out the Give Away and there will be more in the coming Friday. 

Blessings,
tereza 

Give Away Friday: Teach Them to Your Children

The book you could win!

It's Friday. This week was a hard one... we had some tantrums and hot tempers were flaring around our house... I don't know about you, but in my house that means that THAT time of the month is just around the corner. It's chocolate time.

I learned the hard way to just relax (even more) when school doesn't flow as easily and I am very on the edge. Why stress myself and anger my children?

Although, it's not easy for me to relax (I am a type A personality!) I do it for my sake and let the kids learn using media like computer, movies, TV, the android, computers, movies...

Anyway, the reason for this post... I began Spring Cleaning already. Anyone else??

I love books. I read a lot. Although I like to have books at my fingertips, I don't like to collect them. I love to see books lined up on book shelves but not in my house. The sight gives me the jitters. I hate stuff! I really do. I don't know where that came from but I don't like to have lots of anything. I love to go to the library, but don't want my house to be one.

The other day I was talking to another Mom about decluttering and she was telling me that she had to be merciless to do it. I told her that I thought I was doing pretty good but I still felt I had too much stuff. Just as an example, my walk in closet contains all my family's clothes... Mine, my husband's and all my children's clothing. I have 4 children. But every time, I go in there, I feel claustrophobic. No, it's not messy or disorganized. But all the shelves are lined with clothes, towels, boxes and things. There is not one little EMPTY space. At all.

A sneak peek of the inside.

So going back to the books... I am getting rid of my books. If you homeschool and are looking for some Sally Clarkson books, or the Maxwells, or parenting books... be sure to check my FOR SALE page. Right now I have some stamps there for sale and on my Etsy shop I have magazines and craft books for sale too. I will be listing my books on my FOR SALE page soon. So be sure to check back. Most of my books are like NEW... read a few times and in great condition, ready to go to another family.

So today I am doing a GIVE AWAY (the first of many!)... The book Teach Them To Tour Children - An Alphabet of Biblical Poems, Verses and Stories by Sarah Wean is a great tool for devotions and verse memorization. It's a hardcover book with a dust jacket. I would love for you to have it. We read it together for our devotions this past couple of months and I am ready to let it go.

Would you like to win it??

So just leave me a comment saying you like to win and if you read my blog at all (you already are a subscriber) then what you like about it the most. If you like to share, then go ahead and do it, and just let me know what you did: Facebook, twitter... etc... You get a chance for each comment you leave telling me how you shared.

If this is your first time here, be sure to subscribe to get a second chance to win the book. Let me know in the comments that you did that.

The winner will be announced next Friday when I will list the next give Away. :)

Blessings,
Tereza

Learning Log of February 2013

DD5 and DD3 making a Valentines' craft during our co-op.

The month of February was very busy. The kids prepared artwork for an Art Fair and we did more formal desk work using the Logic of English curriculum. I am also teaching DD5 to read using Hooked on Phonics and I am really tired. The learning log this month is not complete. There are a lot of information missing, but I am just too tired to go look for it.  The children also played a lot of new apps for Android and were really consumed by these new activities. I hope you find some useful info here.

I am now hosting Give Away Fridays!

Books Read Out Loud to All

Dad is reading The Word and Song Bible by Stephen Elkins every night as well as for our daily before bedtime routine the books from the series The Imagination Station: (You will find additional activities and information about each book on the site).
* Voyage with the Vikings #1
* Attack at the Arena #2
* Peril in the Palace #3
* Revenge of the Red Knight #4
* Showdown with the Shepherd #5
* Problems in Plymouth #6

DD10 working on her 3D artwork for the art fair

About these books... They are the Christian version of Magic Tree House books. They are entertaining and provide a good start to some of the historical events mentioned. DD5 and DS7 are paying more attention and anticipating the next chapter/ book. The books are a good starter point for great conversations, but they don't have much depth, instead they trigger curiosity to find out more about history and Christian content of the book. What I like about them is that they are "safe", don't contain magic (so far!) and the children in the book depict good behavior.

* For devotions,  I am reading Teach Them to Your Children by Sarah Wean (An Alphabet of Biblical Poems, Verses and Stories) to the children as well as The Awesome Book Bible Facts by Sandy Silverthorne.

*Valentines Day by Joyce K. Kessel

DS7 working on his mixed media piece for the art fair.

* The Adventures of Micki Microbe by Maurine Burnham Guymon - DD10 read this last year and we picked it up again at our library. This time, we read it out loud to all the children. Although some of the information is not accurate (i.e. vaccines) most of it is well worth the time. The story line really shows how we are surrounded by microbes and good hygienic habits are important to having a healthy life. The book provoked all sorts of questions and discussions. I highly recommend the book, if you can get a copy of it. The link is for a buy it now listing on Ebay.

* If you give a cat a cupcake by Laura Numeroff - I read this book to DD5 and then used Cupcakes Counting by 10s to play with her afterwards. We practiced counting by 10s up to 100. We then sorted the cupcakes by color; played what number is missing and spend some quality time together. I am finding out that with so many children a Mom has to consciously make an effort to spend one on one time with each child.

DD5 working on her artwork for the art fair.

* Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke - I find that it is so hard to find books that are 100% morally good. So I use the ones I find to teach the appropriate behavior. With this one, DD5 and I talked about the correct way that Princess could have talked to her Dad (the King) about her desires, instead of having a tantrum and being rebellious and disrespectful. This book would fit the Unschooling books category, if there was one. :)
* The Search for the Perfect Child by Jan Fearnley - I got 4 perfect children at home!!! hahahhaa :)
* I Speak Dinosaur! by Jed Henry
* Beautiful Buehla and the Zany Zoo Makeover by Gary Hogg
* The Tooth Book - A guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums by Edward Miller - Why do I have to send my kid to the dentist twice a year so a hygienist can clean his teeth? I think I am capable enough to teach him how to brush his teeth and make sure he is doing a good job. This book was a good starter for some good conversation about healthy teeth and gum and how we have bought into so many lies about them.

DD3 working on her motor skills by weaving.

* Matthew the Cowboy by Ruth Hooker
* Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
* Angelina Star of the Show by Katharine Holabird
* Owen by Kevin Henkes
* Mary's Tiger by Rex Harley
* Toot and Puddle - Puddle's ABC by Holly Hobbie
* The Old, Old Man and the Very Little Boy by Kristine L. Franklin
* The Skippack School by Marguerite de Angeli - this book is part of Sonlight curriculum and is used to illustrate American History. It captivated DS7 and DD10 interest. I highly recommend it.
* And then what happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz - I decided to read Abraham Lincoln's biography for President's Day, that sparkled interest in American History and we began watching a documentary on the Revolutionary War. So it just make sense to read this book on Paul Revere... also a book from Sonlight Curriculum.

The kids at co-op dissecting owl pellets.

Audio Books

* The kids have the files below in their mp5s to which they listen to every night at their choosing: Fairy tales, worship music, Story Hour files, The Piano Guys, Jonathan Park and The Brinkman Adventures, The Chronicles of Narnia.

* A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White, Jr. - Still listening to this audio book, hoping to finish it in March. Here is what I said in January: We began this audio book read by Bill Weideman. It's massive but so interesting.We are listening to it in the car as we go to and fro places. It can be a bit over my head sometimes, so I know the kids are not understanding every word. But I really think it's important for us to listen to hard book because we always learn something knew even if we don't get every word of it!!!

Rodents teeth and skull found in an owl pellet during dissection.

* A Series of Unfortunate Events - Book 2 - The Reptile Room 

* Whit's End

DS7 independent reading list:

* He still reading a lot of books I am not aware of. I usually find out because he will be talking about something and I ask "where did you learn that?" and then he tells me about this book and that book. So he is reading... what he wants and when he wants. I have tried suggesting some books and even "made him" read a couple, but his response is always "this book is so boring!" So I am strewing books around the house, and on his bed and letting him pick and choose.

* Lego Club Jr. magazines
* If You're So Smart, How Come You Can't Spell Mississippi? (The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses) on the Kindle
* The Lego Book by Daniel Lipkowitz 

DD5 practicing letters and writing words on a salt tray.

DD10 independent reading list:

Wasn't able to keep track of many books she read this month... I noted the ones below:

*Duckling Diary by Ben M. Baglio
* Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion by Suzy Kline
* About the History of the Calendar by A.E. Evenson
* Cool Physics Activities for Girls by Suzanne Slade  
* Jason's Gold by Will Hobbs  

* Write Away - a Handbook for Young Writers and Learners by Dave Kemper, Nathan and Sebranek. - I got this on Ebay a couple of years ago and DD10 is finally interested enough in writing to read it. Take a look at the link and the review there. It's exactly like it says, I don't need to repeat it. Highly recommend it!

DD10 monster sculpture done in salt dough.

Activities at Home

* Lots of playing: magnets, Legos, horses, playing house, cooking, making puppets and acting them out in plays. Also lots of DANCING. The kids watched some ballet videos on YouTube and that just triggered a ballet dancing frenzy at our home.

* I found Happy Hooligans and the owner of it has a daycare and provides so many activities for her little ones that she calls holligans. I used her idea for sensory boxes and brought out my craft supplies one day and let DD5 and DD3 play with them. They had a party dishing out pom poms, gems, buttons and foam stickers. I gave them some chipboard shapes and cupcake silicone cups and they went to town creating a restaurant, shop and selling cupcakes and other "food" they prepared. I highly recommend you check her website even if you don't have preschoolers, you might find some creative play for your big children also.

*  DD5 is working hard on her reading skills. She can read all one syllable words with the short A sound. We are using resources from Walking by the Way.

Building pyramids with plastic cups.

* DS7 is still building a lot. This month we used clear plastic cups as well as legos. They were everywhere. We also began decluttering our toy boxes and found some "new" toys we had forgotten we had.

* Lots of cooking... I am teaching DD10 how to bake and cook. She is really enjoying.

* LOTS of ART: We spend the month getting ready for the Art Fair. The kids worked hard to finish their projects during many days.
 * There will be a Science Fair in April and the kids are preparing for it by reading and researching different topics they are interested in. Will see what will come about.
  

* I am using The Logic of English curriculum as our Language Arts program with DS7 and DD10. It covers parts of speech, spelling and I am incorporating some writing aspects to it too. We are covering a lesson a week divided into 2 classes of about 30 minutes each. So far the kids are enjoying and it doesn't require a lot of planning on my part. I have The Logic of English textbook and the cursive workbook, as well as the Basic Phonogram Flash cards. The textbook is a teacher's manual too as it provides spelling lists, ideas for games and activities and the lesson plan. You can see more of it on this video.

I did the Phonemic Awareness with DD10 last year because although she is an advanced reader she has great difficulty with spelling. After we covered the Phonemic Awareness together, I noticed her struggles were diminished. We also began doing Denise's Spelling Videos on YouTube. It has helped her. DS7 is a great speller and has no trouble spelling words above his grade level. 

DD10 playing on cell craft.

The program is beneficial to both of them in very different ways:

- For DS7 who is in 2nd grade... he is learning what is a noun, adjective, compound words... he is also practicing his manuscript handwriting. DS7 is learning to put ideas together and turn them into sentences and stories.
- For DD10 who is in 4th grade... she is practicing her cursive handwriting, reviewing concepts she already knows of grammar and becoming confident in her spelling. She is also taking her writing to the next level.

What surprised me: the children are asking for the class. They enjoy the spelling dictation and love participating and answering questions. I hope this continues as we hit lessons that might be completely new and more challenging to them.This month we did the first 3 lessons.
 
* I have received The Logic of English Curriculum for FREE in exchange for my review.

 Field Trips/ Activities Outside Home

* Karate classes - the kids are now in the intermediate class and sparring a whole lot more. It's amazing their growth in karate in just one year.

Making a Panda T-shirt during the birthday party of a new friend.

* A birthday party - The girls and I went to a birthday party and met a family that moved to our town recently. It was fun to make new friends. They got to play games and did a panda craft.

* Ballet and tap classes.

* Lego Club - this month, the homeschooling Dad hosted the club on a Saturday morning and the majority of the parents were dads. It was a good time for all. They built things that fly and discussed laws of physics.

* This month we participated in a local Co-op that offers a 4H class and other activities. The children participated in an Art Fair, an owl pellet dissection and a Valentine's Day Party.

Websites/ Links we found and used/ Apps

DS7 mixed media artwork for the ARt Fair.

* Apps for Android: Ice Age Village; Carnivores Dinosaur Hunter; Carnivores Ice Age; My Little Pony;

 * BozemanScience - DD10 played the Cellcraft game again this month. She is getting ready for a Science Fair and wants to do her presentation on cells. So she has been reading on cells, watching videos on the materials and preparing for her presentation. She wants to do a salt dough model of a cell and an eatable one. It should be fun and time consuming!! ahahha On Mr Bozeman's website we watched A Tour of the Cell; Cellular Organelles and Why are Cells Small together. While checking out Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology Textbook from Apologia I discovered that their sample PDF file was about the cells. So I downloaded and printed the pages and DD10 read them all. She really enjoyed the sample pages and asked me to purchase the book for her.

DD5 practicing writing her short A sound one syllable words.

* Creation.com  - While at the Bozeman's website I watched the Abiogenesis video on how life began and as usual evolutionists provide a very contradictory explanation. So while researching about the Miller-Urey experiment I found Creation.com . I highly recommend you check it out. There are many FREE resources there like videos, articles and other materials. Here is a video from Kent Hovind on how life began.

DD5 artwork for the art fair.

* I have compiled a few Playlists on my YouTube channel and we have been using them: Study on Cells, Histories that are Horrible; Comedy; more playlists HERE.

* Games: Lego.com; Frogatto; Wolf quest;

New Lego creations by DD10.

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube findings

* Mr Bean: The Whole Bean - we watched the whole series together as a family. I think the best thing to beat the winter blues in some good comedy. I highly recommend it!


* The Revolution - Disc 1 from Netflix - This documentary is on the Revolutionary War and it's full of truthful information. Check it out and look at the reviews. I recommend it!

* Frogs and Toads - a Dutch movie on Netflix. Very cute!

* Chasing the Kidney Stone - another foreign movie, this time from Norway. Very interesting ,young Simon shrinks himself to miniscule size and embarks on an odyssey through the old man's body to seek and destroy the culprit: a nasty kidney stone. Caution: Costumes are very weird...can be scary to small children!

* Book of Virtues animated videos on YouTube;

* My Little Pony; Strawberry Shortcake; Oscar Oasis - on Netflix

Playing on Lego Creation website.

* White Fang - episodes on Netflix.

* Leap Frog movies on Netflix - reading, alphabet and numbers. - DD5 and DD3

* A lot of Angelina Ballerina, Horseland, Dr MacStuffin episodes; Go Diego Go!; Babar; Curious George; Sophia the First; Wild Kratts; Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood; Backyardigans;

* Economics Has Consequences - We began watching this and really enjoyed it. Here is more information on it from their website: "Abridged from the original 12-lesson series, Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr clearly shows how economic freedom is directly related to religious freedom, and that the loss of one inevitably leads to the loss of the other.
Where the original series is great for small groups, Sunday schools, and students, the new version is perfect for a single session at a church, an evening's entertainment for a family, or an individual wanting a quick intro to economics." This video is FREE on YouTube during the month of March and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in economics and High school students too!!

* Torchlighters - The John Bunyan Story - another great resource for your devotionals, church History or ancient History curriculum. There is a lot of bonus features on these DVDs with more historical facts, sometimes interviews and more. Because my kids are young we are mostly sticking to the animated movie but I would recommend you watch the bonus feature for more in depth information if you got middle or high school aged children. For Perpetua and Jim Elliot's videos we watched the bonus feature and the more detailed information was extremely valuable. 

DD10 mixed media piece for the ARt Fair.

 Mom's Eclectic Reading List

Sensory play for DD3 and DD5.

* A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

* Taking Charge of Your Fertility - The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement and Reproductive Health by Toni Weschler, MPH. - If you are a woman you should have this book on your bedside table. This is a MUST read!! I wish I had read this years ago. I borrowed this book from my library, but I will be purchasing my own copy. Check out the link and read the reviews. Very easy to understand and follow.


* There is more, always more.. so check my YouTube channel for videos and lessons saved there in my playlists. 

Yummy chocolate smoothie -->>> ---->>>>


Blessings,

Tereza 

I am cleaning my house and decided to down size the number of books and homeschooling resources I own... I will be selling some and doing some give aways too.

I am also downsizing my craft room and will be liquidating some of my inventory too.

If you are interested, please subscribe for my emails or follow me to be notified.

 Don't forget to check out my  Give Away Fridays!