Thursday, August 15, 2013

MFW ECC and 1st Week 2 Highlights

ECC Week 2 Intro to the World

This week in Bible we learned how people began to speak different languages. We learned that there is ONE God for ALL people, and that is good news for EVERYONE!

This week in Geography we learned the four oceans. Looked at a bazillion different types of maps, and learned about the symbols on a map.

We have been reading How to Bake an Apple Pie and See The World
 
Sooooooo.... Why not do a unit study on Apples??? We have a couple of kiddos that love apples and one that could care less if he ever ate another one, ever. 
 
We gathered a good selection from the grocery store.

We did a lesson on probability. We took turns grabbing apples out of a bag to see what color(s) had the greatest chance of being picked.



Our results.... Green won! 
We charted our results. She now writes her name! 
Next, we had to see if an apple floats? They had no idea.... I guess I should let them bob for apples!

Look what surprise an apple has hidden when you cut them crossways:) a star!

They then got to be taste testers to see what color apple they liked the best.


Yellow Golden Delicious won unanimously!

They labeled the parts of an apple.

Last we baked our apple pie and shared with friends at the park:)


In Science we have been learning what Biomes are and what kinds of plants and animals live in each one. Here are some some of M's favorites this week...


On to 1st grade Highlights

L has been learning how the Bible was first written on scrolls and how they protected God's word from harm. If something happened to it, it would have had to be hand written again!!!

He has been focusing on doing his best handwriting. We are making a scroll with his very best. Pics to come! 

In science we are learning more about insects and things in our backyard. We all learned about how plants grow this week. Some of L library finds...
They now know more about mosquitoes than I have ever cared about knowing. Nasty creatures. 
L and K absolutely love Upstairs Mouse, Downstairs Mole. 

L started music class this week. I can't believe he is in first grade!
Another great week. Next we move on to our 2 week study of the United States.





 

 












Wednesday, August 7, 2013

MFW ECC and 1st Week 1 Highlights

We are off to a great start this year. I can't believe we have a week behind us already. I was really nervous this year about how we were going to get everything done that we needed to in a day. After a day or two of tweaking our schedule, we seem to be in the groove again. I really like the way My Father's World includes all of the kids. Their approach seems to be a good fit for us.

Well here are our highlights...
Bible: Our verse was John 3:16. The kids made a poster of people all over the world to show that Jesus died for us all.
K was so heartbroken over the "sick babies" that she said she wanted them all over her poster so she could pray for them. 

Geography:

We learned the difference between a map and and a globe. We drew the continents on an orange, cut off the skin, and tried to lay it flat. This showed that it is really hard to get a true size of our Earth on a flat Map!

We did a map activity around the house. I made each kid their own map. They had to follow their map to find their treasure. This showed them how useful maps are to us. 

Then it was their turn to make a map. We started off with a map to Kroger. Then we added everything we could think off between here and there. This ended up being a fun map to drive our hot wheels on. 





M labeled the continents on a map...

Science:
We learned what a niche is. A niche is the role an animal or plant plays in our environment. 

We made an earthworm niche. We waited until it rained and then we found 8 worm friends in our backyard. We layered dirt, sand and oats to make their vacation home (mason jar in my supply closet.) It is really neat to see the tunnels they are making in the dirt. 

1st grade this week we are learning about the job of an earthworm. This tied in really nicely with what we were learning in ECC. We learned that worms are unseen heroes doing jobs that help the soil and plants. God wants us to be an unseen hero. Doing things for others in secret and receiving his blessing in return.


We also marked off one square yard in our backyard to see what we could find. We found a cricket, a spider,a tiny worm and seeds. 

Some backyard fun after all that learning....

Brace yourself Grammy:)




Now this one is going to give me a heart attack:/



 
M doing Reading with E:)

Great week. I am so thankful for the opportunity to teach my kids at home. Each year it becomes easier and more joyful! What a gift!











Curriculum Picks 2013-2014


M our 3rd grader will be doing:

My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures 

We will use ECC for Bible, History, Science, and Art. We are adding Apologia's Creation Series Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day for Science. We are also adding 5 Lamplighter books for character building. 

Math: Math-u-see Gamma

Reading: Christian Light Doors to Discovery

English: Rod and Staff 3

Latin: Latin Christina

Spelling: All About Spelling


L our First Grader will be using My Father's World First Grade.

This first grade package includes Bible, Phonics, History, Science, Art, and Music. 

Language Arts: IEW PAL, Rod and Staff Phonics

Math: Math-u-see Alpha

He will also be learning along side Marcus for History and Science.


K our Preschooler will be doing these ABC series from Rod and Staff, Letter of the Week and learning along side her brothers.

First Day of School 2013-2014









First day of school tradition. Doughnuts of course!


We had a great first day of school. The kids did great and we are excited about all we are going to learn this year.