MFW ECC and 1st Week 4 Highlights-Hello United States Part 2

It has taken us two weeks to finish up our travels in the United States. 

In Bible we learned Matthew 1:23. Immanuel means "God with us." We learned more about the Navajo   Indians. Our missionary hero was Harriet Tubman. Some of the character traits she lived out were joy, perseverance, and compassion. 

We read tons of cool facts about the US. We studied more about temperate forests concentrating on the layers and what animals inhabit those layers.  M made a diorama of a forest. 

Want a boy to get excited about making a diorama? Tell him what an awesome back drop it would be for his lego movies!!! 

We also took a field trip to the Hummingbird festival. The timing was great. We got to see the layers of the forest up close and personal. We sat in on talks about bats, hummingbirds and animals from each continent. 

L volunteering to mark the map during one of the talks.

Sister getting her face painted.

Our sweet friend holding a tarantula!!! She is by far the bravest cat in our group! 

Did I mention the kids got to touch a bunch of different snakes???

We found this snake skin while we were there in the bushes... So big that we tore it up and gave each kid some to take home Yuck!

What a great day! Learning at it's best:)

In 1st grade we talked a lot about wisdom and how God is always available to give wisdom to those who desire it.

In Science we studied how a seed grows. 

L finished his scroll of his very best handwriting. He is so proud of it. The scroll is to remind him of how God's word was written on scrolls. (They took very good care of the scrolls because if something happened to it it would have to be written all over again. )

LEGO CLUB

This has been a source of excitement around our house. The boys joined lego club. It is a club that uses the Lego Education curriculum. This semester they are studying simple machines.

Sis is doing great in soccer. She scored 3 goals in her first game and one in her second. 

This is our favorite place to hang out while the boys have music. This swing is ridiculously fun. 

Whew... A lot going on around here... So it's goodbye USA and Hola Mexico for us!

MFW ECC and 1st Week 3 Highlights-Hello United States Part 1

Hello USA!!!

We have moved from our backyard to the United States. We looked at many maps of North America and maps of the USA. 

 We labeled the different kinds of forests on a map. We also labeled our state with surrounding states on a map. 

While learning about different types of forests, we learned how to identify trees. We used a tree field guide to identify some the trees in our yard. 

In Bible we read about Dwight L. Moody and how he shared Jesus. We learned the character traits of repentance, boldness, and strength. 

In art we did Navajo sand painting. Since the Navajo Indians were some of the early inhabitants of North America, we wanted to do an activity to help us learn a little bit more about their culture. 

Sand painting is tricky:) you first paint with glue then sprinkle with sand. Shake off the extra and then repeat....soooo glad we did this outside.

L did a shark.

K did ocean animals.

M did a forest with a bald eagle. 

In 1st grade Bible we learned " If you really want to become wise, you must begin by having respect for The Lord." Proverbs 9:10

L did lots of great reading this week. 

We studied the parts of the flower and spent lots of time outside. We even took school outside when possible.

Another great week. Thanks for stopping by.

A Beach Get Away

We snuck off to the beach to enjoy some family time. Man, time at the beach is never long enough.

One of our favorite things to do... Feed our bird friends.

Wishing for the day when we get to go again!

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.

 

 

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!