First, I'd like to say that I left out something in the previous post on Wednesday, March 17. For his writing that day, he had to write about what he learned that day. Then on Thursday, March 18, while we were driving, I made up a tale about a white-tailed deer named Will who went to go find other kinds of deer. He went across the North American continent meeting other deer and had short conversations with each type after learning their names. He made comments on the differing antlers and such. Then he had to sneak aboard a ship and stay alive by eating grain, as he travels to Europe. That was the end of that segment of "Will the White-tailed Deer's Adventures ," until I can better research the deers of Europe, then he will move on to Asia and so forth. I'll be showing the boys pictures on Google images of different types as we go along.
*Tuesday, March 23: Proverb and bible story. Jade did a reading lesson (about a secret king who dressed up like he was poor to see how his people were), two math pages, and some Youtube videos (including the Omega 3 one which was listed with the last post with previous videos).
*Wednesday, March 24: Proverb and bible story. We went to buy groceries. Jaden has been pushing Liv in the stroller, and I keep Trusten in the kid's seat in my cart. I tell the clerk how much water I'm going to buy, and then we all go back to the truck. I unload the groceries and strap Trust and Liv in their carseats and lock them up. Jade and I take the water jugs back in to fill them. I can watch the truck the whole time through the front windows right beside the water dispenser. I love our grocery store! We shop at Ozark Natural Foods. We are co-op owners there. They are fairly strict about what they carry: no artificial ingredients or things like MSG, no pesticides, hormones, and definitely no GMOs. On the way home, I explained to Jade what was meant by "as the crow flies," when he was asking how many miles we had left to get to our house. I explained the difference in going along the road and "as the crow flies."
Jade had to write out the scripture verses:
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. -Matthew 15:8
For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. -Romans 2:13
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. -Ephesians 6:4
I had already talked to him about these, but I wanted him to write them, too, and to memorize them. This is because of what I discussed in my previous post. As for the last one, he's not a father, but he is like a father to Trusten, since he's the firstborn. Trust imitates everything Jaden does.
I'm happy to say that Jaden is working on changing his ways. He has a way to go, but he's doing well, and Nathan is also improving as a father. We are both trying to be good parents.
Youtube videos: Red Peacock (animated moral story), visuals of World Architecture, planets and stars size to scale--Our Solar System (Jade loved this one), biography of Amelia Earhart
*Thursday, March 25: Proverb and bible story. Jade did three writing pages (making lists), two math pages (intro to double-digit addition), and a reading lesson (Grimm Brothers). The boys and I read and looked at Jaden's newest issue of Your Big Backyard. In it, we read about different types of birds and the different types of nests that they make, and we read about three-toed sloths and some other things. Then I read to the boys a couple of the stories in the previous issue of Heaven's Family, to remind the boys of what types of things go on in the world and how thankful they should be. One of the stories was about some poor widows and their children, and another was about how thankful some very impoverished families were to have biosand filters in order to have clean water.
Youtube videos: plane and forest fires (computer-generated), California wildfires (2007), giant octopus (Trust wanted more octopus videos), octopus, and a moral cartoon story: "The Beggar's Laugh" (animated tale of wit and wisdom)
Oh! And here are a couple videos that I taped this day, of our flooded yard: creek and yard
*Friday, March 26: Proverb and bible story. Jade also did an Explode the Code lesson. He now has only one book left. The boys played outside in the water that was left from the flood, which wasn't much. It clears out pretty quickly.
Youtube videos: monarch butterfly metamorphosis, another monarch butterfly metamorphosis, a dragonfly metamorphosis, 1948 spiders and other arachnids, Discovery Channel spiders, "Treasure in the Fields" (animated moral story), "Dolls" (animated moral story)
*Saturday, March 27: Proverb and thankfulness lesson, where the boys learned how the Levites praised God. We also listened and sang along praise songs by Fernando Ortega, one of my favorite musicians/singers. Nathan also loves him, and he's practicing "Come Ye Sinners" as sang by Fernando with Amy Grant. He says he wants to get it perfectly. It's really sad that he didn't learn to play an instrument at an early age, because I think he could have, and he sings so well.
Tomorrow night is Passsover, and then after that the week of Unleavened Bread. Jade will be off a week from doing written book work. He may write some scriptures. He will definitely be doing one writing project, and all that will be revealed in this week's blog post at the end of the week. I'm hoping it will be a good week! :-)
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Time Travel, Birds, Nutrition, Technology, Weather, War & Governments & Religions, Morals
*Sunday, March 14: Proverb and bible story. Jade did Explode the Code. We all as a family watched The Time Traveler's Wife. Nathan had gone by the movie rental store and picked out a couple movies. It's a little ironic to me that we keep watching time traveling movies, and this topic keeps arising. The boys and I had watched that Meet the Robinsons which had time travel. Nathan and I recently started watching lectures about relativity and quantum mechanics. I've been doing a lot of personal research on such things. Anyway, the boys and I ended up watching this movie again the next day, after I answered some of Jaden's questions and explained how the guy traveling in time was not real, that he couldn't really do that. It was a neat movie, though, and he said he understood it so much better the second time. Nathan and I watched 2012, which did have some things that made you think, but some of the stuff was a crock, not to mention the movies Hollywood makes are SO far-fetched. It had to be miracle after miracle for the main characters to live through everything they did. I mean, they would have been dead I-don't-know-how-many-times.
*Monday, March 15: Proverb and bible story. Jaden did 3 writing pages in the 1st Gr. CC, 2 math pages in 2nd Gr. CC, a reading lesson in 2nd Gr. CC, and we discussed time travel and watched that movie again. Well, I halfway watched it and halfway did some writing while Liv slept. The movie mainly played again for the boys, but it was distracting me.
Trusten identified felt pictures and put them on our flannel board. Here are some pics of the boys this day:
This evening was the new month and also the new year. Jaden blew the shofar, and we had brownies for dessert.
*Tuesday, March 16: Proverb and bible story. Jaden and Trusten started out the day watching a Reading Rainbow dvd about family, as I was not out of bed yet. Jade did 3 writing pages, 2 math pages, and a reading lesson. We talked about what a crisis pregnancy center does and then went to town to the nearest one.
*Wednesday, March 17: Proverb and bible story. I literally lectured the boys all day long, explaining to them proper family dynamics, focusing on the role of a firstborn son and the younger siblings. I want Jaden to be a loving ruler over his siblings, to teach them by example how they should act. I want him to be able to constructively find things for them to do together when we're having adult conversations or when I have other things I must do. I also reiterated to Jaden and do so every day--when needed, that he needs to treat Trusten how he wants his daddy to treat him. I'm sure Jade would not like it too much if Nathan pushed him onto the floor or grabbed him by his shirt and shook him around, but he has done Trust that way. He also provokes Trusten to anger; this is a major issue on which we're working. Another issue is his lip service that he is giving us. We can tell when he's sincere and when he's not.
Yet another issue is that hearing and acknowledging instruction just doesn't cut it. Hearing and understanding is not enough. DOING is important. It was unbelievable one day that I told him what he needed to be doing, and he said okay, and so I asked him to repeat it back to me so that I knew he had listened. Well, he repeated it back just fine. He heard me just fine. THEN, astoundingly, he walked over to what he had been doing and went back to doing it, NOT doing what I'd told him to do. Talk about jaw-dropping amazement! A hearer and not a doer! Knowing what the command is is good, if one does it. Not doing it when knowing he should is worse than not knowing it! I will be assigning him new scripture verses to memorize, and that will also comprise some of his writing.
*Thursday, March 18: Proverb and bible story. We went grocery shopping this day, and I don't remember what sorts of things we discussed during this day. I didn't note anything. I don't think Jaden did any book work, though. Aha! I know what we did. We watched an Ice Age "short" on Amazon called "No Time for Nuts," which was yet another time travel video! The boys love the Ice Age movies; they have the 1st and 3rd ones (they saw the 2nd online, and I didn't much care for it). I thought it was a full-time movie and had seen it at a glance a few days before when browsing. Well, it turned out to be around seven or eight minutes long, a "short," as I said, so I found a cheap full-length animated movie they could watch. I chose Gulliver's Travel. I'd never read the book or had seen any movie on that. I halfway kept up with it as I did laundry and such, while the boys watched it. Interesting. The graphics and animation were lacking, but the story had a good moral. An evil astrologer sorcerer was working for both sides of two peoples to keep them warring with each other. A ship-wrecked doctor by the surname of Gulliver ended up on an island with the one people, and he was a giant compared to the tiny Lilliputians. Anyway, in the end he helped make it possible for the two sides to find peace with each other. It was the end for the trouble-making evil man. I explained to the boys that some people were indeed like that and lived to keep trouble stirred up for others. That's the way the evil powers of the world are doing among our real nations, keeping wars going against each other. Very sick.
*Friday, March 19: Proverb and bible story. Jade did a reading lesson. I really like his reading lessons, because not only is he reading aloud to me and answering questions, but he's learning things from what he reads. Sometimes it's history. Sometimes it's a moral tale. They've all been good, though. Jade usually does an Explode the Code lesson on Fridays, but he was exempted today.
*Saturday, March 20: Proverb. I did a thankfulness lesson with the boys today from Choosing Thankfulness. It was just the lesson that needed to be taught, too, because it taught that complaining and finding fault were opposites of being thankful. Of course, it pointed out that at times it was needful to do these things. I think it was eye-opening to Jade. I've told him these things before, as he often complains when I do things for him, without a thank you. But, his seeing and hearing it from that lesson made it somehow more real for him. It snowed this day. It was the biggest snow yet. It had been warm the days before, and we'd gone out with short sleeves. I had to bring my plants in; I explained to Trust that the snow might kill them.
*Sunday March 21: Proverb and bible story. There were two killdeer birds in the driveway bobbing their heads around. They were fun to watch. I got out our bird guide and read about them to the boys. Then later we saw a Northern flicker drilling at a rotten stump in the back, on the hill. I didn't know what sort of woodpecker it was myself, so I had to id it in the guide. I took a couple pictures of it, and I also filmed it. I got it on film throwing dirt with its beak from the base of the stump. I read in the guide that they eat ants in the dirt, so that's what it must have been after. I also looked up pictures on Google images to make sure it was the right bird, since it was a different flicker that they had pictured in the guide's entry.
We all watched a movie that Nathan picked up: Amelia. It was a decent watch, and the boys learned some about a figure in history, namely Amelia Earhart.
Jaden did not do Explode the Code. He will start it back Friday.
We looked at pictures online of various nations, especially island nations, and read about them. We located some of them together on our globe. At the boys' bedtime, I pointed some of the places we'd discussed out on their fabric map on the wall in their bedroom.
*Monday, March 22: Proverb and bible story. Jaden did three writing pages and read a story as part of one of the writing assignments. He also did two math pages and his reading lesson. We talked about many things. We talked about people frog gigging and crawdad capturing and how people eat those things. The boys sure weren't impressed about that. Jaden asked whether I knew anyone who had eaten a horse, and the sad thing is, is that I do know of one person who told us he'd eaten horse, as well as opossum and raccoon, in addition to all the other usual suspects. I'll never forget that man telling me that the horse was really dry. What an abomination...
We talked about governments and religions and how corrupt all man's governments and religions are, including the dominating government and religion of the United States. We talked about nuclear weapons, because Jaden asked me about what they were and what they did. I reminded him of the animated atom video he watched a little while back on Youtube. I briefly explained that atom bombs were created by nuclear fission. I talked about the horrible damage they cause and also about radioactive fallout and how a person needed a lot of protection from that, preferably an underground shelter. I explained to him that simply being in the house doesn't give us much protection from the radiation pouring in and told him you'd have to have a lot of mass between you and the radiation.
Jaden asked about man's technology and whether they could make storms and make other weather catastrophes. I told him that there was evidence that they could but that I wasn't sure how much of the bad weather, earthquakes, etc. was due to man's causing it, because much of it is still going to happen naturally. He said, "And that's God's causing it." I said, "Well, yes, he made the earth in such a way, and those things naturally happen; it doesn't necessarily mean he deliberately says that he wants such-and-such to take place at such-and-such time and place, although he does have the power to do so. I reminded him again of how we are living in the last days when man's knowledge and technology is increased but it will never match God's. I told him there is no telling for sure what all "miraculous" things man will do with his knowledge before the end of this age. I think he asked this about the weather, because he must have been listening the day before when Nathan and I briefly talked about earthquakes and such and how man has the technology via EMP to cause earthquakes.
Jaden looked at my February/March Birds & Blooms magazine while I was busy. I asked him later what he'd read, and he said he'd read about how to build a bird house.
As Trusten munched on a snack of carrots, I took the opportunity to talk to the boys about vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, the latter of which is what gives carrots and pumpkins and sweet potatoes their orange color. I told them we needed vitamin A for healthy skin, hair, nails, and vision.
***********
Some Youtube videos watched by the boys lately: sea star locomotion, sea stars fighting over a scallop, snail eats a sea star, brittle star eating a clam, shark vs. octopus, atomic and nuclear bombs in action, Hiroshima after the bomb (sad), The Three Fishes (highly recommended animated moral story; I watched it myself after Jaden asked me to watch it, b/c it was good), The Father and the Donkey (another moral story that I also watched with them), How does the body use vitamin A? , and Omega 3's
*Monday, March 15: Proverb and bible story. Jaden did 3 writing pages in the 1st Gr. CC, 2 math pages in 2nd Gr. CC, a reading lesson in 2nd Gr. CC, and we discussed time travel and watched that movie again. Well, I halfway watched it and halfway did some writing while Liv slept. The movie mainly played again for the boys, but it was distracting me.
Trusten identified felt pictures and put them on our flannel board. Here are some pics of the boys this day:
This evening was the new month and also the new year. Jaden blew the shofar, and we had brownies for dessert.
*Tuesday, March 16: Proverb and bible story. Jaden and Trusten started out the day watching a Reading Rainbow dvd about family, as I was not out of bed yet. Jade did 3 writing pages, 2 math pages, and a reading lesson. We talked about what a crisis pregnancy center does and then went to town to the nearest one.
*Wednesday, March 17: Proverb and bible story. I literally lectured the boys all day long, explaining to them proper family dynamics, focusing on the role of a firstborn son and the younger siblings. I want Jaden to be a loving ruler over his siblings, to teach them by example how they should act. I want him to be able to constructively find things for them to do together when we're having adult conversations or when I have other things I must do. I also reiterated to Jaden and do so every day--when needed, that he needs to treat Trusten how he wants his daddy to treat him. I'm sure Jade would not like it too much if Nathan pushed him onto the floor or grabbed him by his shirt and shook him around, but he has done Trust that way. He also provokes Trusten to anger; this is a major issue on which we're working. Another issue is his lip service that he is giving us. We can tell when he's sincere and when he's not.
Yet another issue is that hearing and acknowledging instruction just doesn't cut it. Hearing and understanding is not enough. DOING is important. It was unbelievable one day that I told him what he needed to be doing, and he said okay, and so I asked him to repeat it back to me so that I knew he had listened. Well, he repeated it back just fine. He heard me just fine. THEN, astoundingly, he walked over to what he had been doing and went back to doing it, NOT doing what I'd told him to do. Talk about jaw-dropping amazement! A hearer and not a doer! Knowing what the command is is good, if one does it. Not doing it when knowing he should is worse than not knowing it! I will be assigning him new scripture verses to memorize, and that will also comprise some of his writing.
*Thursday, March 18: Proverb and bible story. We went grocery shopping this day, and I don't remember what sorts of things we discussed during this day. I didn't note anything. I don't think Jaden did any book work, though. Aha! I know what we did. We watched an Ice Age "short" on Amazon called "No Time for Nuts," which was yet another time travel video! The boys love the Ice Age movies; they have the 1st and 3rd ones (they saw the 2nd online, and I didn't much care for it). I thought it was a full-time movie and had seen it at a glance a few days before when browsing. Well, it turned out to be around seven or eight minutes long, a "short," as I said, so I found a cheap full-length animated movie they could watch. I chose Gulliver's Travel. I'd never read the book or had seen any movie on that. I halfway kept up with it as I did laundry and such, while the boys watched it. Interesting. The graphics and animation were lacking, but the story had a good moral. An evil astrologer sorcerer was working for both sides of two peoples to keep them warring with each other. A ship-wrecked doctor by the surname of Gulliver ended up on an island with the one people, and he was a giant compared to the tiny Lilliputians. Anyway, in the end he helped make it possible for the two sides to find peace with each other. It was the end for the trouble-making evil man. I explained to the boys that some people were indeed like that and lived to keep trouble stirred up for others. That's the way the evil powers of the world are doing among our real nations, keeping wars going against each other. Very sick.
*Friday, March 19: Proverb and bible story. Jade did a reading lesson. I really like his reading lessons, because not only is he reading aloud to me and answering questions, but he's learning things from what he reads. Sometimes it's history. Sometimes it's a moral tale. They've all been good, though. Jade usually does an Explode the Code lesson on Fridays, but he was exempted today.
*Saturday, March 20: Proverb. I did a thankfulness lesson with the boys today from Choosing Thankfulness. It was just the lesson that needed to be taught, too, because it taught that complaining and finding fault were opposites of being thankful. Of course, it pointed out that at times it was needful to do these things. I think it was eye-opening to Jade. I've told him these things before, as he often complains when I do things for him, without a thank you. But, his seeing and hearing it from that lesson made it somehow more real for him. It snowed this day. It was the biggest snow yet. It had been warm the days before, and we'd gone out with short sleeves. I had to bring my plants in; I explained to Trust that the snow might kill them.
*Sunday March 21: Proverb and bible story. There were two killdeer birds in the driveway bobbing their heads around. They were fun to watch. I got out our bird guide and read about them to the boys. Then later we saw a Northern flicker drilling at a rotten stump in the back, on the hill. I didn't know what sort of woodpecker it was myself, so I had to id it in the guide. I took a couple pictures of it, and I also filmed it. I got it on film throwing dirt with its beak from the base of the stump. I read in the guide that they eat ants in the dirt, so that's what it must have been after. I also looked up pictures on Google images to make sure it was the right bird, since it was a different flicker that they had pictured in the guide's entry.
We all watched a movie that Nathan picked up: Amelia. It was a decent watch, and the boys learned some about a figure in history, namely Amelia Earhart.
Jaden did not do Explode the Code. He will start it back Friday.
We looked at pictures online of various nations, especially island nations, and read about them. We located some of them together on our globe. At the boys' bedtime, I pointed some of the places we'd discussed out on their fabric map on the wall in their bedroom.
*Monday, March 22: Proverb and bible story. Jaden did three writing pages and read a story as part of one of the writing assignments. He also did two math pages and his reading lesson. We talked about many things. We talked about people frog gigging and crawdad capturing and how people eat those things. The boys sure weren't impressed about that. Jaden asked whether I knew anyone who had eaten a horse, and the sad thing is, is that I do know of one person who told us he'd eaten horse, as well as opossum and raccoon, in addition to all the other usual suspects. I'll never forget that man telling me that the horse was really dry. What an abomination...
We talked about governments and religions and how corrupt all man's governments and religions are, including the dominating government and religion of the United States. We talked about nuclear weapons, because Jaden asked me about what they were and what they did. I reminded him of the animated atom video he watched a little while back on Youtube. I briefly explained that atom bombs were created by nuclear fission. I talked about the horrible damage they cause and also about radioactive fallout and how a person needed a lot of protection from that, preferably an underground shelter. I explained to him that simply being in the house doesn't give us much protection from the radiation pouring in and told him you'd have to have a lot of mass between you and the radiation.
Jaden asked about man's technology and whether they could make storms and make other weather catastrophes. I told him that there was evidence that they could but that I wasn't sure how much of the bad weather, earthquakes, etc. was due to man's causing it, because much of it is still going to happen naturally. He said, "And that's God's causing it." I said, "Well, yes, he made the earth in such a way, and those things naturally happen; it doesn't necessarily mean he deliberately says that he wants such-and-such to take place at such-and-such time and place, although he does have the power to do so. I reminded him again of how we are living in the last days when man's knowledge and technology is increased but it will never match God's. I told him there is no telling for sure what all "miraculous" things man will do with his knowledge before the end of this age. I think he asked this about the weather, because he must have been listening the day before when Nathan and I briefly talked about earthquakes and such and how man has the technology via EMP to cause earthquakes.
Jaden looked at my February/March Birds & Blooms magazine while I was busy. I asked him later what he'd read, and he said he'd read about how to build a bird house.
As Trusten munched on a snack of carrots, I took the opportunity to talk to the boys about vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, the latter of which is what gives carrots and pumpkins and sweet potatoes their orange color. I told them we needed vitamin A for healthy skin, hair, nails, and vision.
***********
Some Youtube videos watched by the boys lately: sea star locomotion, sea stars fighting over a scallop, snail eats a sea star, brittle star eating a clam, shark vs. octopus, atomic and nuclear bombs in action, Hiroshima after the bomb (sad), The Three Fishes (highly recommended animated moral story; I watched it myself after Jaden asked me to watch it, b/c it was good), The Father and the Donkey (another moral story that I also watched with them), How does the body use vitamin A? , and Omega 3's
Saturday, March 13, 2010
State Games, Thankfulness, Spiders, Birds, and Butterflies
Sunday, February 28: Nathan and Jaden went to the storage building to get a chain for the chain saw, and Nathan cut down some small trees to start on a log playhouse for the boys. Jade did Explode the Code, and of course we read our proverb and a bible story.
Monday, March 1: Jade did 3 writing pages plus a paragraph on a tablet page, 2 math pages, a reading lesson. I read a proverb, a bible story, an entry in the prayer book, and read the chapter in God's Design for animals on the introduction to invertebrates to both the boys. I've been reading more books to Trusten. I've been reading at least one book nearly daily to just him.
Tuesday, March 2: Jade did 2 writing pages; we did a proverb, a bible story, and an entry in the prayer book. I read a chapter in Swiss Family Robinson, and I reviewed where we were in Prepare & Pray. Then I found a free animated movie online for the boys, and the boys and I watched it together. It was called Meet the Robinsons. It had a nice moral to the story, I thought, and it also gave me the opportunity to briefly explain that a person cannot travel in time to the past and go back and forth from the present or past to the future and back.
Wednesday, March 3: We went to town on this day, and I didn't have Jaden do any book work this day. We just did our usual...proverb, bible story, and book readings.
Thursday, March 4: I am sick of getting too many catalogs in the mail that are only good for recycling. I hate that so many trees are cut down for this nonsense. I canceled seven catalogs, and since then I have remembered two more I need to cancel. If I want to buy something from any of these people, I'll go online and find their stores! I reminded Jaden of how so many trees are cut down for all this excessive advertising. Some of these companies give a catalog once a week or more! At least that is the way it seems. We get some of them a lot.
Anyway, Jaden William did 3 writing pages, a reading lesson, and 2 math pages. We did a proverb and a bible story. I got out the metal detector for Jade to use in the yard while I sat out on the front porch and read and Trust followed him around, and he unearthed some hunk of something. I'm not sure what it is. The boys and I raced out on the road a few times. That was fun and good exercise. Jaden also made a slingshot. He wanted to play Funschool after we came in, and I told him to try out the states games that he hasn't played in well over a year. He did well. This also reminded me that his Clever Island account should be canceled soon. I am going to assign him to work on his time, addition, and maybe a couple other things on there, and then it will have served its purpose. My dad gave him the subscription to that.
Friday, March 5: Jade did Explode the Code. I took away his toys and gaming privileges. I want him to have a heart of thankfulness, love, respect, and obedience. I reminded him and Trust how they should treat each other and us. Jaden has become unthankful, and I think it's because he has so much and doesn't realize how good he has it. We also looked at the pictures of me in my school yearbooks, and I discussed and demonstrated how prison schools...uh, I mean U.S. government [public] schools run, and Jaden thought he was being tortured. I told him that we had to actually go through it, including being punished for having to go to the bathroom!
Saturday, March 6: We did a proverb and thankfulness lesson out of the Choosing Thankfulness book. We spent much time outdoors. We all went walking through our woods, including Liv being held by Nathan. I held Trusten's hand. When we got back Jaden and I looked through the spider field guide and the bird field guide. We had seen a spider's empty egg sac on the the ground. The bird field guide was looked through mainly because Jaden decided he wanted to look at that, too. Oh! I've seen a bald eagle flying twice recently while out and about driving, both times in the same area.
Sunday, March 7: Nathan and the boys worked on the playhouse in the afternoon, but then the chainsaw cord broke. That figures. Jade saw and described a butterfly, so I took out the field guide, and we discussed the possibilities of what it could have been. I later taught Trusten about caterpillars, chrysalis, and butterflies, as well as patience when when I dry him off after bathing. He was wet and pretending to be a butterfly wanting to leave, impatiently. I said that butterflies had to be patient while emerging and drying off their wings. And of course I read them a proverb and a bible story.
Monday, March 8: We read Jaden's March issue of Your Big Backyard magazine. Some of the things the boys learned were about the ears of different animals and the different functions ears served for animals (hearing, cooling off, etc.), as well as the different locations and appearances of ears; the difference between hares and rabbits, shapes in nature, and bluebirds.
We looked through and discussed my latest issue of Arbor Day news. The night before Jaden expressed an interest in wanting to learn more about sea stars (sometimes called starfish), and Trusten has been asking about octopuses, so we looked at some pictures in a book we have called All About Animals by Childcraft. I then read the lessons in the God's Design for Science for animals on mollusks and echinoderms.
Jaden has talked a lot about numbers. He often asks the same questions over and over and tells me the things he understands over and over, just in different ways. He's clearly fascinated by math and numbers, which is great, but it's funny (or not so funny) for me, because that is a weaker subject for me. I am average in math (ranging from below average to above average in subareas). I can teach him all the basics of arithmetic, accounting, algebra, geometry, and more, and then beyond that he'll have to take online classes or go take a class or whatever, if he needs more math, because he's sure not going to get anything beyond the basics of math from me.
He also sometimes talks about states and various places at bedtime, because he has a world map and a U.S. map hanging on his bedroom wall. This is something he did this day.
Tuesday, March 9: Jade started off the day adding numbers and asking and telling Nathan about sums. He counted and counted while I nursed Liv before bible time. He did two writing pages, and we did all the usual other things.
Wednesday, March 10: Jade did two writing pages, we read our normal things, and we left to Arkansas this day to go celebrate my mother's 50th birth anniversary the day afterward. We chased tornadoes while traveling! So, we talked about tornadoes and funnel clouds and such.
Thursday, March 11: We read our proverb (didn't take the bible story book), and we went out to eat for my mother's birthday. The place we went had a carousel and lots of games and things for the boys to play. I'm sure Jaden liked that, since he has all that taken away at home currently. Then we went to a rodeo, which is something I'd never even been to myself. It was at the White County Fairgrounds where my dad is the fair manager. The rodeo participants were college students from ten different states. I feel sorry for those calves that are roped and slammed to the ground to have their legs tied. Jaden seemed to think it was great, and Trusten just kept climbing up and down the two stadium seats between my sister and me.
Friday, March 12: We ate lunch with my mother and aunt, and we traveled back home. We read our proverb.
Saturday, March 13: Ah! The sabbath was so welcome after such a busy week. I was so tired, though, that I didn't even do the boys' lesson today. I did do a little writing myself, and the boys started off the day watching the movie Solomon and Sheba. LOL! Trusten actually picked it out.
I think I have pictures to share, but I can post them next time.
Monday, March 1: Jade did 3 writing pages plus a paragraph on a tablet page, 2 math pages, a reading lesson. I read a proverb, a bible story, an entry in the prayer book, and read the chapter in God's Design for animals on the introduction to invertebrates to both the boys. I've been reading more books to Trusten. I've been reading at least one book nearly daily to just him.
Tuesday, March 2: Jade did 2 writing pages; we did a proverb, a bible story, and an entry in the prayer book. I read a chapter in Swiss Family Robinson, and I reviewed where we were in Prepare & Pray. Then I found a free animated movie online for the boys, and the boys and I watched it together. It was called Meet the Robinsons. It had a nice moral to the story, I thought, and it also gave me the opportunity to briefly explain that a person cannot travel in time to the past and go back and forth from the present or past to the future and back.
Wednesday, March 3: We went to town on this day, and I didn't have Jaden do any book work this day. We just did our usual...proverb, bible story, and book readings.
Thursday, March 4: I am sick of getting too many catalogs in the mail that are only good for recycling. I hate that so many trees are cut down for this nonsense. I canceled seven catalogs, and since then I have remembered two more I need to cancel. If I want to buy something from any of these people, I'll go online and find their stores! I reminded Jaden of how so many trees are cut down for all this excessive advertising. Some of these companies give a catalog once a week or more! At least that is the way it seems. We get some of them a lot.
Anyway, Jaden William did 3 writing pages, a reading lesson, and 2 math pages. We did a proverb and a bible story. I got out the metal detector for Jade to use in the yard while I sat out on the front porch and read and Trust followed him around, and he unearthed some hunk of something. I'm not sure what it is. The boys and I raced out on the road a few times. That was fun and good exercise. Jaden also made a slingshot. He wanted to play Funschool after we came in, and I told him to try out the states games that he hasn't played in well over a year. He did well. This also reminded me that his Clever Island account should be canceled soon. I am going to assign him to work on his time, addition, and maybe a couple other things on there, and then it will have served its purpose. My dad gave him the subscription to that.
Friday, March 5: Jade did Explode the Code. I took away his toys and gaming privileges. I want him to have a heart of thankfulness, love, respect, and obedience. I reminded him and Trust how they should treat each other and us. Jaden has become unthankful, and I think it's because he has so much and doesn't realize how good he has it. We also looked at the pictures of me in my school yearbooks, and I discussed and demonstrated how prison schools...uh, I mean U.S. government [public] schools run, and Jaden thought he was being tortured. I told him that we had to actually go through it, including being punished for having to go to the bathroom!
Saturday, March 6: We did a proverb and thankfulness lesson out of the Choosing Thankfulness book. We spent much time outdoors. We all went walking through our woods, including Liv being held by Nathan. I held Trusten's hand. When we got back Jaden and I looked through the spider field guide and the bird field guide. We had seen a spider's empty egg sac on the the ground. The bird field guide was looked through mainly because Jaden decided he wanted to look at that, too. Oh! I've seen a bald eagle flying twice recently while out and about driving, both times in the same area.
Sunday, March 7: Nathan and the boys worked on the playhouse in the afternoon, but then the chainsaw cord broke. That figures. Jade saw and described a butterfly, so I took out the field guide, and we discussed the possibilities of what it could have been. I later taught Trusten about caterpillars, chrysalis, and butterflies, as well as patience when when I dry him off after bathing. He was wet and pretending to be a butterfly wanting to leave, impatiently. I said that butterflies had to be patient while emerging and drying off their wings. And of course I read them a proverb and a bible story.
Monday, March 8: We read Jaden's March issue of Your Big Backyard magazine. Some of the things the boys learned were about the ears of different animals and the different functions ears served for animals (hearing, cooling off, etc.), as well as the different locations and appearances of ears; the difference between hares and rabbits, shapes in nature, and bluebirds.
We looked through and discussed my latest issue of Arbor Day news. The night before Jaden expressed an interest in wanting to learn more about sea stars (sometimes called starfish), and Trusten has been asking about octopuses, so we looked at some pictures in a book we have called All About Animals by Childcraft. I then read the lessons in the God's Design for Science for animals on mollusks and echinoderms.
Jaden has talked a lot about numbers. He often asks the same questions over and over and tells me the things he understands over and over, just in different ways. He's clearly fascinated by math and numbers, which is great, but it's funny (or not so funny) for me, because that is a weaker subject for me. I am average in math (ranging from below average to above average in subareas). I can teach him all the basics of arithmetic, accounting, algebra, geometry, and more, and then beyond that he'll have to take online classes or go take a class or whatever, if he needs more math, because he's sure not going to get anything beyond the basics of math from me.
He also sometimes talks about states and various places at bedtime, because he has a world map and a U.S. map hanging on his bedroom wall. This is something he did this day.
Tuesday, March 9: Jade started off the day adding numbers and asking and telling Nathan about sums. He counted and counted while I nursed Liv before bible time. He did two writing pages, and we did all the usual other things.
Wednesday, March 10: Jade did two writing pages, we read our normal things, and we left to Arkansas this day to go celebrate my mother's 50th birth anniversary the day afterward. We chased tornadoes while traveling! So, we talked about tornadoes and funnel clouds and such.
Thursday, March 11: We read our proverb (didn't take the bible story book), and we went out to eat for my mother's birthday. The place we went had a carousel and lots of games and things for the boys to play. I'm sure Jaden liked that, since he has all that taken away at home currently. Then we went to a rodeo, which is something I'd never even been to myself. It was at the White County Fairgrounds where my dad is the fair manager. The rodeo participants were college students from ten different states. I feel sorry for those calves that are roped and slammed to the ground to have their legs tied. Jaden seemed to think it was great, and Trusten just kept climbing up and down the two stadium seats between my sister and me.
Friday, March 12: We ate lunch with my mother and aunt, and we traveled back home. We read our proverb.
Saturday, March 13: Ah! The sabbath was so welcome after such a busy week. I was so tired, though, that I didn't even do the boys' lesson today. I did do a little writing myself, and the boys started off the day watching the movie Solomon and Sheba. LOL! Trusten actually picked it out.
I think I have pictures to share, but I can post them next time.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Roads and Land, Heathen Tribes, and Vertebrates Quiz
*Tuesday, February 16: I think this was the day we read Trusten's March edition of Wild Animal Baby, but I don't know what else we did or talked about.
*Wednesday, February 17: It was a sunny day this day, and the boys and I walked up the hill and looked around while Liv was sleeping inside. I don't remember what else we did, except they had the following Youtube videos: how to make lollipops (could not find one on commercially-made ones), magical nature alphabet (for toddlers and preschoolers), fascinating caterpillars animation, exactly how a car engine works (3D animation), and how air conditioners work.
*Thursday, February 18: The boys explored our dry creek bed. We later drove to Fayetteville, and I explained mile markers and exit numbers to Jaden. On the way home I explained Jct./junction meaning where two or more roads meet (or join) and that "junction" and "join" come from the same Latin root word (jungere, meaning "to join").
I explained the land dispute that we're having with our so-called "neighbor" to Jade, including a brief explanation of land plats, deeds, boundaries, etc.
We got a census letter in the mail that informed me that we should soon be receiving a census form, so I talked to Jaden about what a census was and why it they are done.
*Friday, February 19: Jade did an Explode the Code lesson. He spent time with Nathan learning how to use a metal detector as Nathan looked for some of our pins marking our land boundaries. He also went to town with Nathan, while I stayed with Trust and Liv.
I talked to Jaden again (as I have been doing) about the role of a firstborn, while adding details I had not before. I've been teaching him that he should make sure he's doing the right things, that he should set a good example for Trusten and that he should be Trust's teacher. I also lectured to him about time management, obedience, and more. I explained to him that if he does the right things and follows his daddy's rules that Trusten will then obey him (Jaden). He wants to boss Trusten around without leading and teaching him the right things by example.
They watched some fun Youtube videos...things like five monkeys jumping on a bed and a couple of decent cartoons; one was about spring and another about magnets.
*Saturday, February 20: We read two bible story entries instead of the one we read on work days, instead of a sabbath school lesson, because I had not prepared one. It was a fair day (mostly cloudy but not cold), so we spent some time outside walking around on the sabbath.
*Sunday, February 21: Jade did Explode the Code. We did our daily reading of a proverb and a bible story. I talked some on the not striving with a neighbor hastily, or he may bring you to shame in the end, and I explained to the boys (well, mainly to Jade, but Trust sits and listens, too) that our "neighbor" is a prime example of this. He has been brought to major shame, and it's all b/c he wanted to stir up strife. And of course, I read the boys each a book of their choice to them, as I do most days.
I was planning to make chicken fajitas for dinner, but Nathan suggested he take us out to eat. I reminded him that if we ate at a Mexican restaurant, the meat quality might make us ill. He said he'd take us to a nice one. So, we went to one that appeared upscale. Afterward I explained to Jaden how that was a prime example of how looks can be deceiving. The restaurant was nice looking outside and in, but the food was a joke. They didn't even cook my tomatoes or bell peppers, and I must have my tomatoes cooked now, or otherwise I will have an allergic reaction. I specified from the beginning that I must have cooked tomatoes, but it was ignored (although most M. restaurants cook them, anyway, but this one didn't even make fajitas with tomatoes, so I had to request them to be added). I had her take the stuff back to cook, but it ended up not being cooked enough, so later at home, I experienced a mild reaction. I downed some liquid vitamin C and drank a lot of water, and I ended up being okay.
Jaden and I played chess together before they went to bed. Afterward Nathan and I started watching Youtube segments of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which has been something I've wanted to read for a few years now. I do better reading something, but I go the gist of it. It took us two nights to complete it all. It was interesting, but it really brought out the folly of such folks, and I didn't much care for the vulgar pornograpic parts.
Monday, February 22: I'd been getting on to the boys again for going around without their clothes, especially their shirts. They'll often strip to their underwear, though, and then run around. I tell them not to act like heathens. Jade asked to see videos about heathen tribes (which I've shown before), so we watched some. I cannot remember the name of the tribes we watched this day, but one was the last known tribe that still sometimes practices cannibalism. Tobacco smoking was also important in this tribe. They would run or think about killing someone if they saw an outsider approach who was not wearing clothes. The people who lived in the villages who had converted to the Christianity religion (which, at least is better than full-blown heathen) explained this to the fellow who was visiting these tribes. He approached them naked, except a leaf covering his genitals. All the tribes were in Africa.
Jaden ate buckwheat cereal for breakfast this day. I usually make muffins, cereal bars, oatmeal, or something for breakfast, except on the sabbath. This day I didn't feel like making anything. Anyway, later in the day I was doing clothing bin inventory and putting away clothes and taking out clothes, and I had a couple small buckwheat pillows in a bin. I gave them to the boys, and I told Jaden they had buckwheat in them. He wanted to know what that was, and I told him he'd had buckwheat cereal that morning. I then showed the boys pictures of buckwheat and the plant. They even got to see the real deal, because Trusten got into one of the homeschool drawers, stole Jaden's scissors and made a cut into one of the pillows! I made him sit beside me while I stitched it closed.
Jaden did three writing pages, two math pages, and of course we did our proverb of the day and a bible story.
Tuesday, February 23: Jade did three writing pages, two math pages, and a reading lesson. We did our proverb and bible story. Jade did his school work on the front porch. The boys and I walked up our hill and to the deer blind. Jaden then practiced his archery skills with his bow. I got some puzzles down for Trusten. Trust loves to pretend to cook. Of course, both the boys do this outside. Trusten does this everywhere, though, including bath time.
Wednesday, February 24: Jade did a reading lesson, three writing pages, two math pages, a vertebrates quiz, and we read our proverb and bible story. I elaborated on covering up sins versus forsaking them and receiving mercy. We walked up the hill. Nathan and I started on our dvd lectures on relativity and the quantum revolution.
Thursday, February 25: Jade did a reading lesson, three writing pages, and two math pages. Proverb and bible story. Jaden and Trusten spent a lot of time outside playing in the sandbox while I read outside. Jaden made a house with a steep embankment near it, where he had a horse. Trusten pretended a stick was a person.
Friday, February 26: Jaden did Explode the Code. We then cleaned the house, and I cooked, to prepare for the sabbath.
Saturday, February 27: Jaden went somewhere with Nathan and stayed gone a long time, so we didn't get to do our sabbath school lesson. I took Trust outside to play in the sandbox while I read the bible.
*Wednesday, February 17: It was a sunny day this day, and the boys and I walked up the hill and looked around while Liv was sleeping inside. I don't remember what else we did, except they had the following Youtube videos: how to make lollipops (could not find one on commercially-made ones), magical nature alphabet (for toddlers and preschoolers), fascinating caterpillars animation, exactly how a car engine works (3D animation), and how air conditioners work.
*Thursday, February 18: The boys explored our dry creek bed. We later drove to Fayetteville, and I explained mile markers and exit numbers to Jaden. On the way home I explained Jct./junction meaning where two or more roads meet (or join) and that "junction" and "join" come from the same Latin root word (jungere, meaning "to join").
I explained the land dispute that we're having with our so-called "neighbor" to Jade, including a brief explanation of land plats, deeds, boundaries, etc.
We got a census letter in the mail that informed me that we should soon be receiving a census form, so I talked to Jaden about what a census was and why it they are done.
*Friday, February 19: Jade did an Explode the Code lesson. He spent time with Nathan learning how to use a metal detector as Nathan looked for some of our pins marking our land boundaries. He also went to town with Nathan, while I stayed with Trust and Liv.
I talked to Jaden again (as I have been doing) about the role of a firstborn, while adding details I had not before. I've been teaching him that he should make sure he's doing the right things, that he should set a good example for Trusten and that he should be Trust's teacher. I also lectured to him about time management, obedience, and more. I explained to him that if he does the right things and follows his daddy's rules that Trusten will then obey him (Jaden). He wants to boss Trusten around without leading and teaching him the right things by example.
They watched some fun Youtube videos...things like five monkeys jumping on a bed and a couple of decent cartoons; one was about spring and another about magnets.
*Saturday, February 20: We read two bible story entries instead of the one we read on work days, instead of a sabbath school lesson, because I had not prepared one. It was a fair day (mostly cloudy but not cold), so we spent some time outside walking around on the sabbath.
*Sunday, February 21: Jade did Explode the Code. We did our daily reading of a proverb and a bible story. I talked some on the not striving with a neighbor hastily, or he may bring you to shame in the end, and I explained to the boys (well, mainly to Jade, but Trust sits and listens, too) that our "neighbor" is a prime example of this. He has been brought to major shame, and it's all b/c he wanted to stir up strife. And of course, I read the boys each a book of their choice to them, as I do most days.
I was planning to make chicken fajitas for dinner, but Nathan suggested he take us out to eat. I reminded him that if we ate at a Mexican restaurant, the meat quality might make us ill. He said he'd take us to a nice one. So, we went to one that appeared upscale. Afterward I explained to Jaden how that was a prime example of how looks can be deceiving. The restaurant was nice looking outside and in, but the food was a joke. They didn't even cook my tomatoes or bell peppers, and I must have my tomatoes cooked now, or otherwise I will have an allergic reaction. I specified from the beginning that I must have cooked tomatoes, but it was ignored (although most M. restaurants cook them, anyway, but this one didn't even make fajitas with tomatoes, so I had to request them to be added). I had her take the stuff back to cook, but it ended up not being cooked enough, so later at home, I experienced a mild reaction. I downed some liquid vitamin C and drank a lot of water, and I ended up being okay.
Jaden and I played chess together before they went to bed. Afterward Nathan and I started watching Youtube segments of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which has been something I've wanted to read for a few years now. I do better reading something, but I go the gist of it. It took us two nights to complete it all. It was interesting, but it really brought out the folly of such folks, and I didn't much care for the vulgar pornograpic parts.
Monday, February 22: I'd been getting on to the boys again for going around without their clothes, especially their shirts. They'll often strip to their underwear, though, and then run around. I tell them not to act like heathens. Jade asked to see videos about heathen tribes (which I've shown before), so we watched some. I cannot remember the name of the tribes we watched this day, but one was the last known tribe that still sometimes practices cannibalism. Tobacco smoking was also important in this tribe. They would run or think about killing someone if they saw an outsider approach who was not wearing clothes. The people who lived in the villages who had converted to the Christianity religion (which, at least is better than full-blown heathen) explained this to the fellow who was visiting these tribes. He approached them naked, except a leaf covering his genitals. All the tribes were in Africa.
Jaden ate buckwheat cereal for breakfast this day. I usually make muffins, cereal bars, oatmeal, or something for breakfast, except on the sabbath. This day I didn't feel like making anything. Anyway, later in the day I was doing clothing bin inventory and putting away clothes and taking out clothes, and I had a couple small buckwheat pillows in a bin. I gave them to the boys, and I told Jaden they had buckwheat in them. He wanted to know what that was, and I told him he'd had buckwheat cereal that morning. I then showed the boys pictures of buckwheat and the plant. They even got to see the real deal, because Trusten got into one of the homeschool drawers, stole Jaden's scissors and made a cut into one of the pillows! I made him sit beside me while I stitched it closed.
Jaden did three writing pages, two math pages, and of course we did our proverb of the day and a bible story.
Tuesday, February 23: Jade did three writing pages, two math pages, and a reading lesson. We did our proverb and bible story. Jade did his school work on the front porch. The boys and I walked up our hill and to the deer blind. Jaden then practiced his archery skills with his bow. I got some puzzles down for Trusten. Trust loves to pretend to cook. Of course, both the boys do this outside. Trusten does this everywhere, though, including bath time.
Wednesday, February 24: Jade did a reading lesson, three writing pages, two math pages, a vertebrates quiz, and we read our proverb and bible story. I elaborated on covering up sins versus forsaking them and receiving mercy. We walked up the hill. Nathan and I started on our dvd lectures on relativity and the quantum revolution.
Thursday, February 25: Jade did a reading lesson, three writing pages, and two math pages. Proverb and bible story. Jaden and Trusten spent a lot of time outside playing in the sandbox while I read outside. Jaden made a house with a steep embankment near it, where he had a horse. Trusten pretended a stick was a person.
Friday, February 26: Jaden did Explode the Code. We then cleaned the house, and I cooked, to prepare for the sabbath.
Saturday, February 27: Jaden went somewhere with Nathan and stayed gone a long time, so we didn't get to do our sabbath school lesson. I took Trust outside to play in the sandbox while I read the bible.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Heat and Light & Cold and Dark, Temple Destruction, Passover vs Communion, and Writing About Self-Drawings
*Sunday, February 7: Jade did Explode the Code. I don't have recorded any of our conversations.
*Monday, February 8: At breakfast, while stirring his hot oatmeal, Jaden said that he wished God didn't make steam. So, I explained to him that he should actually be thankful for the steam for the same reason he thought he should be unthankful. I told him that steam was evaporated water caused from heat rising from the surface of his oatmeal, that it was what allowed it to cool. Over breakfast we talked about heat migration, which then led to my explaining that "cold" was a relative term and did not actually exist. Only heat exists. Cold is simply a loss of heat. The more "cold" something is, the less heat it has. I went on to say that light and dark carried the same truth. Light exists. Dark does not. "Dark" is a relative term meaning a loss of light. In the theory of absolute zero, there is no molecular movement. No kinetic energy. No heat, no energy. Complete darkness would be the absence of light. We also talked about wind, air currents, and thunder.
He did two pages in Grade 1 Complete Curriculum for writing and wrote four sentences about snow and played outside in the snow. He was supposed to write a paragraph and indent, but he did not. I intend to make him redo it, but I have not yet. Basically everything else was okay, though.
We talked about prophecy and the destruction of the temple after the bible story reading of the day. I told him about the "Wailing Wall," the western wall of the second temple that still remains...until the prophecy is fulfilled and not one stone is left upon another. I showed him pictures on Google images of the temple wall still standing. He gets amazed about things like that, the wall still standing after nearly two millennia.
Also he brought up the true feasts of God and the false ones adopted from the fornicating whore church from heathen religions. He said, "Those should be thrown in the trash can," referring to the latter ones, "and God's should not be in the trash, and that's how it will be when God's kingdom is on the earth, and right now Satan's kingdom is ruling." "Yes! You're right," I said. I asked what would happen to Satan and his fellow rulers behind the scenes. He rightly said, "Locked up!"
He also learned how to curl paper with his scissors.
*Tuesday, February 9: Jade did two pages of Grade 1 C.C. writing. He and Trusten watched ladybug videos on Youtube; two were about ladybugs being beneficial garden insects by eating aphids, one was how to draw a cartoon ladybug, and the fourth was a cute ladybug song. I highly recommend the last video for young children. I played it for them again and watched it myself. Afterward, Jade drew a cartoon ladybug.
After reading the bible story of the day, I explained what one of the side pictures and captions meant by communion or the Lord's Supper. I explained briefly the Catholic mass and the Protestant traditions vs. the annual observation of the new testament Passover that is commanded for true Christians.
Jade wanted to make some iced tea, so I instructed him, and he made some. He was very pleased with himself.
At bedtime, during story time, I talked about hermit crabs, including how I'd had one as a child and was pinched and bled. I also mentioned the time my sister and I brought some back from the Gulf of Mexico during our family trip to Florida one summer; I told him they died, I guess because they were used to saltwater or didn't have the right food. Maybe we just forgot to take care of them until too late. I really do not know why. Maybe I should look into this.
*Wednesday, February 10: Jade did one writing page in G1CC, one reading lesson in Gr. 2 CC, and two math pages in Gr. 2 CC. After Nathan built a fire, and Jade threw a wadded-up paper towel in the wood stove, I explained to Jaden about physical vs. chemical changes to matter. I told him if he'd have torn the paper towel into small bits, it would still be the same chemical structure. It would still be paper towel, just in little bits. As we stared at the ashy form of the now-destroyed paper towel, I explained that its chemical composition had changed now because of the fire. I told him some physically-broken things could be put back together, but once something is burned, there is no piecing it back together.
Jade decided to use some of his money to buy some green personalized pencils, so we found some online, and he counted out $12.98 for me.
We read the first chapter of "Skeletons in the Closet" by Gary Parker (a creation-based fossils book for children.
*Thursday, February 11: While reading the daily proverb, I explained in detail how and why a brother offended is hard to be won over again (Prov. 8:19) while playing it out with wooden people from his wooden toy set. We also discussed that to have friends you must be friendly and talked about laziness and wastefulness. In the bible story of the day, we talked about how Jesus prayed for all believers to be "one."
Jade did two writing pages, 1 reading lesson, and 2 math pages. We took a nice walk up our hill and walked around a bit. We read "Dinosaurs, Two of a Kind" (Trust's pick) and "Babar's Children" (Jade's pick) and discussed things with Trusten, because there was a quiz in the back of his book pick.
The boys played in the snow and the dry creek bed. That night we watched one of our movies again, "One Night with the King," which is about the Jewish queen Esther of Persia. I ordered some "Great Courses" from the Teaching Company.
*Friday, February 12: Jade did Explode the Code. We cleaned the house. Jade is doing a wonderful job of volunteering to do things. He helped make macaroni and cheese.
*Sabbath, February 13: The boys sabbath school lesson was about the sabbath being holy. After the sabbath, I played a game of chess with Jaden William, and I had to stop and lecture him about his need of obedience and getting his priorities straight before we could begin playing. After we finished playing, Jade cut out some paper hearts, and I helped Trusten start cutting on some paper. Trusten also practices snapping the clips on Liv's bouncer.
*Sunday, February 14: In the morning I played them a books of the bible song on Youtube. I played three different ones, but the one I have linked was my favorite, so I have a desktop bookmark for it so I can play it for the boys regularly. It's a little "rockier" than I'd like it to be, but it's not too bad, in my opinion. Jade really likes the rap one I played. At some point in the day I remembered it was the day many in our society keep, St. Valentine's Day, one of entirely-too-many Catholic holidays, this one being in honor of a supposed "saint" (says the Roman church) by the name of Valentine. After cleaning the house, we all went grocery shopping together. Well, I went in by myself, and the children stayed in the truck with Nathan. I picked up a pizza from the Ozark Natural Foods deli, and we ate that when we got back. We then had company come over. It was one of our friends Paul and his wife. That was the first time I met Lisa. We all had a nice visit. After they left, we watched a documentary on the "Dark Ages." Jade learned more about the bubonic plague, which is something on which I've briefly touched before, including explaining a song that children sing and dance to called "Ring Around the Rosies."
*Monday, February 15: Jade did a reading lesson, some writing, and some math. I briefly explained loans and financing, because Nathan got me a new truck: a 2010 Toyota Tundra Crew Max. I really like it! I do NOT like how it drinks gas. I listed that as an important criterion (it was his idea to get a new vehicle, and he's been pressing me for months), but that went out the window. However, I will say that it's been my favorite truck for as long as I can remember. I figured I would not ever have one, especially during child-rearing years. But, wow, the backseat of that thing is very spacious.
Jade talked about how he thought cold water is heavy and so falls (it was snowing), so we talked a little about how it all works. He said something rather humorous. He said the deep freezer, since it was cold, would drop from the sky. I laughed, and then I explained that it would fall because of the law of gravity. He said, "Yeah, but hot water goes up." Well, he thinks of everything.
On this day, it was also through him that I got a satisfactory answer for something I'd been pondering to God. I never brought up my pondering to Jade. I never have to. It's not the first time he has been used to answer my questions. He came up to me, and in his wisdom, he said, "I know how there is an end of numbers, and there is no end." My ears were perked, because what I had been meditating on was how God can say he's eternal and yet also the beginning and end. I'd been seriously thinking about this over the past few days before Jade came to me with this comment. He has talked about numbers and infinity before. It seems to come up every few months. So, anyway, I said, "Tell me." He said, "It's like a circle. With a circle, there is a beginning and and end, but it also doesn't end. It ends where it begins." Now, that may not be a direct quote, but that's basically what he said. Aha! I thanked him greatly, and he was so delighted and tickled. Well, maybe this sort of thing is obvious to some, but I often overlook the obvious.
Trust loves to play with water. This is okay, but it becomes not okay when he wanders off to the bathroom, grabs a cup and pours water into the toilet, and in the process gets water all over the floor. So, I cleaned up the mess, and I explained to him that whenever he wants to play with water to just tell me and ask nicely, and I'll get him set up with some stuff, as long as he does not make a mess all over the floor. I got an unused cookie sheet that I keep for the kids' play (b/c it was nonstick Teflon, so I stopped using it years ago), a large yogurt container (those I save back and reuse, too), some of the plastic measuring cups that the boys use for play, and a big plastic spoon. Oh, yes, I also let him play with one of my steel cake pans (that I do use). He was pleased with that, and he kept his promise by not making a mess on the floor.
*Monday, February 8: At breakfast, while stirring his hot oatmeal, Jaden said that he wished God didn't make steam. So, I explained to him that he should actually be thankful for the steam for the same reason he thought he should be unthankful. I told him that steam was evaporated water caused from heat rising from the surface of his oatmeal, that it was what allowed it to cool. Over breakfast we talked about heat migration, which then led to my explaining that "cold" was a relative term and did not actually exist. Only heat exists. Cold is simply a loss of heat. The more "cold" something is, the less heat it has. I went on to say that light and dark carried the same truth. Light exists. Dark does not. "Dark" is a relative term meaning a loss of light. In the theory of absolute zero, there is no molecular movement. No kinetic energy. No heat, no energy. Complete darkness would be the absence of light. We also talked about wind, air currents, and thunder.
He did two pages in Grade 1 Complete Curriculum for writing and wrote four sentences about snow and played outside in the snow. He was supposed to write a paragraph and indent, but he did not. I intend to make him redo it, but I have not yet. Basically everything else was okay, though.
We talked about prophecy and the destruction of the temple after the bible story reading of the day. I told him about the "Wailing Wall," the western wall of the second temple that still remains...until the prophecy is fulfilled and not one stone is left upon another. I showed him pictures on Google images of the temple wall still standing. He gets amazed about things like that, the wall still standing after nearly two millennia.
Also he brought up the true feasts of God and the false ones adopted from the fornicating whore church from heathen religions. He said, "Those should be thrown in the trash can," referring to the latter ones, "and God's should not be in the trash, and that's how it will be when God's kingdom is on the earth, and right now Satan's kingdom is ruling." "Yes! You're right," I said. I asked what would happen to Satan and his fellow rulers behind the scenes. He rightly said, "Locked up!"
He also learned how to curl paper with his scissors.
*Tuesday, February 9: Jade did two pages of Grade 1 C.C. writing. He and Trusten watched ladybug videos on Youtube; two were about ladybugs being beneficial garden insects by eating aphids, one was how to draw a cartoon ladybug, and the fourth was a cute ladybug song. I highly recommend the last video for young children. I played it for them again and watched it myself. Afterward, Jade drew a cartoon ladybug.
After reading the bible story of the day, I explained what one of the side pictures and captions meant by communion or the Lord's Supper. I explained briefly the Catholic mass and the Protestant traditions vs. the annual observation of the new testament Passover that is commanded for true Christians.
Jade wanted to make some iced tea, so I instructed him, and he made some. He was very pleased with himself.
At bedtime, during story time, I talked about hermit crabs, including how I'd had one as a child and was pinched and bled. I also mentioned the time my sister and I brought some back from the Gulf of Mexico during our family trip to Florida one summer; I told him they died, I guess because they were used to saltwater or didn't have the right food. Maybe we just forgot to take care of them until too late. I really do not know why. Maybe I should look into this.
*Wednesday, February 10: Jade did one writing page in G1CC, one reading lesson in Gr. 2 CC, and two math pages in Gr. 2 CC. After Nathan built a fire, and Jade threw a wadded-up paper towel in the wood stove, I explained to Jaden about physical vs. chemical changes to matter. I told him if he'd have torn the paper towel into small bits, it would still be the same chemical structure. It would still be paper towel, just in little bits. As we stared at the ashy form of the now-destroyed paper towel, I explained that its chemical composition had changed now because of the fire. I told him some physically-broken things could be put back together, but once something is burned, there is no piecing it back together.
Jade decided to use some of his money to buy some green personalized pencils, so we found some online, and he counted out $12.98 for me.
We read the first chapter of "Skeletons in the Closet" by Gary Parker (a creation-based fossils book for children.
*Thursday, February 11: While reading the daily proverb, I explained in detail how and why a brother offended is hard to be won over again (Prov. 8:19) while playing it out with wooden people from his wooden toy set. We also discussed that to have friends you must be friendly and talked about laziness and wastefulness. In the bible story of the day, we talked about how Jesus prayed for all believers to be "one."
Jade did two writing pages, 1 reading lesson, and 2 math pages. We took a nice walk up our hill and walked around a bit. We read "Dinosaurs, Two of a Kind" (Trust's pick) and "Babar's Children" (Jade's pick) and discussed things with Trusten, because there was a quiz in the back of his book pick.
The boys played in the snow and the dry creek bed. That night we watched one of our movies again, "One Night with the King," which is about the Jewish queen Esther of Persia. I ordered some "Great Courses" from the Teaching Company.
*Friday, February 12: Jade did Explode the Code. We cleaned the house. Jade is doing a wonderful job of volunteering to do things. He helped make macaroni and cheese.
*Sabbath, February 13: The boys sabbath school lesson was about the sabbath being holy. After the sabbath, I played a game of chess with Jaden William, and I had to stop and lecture him about his need of obedience and getting his priorities straight before we could begin playing. After we finished playing, Jade cut out some paper hearts, and I helped Trusten start cutting on some paper. Trusten also practices snapping the clips on Liv's bouncer.
*Sunday, February 14: In the morning I played them a books of the bible song on Youtube. I played three different ones, but the one I have linked was my favorite, so I have a desktop bookmark for it so I can play it for the boys regularly. It's a little "rockier" than I'd like it to be, but it's not too bad, in my opinion. Jade really likes the rap one I played. At some point in the day I remembered it was the day many in our society keep, St. Valentine's Day, one of entirely-too-many Catholic holidays, this one being in honor of a supposed "saint" (says the Roman church) by the name of Valentine. After cleaning the house, we all went grocery shopping together. Well, I went in by myself, and the children stayed in the truck with Nathan. I picked up a pizza from the Ozark Natural Foods deli, and we ate that when we got back. We then had company come over. It was one of our friends Paul and his wife. That was the first time I met Lisa. We all had a nice visit. After they left, we watched a documentary on the "Dark Ages." Jade learned more about the bubonic plague, which is something on which I've briefly touched before, including explaining a song that children sing and dance to called "Ring Around the Rosies."
*Monday, February 15: Jade did a reading lesson, some writing, and some math. I briefly explained loans and financing, because Nathan got me a new truck: a 2010 Toyota Tundra Crew Max. I really like it! I do NOT like how it drinks gas. I listed that as an important criterion (it was his idea to get a new vehicle, and he's been pressing me for months), but that went out the window. However, I will say that it's been my favorite truck for as long as I can remember. I figured I would not ever have one, especially during child-rearing years. But, wow, the backseat of that thing is very spacious.
Jade talked about how he thought cold water is heavy and so falls (it was snowing), so we talked a little about how it all works. He said something rather humorous. He said the deep freezer, since it was cold, would drop from the sky. I laughed, and then I explained that it would fall because of the law of gravity. He said, "Yeah, but hot water goes up." Well, he thinks of everything.
On this day, it was also through him that I got a satisfactory answer for something I'd been pondering to God. I never brought up my pondering to Jade. I never have to. It's not the first time he has been used to answer my questions. He came up to me, and in his wisdom, he said, "I know how there is an end of numbers, and there is no end." My ears were perked, because what I had been meditating on was how God can say he's eternal and yet also the beginning and end. I'd been seriously thinking about this over the past few days before Jade came to me with this comment. He has talked about numbers and infinity before. It seems to come up every few months. So, anyway, I said, "Tell me." He said, "It's like a circle. With a circle, there is a beginning and and end, but it also doesn't end. It ends where it begins." Now, that may not be a direct quote, but that's basically what he said. Aha! I thanked him greatly, and he was so delighted and tickled. Well, maybe this sort of thing is obvious to some, but I often overlook the obvious.
Trust loves to play with water. This is okay, but it becomes not okay when he wanders off to the bathroom, grabs a cup and pours water into the toilet, and in the process gets water all over the floor. So, I cleaned up the mess, and I explained to him that whenever he wants to play with water to just tell me and ask nicely, and I'll get him set up with some stuff, as long as he does not make a mess all over the floor. I got an unused cookie sheet that I keep for the kids' play (b/c it was nonstick Teflon, so I stopped using it years ago), a large yogurt container (those I save back and reuse, too), some of the plastic measuring cups that the boys use for play, and a big plastic spoon. Oh, yes, I also let him play with one of my steel cake pans (that I do use). He was pleased with that, and he kept his promise by not making a mess on the floor.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Snow, House and Body, Good Wife, Natural Disasters, Diamonds, and Ladybugs
It's been over a month since I've updated. We went on a trip week before last and so were gone for a few days. Before that Jade worked on his writing lessons, and we went through some animal science lessons. We read our daily proverbs, bible stories, and prayer book. He still does Explode the Code on Sundays and Fridays.
Youtube videos watched during that period were: acrobats w/ trapeze, a Powerpoint presentation on the six days of creation, lions, blue whale, "The Atom" animated, seal eating salmon, seal eating a fish, seals and penguins on coast of Argentina; and Crawford the Cat: Lets Everyone Play, Practice Makes Perfect, "Try a Bite" Club, Crawford & Harriet Work Together
My friend Angela came over on Jan. 6 with her two girls. She and I visited while the kids played. Another day we visited another friend Amy and her two girls at Barnes & Noble. I bought the boys a new Berenstain Bears book. Apparently they now have a bible-based series. We own over fifty BB books, and the boys love them. The BBs are Jade's favorite, which equates to my being burned out on them. Thankfully he's reading better by himself all the time (but he still likes stories read and sits while I read to both boys).
We've also had a lot of snow, which Jade has absolutely loved. He talked all last summer about wanting a lot of snow and that he prayed God would bring him snow. WELL! We've had plenty of it. We've already seen more snow than we ever have since living here, and we're probably going to get more.
It sleeted where we were while we were on our trip visiting family and my friend Lindsey. My dad pulled Jaden on a sled behind his MTV. Also the boys got to watch the movie Swiss Family Robinson, which is the book we started but have not yet finished. My mother bought the movie for them.
The day we left I had fixed muffins that morning, which is what I most often fix. Trusten wanted to watch and help. He asked, "What is that?" I explained to him all the ingredients that had to go into the batter and explained that it then had to bake. I said that all the ingredients had to be put together just right and in the right amount and had to be baked before we end up with muffins.
I said, "It's just like how we were made from water and dirt from the earth, but if you went outside and just mixed dirt and water together, you would get mud. But, if you put together certain minerals and things from the dirt in specific amounts and arranged it correctly with the water, then you could get our bodies or the bodies of dogs or tigers or other animals, depending on which recipe or instructions" you use. "Ooooh," he said. "I see." :-) Then both the boys listened to me explain different measures, and how it took two half cups to equal the same as a cup.
Now since we got back:
*Wednesday, February 3: I lectured Jade about how a house and the human body is similar. He knows a little about building, so I quizzed him about the order a structure is built. I then asked him to guess the which parts in our bodies to which those things corresponded. He guessed some correctly; others he did not, but he did a good job guessing. We talked about the foundation. Then I explained that our skeleton is our framework, the muscles our reinforcement/strength, our network of nerves the electrical wiring, the plumbing our digestive system and partly our circulatory system, our fat our insulation, our skin and glands (and most specifically the hypothalamus) our climate control (HVAC), and so on.
Jade asked about our bones, and I explained that they're mostly made of calcium, which is a white mineral. He asked why bones aren't completely white, and I explained it's because they are not 100% calcium but also have phosphorus and a small amount of other things and are also surrounded by our other blood and tissues. I told him calcium was a pretty hard mineral and that our teeth are also made of it. I then told him it was not the hardest mineral, but rather that diamonds are. I said, "Can you imagine if we had a framework made of diamond?!"
We also read some out of a book called Charlie Brown's Fifth Super Book of Questions and Answers. We read about machines, especially levers and inclined planes. This is a topic that we discussed not too long ago, but we didn't read there about it.
When we read our daily proverb, I explained to the boys some differences between a virtuous woman (or excellent wife, as the note renders it) and a lazy harlot. I explained that the former was good to her husband and did not lust after other men to commit adultery, she took good care of his children, kept a clean and neat house, and fed her family nutritious food. I explained that the latter disrespected her husband with her words and actions, lusted after other men and may physically commit adultery with them, didn't safeguard her children or keep a clean house. I told the boys that I'd read and seen people who had food and dirty dishes throughout their house and trash and dirty clothes on the floors and that such people often abused bad drugs. I said that some houses would be tearing apart and that some people even left rotting carcasses in the kitchen that would spread bacterial infection and would attract flies. Jade said that he knew those flies would hatch maggots on the rotting meat. I then said that I've read of people who leave their babies in dirty diapers for up to days, and they would have clothes soaked with urine and unchanged bedding that had urine on it. The boys were listening intently, and Trusten said, "Momma." I looked at him. He said, "People do that?" :-( I said, "Yes, some people do that. Isn't that sad?"
I also talked about how people and trees can be likened to each other and that just as trees could be struck by lightning, blown down by strong winds, rot, or cut down by someone who was not impressed with its fruitlessness; people who were unfruitful and wicked would also be uprooted or cut down by God.
We talked a bit about drugs: the good and the bad, the bad usage of the good, and the three categories/reasons of/for drugs (medicinal, religious, and recreational). This conversation was sparked, because Jaden was playing like he was a cheetah, and he came up to me complaining that his leg was injured and that he needed it put in a cast. I pretended to put a cast on it, and then I pretended to give him a painkilling medication by mouth. He took it, and then he gave me a look of uncertainty and said, "Was that good?" So, I briefly explained the good and the bad and the three reasons why we use drugs, which are made by God, and I also explained briefly about how synthetic manufactured drugs are mostly dangerous, both those made "legal" by the U.S. government and those "illegal" by the U.S. government that individuals manufacture (such as methamphetamine). I discussed briefly what horrible things happen to a person who uses meth and what kind of horrible things go into making it. Drugs can be good, and drugs can be bad. Food can be good, and food can be bad. God made them both for our proper use.
Jade did a reading lesson in the Grade 2 Complete Curriculum and a writing lesson from the Grade 1 CC.
Thursday, February 4: Jade requested to do a reading lesson from the Grade 2 CC. He's doing really well with it. He also wanted to do math, so he did some math in the Grade 2 CC book. The bible story of the day dealt with Christ letting those who helped others in need into his kingdom and rejecting those who did not help others (separating the sheep and the goats). I reminded the boys that we should want to help those in need and that not everyone had the blessings which we enjoy. One of our favorite organizations is Save the Children. I reminded him of the earthquake in Haiti and how Save the Children uses the money from those who donate to help the people get clean water, food, and other needs, and how other people use their time to go help. He then asked more about earthquakes, which then led to volcanoes, which led to diamonds (again).
Youtube: how volcanoes form, how earthquakes form, seismic waves inside the earth, how diamonds are formed, carbon and diamonds
Friday, February 5: Jade did his Explode the Code lesson. He made a ladybug habitat from one of the big yogurt containers that I keep to reuse. He is going to collect ladybugs from our house. I suggested he study ladybugs in this way, because we've had ladybugs in our house all winter. They have apparently hibernated in a wall somewhere and are coming in. We see them mostly around the window to Liv's room.
Youtube scheduled for today or tomorrow (Sun. or Mon.): ladybugs, controlling aphids with beneficial bugs, how to draw a cartoon ladybug, Frank Leto's Ladybug, Ladybug song
Until next time....
Youtube videos watched during that period were: acrobats w/ trapeze, a Powerpoint presentation on the six days of creation, lions, blue whale, "The Atom" animated, seal eating salmon, seal eating a fish, seals and penguins on coast of Argentina; and Crawford the Cat: Lets Everyone Play, Practice Makes Perfect, "Try a Bite" Club, Crawford & Harriet Work Together
My friend Angela came over on Jan. 6 with her two girls. She and I visited while the kids played. Another day we visited another friend Amy and her two girls at Barnes & Noble. I bought the boys a new Berenstain Bears book. Apparently they now have a bible-based series. We own over fifty BB books, and the boys love them. The BBs are Jade's favorite, which equates to my being burned out on them. Thankfully he's reading better by himself all the time (but he still likes stories read and sits while I read to both boys).
We've also had a lot of snow, which Jade has absolutely loved. He talked all last summer about wanting a lot of snow and that he prayed God would bring him snow. WELL! We've had plenty of it. We've already seen more snow than we ever have since living here, and we're probably going to get more.
It sleeted where we were while we were on our trip visiting family and my friend Lindsey. My dad pulled Jaden on a sled behind his MTV. Also the boys got to watch the movie Swiss Family Robinson, which is the book we started but have not yet finished. My mother bought the movie for them.
The day we left I had fixed muffins that morning, which is what I most often fix. Trusten wanted to watch and help. He asked, "What is that?" I explained to him all the ingredients that had to go into the batter and explained that it then had to bake. I said that all the ingredients had to be put together just right and in the right amount and had to be baked before we end up with muffins.
I said, "It's just like how we were made from water and dirt from the earth, but if you went outside and just mixed dirt and water together, you would get mud. But, if you put together certain minerals and things from the dirt in specific amounts and arranged it correctly with the water, then you could get our bodies or the bodies of dogs or tigers or other animals, depending on which recipe or instructions" you use. "Ooooh," he said. "I see." :-) Then both the boys listened to me explain different measures, and how it took two half cups to equal the same as a cup.
Now since we got back:
*Wednesday, February 3: I lectured Jade about how a house and the human body is similar. He knows a little about building, so I quizzed him about the order a structure is built. I then asked him to guess the which parts in our bodies to which those things corresponded. He guessed some correctly; others he did not, but he did a good job guessing. We talked about the foundation. Then I explained that our skeleton is our framework, the muscles our reinforcement/strength, our network of nerves the electrical wiring, the plumbing our digestive system and partly our circulatory system, our fat our insulation, our skin and glands (and most specifically the hypothalamus) our climate control (HVAC), and so on.
Jade asked about our bones, and I explained that they're mostly made of calcium, which is a white mineral. He asked why bones aren't completely white, and I explained it's because they are not 100% calcium but also have phosphorus and a small amount of other things and are also surrounded by our other blood and tissues. I told him calcium was a pretty hard mineral and that our teeth are also made of it. I then told him it was not the hardest mineral, but rather that diamonds are. I said, "Can you imagine if we had a framework made of diamond?!"
We also read some out of a book called Charlie Brown's Fifth Super Book of Questions and Answers. We read about machines, especially levers and inclined planes. This is a topic that we discussed not too long ago, but we didn't read there about it.
When we read our daily proverb, I explained to the boys some differences between a virtuous woman (or excellent wife, as the note renders it) and a lazy harlot. I explained that the former was good to her husband and did not lust after other men to commit adultery, she took good care of his children, kept a clean and neat house, and fed her family nutritious food. I explained that the latter disrespected her husband with her words and actions, lusted after other men and may physically commit adultery with them, didn't safeguard her children or keep a clean house. I told the boys that I'd read and seen people who had food and dirty dishes throughout their house and trash and dirty clothes on the floors and that such people often abused bad drugs. I said that some houses would be tearing apart and that some people even left rotting carcasses in the kitchen that would spread bacterial infection and would attract flies. Jade said that he knew those flies would hatch maggots on the rotting meat. I then said that I've read of people who leave their babies in dirty diapers for up to days, and they would have clothes soaked with urine and unchanged bedding that had urine on it. The boys were listening intently, and Trusten said, "Momma." I looked at him. He said, "People do that?" :-( I said, "Yes, some people do that. Isn't that sad?"
I also talked about how people and trees can be likened to each other and that just as trees could be struck by lightning, blown down by strong winds, rot, or cut down by someone who was not impressed with its fruitlessness; people who were unfruitful and wicked would also be uprooted or cut down by God.
We talked a bit about drugs: the good and the bad, the bad usage of the good, and the three categories/reasons of/for drugs (medicinal, religious, and recreational). This conversation was sparked, because Jaden was playing like he was a cheetah, and he came up to me complaining that his leg was injured and that he needed it put in a cast. I pretended to put a cast on it, and then I pretended to give him a painkilling medication by mouth. He took it, and then he gave me a look of uncertainty and said, "Was that good?" So, I briefly explained the good and the bad and the three reasons why we use drugs, which are made by God, and I also explained briefly about how synthetic manufactured drugs are mostly dangerous, both those made "legal" by the U.S. government and those "illegal" by the U.S. government that individuals manufacture (such as methamphetamine). I discussed briefly what horrible things happen to a person who uses meth and what kind of horrible things go into making it. Drugs can be good, and drugs can be bad. Food can be good, and food can be bad. God made them both for our proper use.
Jade did a reading lesson in the Grade 2 Complete Curriculum and a writing lesson from the Grade 1 CC.
Thursday, February 4: Jade requested to do a reading lesson from the Grade 2 CC. He's doing really well with it. He also wanted to do math, so he did some math in the Grade 2 CC book. The bible story of the day dealt with Christ letting those who helped others in need into his kingdom and rejecting those who did not help others (separating the sheep and the goats). I reminded the boys that we should want to help those in need and that not everyone had the blessings which we enjoy. One of our favorite organizations is Save the Children. I reminded him of the earthquake in Haiti and how Save the Children uses the money from those who donate to help the people get clean water, food, and other needs, and how other people use their time to go help. He then asked more about earthquakes, which then led to volcanoes, which led to diamonds (again).
Youtube: how volcanoes form, how earthquakes form, seismic waves inside the earth, how diamonds are formed, carbon and diamonds
Friday, February 5: Jade did his Explode the Code lesson. He made a ladybug habitat from one of the big yogurt containers that I keep to reuse. He is going to collect ladybugs from our house. I suggested he study ladybugs in this way, because we've had ladybugs in our house all winter. They have apparently hibernated in a wall somewhere and are coming in. We see them mostly around the window to Liv's room.
Youtube scheduled for today or tomorrow (Sun. or Mon.): ladybugs, controlling aphids with beneficial bugs, how to draw a cartoon ladybug, Frank Leto's Ladybug, Ladybug song
Until next time....
Monday, January 4, 2010
A Break From Written Work, Snow for Jade!
I like how things have been going...reminds me of how it used to be before Trusten was born. I've gone more slowly with the "going-in-order" books. Jade has about a month's worth of his first grade writing lessons left, and then we'll start on Complete Curriculum for Grade 2. In science, we just do whatever comes up on a certain day, and if nothing does, then I'll usually do a lesson in the animal science book, and then they watch related videos when it's Youtube time, and we may look at other books that share related material. I really like it this way. Same with history. We've finished the Drive Thru History dvd series. It won't be the only time they're watched. We haven't done any book history work on a regular basis for may months. We'll soon start Volume 1 of Mystery of History, which teaches world history in a way that the history recorded in the bible is taught chronologically alongside history in other parts of the world (like the Far East).
I just instituted a break from required written and almost all book work. I will just read to the boys each day the following: a chapter from Proverbs daily, a bible story from Bible Stories, a book that is Trust's pick of the day, and some chapters from Swiss Family Robinson. I would like to read at least five more chapters of the SFR to them over the next two weeks. Then we'll continue Prepare and Pray.
Some things we've done since the last update:
*Bible Stories: money changers, born again, Jesus sending out his disciples, the sower and the soils, Jesus teaching how to pray, John the Baptist's death, Jesus feeding the hungry crowd, and Jesus and Peter walking on the water
*Sabbath School lessons: "God's House" (respect in church, appropriate things to do on the sabbath, inappropriate things to do on the sabbath) and "God Created Non-Living Things"
*Explode the Code: Jade finished his fifth EtC book, Explode the Code 3. He finished that book with a 90% average, which is the same average he made on the other book. FANTASTIC! It's too bad that he could have done even better, as there were a couple lessons on which he fooled around and hurried through it. One of those he only scored a 71%. In case anyone is wondering, this is the only thing I grade, except for tests (and he's only had those in his science books so far). The stuff in Complete Curriculum I work on with him pretty closely. Everything he gets wrong on that stuff, I usually make him correct. Other things I may correct with my red pen, but I don't give him grades. The only grades I have ever given is on EtC and science tests.
*Bible Prayers for Bedtime: We dont' do these at bedtime but rather at reading time, after we read the bible. The lessons since the last update have been how to pray for safety/deliverance, how to pray when we need help with a problem, asking God what to do when someone argues with us, praying to know God, obeying God when God tells us to do something after prayer that may seem strange, and praying for a miracle.
*Ice experiment: We froze cubes of water and cubes of freshly juiced orange juice. I let the boys try to gently bite into the frozen water cubes and then the orange cubes to see which was harder. I asked them why they thought fruit juice popsicles are softer than plain water ice. Jade said because the juice had other things in it. I told him he was right and explained more specifically that the water froze in large crystals, but when the other components of juice were mixed in, that water froze in smaller ice crystals, resulting in softer ice. It's the right time of year for ice experiments. We even have snow on the ground now! :-) Jade has had a lot of fun in it. Trusten doesn't like to be out there for long. We all three spent some time out there today while Liv sat in her bouncer chair positioned so that she could look outside.
*Writing: verbs, adjectives, and pronouns
*Animals: in God's Design for Science we finished studying amphibians and started on reptiles and then read more about lizards and snakes. Jade even got on the floor to try moving in the four ways different snakes move across the ground.
*Youtube: benefits of coconut, whole foods vs. processed foods, top 10 worst foods, historical accuracy of the bible, Keith Hunt's part 1 of Matthew 24, snakes eating eggs and animals, rattlesnake attacking person on live television, lizard walking on water, gila monster, komodo dragon. Also I have found these "Crawford the Cat" 5-minute cartoons on Youtube. I've been showing the boys 1 or 2 a day. So far they have watched ones on: putting away toys, please and thank you, hand washing, tooth brushing, good table manners, and putting on a coat
Well, Jade and I have had a LOT of interesting conversations, and I sure can't remember them all. But, I've enjoyed the way we've been doing things for sure. He's learning what he wants to know, and I've had fun teaching him. Same goes for Trust, but Jade asks more things that require in-depth conversations. I've also started telling the bedtime stories again about Randolph the grasshopper and all his friends. He has had a wife for awhile now, Sasha. They just recently had children. The stories of late have focused a lot on the children, especially Daniel. R. and S. had 100 children. One of them was a foolish child who was killed and eaten by a bird, because he disobeyed his father's instructions not to go out onto the rocky places outside of the grass where he could be seen more easily by predators. Since that child had done that so many times before w/o being harmed, he didn't trust/believe his father. Well, one day his "luck" ran out. I explained that just because a person doesn't always get hurt from disobeying a parent's rules or may not even understand the reasoning for a rule, it doesn't mean the rule is invalid and that one day you may finally pay the consequences. I always relate things back to God's Law and the love it shows. We should always trust/belive and obey him. Many say they believe Him, but in works (by disobeying His Law) they deny Him. Whenever the boys disobey us, I ask them why they didn't believe us, why didn't they trust us enough to obey.
Daniel is discussed most often. He is a wise son, and he's very studious. He likes to visit the library and museums and explore nature. He loves to ask questions and has a good relationship with his parents. Daniel recently started studying reproduction among animals and how different animals reproduce in different ways. Daniel also recently visited with one of his friends, Adam a ladybug, and Adam tried selling him a pack of gum (all natural from the trees in the nearby forest) for cheap. Daniel asked where Adam got the gum, since he knew that gum sold in the marketplace for more money. He discovered that Adam stole the gum from an ant that Adam knew. Daniel refused to buy the stolen treat and told Adam he had better return it. Daniel told his parents what had happened, and they advised that Daniel should not be friends with Adam anymore, unless he repented of his misdeed. I asked the boys what they would do if a friend tried selling them something they knew was stolen. Jade said that was a hard question. I said, "Because it would be very tempting, wouldn't it, because you know you would not have to spend as much of your allowance as you would at the market." He said, "Yes, and because it would be a good treat." I then reminded him of what I call the silver rule (most know this as the "golden rule": do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but the golden rule TRULY is to do unto God the way He wants us to do). He said he would not want anyone to do that to him and so he would refuse the treat. :-)
Okay...well, I've run out of time, so that's it for now.
I just instituted a break from required written and almost all book work. I will just read to the boys each day the following: a chapter from Proverbs daily, a bible story from Bible Stories, a book that is Trust's pick of the day, and some chapters from Swiss Family Robinson. I would like to read at least five more chapters of the SFR to them over the next two weeks. Then we'll continue Prepare and Pray.
Some things we've done since the last update:
*Bible Stories: money changers, born again, Jesus sending out his disciples, the sower and the soils, Jesus teaching how to pray, John the Baptist's death, Jesus feeding the hungry crowd, and Jesus and Peter walking on the water
*Sabbath School lessons: "God's House" (respect in church, appropriate things to do on the sabbath, inappropriate things to do on the sabbath) and "God Created Non-Living Things"
*Explode the Code: Jade finished his fifth EtC book, Explode the Code 3. He finished that book with a 90% average, which is the same average he made on the other book. FANTASTIC! It's too bad that he could have done even better, as there were a couple lessons on which he fooled around and hurried through it. One of those he only scored a 71%. In case anyone is wondering, this is the only thing I grade, except for tests (and he's only had those in his science books so far). The stuff in Complete Curriculum I work on with him pretty closely. Everything he gets wrong on that stuff, I usually make him correct. Other things I may correct with my red pen, but I don't give him grades. The only grades I have ever given is on EtC and science tests.
*Bible Prayers for Bedtime: We dont' do these at bedtime but rather at reading time, after we read the bible. The lessons since the last update have been how to pray for safety/deliverance, how to pray when we need help with a problem, asking God what to do when someone argues with us, praying to know God, obeying God when God tells us to do something after prayer that may seem strange, and praying for a miracle.
*Ice experiment: We froze cubes of water and cubes of freshly juiced orange juice. I let the boys try to gently bite into the frozen water cubes and then the orange cubes to see which was harder. I asked them why they thought fruit juice popsicles are softer than plain water ice. Jade said because the juice had other things in it. I told him he was right and explained more specifically that the water froze in large crystals, but when the other components of juice were mixed in, that water froze in smaller ice crystals, resulting in softer ice. It's the right time of year for ice experiments. We even have snow on the ground now! :-) Jade has had a lot of fun in it. Trusten doesn't like to be out there for long. We all three spent some time out there today while Liv sat in her bouncer chair positioned so that she could look outside.
*Writing: verbs, adjectives, and pronouns
*Animals: in God's Design for Science we finished studying amphibians and started on reptiles and then read more about lizards and snakes. Jade even got on the floor to try moving in the four ways different snakes move across the ground.
*Youtube: benefits of coconut, whole foods vs. processed foods, top 10 worst foods, historical accuracy of the bible, Keith Hunt's part 1 of Matthew 24, snakes eating eggs and animals, rattlesnake attacking person on live television, lizard walking on water, gila monster, komodo dragon. Also I have found these "Crawford the Cat" 5-minute cartoons on Youtube. I've been showing the boys 1 or 2 a day. So far they have watched ones on: putting away toys, please and thank you, hand washing, tooth brushing, good table manners, and putting on a coat
Well, Jade and I have had a LOT of interesting conversations, and I sure can't remember them all. But, I've enjoyed the way we've been doing things for sure. He's learning what he wants to know, and I've had fun teaching him. Same goes for Trust, but Jade asks more things that require in-depth conversations. I've also started telling the bedtime stories again about Randolph the grasshopper and all his friends. He has had a wife for awhile now, Sasha. They just recently had children. The stories of late have focused a lot on the children, especially Daniel. R. and S. had 100 children. One of them was a foolish child who was killed and eaten by a bird, because he disobeyed his father's instructions not to go out onto the rocky places outside of the grass where he could be seen more easily by predators. Since that child had done that so many times before w/o being harmed, he didn't trust/believe his father. Well, one day his "luck" ran out. I explained that just because a person doesn't always get hurt from disobeying a parent's rules or may not even understand the reasoning for a rule, it doesn't mean the rule is invalid and that one day you may finally pay the consequences. I always relate things back to God's Law and the love it shows. We should always trust/belive and obey him. Many say they believe Him, but in works (by disobeying His Law) they deny Him. Whenever the boys disobey us, I ask them why they didn't believe us, why didn't they trust us enough to obey.
Daniel is discussed most often. He is a wise son, and he's very studious. He likes to visit the library and museums and explore nature. He loves to ask questions and has a good relationship with his parents. Daniel recently started studying reproduction among animals and how different animals reproduce in different ways. Daniel also recently visited with one of his friends, Adam a ladybug, and Adam tried selling him a pack of gum (all natural from the trees in the nearby forest) for cheap. Daniel asked where Adam got the gum, since he knew that gum sold in the marketplace for more money. He discovered that Adam stole the gum from an ant that Adam knew. Daniel refused to buy the stolen treat and told Adam he had better return it. Daniel told his parents what had happened, and they advised that Daniel should not be friends with Adam anymore, unless he repented of his misdeed. I asked the boys what they would do if a friend tried selling them something they knew was stolen. Jade said that was a hard question. I said, "Because it would be very tempting, wouldn't it, because you know you would not have to spend as much of your allowance as you would at the market." He said, "Yes, and because it would be a good treat." I then reminded him of what I call the silver rule (most know this as the "golden rule": do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but the golden rule TRULY is to do unto God the way He wants us to do). He said he would not want anyone to do that to him and so he would refuse the treat. :-)
Okay...well, I've run out of time, so that's it for now.
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