I'm journaling about our homeschool adventure through blogging. I write about all things that affect our homeschool, including my walk with the Lord of lords. I hope to be able to encourage where encouragement is needed through writing about my experiences.
We had an incredibly fun co-op a few weeks ago in our homeschool group. Our group leader called it, Eat Your Way Around the World. Each family chose a country to study, made a poster and cooked a dish from that country.
We choose Italy and made bruschetta.
The making of the poster....
The making of the bruschetta....
Then we learned about these countries....
We tried a plain rice dish from China.'Twas a little bland, but still good.
We had a dessert similar to donut holes from Cypress
and Gummy Bears from Germany.
Irish mashed potatoes had kale in them. That was pretty good, actually.
There were several dishes from Jordan, but we only tried the pita bread and hummus. (I think that was hummus.)
There was another rice dish from Indonesia, which had tons of flavor and teeny bits of chicken in it.
Chips and salsa from Mexico!
The children from each family got up and told the group a little about their country. Adelle was bashful about speaking in front of everyone, but I managed to get her to talk about the colors of Italy's flag.
We had so much fun learning about Italy, making the poster, the bruschetta and then learning about the other countries and tasting their food.
This is certainly one the most fun we've had at a co-op.
Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember. The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end, these are the moments that keep us going; the ones we need to remember.
I just want more of the Lord. He must increase, but I must decrease. I'm not satisfied doing it my own way. I'm not satisfied to "do" Church (only on Sundays) and walk away. I'm not satisfied living in yesterday's hour. I'm not satisfied to have the form but not the power. Where's the power of the cross in my life? Lord, help my unbelief.
IN OUR HOMESCHOOL THIS WEEK
Bible - These last 2 weeks, we've been learning and talking about how Jesus is the Rock, a firm foundation, the cornerstone upon whom we build our faith and lives. We've been memorizing Mattew 7:24 - ..Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
History - We've been learning about George Washington and touched a bit on the French and Indian War and events leading up to the Revolutionary War. I don't know who is learning more, the children or me! (I have forgotten a lot of history).
Science - We've learned how we get our seasons. We put a lamp in the middle of the table w/o its shade to represent the sun. We then moved the globe around the lamp, demonstrating the earth's orbit around the sun, thus showing how that gives us seasons. Granted, our earth size to the sun size was by no means correct, but this lesson certainly got the point across. Today, we are going to draw a tree outside, exactly how we see it. Then we'll go back to that same tree and draw it again in the winter, spring and summer. (I'll have to add notes in my curriculum books to remind myself to do that the rest of the year.)
Language Arts - These children continue to amaze me with the way they can remember what they're being taught. Adelle's handwriting is coming along nicely. Poor Jonathan.... He's trying.
Math - We started to learn how to add 9 this week. Those unit blocks are helping a great deal with that! I really like Math-U-See.
Reading - As a read aloud, we are reading through Sarah Whitcher's Story. Little Sarah wanders away from her family's cabin into the New Hampshire forest and settlers come from all across the countryside to help find her. As the long days pass, the searchers grow desperate, but her father's trust in God holds firm. We're only in the 2nd chapter, but my children are quite engrossed!
MY FAVORITE THING THIS WEEK
I must say, I had fun helping the children make salt dough rocks. To reinforce that Jesus is our Rock, we made rocks, or paper weights, out of salt dough. I etched Jesus the Rock into the dough before we baked them.
MY CHILDREN'S FAVORITE THING THIS WEEK
Adelle's favorite thing this week was making her "Jesus the Rock" paper weight. Jonathan's favorite thing this week was moving the "earth" around the "sun" in science.
I just finished reading Voice of the Martyr's book Hearts of Fire. It is a collection of testimonies of 8 women from different backgrounds and the struggles they each faced ringing with similarity. From Pakistan, India, Romania, the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Nepal and Indonesia, these women shared similar experiences of hardship and persecution -- all for their faith in Christ -- yet they have emerged from adversity as leaders and heroines. Persecution of the Church is not new and it certainly still going on today. I don't normally read these kinds of books. It was free and when I got it in the mail, I put it away and it stayed in my drawer for weeks. One Sunday afternoon, I picked it up and began to read. I'm in my recliner sobbing at the first story yet I can't put the book down. I couldn't put it down for the next 2 weeks! The amazing thing that stuck out to me was the fact that each story talked about how God's peace filled these ladies as they were going through their persecutions. Maybe the Lord was trying to show me this fact about Himself through this book. I don't have to worry about what's going to happen to me b/c He is always there and He will give grace and peace to sustain me.
I know absolutely nothing about persecution. Nothing at all. In fact, I am quite embarrassed to call myself a Christian. If faith costs me nothing, is it even faith at all? That's not to say that I'm looking for torture, but is there hard evidence in my life that would make someone accuse me of following Christ at all costs? I should say not. Wretched indeed.
Hymns! Old and new. Back in January this year, I made a goal to learn to sing and play (on the piano and sax) hymns that I didn't know previously. I have learned several hymns this year. The lyrics of these hymns are deep and rich with theology. We can learn a lot from the old hymns and learn about God from them. These modern contemporary surface only songs do not compare.
Selah does a fabulous job arranging the hymns. I just found an album by Tommy Walker called Generation Hymns where he has added choruses and even rearranged the melodies. I do
like a hymn with a great chorus added to it, a chorus that doesn't change the focus of the song. I've heard hymns that have been added to that just doesn't make sense.
Matt Boswell has also added to old hymns as well as written new ones.
I'M LEARNING....
I'm learning all kinds of things in History that I had forgotten or that I didn't learn at all. I didn't know all the inventions and great work Ben Franklin achieved (from last week). I certainly have forgotten about the French and Indian War!
I'm also learning that this is a family, not a dictatorship. See the video below. I've been trying to rule in this home without developing relationships. Yeah, that's not right and it hasn't been working; nor have I been demonstrating God's character and love. Ggggrrrrrr.....
A QUOTE TO SHARE
"Rules without relationships lead to rebellion." ~ Josh McDowell
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK
Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing good for what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world] so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God.
1 Peter 4:1-2 Amplified Bible
This post is mainly for myself, yet, I share it in hopes to encourage others also.
Scripture says, "Suppose someone wants to love life and see good days. Then they must keep their tongues from speaking evil. They must keep their lips from telling lies. They must turn away from evil and do good. They must look for peace and go after it. The Lord's eyes look on godly people, and he blesses them. His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord doesn't bless those who do evil." (Psalm 34:12-16)
Who is going to hurt you if you really want to do good? But suppose you do suffer for doing what is right. Even then you will be blessed. Scripture says, "Don't fear what others say they will do to hurt you. Don't be afraid." (Isaiah 8:12) But make sure that in your hearts you honor Christ as Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it, but do it gently and with respect.
Christ suffered in His body. So prepare yourselves to think in the same way Christ did. Do this because whoever suffers in their body is finished with sin. As a result, they don't live the rest of their earthly life for evil human desires. Instead, they live to do what God wants.
Ungodly people are surprised that you no longer join them in what they do. They want you to join them in their wild and wasteful living. So they say bad things about you. But they will have to explain their actions to God.
Dear friends, don't be surprised by the terrible things happening to you. The trouble you are having has come to test you. So don't feel as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be joyful that you are taking part in Christ's sufferings. Then you will have even more joy when Christ returns in glory.
Suppose people say bad things about you because you believe in Christ. Then you are blessed, but God's Spirit rests on you. He is the Spirit of glory. If you suffer, it shouldn't be because you are a murderer. It shouldn't be because you are a thief or someone who does evil things. It shouldn't be because you interfere with other people's business. But suppose you suffer for being a Christian. Then don't be ashamed. Instead, praise God because you are known by the name of Christ.
Here is what people who suffer because of God's plan should do. They should commit themselves to their faithful Creator. And they should continue to do good.
1 Peter 3:10-14,
4:1-2, 4-5, 12-16, 19
I pray that I may be so zealous for the Lord that I truly don't care a thing about what happens to me. I want Him to be enough, because He IS enough.
This is my heart's desire.
And I pray my children are set ablaze for Christ's name sake as they learn the ways of the One True God.
