Crossing the Icy Deleware

I have not updated the blog in what seems like awhile. We wrapped up our Courage unit study today and it feels so good to move on. The kids really enjoyed it and I feel, for their ages, that they will take so much away from what our founding fathers did for us! Some of my favorite activities that we accomplished were within the past week.

The kids and I crossed the icy Delaware River on "Christmas" night. We filled our bathtub with ice cubes and placed toy boats heading north and south along the river in search of the Germans and British. Riah also stripped down to her skivvy's and stood in the frigid waters. So, I touched on the sleet and freezing temperatures the soldiers had to endure. I do NOT think the kids will forget that lesson- sometimes, things worth fighting for come at a huge sacrifice. Finally, we talked about how Washington was courageous and asked God for wisdom in his decisions.

We baked hasty pudding over a "hot" fire. The kids actually enjoyed it- I thought it was terrible. It was a mixture of corn meal and water- "Yumm". We also reenacted some of the battles and watched our famous Liberty Kids.

Today, we did so much in our wrap up. The kids and I lit our lanterns and went into the bathroom where it was pitch black. By the light of candle, we discussed all the fun facts we learned about our country and its founding. We talked about famous men and their sacrifices for the freedom we now enjoy. Also, we named off five people we learned about these past 10 weeks who were courageous. I am so thankful for the retention that I see in their answers. Since I do not do tests right now, these review and evaluations are so important to me.

We then blew out our amazing lanterns and started our review of the 13 colonies. We sang it to the tune of Yankee Doodle. Also, we used an acronym to try and remember all the colonies as well. The kids reenacted, AGAIN, the Patriots and the British fighting. They LOVE doing this and Riah especially loves being the "Redcoats". Jay dressed her from head to toe in  red, boys clothing and she fought her brothers to " the finish".

To help understand better how large our country is and how small the 13 colonies were, the kids and I dyed rice and created a map of the colonies. The blue is water, the yellow is the colonies and some included areas around, ie: Maine, Florida and Georgia and the green is the neighboring land and the red is the rest of the present United States. This turned out pretty well and I think we were all quite pleased with the result. Yeah for creativity! 

Finally, we read some books on Patrick Henry, watched Liberty kids and then the kids played outside. Today was a huge day of school and it went so well and so smoothly. I got my shower in at 3:30pm and was pretty pleased with that :)

Baking Bread, Creating Lanterns

I am typically a writer- and can be long winded at times...I can't help it..I have so much to say in a short amount of space. Today, however, I am going to try my own version of " Muffled Mondays". We created lanterns out of soup cans and designed patterns that will be finished tomorrow using a nail and hammer. Austen also helped me bake homemade bread , pretending to be Aaron from the Green Mountain Boys. He enjoyed kneading it fast so we could have it ready to bake " just in time!". Tomorrow we will finish up our lanterns and light them with our candles. I am sure they will be beautiful! Now, join me for Muffled Mondays.

Creating a design that will be chiseled out tomorrow

working on a design for her lantern for Old North Church

The Redcoats Are Coming!

Paul Revere and all his glory mounted into our home today. The kids and I had such a fun time reading through all of our Revolutionary war books about Paul Revere and the midnight ride. We learned that he was a silversmith and how the colonists would melt down their silver coins to make teapots in order to prevent thieves from stealing their money. Jayden put on his three point hat and helped to reenact the Midnight Ride. We also pulled out our army figurines and set up a battle on the living room floor. Its so fun seeing the comprehension of the boys and even Riah with something so big.

We also read Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys. This is based on the true story of a young boy, Aaron, who was 9 years old and wanted to fight the British but needed to remain home to help cut wood for his grandfather's tavern. The wood he cut helped keep the fire going that, in turn, provided a place for the tired mountain men to dry off their guns and eat bread so they were ready to fight and win the next day.

It was a great opportunity to discuss how our small actions in obedience leads to the greater good when we are diligent. The kids than watched two more episodes of Liberty Kids. This is a great teaching tool. Sweet and simple and keeps the battle scenes at a very elementary level.

Austen has worked so hard on his maze books and dot to dot this week- he has completed 4 books this week!

the "Redcoats" coming into Boston Harbor

some of the fun books we are reading

The best part of today though, was while I was cleaning up Hannah who had decided to poo ALL over herself and her bedding the other three kids were outside riding in a circle. Jayden was dressed in all brown with a coon skin hat on and his shoes that he learned to tie very well and tight today. He was a militiamen. Austen was a Patriot as well and Moriah was a British soldier. They were reinforcing our lesson today, all on their own and having a blast! Jayden comes running in and asks, "Can we learn about all the wars Mama?" and " A bunch of battles makes up a war, doesn't it?". I love how they put things together so well! Having fun in school! I can't wait for next week, and my very planned week I might add!

Tea Party for Three

This has been quite an interesting week. Trying to fall back into the flow of school and life has led to some frustrating moments on my part ( more on that in a second blog) but, for the most part, we have succeeded in completing a great week in school.

The boys are exactly where I was praying they would be for math and language arts and we even started back into our unity study- the Revolutionary War! The kids and I started off yesterday's lesson with a reenactment of the Boston Tea party. I put war paint on the kids and they silently slipped through the dark waters of the Boston Harbor to get on board of the East India Tea Co. Ship where they happily threw tea and broke holes into the chests, aka boxes, of tea all over the harbor. They chanted, " ....Tell King George we'll pay no taxes!" After that we listened to Yankee Doodle on youtube in a couple different renditions and began to sing along.

This was the ONLY part of the day where Hannah was cooperative with our plans. She is so sweet as we do hand motions to a lot of songs and verses and she follows right along with us :) I laid her down for an early nap as I assumed she was not feeling the best. I was correct. Anyways, after singing Yankee Doodle, the kids and I brewed some tea and poured it into Riah's tea set. Moriah was dressed to impress. The minute I informed her that we would be hosting a tea party, she went upstairs and came back down with a beautiful dress on and high heels. None of the kids enjoyed the taste but at least they were able to discuss if they were a Loyalist vs a Patriot and what we should do about the tea tax.

I read some very good books on the Revolutionary War. One being, an alphabetical approach to learning about the war and the other on Paul Revere's ride. I have so many fun ideas planned for these next few weeks I can hardly contain myself. I only wish I had a working printer as I need to print off the original 13 colonies so the kids and I can color and cut them out and have fun putting them back together in a puzzle format. I will figure something else out! I am praying we get a printer by February so that the kids and I can start notebooking again, as well. Patience.

We will be making feather pens and homemade ink out of walnut shells next week! Yeah! I can't wait. I also netflixed "Liberty Kids". It has some good reinforcements of what we are learning at a very elementary level. The boys enjoy it and Riah keeps telling me when Patrick Henry is coming on to say , " Give me Liberty or give me Death!"

Overalll a great week. We wrapped up our time with Daddy but spending the mid morning at the zoo and lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Of all our kids, Jayden was the one scared of the gorillas! Love that restaurant and so glad Ben could spend the day with us. We sure do love that man :)

In-N-Out and Sun

Ohmigoodness! 80 degree high today! Beautiful, sunny and warm in the mornings, starting off at a strict 65 degrees and then slowly warming up in the afternoon. Honestly, this is as good as it gets. I love, LOVE this weather and the kids have been riding their bikes and eating lunch outside all week! Happy New Year!

We worked on math and language arts all morning. One of the really nice things about where Jayden is at in language arts is that he can really do most of the work himself, which completely frees me up to focus 95% on Austen.  We are using Learning Language Arts Through Literature and enjoy the simplicity, yet thoroughness of this program. English is my speciality and I am quite a descent editor ( although I should spend more time editing my blog, who has time for that? :)). But when I need to, like really need to, I could edit up a storm. I prefer this program due to its focus on spelling, grammar, great literature, and method. I plan to use this program throughout their school years plus each grade is color coordinated :)

Austen finished his train track book through , Sing, Spell, Read and Write!!!!! Yeah Austen! He has been working VERY hard for the past 1.5 year. I've mentioned before, reading is not coming as naturally to him so we are moving slow, yet purposefully and I'm totally OK with that. What I enjoy about SSRW is how it incorporates hands on learning with songs and games. The stories are challenging yet fun so you don't really realize that you are working hard at the process.

My goal for Austen is to be able to read well by the end of this year. I just ordered his raceway book which is the 2nd part of this program. There are 36 steps that he will need to complete and that will easily take us until August or September. However, by the end he will be reading, writing and spelling quite well!!! Jayden has learned so much during his quiet time and before bed time by reading, I know that Austen will enjoy so much of the same once he is able to do this on his own as well.

During quiet time, we started reading a book " Bears on Hemlock Mountain" by Alice Dagliesh. This is the same author who wrote The Courage of Sarah Noble. We enjoyed the latter book so much that we wanted to check this one out, we are not disappointed! I highly recommend this book. We are half way through, it is an easy read and the kids love it! The whole premis is to answer the question, are there really bears on the mountain? We also read some great books on the Revolutionary War and will hopefully be starting our activities this week, sometime.

Funny side note, today, Jayden and I were working on TIMZIT, a multiplication game and he looks at my diamond ring and asks if it was real, " Yes it is Jay."
" Did Daddy buy that for you?"
" Yes, and someday when you find a special girl that you want to spend your life with, you will buy one for her."
" Is it expensive to buy a diamond ring?"
" Very!"
< Huffing and Grunting>, " Oh man, that means I will need to work at seven zoos and never be able to buy tacos"
We both just started laughing, he is so funny!

You will be working hard your whole life baby to provide for your baby- get used to it :) Raising real men over here, let me tell you!

The kids played with the neighbor boy, we ate In-N-Out for lunch- love that place and played outside. This has been a day in our homeschooling world. Love homeschooling!