Deanna

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A Week of Looking Forward

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Deanna

In the past, the week after Christmas has felt rather lifeless around our house. The kids were over the holiday excitement and all of us were eager to get back into a routine. So when I originally set our calendar for the 2014-15 school year, I planned to go back to school this week. However, over the weekend I was debating whether or not we needed more of a break.

My “Word for 2014” was PRAY, and over the past twelve months, the Lord has shown me how faithful He is to guide me when I take the time to ask. It is a lesson I certainly need to continue to take to heart, but I feel like a good foundation has been laid so that in the future I will be more inclined to remember to pray before making decisions.

As I sought the Lord about how to spend this week, I strongly felt that we should deviate from my original plans (which I admittedly had NOT prayed about when drawing up our calendar) and take one more week off from any school work. Instead I have found myself tackling organizational projects around the house that will help our family life run more smoothly over the next few months.

For instance, I spent two days sorting through hand-me-downs from friends as well as clothes my kids had outgrown that had never been put away properly. When I started, there were several trash bags of mixed sizes. Now everything is put away in storage tubs clearly labeled by size, ready to be worn by the next child in line. (Plus I filled a couple bags to give away, since we had way too many clothes in certain sizes.)

I also started thinking about ways I can be more intentional about keeping my little ones busy during our school hours. Up until now, Nico has blessed us by taking a long morning nap that allowed us to get through most of our work uninterrupted. I know those days are numbered, however, so I started looking for various ways to entertain him. Even if I just come up with five activities and then rotate them each day of the week, I think that would help us get through math (our most crucial time.)

He really liked putting dominoes into a can with a slot cut into the lid.

I think he might have emptied our entire domino bin if Arianna hadn’t come over to “help” him. (Note to self: find an activity to occupy HER at the same time.) She could probably handle most of the activities I listed in “Entertaining Elijah (Tips for Toddlers)” back when we first started schooling with a younger sibling to occupy.

Elijah and Arianna used to play together for most of the morning every day, but lately he’s been wanting to join us for math. Arianna plays by herself better than my older boys did at her age, but sometimes she prefers to be in with us, and I want to have activities ready to give her when that happens.

My hope is that by taking this week to get things a little more organized around the house, we’ll be able to transition back into our school routine smoothly. I made a few changes in our curriculum over the last few weeks of school, and I hope to spend the next few days adjusting my weekly lesson plan to make sure I’ve taken out the things we’re no longer using and found time for those we’re just beginning. I’m thankful that the Lord prompted me to delay our return to school, and now I find myself looking forward to the months ahead.

Posted in Personal

Let There Be Light by Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Book Review)

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Deanna

I love finding books the help my children think more about the Bible, so I was pleased to get a chance to review Let There Be Light by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, illustrated by New York Times bestselling author Nancy Tillman. We received the board book edition, but it is also available in hardcover.

Let There Be Light retells the story of Genesis chapter 1 in beautifully descriptive language. The book goes through each day of creation, beginning with God all alone before anything else exists, and ending on the seventh day, with God resting and enjoying what He has created.

Bible purists might take issue with a few things. First, after God creates the light, Tutu writes, “And there was day. And there was night. And when the first day was done, God smiled and knew that it was good.” The Bible puts the night first (“And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” Genesis 1:5), which is why Jewish days begin at sundown.

At the end of the book, God makes “people,” rather than a man and woman, and for the seventh day Tutu writes, “God laughed, and rested…” These details don’t necessarily contradict the Scriptural account, but they might be taking more liberty than would make some people comfortable.

The last page simply states, “You are loved.” It’s the way Nancy Tillman ends all her children’s books, but since she is the illustrator, not the author, I’m not sure why it was included in Let There Be Light. It is a wonderful truth, but it seems a bit out of place considering the rest of the text.

Still, this is a beautiful book, and I didn’t hesitate to share it with my children (though I would discuss the issues mentioned above with them as they are old enough to understand). Tillman’s illustrations are unique and eye-catching, reflecting the glory of God’s creation and helping the reader marvel at the beauty of the world He has given us.

BookLook disclaimer

Posted in Book reviews

Advent 2014 – Day 24

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Deanna

We are definitely winding down in these final days. We still have one more night (and then Christmas Day) in the Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge as well as finishing Jotham’s Journey, but I’m not planning to blog any more until after Christmas.

Advent has been a wonderful time of celebration, and I think we’re all ready for its culmination. While I’m looking forward to lots of family time, I’m especially eager for our candlelight service at church tomorrow night. Our children have learned several carols during the last few weeks, and I hope we will all enjoy coming together with our church family to celebrate together.

O God, our loving Father, help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the songs of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men. May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with Grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake. —Robert Louis Stevenson

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Day 23

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Deanna

Daily Theme: Mary
Books: We were on book overload, so I decided to just do a family book today. We read Mary, Did You Know? by Mark Lowry, illustrated by Phil Boatwright during the Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge, and then Ian built an angel and a heart while we read from Jotham’s Journey.

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Day 21-22

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Deanna

This weekend was crazy busy, so we didn’t keep up all our Advent activities. Yesterday instead of reading Christmas books our family went to our church’s compassion warehouse to pack groceries for needy families.

In the evening we went to a Christmas party and got home so late the boys weren’t up to building anything while we read from Jotham’s Journey.

Tonight we got home late again after a long day, so we just let Arianna light all four candles on our Advent wreath while we read Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones and introduced the kids to “O Come, All ye Faithful.”

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Day 20

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Deanna

Daily Theme: Bethlehem

Books:

The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister (for Arianna)

The Animals’ Christmas Carol illustrated by Helen Ward (for Elijah)

For the Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge we read Micah’s prophecy about Bethlehem, and then the boys built stables. Elijah had trouble settling on his design (I saw a few different versions), and by the time we’d finished reading Jotham’s Journey, he was back to only having a frame. Oh well. It’s the process, not the product, right?

I’ve started hearing protests every time I say we’re going to sing something other than “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” so tonight I decided just to go with it. They’re going to know this song really well, and if they just learn multiple verses of one traditional carol every year, they’ll still know a great deal by the time they’re grown.

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Day 19

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Deanna

Books:

The Animals’ Christmas Carol illustrated by Helen Ward (for Elijah-except he never opened it, so he’ll be getting it tomorrow instead)

The Drummer Boy by Ted Dekker (for Ian)We went to a Hanukkah celebration with some friends from church tonight, which was a beautiful and fun time together. (The kids came home loaded up with chocolate coins, dreidels, and gifts.) It’s the second year we’ve done touched on Hanukkah with our family, and think I’d like to include it every year in our holiday celebrations.

We got home a little late but decided to to Bible time anyway. For the Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge we talked about the story of Daniel, and then Ian made a den for the lions. (Elijah got such a slow start, we’d finished reading in Jotham’s Journey by the time he was ready.)

The closing verse of “O Come O Come Emmanuel” really moved me tonight as we sang:

O come, Desire of nations, bind

in one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid every strife and quarrel cease

And fill the world with heaven’s peace.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

I’ve been thinking a lot about heaven lately, longing for that time when wolves and lambs will lie down together (as we talked about a couple nights ago), when there will be no more tears or sorrow. What a beautiful prayer we sang tonight: fill the world with heaven’s peace. Amen.

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Day 18

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Deanna

Daily Theme:

Books:

A Christmas Prayer by Amy Parker (for Arianna)

http://lookingglassreview.com/assets/images/Josie_s_Gift.jpg

Josie’s Gift by Kathleen Long Bostrom

Elijah didn’t feel like building tonight while we read Jotham’s Journey, but Ian continues Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge with gusto. Tonight he built a ship, Jonah “inside” the whale, and a scene in the city of Nineveh.

Posted in Holidays

Advent 2014 – Days 16-17

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Deanna

Last night I got to spend the evening with a group of fellow homeschool moms, so I missed our Bible time and got home too late to write, so I’m covering two days tonight.

Books:

My Christmas Gift by Crystal Bowman (for Arianna)

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson (for Elijah yesterday)

Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt (for Elijah today)

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston (for Ian)

I missed seeing the boys’ creations for the Jesse Tree LEGO Challenge last night, but they took pictures of their roses and prophets for me.

Tonight the built wolves and lambs, which proved to be rather challenging!

We had to replace our first Advent candle today, since Jotham’s Journey is taking us a little longer to read than our devotions last year. We closed our evening with “Joy to the World.”

Posted in Holidays

Wrapping Up Week 20 (2014-15)

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Deanna

Whew! We made it to our Christmas break! Ian and I are both ready for a break, and I may just have to play it by ear in deciding when to get back to our school work. Here’s what we finished up with before our break.

Bible/Circle Time

We finished going through Walk With Me to the Nativity: A Journey to Bethlehem by Karen Harper and read from the books the kids opened for Advent each morning.

Math

I am actually amazed that Ian finished up lessons 86-90 in Mathematics Enhancement Programme (Year 2). At one point it looked like this year might just be too hard for him, but he’s really risen to the challenge.

The only bit of school work I plan to do over the next few weeks is continuing to practice his addition facts. I’ve tried so many fun ways to do this, but this week I resorted to good old-fashioned flash cards. Ian actually really likes them, and I’m writing down how many he gets right each day so he’s enjoying trying to beat his score.

Literature

For poetry this week we read Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes. I was so moved by these poems, each from the perspective of a different person from the Christmas story. They are beautiful by themselves, but then you add the gorgeous illustrations by Eric Velasquez, and I think I’ve found my new favorite Christmas book.

This year I’ve been trying to include as many of the Ambleside Online, Year 1 books as possible, on top of all the other things I have scheduled. Gradually I’ve been dropping some of the selections that repeating subjects we’re doing separately, and this week I finally came to the decision to only do the literature selections for now, dropping the AO history books. (We’d already cut the science and nature study books.) Perhaps we’ll get back into some of them when they fit into our history cycle.

I decided to hold off on history until after our Christmas break, since we just finished up Alexander the great and are getting ready to move onto the Roman Empire.

Science

In The Human Body (part of God’s Design for Life) we covered lessons 19-23 on the digestive system and nutrition, as well as covering the corresponding pages in The Usborne Human Body Sticker Book. Ian was glad to get back to the My Body unit from Teacher Created Resources, coloring and placing the stomach and intestines on his giant body outline.