Week 6:
We continued to read the Stories of the Pilgrims. Every day we read this John and Gracie ask for me to read more. Wonderful thing about Charlotte Mason, it leaves them wanting more and not leave the children with that glazed over look. This week we talked about Life in Holland. The Hollanders had a weekly scrubbing day. We decided to attack my white kitchen cabinets. The fun thing is that John and Gracie wanted to continue into the rest of the house, but school had to be finished. Ha!!!
We discussed storks as they were really prized in Holland. We did a simple, experiment to understand webbed feet. We wrapped a spatula in saran wrap and paddled it through the bathtub. It just really helps us see the wisdom of our Creator as cranes don’t even need webbed feet. We also discussed what a food chain is talked about what a stork eats. This led to us discussing other animals as well.
We talked about the storks migrating as well and did an experiment to help us understand what kind of clothes we should wear in cold weather. We put an ice cube in a mitten as well as a dish cloth. It seemed a little confusing for them as they thought the one in the mitten would melt faster since. They were wrong of course wrong because they thought the mitten would be warmer since it would keep you warmer.
In the geography plans we talked about canals. We did a little experiment to show how water runs through canals.
We also added King James Bible, 1611 to our timelines. I love, love, love these timelines. So easy and I really think the children drawing their own pictures really helps things to stick in their minds even more.
This week in Bible Study we reviewed the previous 5 weeks of memory verses and songs. I really enjoyed this and it was a blessing to me that they both still had everything memorized.
For the poetry plans we memorized, The Months, by Sara Coleridge. So far we’ve memorized two of her poems and we all really like both of them.
In the art part of the plans, they made hearts with strips of paper going through them. We talked about how the Pilgrims wanted their children to worship and glorify God with all their hearts. John and Gracie added more to the artwork in the sense that they added an extra heart on the white strip of paper. The heart was white with a small black spot on it. John said this is how we are after we get saved and then sin. We then need to confess that sin and get clean again. I love that they made the project their own.
Week 7:
In history this week the Pilgrims move from Amsterdam to Leiden. I was very interested to hear that the Pilgrims actually stayed in Holland for 11 years. As a result the Pilgrim children started to act, talk, and dress more like Hollanders. This plus other things helped prompt the Pilgrims to plan to move to America. We had fun trying to speak in Dutch. I was thinking it would be tedious, but John and Gracie really enjoyed it. I just had to let go of my perfectionism.
In Geography, we found England, Holland, Europe, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, and Virginia on our maps. What a fun way to learn geography right along with history.
In the Bible Study plans we memorized Psalm 119:9-11, 9Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
It’s suggested in the HOD manual for the child to share their memory verse with someone each week. This week John decided to call his daddy at work and quote his memory verses to him.
The poem we memorized and used as copywork this week Mother’s Jewels by Eugene Field. You can see John’s below.
Our artwork this week were pictures of themselves. You can see their pictures have pockets on them. Inside their pockets is a written copy of Psalm 139:14, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” We talked about the Lord making us each special, and we should praise Him for that and want our lives to glorify Him.
Gracie finished reading Frog and Toads are Friends this week. I’m going to have to find some way to video tape her reading and download it on this blog. She is just so sweet and animated. It must be the way God created her because her brother wasn’t this way and still isn’t.
John finished reading The Courage of Sarah Noble this week as well. Next week he is starting Drawn Into the Heart of Reading. I am both excited and nervous. It looks like a wonderful program, but I feel a little overwhelmed (just because it’s new). I’m just trying to cast those worries on the Lord.
We’ve had a wonderful two weeks. The Lord has been so good to lead me to Heart of Dakota. It really does make my school weeks so much easier. There’s nothing I don’t like about it. You should really check it out if you’re not familiar with it.
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In the history plans this week we read Boys and Girls of Colonial Days and Stories of the Pilgrims. We really like these books. It really brings the history to life. This weeks focus was the pilgrims settling in Holland. We learned much about the Dutch homes (how they are different than our own) and that they loved tulips.
