Pumpkin Drilling

Nothings says "boys" more than this pumpkin carving idea... or should I say pumpkin drilling.  Abishai and Micaiah couldn't wait to get started when I told them what we were doing.  They drilled this pumpkin as a get well gift for their Grandpa. And so fitting, for Grandpa loves tools.

Happy Halloween

Paper Mache Pumpkins

Halloween books have a lot of crafty ideas in them.  Here's one of them: paper mache pumpkins.  If all goes well, we'll use them for our candy-collecting.  

Nice and clean and all ready to paper mache.  I wish the idea to lay newspaper down would have dawned on me before the project rather than after!

With hands dripping flour and water, Abishai says,"Mommy, this is the best day ever." Which is what he always says when he thinks something is fun.

This is a real exercise in letting go for someone like me who likes things clean.  

The boys painted the pumpkins.  I was hoping that we wouldn't be able to see the print after we painted them, but my hope went unfulfilled.

Micaiah painted the eyes and nose and I helped with the mouth.

Already to collect candy in... We'll see if they hold up.

A Healthier Pumpkin Pie

We have read so many books about Thanksgiving this year, that Abishai has pumpkin pie on the brain. He keeps asking if we can make one, and since I actually had the time today, I brought our sugar-pumpkin in from outside the front door to get ready for steaming. 

Abishai got busy picking out the seeds to use for our snack time.  Olive oil & sea salt roasted pumpkin seeds––oh so good!  The boys parked themselves at the table and just ate and ate.  

After making pumpkin puree, I set to work on making a spelt pie crust and a healthy pumpkin filling that wouldn't make me cringe every time the boys took a bite. It would be safe to say that with the recipe we used, they could have eaten an entire pie each without me having to worry about sugar overload.  

Snack time = pumpkin seeds!

Anticipating the baking pie.  

Living Prairies

We went to the Living Prairie Museum to learn about Our Five Senses.  The boys explored whatever they were allowed to get their hands on. Even Asher joined in.  I enjoyed getting to know some of the other homeschooling moms and I learned that you should never eat an unprepared Rose Hip berry or you'll get ITCHY BUM! The boys found that funny. However, if prepared properly, three small berries contain the same amount of Vitamin C as one whole orange.

Building a Sheepfold

During the day, a shepherd lets his sheep wander, but at night he leads them to a sheepfold where they are kept from wandering, and safe from predators.  We learned that a sheepfold can be a stone wall built by the shepherd in the shape of a "C". The shepherd then sleeps in front of the opening or piles branches in front to keep the sheep in.  With some play-dough, sticks, and paper sheep, we made our own sheepfold just like a shepherd would have in Jesus' day.

Rolling stones from play dough to build our "C" shaped wall.

Branches piled high to keep the sheep from wandering and safe from predators.

We are like sheep who wander away and Jesus our shepherd searches until he finds us. After bringing us home to where it's safe, Jesus stands guard and protects us.  Jesus said, "I am the gate for the sheep." (John 10)

Lost Sheep

The parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14) is about those who are already in the family of God but have wandered away.  It is an illustration of God's love and care for his people.  Throughout the week, we read the story from several different story books.  Here we are playing a game called "Find the Lost Sheep".  It's a game of observation and visual tracking.  The boys liked playing the shepherd––keeping a close eye on the sheep as I moved the cups around. 

After awhile, the boys played together on their own, and even eating a "sheep" every now and then!

Asher Turns One!

I wanted to do a 1st birthday photo-shoot with Asher.  I had a hard time getting him to look at the camera and smile.  For anybody who knows Asher, getting him to smile is not hard. Today however, he was too preoccupied with other things.

Finally Daddy came along to make the right kind of faces and noises to make Asher laugh and look.

Happy 1st birthday my precious Asher-baby.

Focused Attention

Sometimes our house is quiet!  Micaiah in the zone.

God Loves a Humble Heart...Part III

We made a diorama of "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector": a model of a wooden carving found in a cathedral in Toledo, Ohio.  We also added a few things to make it our own: some pillars and the front of the Jewish Temple from Jesus' time.

Abishai's diorama.

Micaiah's diorama.

God Loves a Humble Heart... Part II

Today we discussed what it means to be humble before God.  To start, I asked the boys, "What does God do for you?" They each listed off a bunch of things, I wrote them down, and then they made a collage from those ideas.

God Loves a Humble Heart...Part I

We've been learning how to have a humble heart before God from the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).  We discovered that God is actually more pleased with a sinner who recognizes and repents of his having broken God's law, than someone who puts on a show and brags about his good deeds.

In Jesus' day, tax collectors were Jews who collected taxes for their oppressors, the Romans, and cheated their own people by collecting extra money for themselves.  The boys and I played a game called "What is a Tax Collector?"  I hid coins around the living room, along with tax collector facts for them to find.  The boys hunted after them enthusiastically.  Once found, the coins were brought to the coffee table. I read the facts for them to learn more about tax collectors and then we each took a turn at being a tax collector to see why they were so hated in Jesus' time.

Micaiah & Abishai finding their designated coins and facts.

Abishai removing the coins and the tax collector facts found inside the eggs.

Asher kept trying to grab Micaiah's coins.  We decided then, that Asher would represent the Roman Empire.

We put our greedy little Caesar on his throne so the boys could continue to role play.

Tax Collector Facts.

Abishai the Tax Collector.  Abishai set aside the coins on the right for the Romans, and the ones he's counting are for himself.

Micaiah takes a turn at being the Tax Collector.  Abishai pays him.

Micaiah the ruthless Tax Collector.  He left Abishai with nothing.