Ancient Egypt

This week, Ancient Egypt was the place to be. 6:15am, and Abishai was dressed with his bed already made, relaxing on the chaise reading a history picture book before breakfast.  Quiet moments...

Extra history reading.  Ms. Frizzle's Adventures was our favourite.  The Great Wonder was good too.

For Bible time this week we looked at Luke 8:19-21 and discussed who Jesus' mother and brothers are. We made a family tree of people who love and follow Jesus and whom the boys know personally.  We went out and gathered leaves from around the neighbourhood.

 

With our home undergoing repairs, we had to be out of the house, so we went to our church to homeschool for the day.  Here we're up on the children's ministry floor.  The boys love coming here to play.

Abishai putting together his Jesus' family tree project.

 Micaiah's completed tree.

Abishai's completed tree.

Asher having his afternoon nap on the children's ministry stage.

Micaiah playing quietly while Asher sleeps.

Back at home...

Life Science this week: Buffalo and Bison

People often ask how I homeschool with little ones under foot.  The truth is that I'm not really sure; it just happens. On this particular day, Asher quietly played kitchen while I taught Abishai. 

Micaiah practicing his letters.

Art lessons for Abishai.

We went hunting and scavenging for firewood in the nearby woods.  I told Abishai this is what the Nomads would have done to collect their firewood for cooking and keeping warm. Abishai can't seem to get enough of the Nomads, even though we've moved onto learning about Ancient Egypt.

Then we came home and used the wood in our fireplace.  Asher was very eager to help.

Some other things that occupied our week...
Asher after his hair cut.  I look up mens haircuts on Pinterest, then hack away.

Micaiah after his.

Playing the game "Sorry".  Superhero version of course.

We have so many costumes.  They seem to just magically appear out of thin air. Thanks Grandma Redekopp. 

Rest for the Weary

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30.

This verse was the focus of our bible time this week.  We talked about how God's Law is good and perfect but that the religious leaders of Jesus' time burdened the Israelites with extra, made-up laws.  These extra laws didn't bring the people closer to God, but burdened them down, making them weary.  We talked of how we want to follow God's ways and not be pressured by extra laws that can sometimes be imposed upon us.  So like Moses, when God first gave the Israelites His Laws on slabs of stone, we too attempted to make our own tablets of stone.

Our ingredients all laid out.  Saw dust was one of the ingredients, which I picked up from a friend from our old neighbourhood.

Measuring, mixing and rolling.

Trying to write the 10 commandments on soft dough proved very difficult.  I wasn't able to do the longer sentences, so I just wrote them on with a sharpie after we baked the tablets.

Extra history reading on the Nomads.  Abishai went hunting for rabbit in our backyard with a wooden stick (his spear) after reading this book.

Colouring a map of the fertile crescent where the Nomads settled and eventually became farmers and then city dwellers.  After circling the city of Jericho in the fertile crescent, Abishai and I talked about Jericho being the same city where God brought the walls tumbling down, through the faithful, trusting acts of the Israelites.

Life Science of the week: Horses

My boys really enjoy colouring.  It has really helped develop pen control and has paved the way for printing skills.

Monkey see, monkey do.  Asher has gotten into colouring as well.  He's getting better at putting the lids back on and into the marker basket.

Nomad Shelter

For history this year, we started off with learning what history and archaeology are.  Half way through a children's picture book I was reading on archaeology, Abishai ran out into the backyard decked out in rain jacket, rubber boots and shovel, to dig in the garden in search of artifacts.  I'm not sure what he was expecting to find, but he spent a long time digging.  It was fun for me to watch him re-enacting the book.  

My husband gave the boys a saw and let them cut the lower branches off our front yard's evergreen; then Daren and I sat on the lawn and watched them go nuts.  The boys dragged the pine branches one by one to the backyard and constructed this shelter for themselves. We call it the nomad fort, inspired by a chapter on "The Earliest People, The First Nomads." Abishai dragged the logs from behind the shed and has also been busy collecting acorns and berries with his "game bag".  I trimmed the bushes at the front of our house and Micaiah gathered up the trimmings and placed them on the floor of the shelter.  It's fun to see them play "living history"!

Abishai's game bag for collecting "food".

On a different day their cousin Max came to play.  Sitting down for a watermelon snack.

Early morning nature science walk.  We explored the trails by the Seine River close to our house.  The boys were excited to find some bike jumps to fly over.  In the afternoon they came back with their bikes to try them.  I wish I was there to take pictures.

So peaceful.

We found some deer tracks.

The boys and I have been enjoying a poetry book on "Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind."  Every time I ask the boys if I should quit reading now, they say "No, no keep going". It's full of adventure, risk and independence, which little boys enjoy. The author of the book is the same guy who filmed The Hunger Games.

Washing the car by hand for the first time. Abishai and Micaiah washed the outside and vacuumed the inside.  They did a pretty good job.  Here they are cleaning the door jams. Teaching them to pay attention to detail like their Grandfather taught me.

"Asher-baby" in the rays of the afternoon sun, paging through an assortment of books. Quiet moments.