Memorize Colossians!!!

I found a great website in December.

A Holy Experience

To get the free "Jesse Tree" book download I subscribed to the site...now I get an email everyday of the new post. I don't really subscribe to many/any websites so this is new to me.

I have forwarded many of these emails to Mr. Wiedz because they are BEAUTIFUL! They speak to my heart about words and grace and beauty...

Today's post was about memorizing. The art of memorizing. Putting His word first. Clothing ourselves with Christ.

And she included a download of the memorization schedule! Just 2 verses a week!

Go here and get one for yourself!

Thanksgiving Education

Back in the summer I thought we would take most of Thanksgiving week off of school. Just relax, cook, bum around. But I have learned (over and over) that we don't do well with no plan. Bumming around doesn't work for us. Relaxing isn't relaxing!

Then I got an email from the homeschool group I joined with links to Thanksgiving lapbook ideas. That got my wheels spinning and ideas forming and lots of internet searching. I prepped a lot of work and did a lot of cutting out and getting ready. It was really fun!

I think the kids liked doing something a little different. Plus I have been not feeling well so an easy schedule was really what I needed.

Pumpkin Stamping :

Based on a photo I saw in my internet searches I made a potato stamp of a pumpkin. I forgot to leave a stem on it so we drew those in later. I only made one stamp so the kids came to the table one at a time to have their turn.

Lapbooks :

I followed a lot of links and found some games, some mini-books, some coloring pages, handwriting tracers and whatever and made our first-ever lapbooks.  The kids thought they were fun...most because they thought they were different, I think. Everyday we spent some time coloring, reading, playing and doing something in the lapbook.

The completed lapbooks were great. Each reflected the kid that made them. #1's was tidy and everything was as complete as she could make it. #4's was very colorful and a little messy! #2 and #3 did what they wanted and only more if I was real stern about it.

Our pumpkin stamps were cut out as decoration for the cover of our books

#1's. The left inside flap: what she is thankful for and a notebooking exercise on the pilgrims.

#4's. The middle of the inside had a maze (I found Thanksgiving mazes with three levels of difficulty) and a mini-book  about the first Thanksgiving. On the right inside flap as a turkey tic-tac-toe with pieces in a little mini envelope.

#2's.

#3's. The back cover had our memory verse for the week, Psalm 121:1-2 for the kids to write or trace. #1 wrote from memory, #2 did his as copywork, #3 traced a simpler version and #4 ignored his.

History :

Of course we had to throw in a couple history discussions. About the pilgrims and why they left England (though really they'd just left Norway) and the Mayflower and the Mayflower Compact (why it was necessary and what it meant) and getting to Plymouth. How the women stayed on the ship while the men built shelter and found food. How the sick were brought back to the ship for the women to care for which could be part of the reason there were only 5 women left by the time the Thanksgiving feast came around. We talked about the Indians that helped teach the pilgrims. Why they were thankful, what they did to celebrate. And how it became a tradition for us today.

Life Skills :

Well I had to sneak a little getting ready into the week. So we made a menu together, and a shopping list. We discussed budgets. We got the house ready for company. I had much bigger plans for this part of our week but with not feeling well, I wasn't up to a grocery shopping trip the week of Thanksgiving with 5 kids to do a lesson on budgets and cooking and such.

Wrap-up :

I'm glad I did something different Thanksgiving week. It made getting back into the regular routine feel good. Not feeling well, I know I would have skimped on the regular stuff anyway so now I don't feel behind or that we didn't cover something like we should have.

Links:

Thanksgiving notebook pages
Turkey-shaped book
First Thanksgiving mini-book
I am Thankful mini-book
Colors of Thanksgiving Dinner mini-book
Coloring page & Verse Tracer

Let's Memorize!!!!!

When I was reading up on classical education I came across quite a bit about how memorizing comes into the educational day. I already loved the idea of memory work so this was an easy thing to plan into our day.

Our school day starts with our Bible Time. A part of our day I'm loving. There's still some work to do with it but it is great! A whole post or two will be devoted to this a some point, I think.

After Bible Time we have Circle Time. This is the part of the day where I put things I want us all to work on together. Since we have little guys/preschool here too we do a little calendar and talk about the days, weather, and how to write the date. Since we've got a 1st grader we do place value by counting the days in school on a place value chart.

Then we work on our memory work. We started the year with Mr. Wiedz's and my "family verse". 2 Corinthians 4:18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."

After that we memorized a fall poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.

"Autumn Fires"

Sing a song of seasons

Something bright in all

Flowers in the summer

Fires in the fall

And now we're onto the books of the Bible. A couple of Sundays ago I wrote the list out on our board that we see each day. Daunting. And I just went with the Old Testament first. But I did remember our Wee Sing Bible Songs CD having an Old Testament song and figured we'd use that. I couldn't find it! So I went to YouTube. YouTube is not a source I've ever used but I thought I'd try.

The first day we looked at the list written on the board. I said the list then they tried following along with me. Then I looked up the video I'd found. Each day since we've sang this little song and let me tell you....we're getting it. We're memorizing the books of the Bible!

I thought I'd share the video we're using. The kids are loving it!

The kids also have memory work as part of their grammar lessons through the weeks. I'm finding a lot of benefits of our memory work. #2 had a lot of things to memorize at the beginning of Cub Scouts and I really think the training of his brain helped.

Promises

Promises. God's promises. And promises of good things to come.
First, God's promises that I thought of and found:
"I will never leave you..." Hebrews 13:5
"My strength is made perfect in weakness..."
"Those who seek me diligently will find me." Proverbs 8:17
"Anyone in Christ is a new creation..." 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Instruction, teaching and guidance..." Psalm 32:8
"God shall supply all your needs to His riches..." Philippians 4:19
"Peace I leave with you..." John 14:27
"To everything there is a season..." Ecclesiastes 3:1
"...He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
"...and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

It has been an interesting time...looking up these promises. Knowing they speak to me now as I'm parenting, making decisions with Mr. Weidz for our family, dealing with family and life. But there was a new promise waiting for me in the garden this evening when I watered. Promises of good things to come:

I am so excited to have the tomatoes and the cucumbers come on this year. I still have awhile to wait but they are there...the promise of some delicious snacks, lunches and dinners!

Day 1

Mr. Wiedz is out on business this week. I'm looking at the week and wondering if I'll ever survive. This morning is a good indication that I won't.

The kids and I have been working on memorizing Colossians 3:15 together. The very end of the verse, "And be thankful" was part of our vacation bible school "power verses". I read some great articles over at titus2.com that spoke about using the Bible and the whole Bible even with the littlest so I thought we could and should tackle the whole verse.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body
you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

It dawned on me as I was working with #1 and #2 on the verse that there is a major lesson there. We are called to peace. Us, in this very household. That day we talked about peace. What we could do to live in peace together. How fighting, arguing and being mean to one another was not peace. But that laughing, playing, helping one another and using kind words and actions was a house and a home filled with peace. As an additional benefit when some correction is needed I just need to ask if what their involved in is helping our home be peaceful or not peaceful. They get it and they see how their actions promote peace in the "body" of our home and family.

I've tried to come up with some major distractions for our week without Mr. Wiedz. Wish me luck!