This is a 2-week update since I was unable to finish this post last week due to our car accident. Here is what I had for last week:
It has been a fun and busy week here at the Home to 4 Kiddos.
On Monday, Kiddo #4 finished an apron that she has been working on in sewing class. Isn't it pretty? I love how it has multiple pockets.
We have continued our geography work in Eastern Europe as well as Ancient Egypt in history.
On Friday, Kiddo #4 had a ceramics class and she made a beautiful fall dish with a leaf impression in it. I can't wait to see how it turns out. After the class, we were told that we could visit the many apple trees on the property and help ourselves to some apples. Wow! You know I will be posting some apple recipes and soon. :-)
Friday evening was our Welcome Back party with our 4-H club. The kids played flashlight tag (too dark for pictures, unfortunately), painted pumpkins, enjoyed pizza and played bingo. It was a fun evening for all.
And here is what I have for this past week, Kiddos 3 and 4 tested for their brown belts in Taekwondo. We are SO proud of them!
Kiddo #2 is enjoying French this year. He had taken ASL up to this point, but the teacher, due to other commitments, was not teaching the class this year, so he decided on French instead.
To culminate our studies on ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, the kiddos made their own cuneiform tablets. The boys did their initials. Kiddo #4 made the symbols for fish. :-)
I was so grateful to be able to review this film. I was drawn to it because as many of you know, my husband spent 25+ years in the Army and fought in 2 wars. I felt like in many ways, the film told some of my story. You see, I was a pregnant mama saying goodbye to my husband for a deployment 12 years ago. I yearned for those letters that would come in the mail. I would look out the window every day and when I did not see the black car pull up, I would look up, offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God and try my best to go on with my day for my young children. There are many, tragically, who do see that car and their lives are changed forever by that horrible reality. They draw strength, as I did during that year, from their faith, family and friends.
This beautiful family film brought to us from the same studio that made "God is Not Dead" (another of my absolute favorites!) weaves together two storylines-- one of two young men fighting in Vietnam and one of their grown sons many years later back at home. The human element of war is presented in a way that is real and touching. War involves human beings, many times young human beings who have fear, develop strong bonds with their fellow soldiers and turn to God for strength.
The sons of the soldiers meet many years later while at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Through letters and then meeting each other, the young men learn about their dads, who they were and how much they were truly loved by their fathers. One never met his dad (his mom was pregnant during the war) and he learns through letters written from his dad to his mom about how excited he was about the baby and how he was hoping he was a boy. The other young man has letters from his dad. Though they seem very different from one another, these sons have a bond and a commonality between them that can never be broken.
My husband and I watched the movie one night after the kids were all in bed. It has some war action (thus the PG-13 rating), but no real blood or violence. There was no strong language either, which I much appreciated. We will be watching this again soon with our entire family. We really want to share this with them. The message and lessons are so very important and something that we want our kids to learn and appreciate-- the themes of friendship, loyalty, love, devotion and faith. Not just as military kids, but for all American children. You will not regret sharing this quality film with your family.
This movie had me laughing one moment and crying the next. What a date night movie! Seriously, for this Christian, military family. It is the best kind.
Welcome to the new Frugal Friday Home and Homeschool link up! We are off to a stellar start with this weekly post and share on our group blog. The FM team is Pinning and sharing your links and we are thrilled to get to know you and your blogs better. Don’t blog? You are sure to find a recipe, home project, or homeschool resource that will be just right for your family.
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This is such a delightful classic that I was excited to read with my daughter. To have the Study Guide to accompany our reading was a wonderful asset.
If you are not familiar with the Progeny Press Study Guides, they are comprised of 8 parts that include:
Synopsis
About the Author
Background Information
Before You Read Activities
As You Read Assignment
Chapter Assignments (Vocabulary and Short Answer Questions)
After Your Read Activities
Additional Resources
The Study Guide was interactive and had many opportunities for my daughter to really think about the various themes in the novel. It goes way past basic comprehension questions, which is quite important. Students who develop higher-order thinking skills become life-long learners--capable of analyzing new situations, relating new information to what they already know and thinking critically and creatively to solve problems, improve processes and understand their world.
Higher level thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you. When a person memorizes and gives back the information without having to think about it, that is rote memory. That is because it is much like a robot; it does what it is programmed to do, but it does not think for itself.
Progeny's Study Guide ($17.99) takes thinking to higher levels than restating the facts. The student understands them, infers from them, connects them to other facts and concepts categorizes them; manipulates them and puts them together in new or novel ways, and applies them as they seek new solutions and ideas.
In addition to these higher-level thinking skills, there are fun, hands-on activities such as a variety of puzzles and a recipe from the era that Sarah would have made. My daughter loved trying it out!
For those of you that have not read "Sarah, Plain and Tall," it is a heartwarming story told by Anna, a young girl in 1910 Kansas who had recently lost her mom. Her dad is having a hard time raising his children and running his farm without the help of a wife. He puts an ad in the paper for a bride to help him and gets a response from a woman named Sarah.
This sweet, historical novel about loneliness and family, about the relationship between Anna, her brother Caleb and their dad, and eventually with Sarah, teaches much about love, resilience and redemption.
Progeny Press' mission statement reads "To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature and to rely on the Scripture for Truth and values and enjoy themselves while they do it!" It is no wonder that they selected a story like 'Sarah'-- and why you and your family will be delighted by both the novel and the guide.
As many of you may know from other forms of social media, my family was involved in a terrible wreck on Saturday evening. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
A dear friend has set up a Go Fund Me for my family. If you feel so inclined, we would be grateful for your support and sharing the link, as well.
I will try to be up and blogging again and soon as possible.
