American State Notebook - Georgia

Along with our history studies - Sonlight American History Core D, we are working through the American states and creating a notebook. We try to learn one new state each week, if possible.

We are currently on the state of Georgia. Whenever possible, I try to find How to Draw state series book for each one that we are studying. The library doesn't always have on though. We research each state, reading the books that we have available.

J works on her two spread notebook page for the state, adding facts about the state. Her favorite are the silly laws of each state!

I had a magnetic puzzle of the states and had her work on it. I thought when I bought it that it contained a magnetic board but it didn't. We used a magnetic cookie sheet to put it together.

She reviewed her states and capitals by matching them. (You can see my munchkin knocking on the door in the background - a new skill:)  

Lastly, J colors in the state on our US map. If there are any landmarks that we have read about, she draws them and adds them to our map. (You can see the Statue of Liberty...and yes, I know that isn't where it is located in New York but if we placed it correctly, it would have covered several of the states names.) I am hoping we accomplish at least 25 states this year. We will see... Have a great weekend. 

Puzzle Time

Recently, Kaleb has shown interest in putting together puzzles. At first, he would ask to put together the tot puzzles that I had accumulated throughout my adventures at Goodwill.

His first attempts were the younger floor puzzles but I felt that he could do more.

So, I went to the Dollar Store and purchased the next step up - a 48 piece Spiderman puzzle. I was afraid that it was going to be too difficult.

But he amazed me by putting this puzzle together in no time! He liked it so much that he would disassemble it and put it back together again several times a day.

So, I went back and purchased several more $1 puzzles with the superhero theme. He loved them! He loves his puzzles! I shouldn't be surprised. We will be moving up to 100 pieces soon. Hope you have an amazing day:)

Lewis and Clark Unit - Week 1

J and I are currently reading through Sunlight's Core D - American History. We read a ton of books about the American Revolution as well as some of the key players in the war. We have moved to learning about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. We will be working on a lap book that I purchased from Hands of a Child while we read a variety of books about the exploration.

This past week, we had the opportunity to visit an 1850's historical encampment complete with period costumes. The kids had the chance to sample beef jerky, drink homemade root beer, experience several craftsman from the time period. One of our favorite places was looking through the teepees. We decided it would be fun to make one!

 We found a simple DIY teepee project using PVC pipe from Project Nursery (link below). Using a muslin drop cloth along with several other supplies and a couple of hours later, we had our own teepee!

As you can tell, it was pretty cold here but that didn't stop them from having fun! After the teepee was assembled, we made dinner on a campfire for an extra fun experience. The kids are already asking when we will "camp" again. A good beginning to a new unit:) See you soon.

Links

Project Nursery - DIY teepee tutorial.

Tot Tuesday

Riley got a new ride-on toy for his birthday. I wanted something small enough to keep in the house but still fun...

He finally figured out how to get on.

I think it is a keeper! Love that face.

Character Training - Encouragement with free printable

Each week for our Bible time, we spend some time learning about a virtue from our Virtue Training Bible. This week's virtue was encouragement. Along with our study, I created a few notebook pages for our Virtue Training notebook.

First, J looks up the virtue in the dictionary and write the definition under the encouragement header.

She colored her encouragement card for her Virtue ring. I love using this virtue ring to review what we have learned.

Here's a picture of her Virtue Word Ring.

J looked up the verses in the Bible and highlighted each one with the corresponding color. Our virtue Bible is slowly filling up. I love the tabs. If you would like a copy of my Virtue Notebook printable, please feel free to download below. Enjoy.

Download Encouragement Notebook Printable HERE.

Links

His Sunflower - a mini bible story about being encouraging along with a free printable coloring page.

Embracing Him - has a mini lesson on teaching your girls to be encouragers.

American Artists - Louis Comfort Tiffany

This year we are using Great American Artists for Kids for our art program. We work through a new artist each week and plan on using this book for our two year American History study. This week's artist was Louis Comfort Tiffany.

We started our lesson by reading about Tiffany and his life. J completed an artist notebook page for her notebook.

She worked on her artist notecard for our wall. It is slowly filling up.

J received a stained glass art kit for Christmas last and we just hadn't been able to use it. It was timely for our artist study on Tiffany. J chose a stained glass hummingbird sun catcher. First, she had to use black to work around the lines and, after that dried, J added the color. It turned out cute and is hanging in my window at the moment (sorry no picture). Hope you have an awesome week!

Links

Artipelago Teacher - has a great art project using Tiffany's lamps. If I had a computer when we worked this lesson, I would have done this:)

Kids & Glitter - has a stain glass project using tin foil.

Mini History Unit - George Washington

Recently, we have been learning about the Revolutionary War as well as some of the key players. It just so happens that there was also a mini unit on George Washington in our Learning Language Arts Through Literature. I love when our themes overlap. 

We started our unit by reading through a Landmark Book about George Washington's life. It was a quick read and it definitely reinforced what we had been reading all along.

She worked through a timeline of George's life that I found at Teaching Second Grade's TPT page (link below).

J completed the literature unit from her Language Arts book. It wasn't quite the week for it but I pulled it because of the timing seemed good.

J decided she wanted to do something creative with Washington so she decided to make a large Washington complete with facts from his life. She wrote a couple of paragraphs about him. 

I love how this turned out! You can't tell but behind his hat are the paragraphs about Washington's life in a mini book form. So, now, I have a large Thomas Jefferson and a large Washington hanging in our school room. Perhaps we should create a few more of the key players!

Links

Teaching Second Grade - has the free printable timeline project.

Where the Wild Things Learn - has a great free mini printable on George vs. George. We did this one when we read Can't You Make Them Behave, King George?

Sewing School

Recently, my mother blessed me with a new sewing machine. I had been feeling somewhat lost since all of our possessions are overseas and I hadn't been able to create/sew anything in a long time. My mother knew that I missed sewing and blessed me with a machine! Thanks Mom, I love it.

J and I had spent this past December sewing ornaments for our bare Christmas tree and I noticed that she truly enjoyed sewing with me. We would wait until the baby was in bed and sew a new ornament each night. You should see my tree! The ornaments turned out so cute.

Lately, J mentioned that she missed sewing and we decided to devote one night a week to completing various sewing projects. One night, when I had my shiny new machine out, she stated that she would love to have a sewing machine of her own. Well, my mom blessed J with a mini sewing machine of her own! I can't tell you how excited she was waiting for it to arrive. Because of the new interest, we have started Sewing School.

Now, in no way or form am I a seamstress - that's my Mom:) She makes the gorgeous princess dresses and costumes for my kids. But I can use my machine and I love to sew/quilt. So, we will be working on some easy sewing projects for beginners. (Look at the excitement on that face! The machine just arrived and she couldn't wait to get it out of the box!) Sorry for the blurriness, she couldn't sit still!

Here she is working through a sewing maze and a dot-to-dot sheet for the sewing machine. I started with these so she could get used to the movement of the machine, working pivots, stopping and starting, etc... She did well with these and quickly moved onto another simple project.

She was looking for anything else to make, so I suggested a simple coaster with a heart on it for Valentine's Day. She made one for me, for her Dad, and then began a few for her friends. (Thanks Mom for the fabric, J is having a ball!) Join us for her next Sewing School Project....see you soon:)

Links

Skip to My Lou - has the free printable sewing maze and dot-to-dot worksheet for beginners.

Thirty Handmade Days - the original idea for the coasters came from here but I simplified them. We may still make these as they are super cute.

Tot Tuesday

Riley's first Reese's Cup.

What is this goodness?....

Mmmmm...

Chocolate Daze. (and then, of course, a bath:)

God Protects Jesus from the King

For our Bible curriculum, we are using Telling God's Story Book 1 and this week we are working on lesson 22 - God Protects Jesus from the King. We are in the unit about Jesus' life.

J started the lesson by listening to the story and coloring her sheet.

One of the projects suggested was to make a star by cutting paper. The lesson came with instructions but it took two times for it to actually come out looking like a star. Not sure what we did wrong the first time, but it worked out the second time.

J created a poster depicting the Wise Men bringing their gifts to Jesus.

Here is her completed poster. Super cute! I asked her why there were only two camels and she informed me that is was because there wasn't any room for a third one.

We looked at the painting by Sandro Botticelli on the internet, Adoration of the Magi and discussed it. We also listened to the song We Three Kings, talked through the verses and looked at pictures of the gifts that they brought. I truly love how this curriculum uses different avenues to teach the lessons. Hope you are having a great day.

Links

Made by Mollie's Mom - has a cute craft for the 3 Wise Men using popsicle sticks.

First Palette - has a free printable template to make a cute 3 Wise Men craft.

Art Kid's Hub - has a step by step way to draw the 3 Wise Men.

Love Is....Valentine Bible Study with free printable

I know that Valentine's Day is somewhat a way off but I thought that I would share this free printable that I created. It is a mini bible study on I Corinthians 13. We read through the chapter about love and created a super cute banner for our living room to remind us what we learned.

We started our lesson on love by reading I Corinthians 13. We discussed it, working through words that she was unsure of.

J colored each heart with markers. The hearts are pretty big but I have a big window that I was planning on hanging it in front of. If you would like a smaller banner, print multiple pages together.

Here is the finished product. It turned out pretty cute. J did not finish this in one day. She worked on it through out the week, each time we would read the verses again. Some of the words don't work with Love Is and if that bothers you, omit the "Is" part.

Each heart has a different characteristic for Love as defined in the chapter. If you would like to make your own banner, the link is below.

Download LOVE IS...banner HERE.

Hope you enjoy the mini study and free printable. I loved the way the banner turned out and plan on keeping it up till the end of February. If you have any questions, please let me know. Enjoy.

Links

Christianity Cove - is the place where I got the idea for the Love Is banner of hearts. I just made a printable that allowed J to create it for her self.

American Artists - Whistler

This year for our art curriculum, we are working through Great American Artists for Kids to go-along with our American History program. This week's Artist was James McNeill Whistler.

We always start our art lesson reading about the artist and his/her life. J completes a note booking page, a notecard for our artist wall, and a timeline photo to add to her timeline.

The project for this artist was a simple one - create a picture of someone you love. She chose to draw me :) in honor of Whistler's Mother.

Her finished project - me working on my quilt. What a sweet picture that I will treasure. Hope your week has been great.

Links

Garden of Praise - has a study of Whistler with several of his paintings and a ton of information.

Parent Art Docents - has more information about Whistler as well as a simple art project to go along.

PBS - has a video online about Whistler and his art.

A Mom with a Lesson Plan - has a simple art project for Whistler's Mother, drawing a Grandparent.

Tot Tuesday

Riley and noodles....

There are good days and there are bad...