The Worst December Ever!

I haven't posted in awhile.  I feel like December didn't even come this year.  I missed writing a post wishing my Emerald a happy 7th birthday, and I missed wishing my blog friends a Merry Christmas.

At the beginning of the month, I had my first doctor's appointment to deal with the lump I found in my breast.  I put this situation on hold because on December 12 my Grandfather passed away at the age of 97.  The day before the funeral was the first of many visits over the past weeks at the hospital for my Dad who had a stroke, this with other health issues contributed to kidney failure.  The day before Christmas Eve our family made the difficult decision to let him go to Hospice because his kidneys weren't responding to dialysis among brain injury due to the stroke/cardiac arrest.  He passed away this past Sunday morning.  His funeral is tomorrow.  It's surreal that a father and his son passed away so close together, and I'm absolutely heartbroken.

Topaz's Adventures In My Father's World Week 10

Memory Verse

If anyone is thirsty,

let him come to me and drink.

John 7:37

Bible this week, Jesus is the giver of living water.  Our reading was in John and we talked about the meaning of what living water is, that it is spiritual water for our souls.

History~The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, and the Revolutionary War.  We read The Fourth of July, Re, White, and Blue, and Exploring American History.  We made a notebook page of the 13 colonies, and Declaration of Independence, and The US becomes a country.  We added to our timeline the birthday of the US.  Activity~make Hasty Pudding, make Quill pen with berry ink.  Music~ begin learning lyrics to Yankee Doodle.  Continued Read Aloud Sarah Witchard's Story.

Science~ Water.  We read from Usborne's Science in the Kitchen.  We read Soaked Through and Disappearing Water and did the little experiments from the section.

Book Basket Selections:

Sam the Minute Man by Sally M Walker

George the Drummer Boy by Nathaniel Benchley

Toliver's Secret by Esther Wood Brady

A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson by David A Adler

The Magic Schoolbus at the Waterworks by Joanna Cole

The Day Before Christmas by Eve Bunting

Topaz's Adventures In My Father's World Week 9

I'm behind on my weekly reports, so I'm going to try and update as quickly as possible without leaving anything out!

For week 9 I'll only report on Adventure's.

Bible
Jesus is the Rock.  Memory verse is:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine

 and puts them into practice

                                         is like a wise man

                                     who built his house on the rock.

                                    Matthew 7:24

We talked about how David was a shepherd boy who became king.  He loved music and God.  He wrote songs or Psalms.  We read 2 Sam. 22:1-4 and  Isaiah 26:3-4.  What good things will happen if you trust the the Rock of our salvation.  Made a paper weight and on top is says "Jesus in My Rock".

History was George Washington and Paul Revere.  We read about his life in Exploring American History.  We added George to our timeline and made tricorn hats.  Our read aloud was Sarah Witchard's Story.

In Science we read in Usborne's First Encyclopedia of Science.  We studied about seasons.  Our illustration was the classic globe and lamp without the shade lesson.  Topaz also drew a Fall tree, and will draw what the same tree looks like during the four seasons.

Book Basket Selections where:

Buttons For General Washington by Peter and Connie Roop

A Picture Book of George Washington by David A Adler

George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz

The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds

Indian Captive by Lois Lenski

Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wordless Wednesday~Continued From Last Week

Topaz's Adventure's In My Father's World~Week 8

Topaz's core subjects update is as follows:

Finshed workbook of A Reason For Handwriting B.  We will wait and start A Reason For Handwriting C after the Christmas Break.   Book C is cursive!

Spelling~ Spelling Workout C.  Completed up thru Lesson 16.

Grammar~First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 3.  Completed up thru lesson 32.  He is diagramming Predicate Nominatives!  Working with action verbs, state of being verbs, and helping verbs.  He has started memorizing a new poem, A Tragic Story by William Makepeace Thackeray.

There lived a sage in days of yore,
And he a handsome pigtail wore;
But wondered much and sorrowed more
  Because it hung behind him.

He mused upon this curious case,
And swore he’d change the pigtail’s place,
And have it hanging at his face,
  Not dangling there behind him.

Said he, “The mystery I’ve found,—
I’ll turn me round.”—
He turned him round;
  But still it hung behind him.

Then round and round, and out and in,
All day the puzzled sage did spin;
In vain—it mattered not a pin—
  The pigtail hung behind him.

And right, and left, and round about,
And up, and down, and in, and out
He turned; but still the pigtail stout
  Hung steadily behind him.

And though his efforts never slack,
And though he twist, and twirl, and tack,
Alas! still faithful to his back
  The pigtail hangs behind him.

Writing~Writing With Ease Workbook 2, completed thru week 8.

Math~Saxon 3, completed thru lesson 45.  Memorizing skip counting 7's.

Adventure's In My Father's World

Memory Verse

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mind

and puts them into practice

is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:24

Bible~Discussed the meaning of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Read Matthew7:24-27 Jesus telling a story about a man who built his on the rock.

Read Psalm 94:22, 95:1-5 and talked about how God is our safe place

when we need Him.  We should not be afraid because He is always thereto protect us.

History~Benjamin Franklin.  Read from Exploring American History. 

Added Ben Franklin to timeline, made Poor Richard's Almanack, wrote a Ben Franklin narration notebook page.

Science~Composition of the Earth.  Read in Usborne's First Encyclopedia of Science, and drew a picture of the layers of Earth. 

Read Aloud was Rocks and Minerals by Illa Podendorf

Continued listing to the patriot song America, and also listened to The 

Story of Tchaikovsky in Words and Music.

Book Basket selections were:

A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin by David A Adler

What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz

The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Cross Giblin

Benjamin Franklin DVD from Children's Inventors Series.

Emerald's My Father's World First Grade~Days 28-32

Emerald is doing very well in her studies!

Penmanship~Finished the entire book of A Reason For Handwriting Book A!  We will wait until next year to do Book B.  My Father's World will provide her with continued penmanship practice as she will copy her memory verse each week, and the new implementation of Writing With Ease.

Spelling~ Completed up thru Lesson 14 in Spelling Workout A.  She has continued to make 100% in the workbook, as well as tests!

Grammar/Writing~  This is something new for this week.  Since she has finished her penmanship book, and is doing well in her other subjects, we started Writing With Ease Workbook 1.  She is really liking this too!  There are 4 lessons in a week, so she will do that plus coordinate 4 grammars lessons to go with the writing portion.  This week she completed week one in WWE, which included narration and copywork.

Math~ Saxon 1 completed up thru lesson 85.  Excited that she got the hang of  doubles plus one facts! Yeah!!

My Father's World First Grade

Memory Verse

A fool gives full vent to his anger,

but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Proverbs 29:11

Reading~ /th/, /oo/, /ar/, /or/   Here is a photo of some of the activities that we did to reinforce learning these sounds.

Bible~  Emerald learned how to draw a Bible Lands Map, by remembering a silly story about a man falling out of a boat.  This lesson made me fall in love with MFW all over again.  Genius I tell you!!!!!!  Here is her map!

Science~Thunder and Lightning.

 Our read alouds were:

Thundercakes by Patricia Polacco

Henry and Mudge and the Wild Wind by Cynthia Rylant

Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roll by Franklyn M Branley

Storms by Seymour Simon

Topaz's Adventure's In My Father's World~Week 7

Bible

Memory Verse

I am the bread of life.

 Who comes to me will never go hungry,

 and he who believers in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:35

We talked this week about the prophet Elijah and the woman who shared her last flour and oil, and how God provided for the widow through the famine because of her faithfulness and unselfishness.  We talked about communion, we observe this special time to remember what great love Christ showed on for us.  The bread represents His body that was broken for us, that unleaven bread represents that Jesus was sinless, and wine represents the blood that was shed for our sins.  Our activity was to make a "Bread of Life" napkin holder.  Here is ours:

History~We studies about the pioneers of Michigan. We found the 5 Great Lakes on a map and learned their names by remembering the acronym HOMES.  Our activity was to make a canoe like the ones that the settlers used as they traveled up and down rivers to go to Detroit and trade with Indians.

Science~Topaz read out of Usborne Science in the Kitchen.  Flour, oil, yeast, and water.  And how all that works to make Playdough and Bread.  We made bread again also.

Topaz continued memorizing the lyrics to America from Celebrate America CD.

We finished our read aloud The Courage of Sarah Noble.

We also are able to see our corn stalks now.  This was from our Squanto planting corn project.

Topaz's core subjects are going good and we are still on track!  We have worked really hard not to get behind!