School Time!!!

It's that time of the year, again! School! Yes, we are starting a bit early, this time. But, we took off a little early, so we've had plenty of break time. Now, it is time to fix the boredom and give these boys something to do! LOL

Math:
We are going to stick with Math-U-See. Blake is moving up the Alpha, and Lane and Jacob will start Delta. As a fun supplement to our math, this year, Lane and Jacob will also be doing Your Business Math Series. Each will be running his own store for 26 weeks. Lane has a book store and Jacob has a pet store. They are excited about this fun adventure. Their first assignment is Monday, and they have to come up with a Company name and Logo.

Language Arts:
We went back to Christian Light Education (CLE) for some subjects; Language Arts being one of them. Blake is doing the Learning to Read Series and the other two are doing grade appropriate L.A. Lane will also be learning how to use Resource books. He will be using Learning How to Learn. Lane will also be practicing Diagramming for a while.

Bible:
This was another subject that we went back to CLE for. Lane will be going through the Bible from Creation to Revelation, while Jacob will be starting in Acts and working his way to Revelation ~ and then work his way through the life of Jesus Christ. Blake and Landon will be listening to me read stories from Egermeier's Bible Story Book.

Reading:
Reading is the other subject we went back to CLE for. When Blake gets done with the LTR Series, he'll move on to Reading and L.A. Lane and Jacob will do grade appropriate Reading courses. Lane and Jacob will also be supplementing with daily reading. They will read a chapter from a book they are given, then complete an assignment. Lane will write a summary of the chapter and Jacob will illustrate something from the chapter. They will also be reading separate books. Lane will be starting with the hidden treasure of glaston, while Jacob gets The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood from Great Illustrated Classics.

Art:
Jacob is my arty child, so at this time, he is the one doing art. Each day he will receive a project from me.

Science:
We are using Apologia. We are about finished with Astronomy. It had to take a back burner for a bit, but we're back with it. When we finish it, we will move on to Botany.
We are also reading about Johannes Kepler.

History:
At the moment we are reading some books on Middle Ages and Civil War. When we finish that we will start 180 Days Around the World. Jacob will also be doing activity sheets on each state.

Other:
We are also going to start the God's Design for Sex Series. It is a 4 book set that starts with ages 3-5, moves to 5-8, then 8-11, and ends with 11-14. As we read each book, I'll be doing so with only the ones old enough for each book. All 4 will be in on the first, then we will read without Landon, then without Blake, and finally without Jacob. As each of them hit the next age appropriate book, we will reread them.
I also will have some Classical Music going at different times of the day, and we will discuss the music and composers. Also, I have some small copies of famous paintings that we can discuss along with the artists.

Landon:
In the meantime, I have a 3yo who thinks he's just as big as anyone else. I may go ahead a start him on some light preschool stuff. He loves to do "coolwork" too! He already knows the alphabet, most numbers, and pretty much all the colors, so we may do something that reinforces that. I have a preschool program for him, but if it proves to be too much for him, I'll probably order the CLE preschool stuff. Blake enjoyed those.


Well, wish me luck!! Pray for my sanity and perseverance, this year!

 Deuteronomy 6:6-9
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."

A Typical School Day

I decided to post a few pictures from two recent school days. I thought it might be fun to show everyone what Landon does while the others are doing their work.

One day, the boys were busy plugging away at their work, and Landon was a bit bored. So, what did I find for him to do?

He washed dishes!! He had so much fun! I had actually just finished washing all these lids and cups, but decided to throw them back in the water, so he had something to do.

He thought he was big stuff! LOL

Then he wanted to wash the pan. I hadn't washed it yet, but thought he'd have fun with it anyway. He just stood there on his chair, wiping that dishrag up and down that pan, giggling the entire time.

 He actually got it pretty clean!!

 He was saying, "Did I do good job, Momma? I like washin' dishes!"
I told him he did an excellent job, then asked him if I could finish the pan, before rinsing it off. He said, "Sure!!", and grinned his classic Landon Grin, and offered me a kiss!

On another day, the other boys were plugging away, again.

Where was Landon? What was he doing, this time?

Sleeping!!! He was one tired little boy!! LOL

Actually, on a typical school day, Landon wants to be right there with the rest of them, doing his "coolwork" too! He does math and Bible and reading, just like everyone else!! LOL That means he colors on paper!! LOL

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ~ "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."

Butterfly Experiment

In late March and most of April, I decided to do an experiment with the boys. We decided to grow butterflies. I sent off for the Caterpillers, in the mail. The boys were so excited when they finally came. They were Painted Lady Butterflies. I was unable to get pics of the caterpillers, because they had to stay in the plastic container for a few days. All I was getting was glare. As soon as they all crawled to the top, and formed their cacoons, we took them out and pinned them to the butterfly cage. One had fallen off, before the rest had even got to the top, but I decided to go ahead and dump it into the bottom of the cage, to see what would happen. The boys figured it was dead, but I decided to wait and see. It was the first one to be cacooned, so I figured if the others hatched first, it was probably dead.

Here are the remaining four, after we got them pinned to the side of the cage.

And Lo and behold, the one they thought was dead, was not. One morning, they got up and there it was.

The booklet, that came with them, said we could either put fresh cut flowers with sugar water sprinkled on them, a wad of paper towels soaked in sugar water, or fesh slices of oranges or watermelon in to the cage, after they emerged. So, we decided on oranges.

A couple of days later? Two more!

 Here's the first one.

 Then, the remaining two, the next day. We caught them before they had left the spot the cacoons were.

 Here's all four. One seemed to be enjoying the oranges.

 Aren't they beautiful?!!

 I had read where they only lasted a couple of weeks, plus we noticed some ants in the house, which we figured out were headed for the yummy oranges. So, we decided to go ahead and let them go. This one just wouldn't let go! LOL I finally had to tap on the cage a couple of times, to jar it loose. It then, found its way out and flew around us a bit, before following the others. The boys LOVED it!

And so, concludes our little experiment! Didn't God do an excellent job, when he designed and created these creatures? I think so!!

Psalm 148:5 ~ "Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created."

George Washington

Things we've learned about:

George Washington

By: The Dorse Boys

1. He was the 1st President of the United States of America! ~ Blake

2. He was a great man ~ Blake
3. He lead the Revolutionary War and won! ~ Jacob

4. It seems like God was always protecting him when he was in wars. ~ Jacob
5. He caught Smallpox while out of the country the one and only time he left. ~ Lane
6. He was a Lieutenant in the French and Indian War. ~ Lane

7. He married a lady with two kids. ~ Blake

8. His wife's name was Martha Dandridge Custis. ~ Lane

9. He never had any kids of his own, just Martha's. ~ Jacob

10. His daddy died when George was 11. ~ Lane
11. He was a surveyor. ~ Lane
12. His false teeth weren't made of wood. They were made from his slave's teeth, that he bought from them. ~ Jacob

13. One of his slaves ran away. He was going to kidnap her, but she tried to make a deal with him. That made him angry, so he gave up getting her home, and she never saw her family again. ~ Lane
14. He had a few slaves, and when he married Martha, he got tons more. ~ Lane
15. He was second-class as a child, and became first-class when he got married. ~ Lane
16. In his will, he freed his slaves after Martha died. But she was afraid for her life, so she freed them earlier. ~ Lane
17. He died from pneumonia. He was bled too much. ~ Lane

18. In the French and Indian War, he was almost killed by his Indian Guide. ~ Lane
19. His helper wanted to kill that guide, but George let him go. ~ Jacob
20. He wrote a letter to his brother, that said the sound of bullets whizzing by his ear was like music to him and calmed him. ~ Jacob

21. In one of the battles in the French and Indian War, he had two horses shot out from under him. ~ Jacob

22. A bullet also was shot through his hat and one went through his sleeve, in that same battle. ~ Lane
23. During The Revolutionary War, he attacked Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas Eve. None of his men were hurt. ~ Lane

24. He used spies in the Revolutionary War. ~ Lane
25. He used codes and disappearing ink to write letters to his men. That way, the British didn't know what he said, if the messengers were caught. ~ Lane
26. He served as President for two terms, but could have been President for life, if he'd wanted. He also could have been King of America, too. ~ Lane

27. There is a picture of him on the $1.00 Bill. ~ Blake

28. The name of his estate was Mount Vernon. ~ Jacob

And that is what we learned about George Washington.

The next President we get to learn about, will be John Adams. We can't wait!

But first, we get to learn more about Martha.