Wrapping Up Week 24 (2015-16)
Elijah completing his MEP worksheet with the help of Cuisenaire rods.
Science
This week we started Our Universe, the only book we’ve yet to go through in God’s Design for Heaven and Earth. Ian was really interested in space a few years ago, but I think he got burnt out when we attempted to go through Exploring Creation With Astronomy from Apologia in Kindergarten. We haven’t touched on the subject since, and I’m hoping we can rekindle some of that interest this term, using this book just as a launching pad for exploring specific things that interest him.
I put on a DVD I bought that year but we had never watched called What You Aren’t Being Told About Astronomy Volume 1: Our Created Solar System. It’s rather long (112 minutes), but Ian sat and watched the whole thing and didn’t want me to turn it off part way through. (I thought it was a little dry and probably better for older kids, but Ian really learns well from things I think would be above the heads of most kids his age.) I think it would be better used in smaller chunks, because it covers a lot of information.
Read Alouds
We continued reading Pollyanna 
We also enjoyed stepping back in history with The Dragon and the Raven, the latest audio adventure from Heirloom Audio Productions. Based on the G.A. Henty novel by the same name, it tells about the triumph of Alfred the Great over the Danes. Ian learned about Alfred the Great in his Veritas Press history course a while back, so it was a fun chance to revisit his story. (I’ll be posting a detailed review in a few weeks.)
by Sarah Young (adapted by Tama Fortner) is due to be released February 2, but the publisher was kind enough to send me a copy a little early so I could share about it as soon as possible.
, in which she shares daily devotions written from her personal prayer time. They are written as though Jesus is speaking directly to the reader, and this intimate style and the encouragement Young’s writing brings has made that book the #1 bestseller in Christian devotionals on Amazon. I’ve been going through the kids version (
) with my children, so I was eager to get a glimpse at Young’s latest offering.
, ECPA 2013 Christian Book of the Year). The bright, sturdy hard cover with a ribbon bookmark makes it practical for daily reading. It continues Young’s signature style of writing, where each devotion is a personal message from Jesus, along with related Scriptures for each day. The simplicity is what makes it profound. My children really respond well to starting each day with a little note of encouragement and time in the Scriptures to give them food for thought.
, which is a great DVD for learning more about the subject from a biblical worldview.
, and then the boys and I played several rounds of our new favorite, 
emergency room to stitch up Arianna after she split her chin open on our patio, followed by a complete crash of the hard drive on the computer where Ian does his 
I think I may have found a good option. I decided to go back to the curriculum I used with Ian for Kindergarten and most of first grade: 
We made our first visit to the 
set for Christmas. Eli really prefers creative construction to following directions, but I wanted him to learn about specific building techniques that he could use, so we pulled out 
to learn about different types of bridges, and each boy built one of the models in the K’NEX kit.
I’ve missed the way we used to start our school days together, so I decided to begin cultivating the habit of “circle time” each morning once again. We do our main family Bible study together with Daddy in the evenings (now that we’re through the Advent season, we’re back to 
a few years ago. We revisited some of our favorite books, CDs, and videos about Venice and the famous Venetian composer 
(Lovely picture book that tells the story of Vivaldi’s life)
(story about a girl who sings with at the Pieta school in Venice where Vivaldi worked. Not completely accurate, but still gives a glimpse into this piece of history.)
Ian has listened to this several times a year since we first found it. I think it’s his favorite of all the titles in 
and 
(though we’ve enjoyed them all). I didn’t realize there’s also a 
to go along with the story, so I just ordered it to surprise him. (We have a couple of the others that complement the CDs in the series already and love them.)
(8-minute streaming video featuring a Venetian boy sharing about his home)
(25-minute streaming video that provides a good introduction to the city)
(This is a fascinating program about how Venice was built and the dangers facing it in modern times. I watched it on Netflix years ago, but now that’s it’s no longer streaming I bought the DVD because it’s so interesting.)
is still a little too advanced for my kids this time around (though we probably could have done some of the projects), so we stuck with 
, which has a great map in the front of it which I copied and laminated so the boys could follow along as I read the book (as well while we read 
during Circle Time one day).
, in which Patick and Beth travel to the court of Kublai Khan and meet Marco Polo. The biggest hit of the week, however, was a series I stumbled across on Netflix called 
, part of the Basher Science Books collection.
(He took care of the volcano models and spared me the mess.)
I’ve recently begun checking out various devotional books to use with my children. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for (or what was out there), so I wanted to explore several options. My most recent opportunity came with a chance to review 
by Randy Frazee.
and the 
to get even more out of it.
Oh, am I blessed. This past year the Lord heaped blessing upon blessing for our family, and I finished the year feeling like the fountain in our new back yard that just keeps filling up and spilling over. We moved into a beautiful little house where not only do my children have space to run around, they’ve also been given wonderful neighbors with whom to do it. We welcomed Nathaniel into our family, healthy after some respiratory complications due to his early arrival. Actually, everyone has been remarkably healthy this year. Eric and I celebrated our ninth anniversary, and we’re more in love than ever. We have so much for which to be thankful.