In social studies we read about the Second Sumerian State and the people of the Indus Valley. We also reviewed more aspects of Ancient Egypt: the Rosetta Stone and hieroglyphics. The kids made their own Rosetta Stone with hieroglyphics, a cartouche with their name in hieroglyphics, and the girls also completed various lapbook pages on these topics
We finished up our pyramid unit in science and picked up Genesis for Kids again (based on days of creation). We had completed Day 1 (all about light) and now started Day 2 (air and water). We had fun with a few experiments, learning that air takes up space and has mass. In case you are wondering about our mummy preparation experiment results:
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| This shows that drying out the body with salt (toast) and rubbing the body with oils and spices that have antiseptic properties (antiseptic cream) help preserve the body. |
For fine arts this week we listened to"Summer" in Vivaldi's Four Seasons a few times. One of those times the kids all completed a watercolor painting of a summer scene. They also had a few art lessons from God and the History of Art.
How are we doing with our Biblical feast celebrations? Well, we did do our Yom Kippur celebration last week Friday night. We were then to build our on sukkah for Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. We thought we could just use Nicolas' fort from outside? Not sure about the celebration in it this weekend as Renee and Andy will be here. We may have to postpone for another week.
Books that helped us learn the last two weeks: Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphics by James Rumford and The Mystery of the Hieroglyphs by Carol Donoughue. Tikvah Means Hope by Patricia Polacco and On Sukkat and Simchat Torah by Cathy Goldberg Fishman
Seth continued his letter units with the letter "A" for apple and "N" for nest. For apple week we made applesauce one day when Wendy VB (seminary wife) came over. She had picked up seconds of Honeycrisp apples for only $2.00 a bushel! We also wanted to visit an orchard, but since Russ' sister Renee and family are coming for apples this weekend we thought we could wait and go then. I just found out that many orchards offer tours for a small fee for school and home school groups. I am not sure I will take advantage of that at this point, but it would have been fun. The words for last week were "If I stay in Jesus I will have much fruit."
This week was "nest" week. We learned a lot about different animals and their homes, especially baby birds and how they are protected and kept safe in the nest. Seth matched animals to their homes and made his own house book by drawing pictures of animals in their homes. The words for this week were "God takes good care of me."
Library books Seth enjoyed for his two units:
The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons; Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story by Anna Smucker; Apples by Jacqueline Farmer; Apples Here! by Will Hubbell; Apple Cider Making Days by Ann Purmell; and The Story of Johnny Appleseed by Aliki.
A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman; Castles, Caves and Honeycombs by Linda Ashman; Annie and Snowball and the Cozy Nest by Cynthia Rylant; and The Best Nest and Are You My Mother? both by P. D. Eastman.
We had no home school orchestra or cello lessons this week because of the tender finger. We did have BSF and piano lessons on Monday, I went to a Ministry Wives talk on "The Emotional and Physical Demands of the Ministry," on Tuesday night, and Nicolas, the girls, and I went to the Boys and Girls Club kickoff on Wednesday night at the FRC. The Plymouth Christian School did not have school yesterday so Wendy VB and kids came over in the afternoon for awhile. Now we are preparing for a visit from Renee and Andy and family who will come later this afternoon and stay through Sunday.
I am horribly homesick so it is a good thing we are keeping busy. We can't wait to see and hold Finn David! Also, when I read that Abe S. needed to go in this week to have surgery on his arm I just wanted to be back in Iowa to help my dear friend, Amy. I feel so helpless here in Michigan. After having a pity party for myself one night this week, I read the Haiti blog on "Sacrifice" and it put my homesickness into perspective. Not going home until Christmas is still a pretty good deal!
Russ is also quite busy with seminary work. This is mid-term of the semester so that means exam time; Greek was last week, NT Intro is tomorrow, and Dr. Beeke's class is a week from next Tuesday. I still try to bake once a week for the seminary guys. The pans always come back empty:) Russ is limited in what baked goods he can eat because of the egg issue, but I would like to look into the chia seed alternative for eggs in baking. I just haven't gotten to a health food store to purchase this, but would like to experiment if it isn't too expensive.
I guess that is all that is new for us this week. Thankfully, no one was injured--no ER trips were made this week!
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