Raising Rock Stars: The Tower that was never finished!

This week in Raising Rock Stars, our focus is on the Tower of Babel. We read "The Tower that was Never Finished", from Hurlbut's Story of the Bible.

The kids each did this online jigsaw puzzle, from DLTK, it can be changed in level of difficulty. Jacob and Halea also did a Cryptogram I made from DLTK. They really like these :D Noah did this maze, he has really started liking mazes...

They built a Tower of Babel from graham crackers and marshmallow cream, yum-yum!

They also made these Multi-Cultural people dolls from Making Friends. Then reacted the story.
We could have made these little guys all day ;D We also used our spoon people for the story...

Halea had fun saying these numbers in various languages.

They each did a coloring sheet. Halea's: Building of the Tower of Babel... Jacob's Tower of Babel from Calvary Chapel. And Noah did this one (kinda) from Thus Saith The Lord.

Halea also did this cross word puzzle.

We ended the lesson by playing "jibber-jabber charades." This was really fun, not to mention hilarious!

Make sure you head over to 1+1+1=1 to see what Carissa and others are up to this week in Raising Rock Stars!

Make a little boy's Christmas the best ever!!!!

All Noah wants for Christmas... Please pray for this little boy and his family. And if you get the chance, get a card in the mail to him :D

Five year-old Noah Biorkman is in hospice and we need your help to make this the best Christmas ever by sending him Christmas cards! His family will be celebrating Christmas this weekend. Noah was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma in February 2007. He went into remission in August 2007. In September 2008, Noah relapsed with lesions in his right arm and right leg. After going through six different trials, the cancer continues to spread. Noah is an angel and we are blessed to have him in our lives. Please help the fulfill the Biorkman family's wish to make this the best Christmas ever for Noah. You can send your Christmas cards to: Home: 1141 Fountain View Cir. South Lyon, MI 48178 or an alternate: c/o Scott Biorkman 3480 Petoskey Way Milford, MI 48380

Read more about his story and get updates here, at Care Pages.

Check out this true story on Snopes...

....Lest We Forget

"Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons." (Deuteronomy 4:9)

This admonition was given by God through Moses as the children of Israel were preparing finally to enter God’s promised land.

God had done mighty things for them--delivering them from slavery in Egypt, parting the Red Sea for them, feeding them for forty years with water from a great rock and daily bread from heaven--and it was important for them to teach their descendants, "lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen."

It was especially vital not to forget the actual words of God. "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it" (Deuteronomy 4:2). The writer of Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) stressed no less than seven times how important it was not to forget the words of God.

"I will not forget thy word" (v. 16).

"Yet do I not forget thy statutes" (v. 83).

"I will never forget thy precepts" (vv. 93, 141).

"I do not forget thy law" (vv. 109, 153).

"For I do not forget thy commandments" (v. 176).

Our nation has seen God do marvelous things. It was founded by a small band of Christians, and in a short span of history has become the greatest nation in the world. Yet we also seem about to forget, as Israel once did.

We would do well to rehearse again and again the poignant words of Rudyard Kipling, in words written over a hundred years ago: "Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget." HMM

Oh Lord, let us not forget. Grant us your grace and mercy, and continually prick out hearts with Your truth. Let us not forget!!!

Preschool Week 14

Preschool Letter of the week: L is for leaves!!!
~Assignment - rake up a pile of leaves and jump in them ;p All the kids had to get in on this fun :D
~Read Why do leaves change color?
~Made trees for every season, which season are we in? (use finger paints)
~Make leaves out of
contact paper for our
Thankful Tree
~Make a leaf graph out of the leaves you find outside.
~Maple leaves turkey craft
~we identified a few trees by it's leaves
~Make leaves with playdoh (mixing colors to make fall colors)
~Match leaves with printables from Kidsparks

Here is a video Noah enjoyed about Autumn leaves


Noah is working on this great Thanksgiving ABC Lapbook from Homeschool Launch.

L in Noah's Alphabet notebook: L is for Lion, Lord's Prayer, Leaves, Love, Lollipops, Ladybug Letters...

Noah also worked on number word recognition with big brothers help. Mickey Mouse, baby :D

We continued to read out of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible for breakfast Bible time. And out of the Children's Everyday Bible for personal Bible time.

Raising Rock Stars...

You don't want to miss out on this!

I am just too exited!

This week at our church, our Kingdom Kids are going to go on a scavenger hunt at the local dollar store. This mission is to get as many needed items on their list as possible. They will have only 10.00 for each team.

After they have realized they will not have enough money for all the items, we will then get the rest of the items together. Then we will go back and discuss these things:
1. what was it like to go into a store knowing that you had more items on the list than you could afford?
2. If you were a low-income single parent or living in a third world nation, where poverty is rampant, how would you prioritize your needs?
3. Where would someone go in real life if he or she couldn't afford necessities?

We will then read Matt. 25:31-46 and discuss the following while decorating the boxes:
1. Who are the "least of these"?
2. Why does Jesus pay special attention to the "least of these" in these verses?
3. What should our motivation be for helping the "least of these"?
4. How does helping others change us?

What is all this you may ask? Good Question :D

The drop off dates for the Operation Christmas Child is Nov. 16-23... you don't want to miss out on this. Even if you can not afford to do an entire box by yourself, you could see if there are family or neighbors or friends that would like to join you, and you could do a box together. We are doing our 2 boxes together, so every child can experience the gift of giving! Won't you pray about what you can do also?

Find your local donation drop-off location here...

Don't feel like you have enough time to gather everything you need for a box? You can even give your box online (by donation) and then follow it to where it goes. Check it out.

Pilgrim Study Part 2 (The Voyage)

Here is the second installment of our Pilgrim Study notebooking pages. There is also a copywork page, a vocab (shown) and several pages that the children can illustrate. Find your PDF files listed below :D

1. Anatomy of the Mayflower (vocab)
2. Barbican Pier Copywork
3. Illustrate Home Building Tools (blank)
4. Illustrate Pilgrim Furniture (blank)
5. Clothing of the Pilgrims
6. What happened on the voyage?
7. Map of Holland
8. Mayflower Captain
9. Mayflower Dogs
10. Medical Arts on the Mayflower
11. Illustrate named Pilgrim Furniture
12. The Crew of the Mayflower
13. The Crossing to America
14. The Sighting of Land
15. The Speedwell & The Mayflower
16. The Speedwell
17. Tun Barrel
18.Things brought on the Voyage

More Women of the Bible Notebooking Pages

Here are a couple more notebooking pages for Anna and Athaliah from our "All the Women of the Bible" study.

Draw then Write Anna
Anna notebooking page
Anna
Draw then Write Athaliah
Athaliah notebooking page
Athaliah

Free Thanksgiving Recipe Ebook

Free from Quality Health! Check it out ;D

Homes-Cool Week 13

This week in school we have spent more time outside. Here in the Sunshine state it has been very nice outside. It is amazing what fresh air has done for our spirits.

Halea:
~Halea and I started reading All the Women of the Bible together. You can find the notebook pages she is using (will be added more,) and read more about this here.
~She worked again in Life of Fred Fractions. She is exited as she is nearing the end of this book. It is very satisfying to her this year, as this curriculum has turned her hatred of math around! Read about our review for Life of Fred Fractions...
~A Reason for Spelling E
~Writing Center: Text Response 1 Sam. 25: 2-44
~Rod & Staff Reader 6: Buried in the Snow, To Start a Fire, Jamestown Preacher
~Mad Libs
~A young women after God's own heart: faith heroes, brothers and sisters,
~Sketch Tue. - Draw a famous landmark
~Design cover for All the Women of the Bible notebook
~Continue reading Stepping Heavenward with mama
~Made Peanut Butter Cookies

Jacob:
~Mighty Warrior Devotional Bible: First Forgiveness, Enemy Fire, In the Long Run
~Abeka Arithmetic 2
~Dry Erase math & subtraction
~Rod and Staff English 2
~A Reason for Spelling B
~Copywork
~Nature Journaling
~Explode the Code 5 1/2
~(Individual Reading) The Mystery of the Silent Nightingale
~Made a modified pomander and discuss reason for use and the time period
~Mad Libs
~Draw a famous landmark
~The Glad Scientist: Salt of the Earth

Noah:
~Kites for the Letter K including Trapezoid shapes and Bible Reading
~Sorting and Patterning Bears (Three Bear family and Activity book)
& LEGO patterns
~Left to Right
~Read 26 Letters and 99 Cents with mama
~What Belongs together
~More and Fewer
~Same number of objects
~Color by Spot and numbers
~nature journal
~notebook Flo the Lyin Fly after reading with mama
~The Big Book of Questions and Answers: Who are you? Why am I here?

Together:
~We took a nice nature walk. Read about that post here. From that we made Nature Autumn Wreaths.
~We focused on Habitats, joining in with Nature Explorers. This is our first week joining them :D
~Notebooking woodland animals like the Chipmunk...
~We focused on Noah and the Big Flood, as did Carissa over at 1+1+1=1, for Raising Rock Stars ;D
~Halea and Jacob also joined in with Barb and Sketch Tue. I am very exited they both wanted to do this :D Their first completed assignment was to draw a wallet or something you put in it.
~We made Acorn People from stuff around the house and yard.
~We listened and notebooked the first part of "Path of Praise: The History of Thanksgiving" from the Homeschool Radio Shows "Great Old Time Holiday Stories for the Family" cd. This has been such a wonderful blessing for us, as we all gather around the stereo and spend some quality time together.
~Started our Pilgrims Study, read more and find a few notebooking pages we are using here.
~Read out loud together "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
~Read Sarah Morton's Day, and continued Pilgrim Study. Find free printables here, for this book.
~Read "The Great Ship that saved eight people", from Hulbut's Story of the Bible (will continue with this book each day at breakfast :D) This is a great book, (an oldie, but a goodie), with questions in the back for each story...
~We made Contact window clings, and a Thanksgiving Turkey Countdown
~And we recieved our first letters from a Wampanog boy and Pilgrim girl, via email... read more here :D

Please, join in so myself as well as others can see what you have been up to in your Homes-cool!

Sarah Morton's Day: Lap/Notebook

We read Sarah Morton's Day this week as a part of our Thanksgiving Study. Here are a few printables I created in PDF format to go along with the book ;D There are mini-books, a Writing Response, and Notebook page, and a Recipe Card. You can compile these into a interactive notebook, for Thanksgiving, or use them in an lapbook. I hope you enjoy them...

1. Poppet, Warning Shot, Learning
2. Writing Response to Psalm 100
3. Seeking Freedom, Ship sailed on & year, My Village
4. Sarah Morton's Day Notebook page
5. Indian Corn Bread (recipe card), chores, best friend
6. Getting Dressed

The First Thanksgiving and (Historical) Resources

Did you know you can sign up for free email letters from fictional characters from 1620, one from a pilgrim girl, and one from a Wampagano boy, from Scholastics. Just go here. You will receive your letters on Nov. 5th, 12th, and 19th, from each of the two characters. They have printables, and lesson plans (by grade level), and interactive time lines and journeys, even recommended books. Very educationally fun :D You can even join in with a live chat with Plymoth Plantaion on Thurs. Nov. 19 at 11 & 2.

We have really enjoyed the site, and will be visiting it lots this month. Go check it out! The First Thanksgiving.

Find more 1620 resources at Sail 1620.

How about using math to draw the Mayflower?

LaCelle has some great family fun unit study suggestions for Thanksgiving.

Lilliput has a free interactive notebook activities for Thanksgiving. Just scroll down about half way, and you will see it :D

Jimmie has a Squidoo lens with lots of goodies for a Thanksgiving Lapbook.

I love this idea from Sugar Doodle, Thanksgiving Thankful Countdown.

And the 30 Days of Thanks and Giving from Aussie Pumpkin Patch!

Also, check out Jen's Thanksgiving resource page at Bits and Pieces :D

So many goodies to choose from!

Here are is Thanks Giving lapbook from last year...



and our Cranberry Thanksgiving Lapbook from last year:


***Stay Tuned*** I am in the process of making some free printables for a lap/note book we are doing this Nov. :D

Contact Paper Fall Crafts

This is our Thanksgiving Countdown Turkey. I made it out of scrapbooking paper, a little glue, and contact paper. Since it is covered in contact paper, you can write on it with dry erase marker, counting down each day ;D

Jacob also created a Thanksgiving window cling :D

The God Kind

We often tend to think that our circumstances determine the quality of our lives. We tend to pour our energy into trying to control those situations, and end up miserably fatigued. When our circumstances are going well, we might be "happy", yet sad or frustrated when things don't turnout as we'd hoped. Rarely questioning the correlation between our circumstances and our feelings. Yet... it is possible to be content in any and every situation! Believe it or not :D

Phil. 4:11-13 says this: Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Gen. 28:15 says... Behold, I [am] with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.

Now take a look at Rom. 8:37-39 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can you hear the Lord saying today, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will meet all your needs according to My glorious riches. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate you from My Love." This is what I am thankful for today! Persuasion! The God kind :D

Praying for others

How to pray
Article taken from New Tribes Mission Imagine trying to learn a language that has never been written. Imagine seeking to understand the intricacies of a culture that is far removed from your own. Pray for perseverance, alertness and diligence. Pray for confidence in God to overcome all obstacles. Pray too for clear communication of the Gospel in the tribal people's language in a culturally relevant manner. Imagine living in a tribal location where you are dependent on other co-workers to purchase your supplies, do your banking, pay your bills and care for a myriad other needs. Praise the Lord for missionaries who perform nitty-gritty jobs that allow their co-workers to pursue church planting in a tribal setting. Pray for teamwork and the confidence that each person is integral to seeing tribal people come to know Christ. Imagine educating your children while living in a different culture. Home-schooling: Pray for balance, patience, diligence and the necessary supplies for those who home-school their children. Boarding school: Pray for teachers and boarding home parents who are committed to loving and educating missionaries' children in a missionary school setting. Pray for each student's spiritual, intellectual and physical growth to honor God. Imagine meeting personal needs at many different levels. Imagine tribal people needing medical attention from you. Imagine your family needing care and help. Imagine missing the fellowship of your church back home, and the special relationships with friends and family. Imagine feeling the impact of spiritual darkness all around. Pray for missionaries to make time for spiritual refreshment and physical relaxation. To choose what's best over what's good, since there are more needs than the ability to meet them. For no root of bitterness to grow between family members or co-workers. For joy in the Lord, regardless of circumstances. For spiritual breakthroughs. For the vision to stay fresh of seeing tribal people come to know Christ as Savior and go on to maturity. Imagine praying for NTM missionaries regularly. You'll experience God's power and get to know Him better. By doing battle for the souls of tribal people and requesting spiritual fitness for those who minister to them, you'll affect people's lives for eternity.

New Tribes Mission Prayer

Papua New Guinea: Mengen tribe: Mengen believers are beginning to trust God instead of magic. Pray that this growth continues. Find out more -- read the story >> Papua New Guinea: Simbari tribe: Several Simbari believers hiked to a remote village to teach the evangelistic Bible lesson series. Pray for the men as they present the Gospel message. Pray also that the students will hear and understand the Word of God and trust Christ as their Savior. Find out more -- read the story >> Papua New Guinea: Kuman tribe: A Kuman Bible teacher -- Umba -- and missionary Will Tallman are in the middle of a new evangelistic outreach. Please pray that God's Word will enlighten the Kumans who are hearing His Truth and bring them to put their faith in Christ. Papua New Guinea: Bena Bena tribe: When missionaries David and Wendy Lee left recently to go on home assignment for health reasons, the Bena Bena believers said, "Now it is up to us to take this work forward." They are doing a good job in another village and are excited about the response they are getting. Please pray that they will see many place their faith in Christ. Philippines: Manobo tribe: A group wedding means many Manobo children will be able to attend school. Pray that their futures -- and their walks with Christ -- get a boost from this advantage. Find out more -- read the story >> Philippines: Missionaries are helping with relief efforts after last month's typhoon. Pray that they and other believers help many in the recovery process and in finding Christ. Find out more -- read the story >> Thailand: Prai tribe: A new believer is viewing her move to another village as an opportunity to draw others to Jesus. Pray that Deet and another man place their faith in Christ. Find out more -- read the story >> Thailand: Karen tribe: Two Karen believers are planning to be married Monday. A traditional Karen ceremony requires rituals involving the spirits of the family clans. The couple's families are discussing the ceremony with missionaries. "Our desire is for a Karen wedding that glorifies God and is not associated with the spirits or spirit worship," wrote Richard and Wendy Rees. Please pray for wisdom. Indonesia: Semandang tribe: Six Semandang women are helping missionary Darcy Berglund translate Scripture. Please pray that the team will be able to make good progress. Find out more -- read the story >> Paraguay: Nivacle tribe: Jamie and Char Hunt are transitioning to a new ministry among the Nivacle people. They will join Manjui missionaries, Isnei and Zitilla, who are currently teaching Bible lessons to the people. Please pray the Hunts will find a good building site and pray that the Nivacles will understand what they are hearing. Find out more -- read the story >> Paraguay: Pai Tavy Tera tribe: Thirty-five Pai men from different communities met Saturday to discuss the status of the churches and how they can move forward to produce mature churches. Please pray that God will give them wisdom as they work together to see the churches mature and expand to other communities. Bolivia: Ayore tribe: Eighteen Ayore believers have formed three teams and plan to visit nine Ayore communities. Please pray that God will direct them as they reach out to carry the Gospel to others. "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9 . .. To find out how you can become more involved, go here :D Sometimes it is easy to forget that the world doesn't revolve around our little part of the universe. We are called to be mission oriented. We need to be prayerful, remembering from which God has saved us!

The Spotless Lamb of God

November 4, 2009

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, . . . But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Guilty, vile and helpless we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full atonement, can it be?
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Before God each individual stands as an absolutely guilty sinner. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10). Being more "good" than "bad" doesn't help, "for whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags |literally 'used menstrual cloths'|" (Isaiah 64:6). We are altogether vile and worthless.

Furthermore, we are powerless to change our situation. Our sins demand the death penalty, "and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Either the guilty party must die to pay sin's penalty, or a guiltless party must substitute and pay the penalty instead. And so, "when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. . . . God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8).

This transaction removes our sin from us. We now stand before a Holy God just as if we had never sinned, and just as if we had always done right, "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

"And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:11). Hallelujah, what a Savior! JDM

Thank you Jesus for the finished work of the cross, Your love amazes me!

Pomanders

Long ago, pomanders were used to mask unpleasant odors. Pomanders are now largely decorative items. They do however, smell nice, and add an old fashioned touch wherever they are placed.


We modified this a little. We just simply stuck whole cloves into a Styrofoam ball after pinning down the ribbon and handle. To make a real pomander follow these instructions.

What you'll need:
~oranges or lemons
~masking tape
~ribbon
~whole cloves
~cinnamon
~orris root
~tissue paper

Directions:
Mark crossing paths with narrow masking tape. Stick the cloves into the fruit, about a cloves head apart; they'll end up closer together as the fruit dries and shrinks.
Roll the pomanders in equal parts of cinnamon and orris root, wrap each in tissue paper. Let them cure for 4-6 weeks, before tying ribbons around them.

Nature Autumn Wreath

During our nature walk today, the children picked up several things along the paths.
After careful observation and notebooking, they made wreaths.
First I cut the middle out of paper plates (if I had to do it again, I would use heavy duty ones, or several stapled together, to make it sturdier), then they painted them green. After they dried, the arranged their finds and mama stapled them down.
You can embellish them as much or little as you want. Jacob (the one in the bottom pic) decided to only use what he found on our walk :D

Have fun with your own!

P.S. today Jacob was a"China People" with his homemade scarf wrapped around his head like a "karate sash"... such a vivid imagination. I love it :D