Week 2: Christopher Columbus MFW

We had homeschooling friends over for our first day this unit which was soooo much fun for Jack.  Here's are the kids making the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria.  They took their maiden voyage in a big puddle. 

The boys are focused on the boats...Callie notices that she knelt in mud.

             The boys wanted to see how quickly they could sink theirs!  I should have seen that one coming!                               The girls were more concerned with the mud on Callie's knee :)

Geography/History:  Locating Spain, Portugal, India, the Canary Islands, and North America.

• Last week we did a popsicle stick activity about our Pledge of Allegiance.  The difference between our relationship with God is that He is King (we didn't "vote' Him in). 
• This week we learned a little about the Monarchy: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.
• Compare/Contrast Maps during 1492 and now.
• Free printable worksheets/activities found here.
• Short videos about Columbus found here.
• Our country was found by mistake! 

 Language Arts: Names and Proper Nouns

• Writing: Write an advertisement for someone to sponsor your voyage.
• Journaling: "If I were Columbus' son, Diego...."
• Label the parts of a ship (see "Art" fingerpainting).
• Purpose:  What was Columbus' purpose for exploring?  How did this shape his plans?  Writing is similar; when you know the purpose of your writing, you know what details to include to accomplish your plan.
• This website has a Columbus unit of FREE printables for k-2.

Spelling:  I made up a game to practice our spelling words:

• Place a boat (ours was a jar lid) on the coast of Spain.  
• Place "explorers" inside (we used pom poms).  
• For each word they spell correctly, sail "west".  For each incorrect word, they lose 1 explorer.
• When they arrive to the "New Land" pick up some of the natives.
• Spell words and head "east" to get back to Spain.  (If you have people in your boat when you return, you win!)

Science:

• The earth is round, not flat!
• Air takes up space:
  We experimented with air: bubbles, instruments, empty containers, whistles... 
•  Air helped propel Columbus' ships.
• Hot water shrinks wool.  (See "Art" project below).

        We experimented with air: bubbles, instruments, empty containers, whistles...


Bible:

• Read scripture examples of the Earth being round. 
• Jesus: "the Lord saves"
• Queen Isabella wanted Columbus to share the religion with the natives.  Discuss the possible motivations of this.  What is our motivation for sharing Jesus with others?
• object lesson: "spices" are used to enhance the taste of food.  What are some "spices" in our walk with the Lord?  Prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and proclamation of the gospel enhance our walk with God.
• character traits: Flexibility and Perseverance (Columbus didn't end up where he though.  His crew wanted to turn around.)

Art:

• Columbus' father worked with wool (as did Columbus at a young age).
• "Spin" roving into yarn.
• Use the wool to make a yarn ball (to be used as a dryer ball).
• Layer colors and create patterns. 
• Fingerpaint: Paint your hand to "imprint" a boat.  Paint your finger to "stamp" oars, and your fist to "stamp" the masts. 

Reading:

•  Various books about boats and Columbus.

Snacks:

• Jello and Orange slices: boat and ocean  as seen here.
• Pancake Ships: make a mast and sail. (You could also stack little donuts).
• "Spanish" and "Indian" food.
• Spices  (Apples and Cinnamon).

Steve & Barry's t-shirt and God's sovereignty

After months of prepping and sorting and cleaning, our house officially went on the market on Thursday!  We had showings on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but on Monday (to our amazement) we accepted an offer!  An inspection, appraisal, and more await, but we are celebrating what God is doing.  I have about 3 weeks until my due date (and my midwife anticipates I'll go early) so we are grateful that our close date isn't until Sep. 27th.

Thank you for praying for us and the circumstance surrounding selling our home, finding a temporary residence and raising the rest of support so that we can move to Thailand sometime in January.  Please continue to pray.

Here's the next UNBELIEVABLE story that happened about 2 hours ago.  Ken decided to go church to play basketball this evening, only to find out it was cancelled.  So he ran an errand for me, got something to eat, and headed home.  While he was in the driveway, a woman pulled up looking at our house and flagged Ken down to ask a few questions.  She saw his Michigan shirt (go Blue!) and asked if he was from MI.  She shared that she was from Lincoln Park.

 Now, remember in a previous post, we were in Lincoln Park and visited Friendship Baptist Church?  Well, the congregation had a former member who now lives in Ringgold and they gave us their info.

Ken said to the woman, "We just connected with Friendship Baptist Church in Lincoln Park."  She was pretty shocked and told us that FBC was her home church in MI!  This was the woman the people at FBC were telling us about!  Ken brought her in the house and introduced me to her.  We showed her the paper with her name and phone number, etc. and she recognized the handwriting, "My sister wrote that!"  We just couldn't believe it.   We had been planning to contact them, but hadn't, and God brought her to our house!

Today we rejoice in the sovereignty of God.  He used a cancelled b-ball practice, a few errands, and an old Michigan shirt from Steve and Barry's to connect His children.  That is our God!  He shows His love and provision in so many ways.   

Freebie!

I save my dryer lint...not because I'm a hoarder, but because of what a friend told me.  Well, the conversations went like this, "Hey Summer, since we're camping next weekend, bring your dryer lint."  Uh- why?  "Because it makes a great fire starter."  It's so true!  Well, 10 years later and with the help of Pinterest I saw a new way to "package" your lint as fire starters.

This is a FREE activity!  Save your empty toilet paper rolls., Paper towel rolls, and lint. (I keep it all in a bag in the laundry room).  Fill the empty tubes with dryer lint.

Roll them in newspaper and then tuck the ends in!  

This project was so easy that Callie was able to do it (although you can tell which ones were hers :)

I think this project would make a great object lesson for Bible study, don't you? 

There are several directions you could go, but here's what I was thinking:

• What do all of these items (lint, TP tubes, and newspaper) have in common?  (They are leftovers).
• We changed that. These items went through a process of being made into something new for a specific purpose.
• God takes our lives, full of sin and waste, and makes them into something new: what we were really intended to be and do!
• What do we do as new creations?  We are to be a light for all to see!  When we see a fire it catches our attention and makes us ask, "What's going on?"  Our lives should do the same!  The way we act causes people who don't know Christ to ask, "Why?" (Why did you forgive that person? Why are you generous?  Why don't you think about yourself more?)  Then we get to answer: JESUS!
• Go outside and have a campfire using your new, homemade fire-starters!  Notice how some last longer than others. We are each given a specific amount of time here on earth, so don't wait to let your light shine!

Obviously this is just an object lesson.  Unlike the lint, newspaper, and cardboard tubes that were made for one purpose and re-purposed into another, our lives are meant for only 1 thing: To bring God glory.  If we aren't doing that- we're wasting our lives. 

I hope you enjoy this activity with your family, maybe on a rainy day (or week like we've had)!

Afterthoughts: I can't help but think about our future in Thailand.  We won't have a dryer...so we'll enjoy our lint while we have it!

So...what have you been doing?

Ken finished the school year at the end of May and the week after we headed to Michigan. 

While there we stayed with my family.  It was like summer camp for the kiddos; my parents planned a lot of fun activities and outings with them! 

Our time in Michigan gave Ken a chance to work on our information packets to mail out, as well as continuing to develop and design the framework for a benefit event this fall. 

One of the highlights of our trip was meeting with a Homeschool Co-op in Lincoln Park, MI.  It's always fun to sit down with fellow homeschoolers and hear what's working for them, what curriculum they use, etc.  What started off for them as a handful of families gathering together has grown to large group with a waiting list!!

The leader of the co-op introduced us to the pastors of the church and the next hour was spent sharing our ministry with them, answering questions, and ultimately being encouraged by their desire to partner with us in prayer and support in whichever way the Lord enables them to do so.  There is no stronger connection between people than ones established and maintained by God! 

We were invited to join the church on Sunday to worship together.    The pastor had us break up into groups and pray.  We were humbled when our family was specifically prayed for by all of these clusters of brothers and sisters across the sanctuary.  We honestly felt a oneness with the people we met and wished we had more time to spend with them.  We walked away with uplifted and encouraged hearts!

If you live anywhere near Lincoln Park, you need to visit Friendship Baptist Church.  We plan to visit with them again in October.

Our days are quite busy with finishing up renovations to get our house listed for sale.  We had another garage sale and sold several things online; it's freeing to get rid of stuff!    I told Jack that by selling our house it puts us closer to getting to Thailand.  Our practical little man took this literally, "Well that would be good- then it won't take as long to get there when it's time to go because we'll be closer."  Sorry Jack- it will still take us 24 hours to get there!

We're also involved with a summer outreach program for kids and parents.  It's called, "Boredom Busters Bootcamp" and it's a way to share Christ with our neighbors.  Ken is running the games/devotions for the kids and I'm helping by working with the ladies: teaching Bible study part-time and helping with kid's crafts. 

Baby update:  We are feeling the excitement rise with the coming of baby number 3!  The baby is healthy and probably about 4 lbs right not. I have 38 days until my due date, to which many people say, "That's a long time!"  It isn't- there is so much to be done before then, and Ken will resume teaching the week before my due date.

Homeschooling:  We are attempting to homeschool through the month of July so that we can take some time off when the baby comes.

Prayer Requests:

1. We are struggling to know how to prioritize all that we have going on right now.  Please pray that we keep God first, that distractions are removed, and that we glorify Him even in the chaos of everything.
2. My health:  I have a condition called SPD that occurs during pregnancy (it's common) and gets worse with each pregnancy.  It continues and worsens until after delivery when the hormone causing the problem decreases.  This week has been the most difficult...please pray that it ceases quickly after the baby is born. 
3. Financial Support: We need partners to commit to supporting us financially so that we can go to Thailand in just over 6 months.
4. We need to sell our house and find a place to live until we leave.

There are many unknowns, but we trust our Maker to meet every need.