CTG Week 9

We have been buzzing along this week. I am trying to get back on track. We have added in the afore mentioned science but have not started Apologia yet (see CTG Week 8). And we are working on crossing off everything for week 9.

The kiddos enjoyed painting to Vivaldi's Four Seasons Movement- Autumn.

Here is Buddy's painting in various stages.

He said as he painted that "this" (blue things to the far right) was a dancer and someone playing a guitar.

Squirt enjoyed painting a tree with birds since she said one part sounded like birds singing. She chose the colors because she said they looked like Fall to her.




She had to review the books of the Old Testament. We used printable cards from here. She placed them in  order on the floor. Then when I asked her to pick them up, she impressed me by stating that she would collect them in alphabetical order. So two lesson in one (cha-ching) Bible memory and dictionary skills. Gave me an opportunity to reinforce the alphabetizing further in each letter. It was good practice for her and she didn't seem to even notice she was doing "school". Love when that happens.



Math Drill is plugging along. Squirt is using Math Raps on her stereo for help with memorizing her multiplication tables. (They are a bit cheesy but she doesn't seem to notice, especially since she wasn't around in the 90s to know how out of date the music really is). She is so auditory that this seems to always be the easiest way for her to memorize. She listens to them while going through her flashcards in her hand. Then she drills a different way using drill sheets printed from here. She is slowly getting better. It is her most challenging subject, but she is continuing to make progress and most days has a great attitude about it.

She made a Middle Kingdom Egyptian House out of Playdough on cardboard. (Buddy was in bed so we could pull out the wheat containing stuff without him begging to join in.) The multicolored creation is thanks to me who used what we had on hand- multicolored packs of playdough. We know the Egyptians wouldn't have had such colorful houses, but that's not the point. Right?

(stage 1)

(final project)

And a notebook page

We have been learning about healthy eating in Health for the Glory of God. So I printed out the newest Food Pyramid for Kids and Squirt colored it in and labeled it. She also wrote down a food diary for the day and placed everything she had eaten at each meal into their proper categories: protein, carbohydrates etc. It has gotten her asking many questions at each meal of what foods fall into which category. It also has struck a realization of something that we have been trying to tell her- she does not exercise enough on a regular basis. I know that will increase once we head into Nutcracker Season, but for the time being it has gotten her thinking of ways she could be moving more each day (she is my little book worm, just like her Mama).

Squirt added the 12 Tribes of Isreal and Joseph to her timeline and we talked again about why the numbers do backward in BC. Isn't that interesting that the world counts down to Christ's Birth and then time goes forward from His Birth. I just love that!

   

CTG Week 8 plus

Well, we seemed to have stretched Week 8 out into two weeks. I've been struggling with the science spine book, Genesis For Kids. I've just not been crazy about it . So have been on the look out for something to do instead. I ended up finding more than one book to fill in our science needs. So here they are.

We are using Health For the Glory of God from Rod and Staff Publishers. 

I like the gentle nature of this curriculum's approach to the subject of health. It covers the necessary, but leaves out the sensitive topics. In my opinion, those things are often taught sooner than necessary in this day and age. I would like to continue to guard my children's innocence. I know that God will give me wisdom and the words I need, when it is time to go further into these topics.

So on the topic of health, Squirt has been less than stellar in her teeth brushing skills. 

So we purchased her 

THIS

It is an electric rechargeable toothbrush from Oral B 

called Vitality Precision Clean. 

Squirt's teeth have never been so clean!!!!

It has replaceable heads. It goes for 2 minutes once turned on. So the person knows they are brushing well and for the necessary time. After two minutes it turns itself off. I love this thing! I love that the brush head is small, so it fits a small child's tooth size and helps prevent unnecessary brushing of their gums, which will prevent gum recession. And it was a great price- $20! Yeah!

Okay back to to academics.

The other books that I am using are 

Apologia Science- Zoology 1 Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

I love the Charlotte Mason style of this book. I love the way it is written. And it is so full of great academic science that is approachable for the elementary student. I love that the projects are mostly projects that look do-able to me and that I will actually complete. And it fits in well with the style of My Father's World curriculum.

The second book we are using is 

Our Place in Space and 59 More Ways to See God Through His Creation 

by B.J. Reinhard

This science book has more the approach of a devotional. But it is very full of science information. 

It includes a Key Verse, science vocabulary definitions in the side bars, Dig Deeper sections, additional verses to read and ties in the beauty of the science topic with spiritual truths. It usually includes an Explore It section which is a recommended simple experiment, as well as a Thought to Remember. 

For example, the last section we read was about Light. The section was called "Shining the Light on Light". It included the Key Verse of Philippians 2:6-8. And the Thought to Remember was "Jesus was both God and man." 

Squirt learned about electromagnetic waves the week before. Tying that lesson in with this one we read about how life could not exist without light. Then the author described how light is a wave and a stream of particles. And then talked about the duplicity of light as a wave and a stream of particles. They related that duplicity to Jesus who is God.

 I like the quote from this section. 

"What is true of light is also true of the One who made the light, the One who is called the light of the world. Just as light has two natures, so did Jesus. He was God and man at the same time while He walked on earth."

Okay and to make sure I actually include something from CTG  for this week, here is Squirt's timeline piece for Jacob. And notebook pages

Finally to close up mostly a section on other books rather than CTG. 

We bought a used 10 volume set of The Bible Story by Arthur Maxwell

 I have always wanted to get this set, but it is usually around 80 or more dollars. I got this one for 10! I love that we can read our Bible reading section together out of the Word of God; and then Squirt can go and reread that same story in a simpler style designed for children in these books. She loves that it is filled with color illustrations, that according to her "almost look real" (like a photo). I love that she is getting the Bible teaching through another source reiterating the truths we are trying to instill. 

Lesson in the Garden

We just returned from ten days of vacation and are catching up on many things. One of those things is the weeding of our three raised bed gardens. As Squirt helped me to weed, we talked about gardening. And I was blessed to be able to relate some spiritual truths to what we were doing.

We talked about how easy it is to weed when the weeds are very small. But as the weeds get bigger and the roots get stronger it is harder to pull them out. It takes more effort on our part but sometime we can't get the whole root out and it will grow back again to our dismay.

Isn't that just like sin in our lives? When temptations come, if we are quick to flee from them they will not grow in the gardens of our hearts as sin. But what happens when we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit to flee and instead give in? Then we have begun the growth of sin and the longer we give in to it the greater and deeper the roots become. Even when in our own power we try and cut off the sin, the roots will still lie deep below the surface waiting to regrow. It is only the Master Gardener, our Jesus, that can remove the root of sin and allow us to be weed free. We can never really do it in our own power but only by His Power can we defeat temptation and sin. Just as the garden started out this spring with weed seeds already there, our hearts are born in sin. Through Adam's first sin we are destined to sin and continuing sinning. But through Christ's sacrifice the hidden seeds of sin are destroyed, when we accept Him as our Lord.

If you find yourself battling,then look to the Author of Life and ask Him to cleanse your heart and make you a clean beautiful new creation through His Power working in you. Only then can we truly grow and become the beautiful handy-work that He always intended for us to be.