Sunday School with My 4's and 5's....Jesus Calms the Storm

Sunday we learned about how Jesus calmed the storm by just speaking to it.  I loved sharing God's awesome power with my boys and girls.  We talked about how we can turn to Jesus when we are afraid. 

BOOK CENTER: Reading books about Jesus and "When I Am Afraid".  We also had a Bible game.

ART CENTER: Cardstock folded in half.  Boys and girls painted the stormy waves, and then calm water. 

BLOCK CENTER: Building boats in the water.  We crumpled up the blue sheet to pretend there were storm waves.  We then pulled it flat to show how Jesus calmed the waves...and how the waves obeyed Him!

My Week on Tour with the VBS State Team

     I spent all of last week touring with the Alabama VBS State Team.  What a week it was!  It was like a revival, camp and a mission trip all rolled into one.  We traveled from Decatur to Monroeville training folks who will be training VBS teachers in their local Baptist associations.  So exciting to be a part of "getting the ball rolling" for VBS 2013! 



My room on day one.  I lead the Kindergarten conference in the morning, and Preschool snacks, crafts and rec in the afternoon.

 

I set up the chairs like they were roller coaster cars.

Craft projects

 

 

Some of my fellow team member's rooms/ideas:

 

 

The TEAM!  I just love these people....What a joy to serve the Lord with them!!! 

 

Apologia Review: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1

     This is our family's second experience with Apologia.  Last time my oldest son had a great experience with Apologia's I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.  This time it was my youngest son's turn.  He is really enjoying his new Apologia Elementary science curriculum: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  My son loves birds and insects, so this is a great curriculum for him. 

     Whenever I introduce a new curriculum to my kids I always get a little nervous--wondering what they'll think.  I have to tell you.  My son really enjoys this science curriculum.  In fact, the first day or two we had it, he hid away in his room and skipped ahead to read a chapter or two on insects.  He then walked up to me and proceeded to tell me everything he learned.  What's so funny is that without realizing it, he was "narrating" to me what he had read.  "Narrating" is always an assignment given to the child after he finishes reading a section in the book.  He was completing an assignment without even knowing it!  (Even now that he knows that the narrations are required, he still enjoys telling me all he read about.)
     I usually try to avoid "boring" textbooks, but this textbook seems a lot more friendly.  It has totally engaged my 11-year-old.  Besides readings, the text also includes notebooking assignments, experiments and project directions.

    

    

 

     The thing that grabbed my attention about this curriculum was seeing the "Notebooking Journal" pages on Apologia's website.  The pages are so creatively done.  They seemed that they would make you want to fill it out!  We were not disappointed when we received them in the mail.  My son loves writing and drawing in his notebook.  The Notebooking Journal goes right along with what is in the text.  Each lesson your child will have a few pages where they write what they've learned about and illustrate with pictures. (My son loves the drawing aspect!)  There will be pages to record data from experiments, review questions, Bible verse copywork, crossword puzzles, mini books (think lapbooking) and more.  I think the variety is what makes this so appealing to my child.  (*Note: it is not absolutely required to purchase the Notebooking Journal.  There are instructions in the text for how to make your own. There is a "Junior" version for children approximately Kindergarten-3rd grade.  My son is in 6th grade, so we use the regular Notebooking Journal, which is recommended for 3rd-6th or 4th-6th grades.)

 

 

 

     As you can tell, we are crazy about this curriculum.  We plan to use it for the remainder of the school year.  (We've already looked ahead and planned our shopping list for the next experiment.)  Who wouldn't like it?  If you really love textbooks with easy-to-grade questions at the end of the chapter, then this is probably not for you.  Apologia's Zoology is very dynamic, but it does take time to prepare and gather materials.  We think it's well worth the extra effort.  

Cost of Product:  Text: $39/Notebooking Journal: $24

Also available from Apologia: Zoology 2: Exploring Creation Swimming Creatures
Zoology 3 Exploring Creation with Land Animals
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology

Go here to see more review from my friends at TOS crew:
http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/apologia-science-review/

 



 

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.   All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

My View from the Front Pew~~~The Cup of Suffering

     Today my preacher husband preached on "The Cup of Suffering".  Jesus willingly suffered for us...he took upon himself the sin and guilt of all the world.  He physically suffered a brutal death.  He did it ALL because of His great love for us and because he wanted to do the Father's will.

     As Christians, we nod our head when we hear that we need to be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.  We agree that we need to drink from the Cup of Suffering, when and if that is ever required of us.  Truth is...most of us Americans have no idea what that really means.  As my preacher husband said this morning, "Americans don't do suffering well."  Most of us (and I include myself in that "us".) are pretty spoiled. 

 



     How about the cup of costliness?  Would we drink that?  Would we be willing, for example to go on a mission trip even though it cost us our beach vacation?  Would we willingly cut back on sports activities or eating out so that we could support an orphan across the ocean?  What about trading the  time you would normally spend relaxing to attend a Bible study?

 

 



     Or maybe we should start with drinking the cup of "inconvenience."  Would we drink even that?  Serving God is rarely convenient.  Most of the time it requires us to go out of our way, get up early, go to bed late, practice patience, get dirty, receive criticism, make a change to our schedule...or even do something we'd rather not do. 

 

 

     What cup are you willing to drink from?   

 

 

Matthew 20: 17-23

Matthew 26: 36-46


Starbucks photo credit
splashed coffee photo credit
girl drinking photo credit

Blog Post Find of the Day~~FREE Copywork Printables (taken from the Hobbit)

Check out the Walking by the Way blog for FREE printables.  She's made copywork  worksheets using parts of the Hobbit.  My boys would eat this up. Copying down excellent writing is one of the best ways to learn grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. 

 

 



Free February (Digital) Issue: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

 

I've browsed through the entire issue...lots of good stuff!  One that caught my eye was, "In the Company of Books".  (Great article!)

LOTS of articles dealing with Homeschool Burnout (I think this is the time of year for that!)

You'll find numerous ideas for things to keep your Preschoolers busy.

There are many helpful articles about writing.  One that looks good to me is, "We Write to Learn".  That already makes sense to me.

Go here to get your free digital copy:  http://www.tosmagazine.com/

 

Enjoy reading!  

I'm a Lucky Mom!

 

A note my sweet boy passed to me....

I think I'll keep it forever.