Preparing for Easter Part 2

The week before Easter, I spent our school time working on a lapbook with the kids based on the story The Legend of the Easter Egg by Lori Walburg.

  Our lapbook incorporated math, reading, writing, vocabulary, geography, science, poetry and social studies into one nice neat package.  We will definitely be doing more lapbooks.  The kids were so sad to finish because it was so much fun.

Here they are with their finished products.

We read the book the morning of the first day.

They worked on memorising Luke 24:5-6 as their scripture for the week.

We estimated, sorted, grouped, and counted candy eggs.  Then we made a bar graph to show how many eggs we had of each color.

We learned about Faberge Eggs and where they were made.

We read the story of the Last Supper and discussed what the elements at the supper stand for.

We worked on a poem about Easter Eggs and then what we celebrate on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

One of the science elements was to study the inside of an egg and label the different parts.

Such a great learning experience. 



Preparing for Easter Part 1

We have had such a wonderful time this week just quieting our days and focusing on the celebration of our Risen Saviour, Jesus. 

For the past two weeks we have been using the Resurrection Eggs as a daily devotional so that our focus can be on what it is that Jesus did for us that day on the cross.  I have been so thankful for this precious time together with the kids.  So exciting to read with them from the Bible and retrace the steps that Jesus took, the pain and suffering He went through for us, and then His ultimate victory over the tomb, death, sin.  He is Alive!!!!!  And in His victory, we are free!!!

Our memory verse this week came from Luke 24: 5-6

"Then the men asked, 'Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?  He isn't here!  He has risen from the dead!'"

The Resurrection Eggs take you through the story of that very first Easter, starting with Palm Sunday.

Each egg has a symbol from the story.  The set comes with a devotion book that ties in the Scripture and an explantion for each of the eggs.

Day 1

The donkey that Jesus rode into Jerursalem.

Day 6

The crown of thorns that the soliders put on Jesus' head to mock him and harm him.

Day 12

The empty egg that represents the empty tomb!

I found a great recipe for Resurrection Rolls that were so easy and so effective in showing a concrete example of Jesus' resurrection.

The dough represents the linen cloth that Jesus was wrapped in and then placed in the tomb

We used marshmallows as Jesus' body and wrapped them in the dough.

We then dipped the rolls in butter to represent the oils used and sprinkled cinnamon and sugar as the spices.

We placed the rolls in the "tomb" or oven and after 3 days (or 13 minutes)  we took them out of the tomb.  Once we broke apart the roll, we found NOTHING.  Just as Jesus was no longer in the tomb, the marshmallows were gone.  Love it!

I love Luke's face in this picture.  Maybe that is the face that Mary made when the angel appeared and told her the good news.

Such a great illustration and they were also very yummy. 

Part 2 will go over our Easter Lapbook based on the story "The Legend of the Easter Egg".

Stay tuned.....

Spring at our Nation's Capital



So we finally found out that the Steeles are going west this summer.  Everyone is so excited about such a fun opportunity to explore another part of the country.  The kids talk incessantly about going to Disneyland, Legoland, the beach, the zoo, Sea World, and any other spot in the great state of CA they can think of.  I am starting to think about our adventure across country as we move to our new home.  So many places and friends to see along the way.  It will be an adventure for sure.

Mimi and Papa came to visit us about a week ago for a little spring fun.  We headed to the Cherry Blossom Festival, back to our favorite little town, Occoquan, and had a great time. 

The weather was absolutely beautiful.  A little breezy, but not a cloud in the sky.  The cherry blossoms bloomed early this year so we missed the full blooms by a few days.  I have to say, the trees were still so gorgeous.  I am so glad that we were able to go and see the beauty by the tidal basin in the Nation's capital.

I could have sat under this tree all afternoon.

The Jefferson Memorial



Eating lunch at our favorite cafe, The Blue Arbor.

Practicing some fine motor skills.

Homeschool Check In

I haven't posted how homeschooling is going in a while so here is a little update. 

We are closing in on the last few months before we move (still don't know where to yet!), and I hope to wrap up school the last few weeks of May in order to prep for the big move in June. 

We are all still moving right along and making progress.  Luke has completely mastered his addition and subtraction math facts!  I love Saxon Math and how the curriculum revisits concepts through out the year.  He still LOVES reading and can complete a chapter book in a few hours.  On library day, he runs up to his room with a bagful of books and I won't see him for the rest of the day.  History seems to be what sparks his interest more than anything (like father like son).  We joke that he has a running timeline in his head and once he fills in the date of an event he doesn't forget it.  His memory is pretty amazing. 

Hayley is reading reading reading as well.  She has really improved on her word attack skills and her confidence in her ability.  She is such a creative, outside- the-box thinker.  Something I wish I could do better.  Her drawings and stories are always so entertaining.  I love that she enjoys school so much.  She never complains and gets so excited to learning something new. 

Last week as part of our geography lesson, we built models of  rivers and labeled the different parts using tags:

Luke's model

Hayley's model

Hannah joined in on the action with a little finger painting.  We were mixing yellow and blue to make green.  I thing she loved it!!!

 

Lukey

Both Hayley and Hannah just love their brother.  Hannah has become quite attached to him and just follows him around like a little duckling.  And Luke is such a good sport.  ALWAYS taking care of her and trying to include her when the older two are playing together.   He is so patient with her and takes his roll as the protector of his sisters quite seriously.

She calls him Lukey.  I could listen to her yell "LUKEY"  all day long.  And I usually do.

My oldest and baby.  They are growing up...



Little Pink Rollers

A bit of nostalgia here.  My mom used to sponge roll my hair almost every night when I was about 9 or 10.  I loved waking up with little ringlets in my hair.  Hayley and I were out shopping at Target and she picked up a package of pink curlers and her eyes lit up. So did mine just thinking back to sleeping in those little pink pieces of plastic and sponge. She placed them in the shopping cart and couldn't wait to get home and put them in her hair!!!

A few before pictures....

And after...

Just love her lovely waves!!

I think she was pleased too.

Romans 10:9

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

Our sweet girl asked Jesus into her heart on Friday night.  She has been asking so many questions about heaven and how to pray so that she can be with Jesus in heaven one day.  We have discussed at length what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven so that we could be reconciled with God by Jesus' sacrifice.  I told her about the "special" prayer that I prayed as a little girl telling Jesus thank you for what He did for me.  I told her when she was ready to just ask Chris or myself and we would be happy to pray with her. 

Friday night, both Chris and I were exhausted from the week.  We were sitting on the sofa discussing who was going to go upstairs to tuck everyone in bed.  After much discussion, I slowly peeled myself off the couch and headed up to say good night.  Hayley and I said bedtime prayers together and as I leaned over to kiss her, she sweetly said, "Mommy, I'm ready to pray the special prayer." 

We sat on her bed and together told Jesus just how much we love him.  We told him that we know we are sinners and that we believe that He is God's One and Only Son.  We thanked Him for dying on the cross and forgiving all of our sins.  And then she asked Him to be the Lord of her life.  She asked Him into her heart. 

My baby girl made the most important decision that she will ever make in her entire life and my heart rejoices.  She is not mine, she belongs to Him.  Praise Him.

So glad God pushed me off the sofa and up to her room that night.  So thankful.