Why we homeschool… July 4th Edition

We have spent the past month reading several books on the history of our country.

I love that we school all year ’round for lots of reasons. (Can I confess – One of them is the fact that there is no guilt when we end up going for a few days without having formal “school lessons”  because I know we’ll be doing school many days on Saturdays or Sundays or during the summer or winter breaks. And you know that we believe that each day provides opportunities for learning so why would I confine myself to a calendar of days?)

Another really fantastic reason for schooling all year is that we do school during times when other students are on vacation. I think that certain times of the year really lend themselves to great unit studies. For example, we do a lot of history during December. We do an advent activity each day and we spend an entire month learning about Christmas meanings and traditions. June and July are also really great times to harness a child’s curiosity of American History.

This month, we have spent the majority of our school time (minus math and science) doing activities and reading books about The Declaration of Independence, The Revolutionary War, and The Constitution.

Abby has shown much interest in the topic and has devoured many books in her silent reading time – Her favorite of which was the Magic Tree House book “Revolutionary War on Wednesday.”

Her imaginary play time has long involved George and Martha Washington or fighting the British Redcoats. I am excited about celebrating the 4th of July tomorrow with her. It will have a deeper meaning and I hope that we are building a foundation for her that will rest upon the foundational truths for the beginnings of this nation that we have the honor of living in.

Another reason that we homeschool is because I want to make sure that I teach my child these things because as you can see in the video clip below – the public at large has not been taught these things in a way that they were able to retain!!

A little while ago when I saw this clip from Jay Leno asking American citizens (one of whom was a COLLEGE PROFESSOR!) about the history us the U.S., I called Abby over to the computer and had her listen to all of the questions. I’m happy to announce, she scored a perfect 100%! (Which is more than I can say for these folks in the video. If it weren’t so horribly sad and shameful, it would be hilarious.)

Happy 4th of July!

May it be filled with a true appreciation of our freedom and of the uniqueness of this great nation!

(Click the image below to read the Declaration for yourself!)

This part always gives me chills:

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Oh come let us adore Him!

So….

My very best intentions of turning this blog into an advent celebration extravaganza for the month of December went horribly horribly wrong. Though I did not post about it here, we *have* had a delightful month of reading scriptures and learning about the prophecies of the Messiah.

The probability factor alone is compelling enough to get one to investigate the claims of Jesus.

The Bible said that he would be born of a virgin, would be born in Bethlehem, that He would be called a Nazarene and that He would come out of Egypt. It foretold that he would be worshiped by Kings who would come on camels and give gifts of Gold and Frankincense. All of those things were prophesied in the Old Testament and came to pass when Jesus was born. (These are just the prophecies about his BIRTH. The ones about his life, death and resurrection are more numerous and came to pass as well. And the most exciting part? The prophecies about His glorious reign are more numerous!)

We have hope and peace, we know love and joy because of His birth (and ultimately His death and resurrection.) The season of advent is a wonderful opportunity for our family to spend an entire month being deliberate about our remembrance and celebration of God’s gift.

Yes, I know, Christmas is a conglomeration of a pagan and a Christian Holiday. It is a celebration that was superimposed over an old pagan tradition in an attempt to “Christianize” it. Yes, I know that Jesus probably was not born in December and that the wise men did not show up right after Mary delivered Him. I do know, however, that His story is for all the ages. I know that God was made into flesh to dwell among us.

Along with our nightly advent devotions, we have watched the Nativity Story several times. With each viewing, I am struck by the “realness” of it all. Though we do not know the exact details of some things, the intricacies woven into the storyline are beautiful. (Just a few examples: Joseph buys back – redeems – a donkey for Mary’s father after it had been taken to pay his taxes which he could not afford to pay. They would later take this animal to Bethlehem on their Journey that would fulfill the prophecy that the Messiah would be born there. Mary almost gets bitten by a snake as they are crossing a river – that pesky serpent – doesn’t he know that he can’t win? And as the wisemen offer their gifts, the one who was the most skeptical and reluctant to follow the star to find Jesus is the one who, through tears, presents him with the gift of Myrrh saying that it is “for His sacrifice” – foreshadowing Jesus’ death.) It is a beautiful movie and a family tradition here in the Clark house!

May you prepare Him room today!

He is a savior for the lowest of men to the Highest of Kings!

Angels From The Realms Of Glory – Bebo Norman
Angels from the
Realms of Glory
Wing your flight o’er the Earth
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim the Messiah’s birth

Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Worship Christ the Newborn King

Shepards in the
Fields abiding
Watching o’er the flocks by night
God with man is
Now residing
Yonder shines the infant light

Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Worship Christ the Newborn King

Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Worship Christ the Newborn King

Saints before the
Alter bending
Watching long in hope and fear
Suddenly the Lord descending
In His temple shall appear

Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Worship Christ the Newborn King

Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Come and Worship
Worship Christ…the Newborn King

The Tree: 2009 (Part 1)

Our Advent activity last night was to go and pick out our Christmas tree! The kids had been looking forward to it all week so we bundled them up to go out and brave the cold weather.

We hopped in the truck and headed out. Both Nathan and Sarah fell asleep on the way there!

(The way I’m talking, you’d think we were headed out to actually cut down a tree, huh? Naaaah – We went to Home Depot – about 10 minutes from our house but Nathan and Sarah had not taken a nap and the low hum of the diesel knocked them both out cold before we even hit the main road!)

First, we rifled through the trees to find *just* the right one:

Then Abby and Bruce waited in line to get it trimmed and wrapped:

Then we headed home, excited about our purchase:

This is the first year that Nathan has been big enough to care about what was going on. He was so very anxious to get the ball rolling on the decorating! He probably asked me a gazillion times, “Can we go find the lights now? Can we plug the lights in now? Can we put the lights on the tree now? Can we put the star on now? Can we get out the decorations now?”

When we finally got the lights up and got out the box of decorations, he was beside himself with excitement. He would pull each ornament out of the box and say, “WOW! Look at this one! A blue star! It’s so beautiful! And special! I will hang it right here!”

About 20 minutes into decorating he stopped and said, “Mama – Thank you for letting me help decorate the tree.” (Have I ever mentioned that this boy is the sweetest thing ever?)

We decided to stop decorating for a while so that Abby could help when she got home. (She had TWO birthday parties today!) We stopped to eat some lunch and while we were at the table, we heard an awful CRASH and, you guessed it, THE TREE HAD FALLEN DOWN!

Bruce was not home and I was unable to lift or move the tree by myself. I corralled Nathan and Sarah into the other room and swept up as much of the glass as I could. I tried not to weep over the fact that my favorite ornament in the whole wide world was broken in three pieces, and then I started to panic when I realized that there was now a gallon of water on the floor soaking through the tree skirt and onto our new hardwood floors. (I know, most people would not have panicked over that but if you were fresh off of a 2 week out-of-home experience due to water damage on your hardwood floors, you might have panicked, too!)

I got up as much of the water as I could and then when Bruce got home he moved the tree and we made sure there was not a drop left.

Then, we propped the tree up in the corner and Bruce went back out to buy a new tree stand.

Stay tuned for part 2! (Let’s hope it has a happy ending and an upright tree!)

Oh, and word to the wise: If your tree stand says “This stand will support trees up to 7.5 feet” do not try to put a 9 ft tree in there.

Advent starts THIS SUNDAY!

A few years ago we started a new family tradition in the Clark household. We don’t just celebrate Christmas Day – We celebrate the season of Advent.

For Christians, it is a beautiful way to spend the Season of Christmas. Instead of a frenzied rush of shopping or a “countdown” to a day that goes much too fast (and often without very much focus on the reason we’re supposed to celebrating), advent allows us to focus for an entire month on the blessed miracle of Christmas.

We have done this several ways in years past. Each year’s observance has included an Advent wreath and some form of daily devotion.

One year I made this snazzy magnetic Advent calender out of a cookie sheet. Each day corresponded with our daily devotional book (a gift from the nursery director at our church – I’m trying to find a link to post for you!!) We look forward to getting it each year. It’s similar to an “I Spy” book in that each day you read a devotional and look for the object of that day’s story. (A star, a shepherd, a baby, etc.)

(We still plan on using the book this year but the calendar didn’t store so well in the Christmas decorations.)

We also have a plush nativity set that the kids use each year to play with and “act out” the Christmas story.

Celebrating this way really helps me to focus on the joy of the season.

May your season of Advent be one of anticipation, peace, joy and hope!

Would you like to know more about celebrating Advent?

Here are some links for you:
The Season of Advent: Anticipation and Hope
Origins of the wreath
Making an advent wreath
Day by day devotions (The dates are off but the links are still GREAT!)

Jesse Tree Daily Devotions

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you count your many blessings today and every day.

Thanksgiving Resources

Since the beginning of November, we have immersed ourselves in the true and amazing story of The Pilgrims and have been captivated and inspired by the rich history and the lessons that it has for us today. The hardships that these people endured was remarkable but the real story is the faith by which they endured.

I peripherally knew the story of the Pilgrims and knew that they left Plymouth, England and fled to America because they wanted to worship freely but that little blurb does absolutely no justice to the true and wonderful story of these men and women. They risked (and gave) their lives for the hope of a land in which they could worship God in the way they felt was right and pursue their dreams of simple, family work.

I now know that they fled England because they were being executed, their houses were being burned, and the men and women and children of their congregation were imprisoned all because they refused to attend the Anglican church. They tried to leave England not once but twice and both times, it ended in disaster. The first time, they were betrayed by the ship’s captain. They had sold all that they had in order to make this escape and the few possessions that they DID still have were taken and they were imprisoned again. This only made their resolve to leave stronger. The second time they hired a ship, the men had boarded but ship sailed away in haste because the crew saw that the King’s army was in pursuit. This would have been a good thing were it not for the fact that in their haste, they were leaving the women, children, and many of their belongings on the shore!! The families left behind were put into prison but were eventually released and all were reunited in Holland.

Did you know that the pilgrims did not not initially flee to America? I don’t remember ever learning that! They first went to Holland because it was reputed to be a place of religious freedom and they lived there for 12 years. After these years of relative peace and freedom, they decided to embark on the journey to America for several reasons. First, they saw that their children were becoming “Dutch” and losing their cultural history. Second, the men of the congregation (old men down to young boys) were doing backbreaking work in factories that separated their families for most of the week. These people had been landowners and farmers in England and had a strong desire to live that way again where they could work together as families and not be in dark factories all week long separated from their families just to earn their livings. Most pressing, however, was the fear that the end of the temporary peace treaty with the Spanish would lead to renewed religious persecution. If the Spanish won, the country would become Catholic. If the English and Dutch won, the country might come under more English rule. Either way, after the religious persecution that they had suffered in England, they were willing to brave a 3,000 mile ocean crossing and attempt to settle in an untamed land order to avoid the possibility of that again.

After nearly sinking in one of their boats, (The Speedwell – not the Mayflower!) they ended up at Plymouth, England for repairs. (Plymouth, you see, was NOT where the pilgrims were from. It’s just where they ended up after having to dock and eventually sell this ship.) It was only after they abandoned the Speedwell that most of them piled on to the Mayflower to make the treacherous journey to America. (Some had to stay behind due to space constraints.) They had initially left Holland in JULY hoping to sail in fair weather and arrive in August or Early September. Because of their troubles, however, they didn’t actually set sail for good until September! (Which is why they didn’t end up in America until November and didn’t find a place to settle until nearly Christmas!)

There are so many more fascinating parts of this story that I have (re)-learned in this past month. The bottom line, though, is that these were people of incredible faith and determination who trusted that God was guiding them in all things as they were striving to worship and honor him. Their story is full of practical application for us today. They celebrated “The First Thanksgiving” as a way to praise God for all that He had brought them through in that first year. These men and women lived out the command to “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Though nearly half of those who came along on the journey were now buried and though the survivors had endured numerous hardships since they had set out on this adventure, they chose to bless and honor God with a feast of thanks to their deliverer.

I hope that this list of resources will encourage you delve into the story of our Pilgrim ancestors!

Our Mayflower exploration all started when my friend Cindi loaned me a few books. The first of which we read was:

Stories Of The Pilgrims. (Be sure that if you get this book – you get the first edition. I have seen poor reviews of the revised edition.) This is a FABULOUS read aloud book for families with young children! The first few chapters were especially engaging and inspiring and really got us started on our journey to discover more about our Pilgrim Fathers.

Another really wonderful book is “The Adventurous Life Of Miles Standish.” This is also written in great “read-aloud” language and has wonderful illustrations. The story is about Miles Standish – a military leader who was hired to go with the pilgrims as they set out to make their way in the New World – but it is not exclusively about him. There are extensive quotes from William Bradford and Edward Winslow – the primary historians of the colony. What I loved most about this book is that it has a running timeline of other world events at the bottom of each page that helps to tell the story of what else was going on in the world as the Pilgrims were striving to establish their colony at Plimoth.

Abby loved “The Pilgrims Of Plimoth.” She was really fascinated by the beautiful illustrations and the older language of the book. The book is written in the voice of one of the Pilgrims and there is a glossary in the back with definitions of some of the words that are used. It’s a lovely Children’s book.

The Mayflower & the Pilgrims’ New World is a book that is the youth-adapted version of Nathaniel Philbrick’s highly acclaimed “Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War”. This book does a wonderful job of finding a balance between fact and myth and not only tells the story of the Pilgrims crossing of the Atlantic, but goes much farther and tells the story of what happened AFTER the first few years. Much of the book focuses on the relationships of the pilgrims and their Indian neighbors. I learned many fascinating details about Squanto and Massasoit and “King Phillip.” I read a lot of this book on my own but it’s a great read-aloud as well. Nathan even enjoyed listening to this one!

Another book from my friend Cindi was “The Mayflower Adventure.” This is the fictional story of John and Sarah Smythe – a brother and sister who were born in Leiden when the Separatist Pilgrims living there in search of religious freedom. They had fled the persecution of King James of England and had been in Holland for nearly 12 years. The children hear the re-telling of why their parents left England and John and Sarah are some of the children who embark on the exciting and frightening adventure to leave Holland and start a new colony in America. Historically accurate details and quotes from William Bradford are incorporated in to the story. It’s not as good to read aloud and the others that I have mentioned but we’ve enjoyed it. This would be a really great book for an older child who was capable of self-reading chapter books.

Two books that I have read on my own have been “Of Plimoth Plantation” by William Bradford and “The Mayflower Miracle” by Johnathan King.

“Of Plimoth Plantation” is the journal of William Bradford – the governor of the colony for nearly 30 years. The fact that this man is not as studied as George Washington or other founding fathers is a travesty. This book should be required reading! It is a history written by the person who witnessed the whole thing. I borrowed the “modern language” version from the library (modern language meaning that all of the oddly spelled words are corrected – nothing is changed as far as the content) and it has lots of wonderful footnotes and appendices. I would not recommend this book if you hadn’t done other reading but knowing the history by way of reading the other books I’ve mentioned enabled me to read this one and enjoy it. It was quite a thrill to be reading the words written 400 years ago that rang so true to my heart in the year 2009! William Bradford is a true American hero and his story should not be overlooked!

The Mayflower Miracle: The Pilgrim’s Own Story of the Founding of America by Jonathan King. This book was an exciting find at my local used book store. It is written in sort of a time-line format and has lots of well documented and researched tidbits that add so much depth to the story. Bradford is quoted extensively as the writer tries to tell the story in the words of the Pilgrims. It is out of print now but if you can snag a copy, this one is a keeper! There are also lots of pictures included.

Some fabulous internet resources:
Timeline of Plimoth Plantation found on Plimoth.org and Scholastic.com’s Voyage Of The Mayflower.

And finally, for the love of all that is good and right, GO AND BUY THIS CD!

This CD set entitled, “Thanksgiving – A Time To Remember” was a gift from one of the moms at Bruce’s school. It’s an audio book with the narrative of the Pilgrim’s journey. It has been wonderful to take along with us on long drives. The kids love listening to it and I dare say that between this CD and all the literature that we have read, Abby knows more about the history of the Pilgrims than most High School graduates! The CD set also includes another disk of beautiful instrumental hymns all with the theme of Thanksgiving. It is a MUST HAVE for celebrating and remembering the importance of this holiday.

So there you have it. We didn’t spend our Thanksgiving study time making paper bag Indian vests and we have nary a macaroni necklace anywhere in our home. We do, however, have our minds and hearts full of thanks and filled with a fresh appreciation of our forefathers and of the faith that led them to this New World.

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Day is special to us for many reasons. Not the least of which is the fact that on this day in 2003, we found out we were going to be starting down the long beautiful road of parenthood!

Abby and I are getting our toes done today courtesy of Daddy and then in the evening, Grammie is coming to keep the kids while Bruce and I go and eat Japanese Food! (I hope the Abby and Nathan aren’t in sugar coma from these white chocolate dipped and sprinkled marshmallows!)

Hope your day is special!
xoxoxoxo

By the way – Here are the directions for the marshmallow pop bouquet!

(H/T Grace Violet)

Marshmallow Pop Bouquet

We had a blast making these! So fun, easy and pretty!

Ingredients:

• Marshmallows
• an orange (to use as the base to put the sticks in)
• Tissue Paper (to decorate the bottom)
• White Chocolate Chips
• Sprinkles
• Food coloring
• Bamboo Skewers
• Fruit (We used strawberries, grapes and blueberries)
• Pipe Cleaners (optional – we used these to spell out the word LOVE)

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.
• Poke a marshmallow on to the non-sharp end of the bamboo skewer
• Dip marshmallow in the melted chocolate
• Sprinkle the top

• Poke the skewer in to the orange
• Repeat as many times as you want!
• Put some fruit on other skewers (so it’s not totally void of nutrition!)
• Wrap the orange in tissue paper and put into a ramekin or small bowl
• Twist chenille sticks into the letters L-O-V-E and attach to the skewers!

We also put one of our hand made guppy valentines in the bouquet that we gave to the neighbors.

Inspiration found here.

This Year’s Valentines: Guppy Love

Originally found HERE

Abby is serious about cutting out paper hearts. She did the cutting and I glued them together. She helped to glue the eyes on and wrote her name on the back.

We modified it a bit by using paper scraps for the mouth and and using a pipe cleaner as a hook and then we’ll add a lollipop as the treat for her classmates!

Lots of fun!

Art Project: Valentine Wreath

This was a fun and easy project that I found HERE.

We used a hot glue gun instead of a glue stick, though, so maybe it will last a little longer!

Abby loves to cut out hearts. I find lots of hearts floating around all over the house. For this project, I folded paper and drew several half hearts and then Abby cut them out of the paper.

(By the way, scissor activities  now have to be much more closely supervised due to the fact that last weekend at Nana’s, Abby snuck in to the bathroom and cut some pretty sizable chunks out of her hair!) Today, though, she did well under my very watchful eye. While she was cutting the hearts, I glued them on to a paper plate that I had cut the center out of. It was the perfect after nap / before dinner activity. Nathan even got in on the fun. He “fringed” the edges of a piece of paper while we made the wreath.

We had lots of fun!