James and the Giant Peach Study July 7, 2015

Hello dear ones! Michael did a study of the book James and the Giant Peach. Join me for a peachy craft and some Southern peach cobbler.

 

 

Michael and I made this sun catcher using contact paper. I drew a peach and he filled it in with orange tissue paper and silhouettes from James and the Giant Peach. He made clouds from cotton balls. The birds are hanging strings.

 

Michael also watched the movie. Now, here’s a recipe that we didn’t get a chance to make.

Southern Peach Cobbler

From the Odum Community Cookbook

by Jeanette Bass

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup self-rising flour

1 stick butter

1 can peaches (sliced with juice)

3/4 cup of milk

Melt butter in baking dish. Add sugar, milk, and peaches, mix well. Add flour and mix until well blended. Bake in 350 degree oven until top is golden brown. Serve with or without whipped cream; you can also sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

 

 

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Dr. Seuss Day 2015 March 10, 2015

In this post: Dr. Seuss crafts, eats, and a lapbook.

Hello dear ones! Here’s how we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday this year:

• We read all the Dr. Seuss books we own. Here’s Nana reading Green Eggs and Ham.

• A lapbook with Dr. Seuss’ biography, a Meet the Artist questionnaire, and a cartoon tutorial.

Links: http://readyteacher.com/learn-to-draw-dr-seuss-characters/

http://makingartfun.com/htm/f-maf-art-library/theodor-seuss-geisel-biography.htm

 

• “My Favorite Dr. Seuss Book” birthday cake writing assignment~  I was inspired by this blog:  http://meanmygang.blogspot.com/2012/02/dr-seuss-birthday-cake-craft.html   but I  found the cake printables elsewhere online. Michael colored three layers, put them together, and then added construction paper candles. I printed out the assignment with a nice font.

• Cat in the Hat hat~ I got the idea from this blog:

http://joyfullyweary.blogspot.com/2011/11/easy-seussian-hats.html?spref=pi

 

• Dr. Seuss decor~  I found the Dr. Seuss plates at Target last year. I found the quotes online. The truffela tree and Dr. Seuss sign are from our Dr. Seuss celebration 2 years ago: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/my-family-rocks-sunday-dr-seuss-birthday/

 

• A movie~ Horton Hears a Who.

 

• Green scrambled eggs and ham with grits~ for supper.

God bless & remember the High King lives!~Amber Dover

PS: Here’s a regular pic from a school day. Michael drawing a city on his trampoline.

 

More Seuss inspiration:

Lent Crafts Part One 2015 March 9, 2015

In this post: Band-aid prayers cross, Jesus’ I am statements craft, and the Lord’s Prayer chapel craft.

Hello dear ones! I’m playing catch up again. We did these crafts a couple of weeks ago for the second week of Lent. Enjoy!

• Band-aid Prayers cross~ I saw this idea on Pinterest except they used a wooden cross with a ton of band-aids. Ours is a bit simpler. We just used cardboard, band-aids, and tissue paper. Each week Michael is supposed to write someone to pray for, on a band-aid.

• Jesus’ “I AM” statments craft~ I saw this lovely artwork with the words “I am” but it was about self esteem. I changed ours to Jesus’ statements about Himself. I figured it’d be great for Lent.

Link for inspiration:http://mewithmyheadintheclouds.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-few-things.html

 

Here’s how we did ours:
Michael painted seven different color wedges on his paper using water colors.

Michael pasted a circle in the middle of the wedges. Then he cut out 7 smaller wedges of different types of scrapbook paper and pasted it on top of the water color wedges. I printed out Jesus’ 7 “I AM” statements in different fonts and he cut and pasted them on top of the scrapbook wedges.

I liked it so much that I made something similar, in my prayer journal.

 

• The Lord’s Prayer chapel craft~  I was inspired by a pic on pinterest but when I went to look for the chapel template I couldn’t find it. So I drew out my own. I printed the Lord’s prayer in a nice font and Michael pasted it in the middle. Then he used torn tissue paper for the stained glass.

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Presidents Day 2015 March 1, 2015

In this post: Presidents Day craft and fun.

Hello dear ones! I’m kind of behind on posts but I hope to catch up soon. This third trimester of pregnancy is kicking my butt. It won’t be long before I hold my second son, so I know it’s worth it. Here’s what we did for President’s Day.

•  Each day that week, Michael read about a new president.

 

• We took out our presidents place mat. Michael quizzed us daily on the presidents because of this!

 

• Michael made this Abe Lincoln mask using a paper plate and construction paper.

 

• Lastly, Michael filled out some neat president printables. You can find those here:

http://todaysfrugalmom.com/free-presidents-day-mini-unit-study-grades-k-6/

Designing a coin

If I Were President

Who would you add to Mt. Rushmore?

Quotes from George Washington and Abe Lincoln

Well, that’s all folks. God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Study February 9, 2015

In this post: Fun activities for the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Hello dear ones! February is not only the month of love. It is the month of chocolate, because what other food goes best with love? So Michael read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. By the way, here’s our “readbox” that I made at the beginning of the year. I keep forgetting to show you.

Michael read the book in a lil over a night. I was surprised. He was just so into it.

Candy Bar Measurements ~ So we did this math project but really it was just an excuse to eat chocolate. I’ll be honest. Michael already knows how to use a ruler well.

Measuring the candy

Then the best part…eating the candy.

Chocolate Study Lapbook

Michael did this quick lapbook on chocolate from: http://www.currclick.com/product/32954/All-Chocolate-A-Fun-Study

We watched the newest movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This one is my favorite. I like to quote it :).

Lastly, we made this Charlie and the Chocolate Factory diorama.

Michael colored and cut out book characters. We got them at this site: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-colouring-page

We used snow paint tinted brown, for the chocolate waterfall. Michael painted the grass green and a blue sky. Then we added green Easter grass on top. We used toilet paper rolls to make the bridge over the chocolate river.

We hotglued jelly beans for rocks along the river. I glued suckers together to make trees.

Then we made a banner with the name of the book.

I can’t tell you how much I love this diorama. It took some time but was worth it.

That’s our study. Here’s a pic of Michael doing school in his favorite spot.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday: Lemony Snicket Inspired Silhouette January 12, 2015

Hello dear ones! Michael is reading the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” books by Lemony Snicket. Our last craft for the week was inspired by a Lemony Snicket quote and a scene from the movie based on the books.

In the movie, the Baudelaire orphans make a tent in Count Olaf’s dismal attic. They hang up their parents’ pictures and it makes a silhouette of the whole family. It gives the feeling that the parents are looking over their kids. I believe there is mention of it being a sanctuary and this quote:

“Sanctuary, a word which here means ‘a small safe place in a troubling world'” ~Lemony Snicket

I just love that. So Michael and I made our own family silhouette picture and used that quote.

I took our profile pictures and then printed them out. Michael traced the pictures onto colorful construction paper. Then he cut out the silhouettes.

I glued the pictures to Acryllic paper and wrote the quote. Then I modge podged it. You can see how shiny it is when the flash is on. I hope you’re inspired :).

I just have to show you this sweet card Michael and his friends made me.

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Crafty Monday: Abstract Winter Trees Art & Poem

In this post: How to paint abstract winter trees, winter poetry, and a speedy winter lapbook. Links included.

The days are chilly and grey. It’s still winter, but now there are no twinkling lights and candy canes. January is a gloomy month for me. But there are a few fun activities to keep us busy. Bring on the winter art!

Our homeschool is in full swing and is finally at pre-pregnancy normal. Okay, maybe not completely so. We’re not doing nearly as many crafts as we usually do, but that’s okay. I wanted to simplify anyways. We only did two art projects last week and I’ve decided to give each it’s own post, because I think they are so cool.

I taught Michael how to draw and paint abstract winter trees by using this site as a guide:
http://artprojectsforkids.org/portfolio/abstract-winter-tree/

First, he drew the trees in pencil. Then he copied a winter poem that we found here:
http://writerfox.hubpages.com/hub/The-Winter-Poems
We read several of these poems.

Michael traced his drawing and poem with crayons in cool colors. Then he used water colors to paint and it created a pastel resist effect.

Michael filled out this speedy Winter lapbook all week:
http://www.currclick.com/product/76606/Seasons-Winter–Speedy-Lapbook

In other homeschool news:

I read the story of King Inch. It’s a nifty way to remember how many inches are in a foot, and how many feet are in a yard, and how many feet are in a mile. While I read, Michael made a picture book of the story. I found this in a math memory book that I’ve been neglectful of.

http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Tips-Memorization-Learning-Styles/dp/1430303042/

In Language Arts, Michael typed his first draft of a letter, and then he wrote by hand his final draft. His letter was instructions on how to build a Lego house. Go figure :).

So, how are you filling your winter days? God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

End of the Year Parties: Language Arts & Math July 28, 2014

Hello dear ones! We finished our last week of school (back in June) with subject based parties. Today I want to show you the Language Arts & Math themed days  we had.

• We began our Language Arts party by making black out poetry. Basically, you take a page in a book and you black out everything except for the words you want to use to make a poem. You start by circling the words you want to use (random words scattered across the page) and then you start coloring over the rest. We used a blue crayon. Black or white out would’ve looked better.
• Spelling games at http://www.kidsspell.com/
• We made Story Stones & made up stories. You find several smooth stones, cut out interesting pictures, and modge podge them to the stones.
• We ended our Language Arts party with poetry cookies. I used a poem we had learned this year, by Lord Byron.
• Our Math party consisted of us playing Math board games. We got the Multiplication and Division Space game at the Dollar Tree.
• Michael made shapes using popsicle sticks.

Well, I hope you enjoyed these ideas. Join me later for our last party, Music & Art (plus ideas for the History party that never happened):

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/end-of-the-year-parties-art-music/

If you missed it, here’s our first party: Science~

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/end-of-the-year-parties-science/

God bless & remember the High King Lives! ~Amber Dover

Pssst! You can find more ideas here:

The 1800’s Week 6: Heading West (The Final Week) July 21, 2014

In this post: Come join us as we take a wagon ride to the prairie! There will be pioneers and cowboys! Come hang out :). 

Hello dear ones! We’ve had a lot of fun learning about the pioneers and the world of Little House on the Prairie. This is how we learned:

Tall Tales

• We read about Paul Bunyan and Buffalo Bill.
• Michael watched Tall Tale.

Heading West

• Michael read and watched Little House on the Prairie. We actually watched the newer mini series.
• We took a virtual field trip to Little House on the Prairie sites.
• Michael “built” a log cabin when we visited Fort Mitchell, a couple weeks before.
• He also saw covered wagons at Fort Mitchell and the inside of a log cabin. There’s a picture of him ringing the supper bell.
• Michael drew a picture of a log cabin from his Draw Through History book.
• Little House on the Prairie Role play. I turned the reading pool into a covered wagon and Michael’s desk into the horse. Michael packed up the supplies for his “trip out west”. Then once he arrived, we used tp rolls and tissue paper to make a fire. I put a grate over the top and Michael cooked the food he had “shot”. He used our ukulele for a fiddle. We listened to actual fiddle music and danced around. Michael enjoyed pretending to be “Pa”.
• We made a covered wagon out of cardboard and tissue paper.
• We tried to learn old fashioned string games, like Cat’s cradle.
• We made yarn dolls. I remember my Granny making those for me.
• We read a book on Pioneers.
• Michael made a lapbook about Cowboys.
• Michael played The Oregon Trail, an interactive PC game.
• We decorated Western gingerbread men, which was creepy since we had just talked about the tragedy of the Donnor Party!

Other

• We read about Ireland’s potato famine in Story of the World book 4.
• We watched Dear America Season one: Episode 4. It’s about an Irish immigrant girl who travels to America (because of famine) and works in a factory.
• We read Jamie O’ Rourke and the Big Potato.
• We read Little Folk, about leprechauns etc…
• We read Irish rhymes.
• We read about Italy in Story of the World, so we also read Italian rhymes.
• Michael did a composer study on Tchaikovsky. He practiced playing “Swan Lake” on the piano.
• We read poems by Whitman and Keats.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our study of history this school year. We went from Creation to the 1800’s. Links at the end.

The 1800’s on Pinterest:

The 1800’s Week 5:https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/the-1800s-week-5-the-statue-of-liberty-technology/

The 1800’s Week 1: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/the-1800s-week-1-sacagawea-claude-monet/

This is the last post for history this school year, so here is…

The Very beginning of our History study this school year: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/crafty-monday-creation-the-flood-and-personality/

Time Machine Unit (The 1900’s): https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/a-late-crafty-monday-the-time-machine1900-1925/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

The 1800’s Week 5: The Statue of Liberty & Technology

In this post: Statue of Liberty crafts and an experiment Edison would be proud of.

Hello dear ones! This is how we learned during week 5 of the 1800’s:

The Statue of Liberty

• Michael put together a Statue of Liberty lapbook.
• We read about the Statue of Liberty in Story of the World book 4.
• Michael did a splatter paint Statue of Liberty craft, using a silhouette.
• Michael drew a picture of it, using his Draw Through History book.
• Michael watched a video on the making of the Statue of Liberty.

Technology

• Michael read “Out of Darkness” about Louis Braille.  Then he drew his name in Braille.
• We read about Samuel Morse, Vincent Van Gogh, and Alexander Grahm Bell.
• Michael read about Thomas Edison and the light bulb.
• Chris and Michael made a homemade lightbulb using a mason jar, wire, batteries, and pencil lead. It was such a cool experiment! The diy video is on my Pinterest link.
• We read about steam engines and other inventions in Story of the World.
• We read stories about trains and Michael drew one from his Draw Through History book.

Other

• Michael did a composer study on Brahms.
• We read poems by Emily Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 The 1800’s on Pinterest:

The 1800’s Week 4: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/the-1800s-week-4-the-civil-war-queen-victoria/

The 1800’s Week 6 (last one): https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/the-1800s-week-6-heading-west-the-final-week/

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover