Courageous Kids do Greek Mythology... With a little help from Olaf...

November began our two month break from ECC, and we jumped headlong into Greek Mythology. First thing I realized was thankful for was MFW lesson plans after making a months worth of my own! But it's truly been a blast and I am amazed at how much they have learned. I haven't spent a large focused amount of time on this sort of literature study before with my girls. We read many different myths and practiced our summarizing and writing skills. I found and excellent pre-made unit on Teachers Pay Teachers that we used as the base for our study :

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Greek-Mythology-Interactive-Notebook-Unit-Myths-Foldables-and-Projects-1204771

I don't think this month would have gone near as smoothly without all the preparation done by this amazing teacher! ill post some pictures of our finished projects shortly!


In other November happenings our new Wednesday night program for elementary kids at the church has taken off with flying colors for God's glory! We have created The Courageous Kids from scratch, and set out with pretty much a prayer at the beginning of the school year. We start most nights off with 30 min of basic martial arts training by one fabulous father who has his black belt in multiple disciplines.  I think one of the best parts is he's a guy you would never "expect" to be a  multiple black belt holder. I am pretty sure he took his share of bullying and teasing in school and the kids recognize it and respond even more because of it. The picture below Was from a night he was teaching the an African style and the kids were focusing on footwork. After our martial arts time we move into a bible lesson and the kids have an opportunity to earn stripes for their belts through scripture memory. The last 30 min is usually spent on praise songs. The goal is for the group to sing with the praise band in Worship.

Percy Jackson and Greek myths  took over some of Hulk's math lessons. He built a sea serpent while Yang went with Clarice over Polyphemus' cook pot....

The kids finished up their co-op Science with posters advertising different minerals....

We also to a field trip to INK in Gainesville. They played Nate Saint in the plane and in general had a good time playing in all the different areas....

We also took a day off to help decorate the church for Christmas. We had to do pre-Thanksgiving because its a big job and we had a BIG event the next weekend... This is our set for our children's worship series entitled "Unfrozen".

Behind..... and on a 2 month break from ECC

 So, excuses excuses... I am very behind this year. ECC has such a different flow that it just  creeps up on me. Plus, I really underestimated the work of adding in Hulk. So I promise to get up our stuff for Canada and Brazil, soon. We have taken the month of November off to  following the girls interest in Greek Mythology. I hope to have some pictures of that up soon. I found a great unit online through Teachers Pay Teachers that we have really enjoyed. A lot of great writing work, that they haven't fought me on because they are so into the subject matter. Read alouds right now are myths and the Percy Jackson series.  This December we are going to focus on Math, reading and Christmas Activities ( i hope to post my plan soon).  We will pick up ECC again in the New year.

Brazil......

  

  We left the frozen north and headed south to Carnaval in Brasil. The kids really got into making the Carnaval masks. We used some pret make heavy white masks, paint, and Christmas floral picks for our plumage. We listened to Samba music from You tube while we painted and studied these 2 weeks. Our favorite field trip was to our local  Brazilian Bakery  (http://brazilianbakerycafe.com/Menu.php) for lunch. We tried a wide variety pasteis. One was filled with Queijo ( fresh mozzarella cheese), another hearts of palm, another with a spiced chicken and then ground beef. I loved the Hearts of palm, Ying loved the chicken ( lots of spice and green olives). Hulk and Yang voted for the Queijo..lol...  We then tried out a few desserts. Ying got a Bom Bom de morango ( strawberry bon bon) and fell in love. She decided she'd rather have these then birthday cake next year..lol. I had a wonderful passion fruit mouse in a chocolate cup. Might be the best dessert I have ever had. Really was great. From the whole trip I was really proud of the kids. from their manners to willingness to try new foods to even attempting "hello" and " Thank you" in Portuguese. The Brazilian steakhouse was out of our budget for this study but we made our own. Very simple recipe that has turned into a favorite here served with corn, and a retread of the Cilantro Lime Rice we discovered in Mexico. Something tells me much of our ECC journey is going to center on crafts and food with the ages of my kiddos. Its what they seem to connect with.

Here our Pintrest board for Brazil and South America-
www.pinterest.com/lettinghimlead/mfw-ecc-brazil-and-south-america

Canada, Eh?

Ok let me be honest... Canada fell flat. We did it. its done..lol... but no great crafts or food. We made the above cookies to  celebrate the end. They don't do Canada justice or real food justice at any rate..lol. Yep I am awful I have nothing to add, eh?

Welcome to Mexico

Welcome to Mexico....
 This week we left our study of the USA behind and ventured into our southern neighbor. We  are taking our time in Mexico and spending 3 weeks instead of 2. I am mainly adjusting the schedule because of our extracurriculars taking such a chunk out of our time I have been feeling majorly rushed and find myself turning into "Monster Mommy." This weeks more relaxed flow has been so much nicer. We started our week fresh off vacation with  "Art day". We made banner "papel picado" (Paper banners) and tissue paper flowers that we used to decorate the living room and the dinning area chandelier. Theser were our final products.

 I am also chaning up how we study the country.  We are going to swtich to doing lapbooks on most countries I think because my girls seem to prefer it. Maybe its more "primary" grades then I was thinking this year to be but its fitting. We are using a free version through Homeschool Share.: Mexico Lapbook The most fun we had this week was with food. We got adventurous and tried new things. Had some successes and some failures..lol.. but everything was edible. we started our week with a delicious Chicken Tomatillo Soup. Recipe available here:  Slow Cooker Chicken Tomatillo Soup. Got 6 thumbs up from the pack and we had leftovers enough to drain and try to use as a filling for our empandas. Unfortunately, I did not master emapanda dough. We will try again in the next two weeks. The dough I did make fired up nicely into disks that we served with the leftovers. Below is Hulk assiting with our empanda attempt. And then our final "sell your mistakes" dish..lol

                          

We made bean burritos for lunch most days.... Kids loved them...

We had breakfast burritos with Egg, sausage, & cheese served with a side of Papya.

Our Biggest Adventure was Ceviche de Pescedo with Cilantro Lime Rice. This got mixed reviews. Ying judged in edible, Yang asked for it never to be served again, and Hulk ate it like it was going out of style. Both girls were a little off put by the uncookedness..lol

We went out for Ice cream for desert that night as a reward for everyone trying so many new things this week.

Saturday night we tried Carne Asada with Elote ( Mexican grilled corn). It was fabulous.

Here are links to some of our recipes:

The Ceviche de Pescedo and Carne Asada were from a cookbook called Not just Tacos I got a while back for free on Amazon.

Cilantro Lime Rice

http://www.chefandherkitchen.com/2013/06/cilantro-lime-rice-recipe-easy-mexican.html

Elote:

http://www.iwashyoudry.com/2013/07/05/elote-mexican-grilled-corn

Also here is a link to the pintrest board I have created for Mexico and Central America:

http://www.pinterest.com/lettinghimlead/mfw-ecc-mexico-and-central-american/

We were also blessed this week by obtaining free access to Discovery Education streaming via our local PBS stations. This has been an amazing source for us of video about Mexico and our science topics.  Hulk has been watching episodes of Reading rainbow on Mexicican folktales, and the girls  are informally teaching themselves some Spanish via some videos. This week it has really taken the place of our bookbasket.

I thank the Lord for his mercy and sticking with me through the last few months. I was really getting frustrated and angry, feeling pulled in too many directions, and second guessing my choice of having the kids at home. He put his hand on me and carried me through the storm, and I am seeing the light again. Praise Him and His Glory. He is so good to me.

Palm Cost & St. Augustine, FL

 So we just spent and beautiful and relaxing week in Palm Coast, FL. We stayed in a lovely "home" (mansion..lol) right on the beach with a 50 yd boardwalk directly  dropping us on some of the softest sand I have ever encountered. It was amazing. We were just wrapping up our brief 2 week recap of the United States , so it seemed fitting that we visit the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the USA... St. Augustine, FL.

The kids favorite site in St. Augustine was the Castillo De San Marcos National Monument. We had an amazing tour and presentation by this lovely gentleman in costume. The kids also completed the workbook required to receive their Junior Ranger badges and Master Range patches while we were there. It took them some time and looking but they did great. Even Hulk accomplished this though a few of the Rangers on duty let him cheat by answering orally since he's not up to writing much yet. But hey a five year old who listened to the talk and remember something was impressive..lol.

One of the coolest things we learned about was the rock from which the fort was made.  Coquina is a form of limestone made primarily of shell fragments. The entire fort is made from coquina and it uniquely qualified as a building material for a military fortification. When cannon balls hit coquina instead of shattering the rock, the cannon balls just got stuck. The rock was strong but porous enough to absorb the shock. The large reef of coquina is what given the beaches in the area their "cinnamon" color.

The kids loved being on a less traveled beach this time around because they got see a lot more nature. (seeing a shark in the wild sorta made up for not having other kids this trip). This is just a small list of the wildlife we saw from a distance, up close, and sometime a little too close for comfort:

Dolphins

Pelicans

Gecko-2 kinds

Skink

Salamanders 

Snake

Sand crab 

Starfish
tree frog

Toad
Reef Shark
a lot of fish ( all kinds)
lovebugs and distinctly missing..... MOSQUITOS!!!!!

The reef shark is a story my husband and daughter will be telling for years to come. They happened to be out near low tide about 30 m from shore. they were watching large schools of fish in the waves. My husband put Ying  up on his shoulders to get a better view. He turned around and next thing he saw was a large reef shark chasing those same schools of fish. Needless to say, they slowly backed away until they got out of the water.

Well a good time was had by all and a little school got thrown in, too!

My Child Would NEVER.... ummm.. Yes, They Did....

So our whole family got a big life lesson this week in character. On Tuesday, my DH's Grandmother (G.G. To the kids) called to tell me that she was missing two expensive and SENTIMENTAL pieces of jewelry given to her by her late husband ,Bill (not my husbands grandfather, but that side gets complicated... Lol). Well apparently these items had been missing since my girls had spent the night at the end of July. She had looked everywhere, and while she hated to think it, had come to the conclusion that the girls had something to do with the disappearance. At first, my pride got the better of me. "My children would never!" But within about 20 seconds, God was in my ear. How many times a night in the ER am I told this by a parent when I have tell them their child is drunk, high, pregnant, or caused injury to someone? He reminded me; we are all sinners who give birth to sinners. I agreed to talk with the girls that night, still confident in my heart that she was wrong. Well, I was wrong. Before I could get the question out that night , Yang was in tears confessing the whole thing while poor Ying sat there very confused. Turns out Yang had taken them. She admitted to trying to tell us a few times, but either being interrupted or losing her nerve. Then she lost one of the necklaces, and she got even more frightened . She was so scared she stopped trying. In her mind, she couldn't repent if she couldn't "make it right". Since she'd lost it, she couldn't return it.  She did give me the one she still had, and I had to humbly call G.G. She was the picture of Christian forgiveness and compassion for both Yang, as the guilty party, and me, as a very embarrassed mother. Yang was so upset she was unable to talk to G.G. that night, but she called the next day and had a long talk. You know something went right when your kid ends a conversation like that with a genuine smile.

She humbly and patiently accepted her consequences. She was on restriction for 3 days- no TV, no video games or computer, no afternoon with friends. One of those afternoons was spent with my mother and father, so she had to tell them what she had done and what her restrictions were. I must say she handled it with real grace and dignity. No tears or back talk, just a calm acceptance. She managed to read 4 chapter books in 3 days.

Her brother and sister had lessons too. Their challenge was with gossip. I challenged them to not talk about Yang when she wasn't there especially with their friends. It was Yang's story to tell not theirs. They didn't need to explain why Yang was on restriction, and to the best of my knowledge they succeeded.

For my husband and I it was a lesson in not letting our pride get the better of us. First, in allowing the possibility that she could have committed the offense. Recognizing that our child are very well behaved but not perfect. Secondly, was not over reacting out of wounded pride. We had to find a middle road between giving her consequences that would make an impression that this was a sin and unacceptable behavior, and condemning/punishing her till she felt with one mistake she was beyond redemption. I think we accomplished this.

USA

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me through the first 2 weeks of ECC. Week 3 we started the USA and it was sooooooo much smoother. I know this is partly due to it being a review of the geography we learned last year as part of Adventures but it was fun to see what they remembered. Ying remembered 48 of 50. Yang got the coasts but sorry mid- America. We'll work on that. Hulk began learning our home state and neighbors. We've also bee working on a mini-book called "Me on the Map", helping him learn his address and how street, city, state, country, etc all fit together.
We also started in on Hero Tales this week as part of Bible. Hero tales uses different famous Christians stories to teach character. We started by just reading but it was a bit flat  so it has morphed into a " Bible Notebook". I started by  printing out something to go with each trait. It was a pretty easy internet search, Then the kiddos added their touches. I find they listen better when their hands are moving. We will also be putting in our copy work for the memory verses.

Hulk is working his way through Right Start Reading. We get the most done in the 1 hour free period he has during co-op time. He remains much more focused there because the are NO computers or video games calling his name..lol

P.s.....

Here are three pintrest board I have started.....

General MFW ECC: ( or stuff I haven't seperated out yet or stuff that goes all year

http://www.pinterest.com/lettinghimlead/mfw-ecc-general/

Canda and USA - I have included the board I made for Adventures last year as it has lots of good USA material:

http://www.pinterest.com/lettinghimlead/mfw-ecc-usa-canada/

http://www.pinterest.com/lettinghimlead/mfw-adventures-in-us-history/

ECC week 2

 We completed week 2 of our overview of geography this week. I tried to be a bit more relaxed, and stop stressing so much. We enjoyed the overview of the major world religions this week. The girls were impressed by how much most of the world has in common. I like Window on the Worlds simple and positive descriptions. They were very age appropriate for my crew. Our favorite geography lesson was map making using the grid system. We laid a grid out on the carport and the kids mapped our pretend country.  Hulk sitting in the chair was a mountain range, the boogie boards a lake, pool noodles a winding river. I think the blankets got added in as a forest and a military base. I was quite pleased with how the girls did once we got going.

The kids also started back at co-op this week which honestly was a blessed 4 1/2 hours of quiet errand running. I love my pack but quiet is something my mind craves and doesn't get much of right now. It was nice. I had to take a picture of the amount of stuff we have to load up for 3 kids in 5 classes. Its kinda comical. The girls are using their rolling suitcases this year because they have to carry the cellos on their backs all around the church. So each girl has a cello, music stand, suitcase w Science text & notebook, karate uniform,lunch and supplies for either knitting/art or Lego movie making. Hulk lucks out being little and gets his lunch and a pencil.

I am still not enjoying this year as much as last but I am hoping once we start the cultures part, we will find more of a rhythm.

ECC week 1

Making a sphere flat..lol.. sharpie does not stay on an orange well

Now what does it feel like to smash a grapefruit? after we decided we didn't like them much.....

Yang's Women of the World

Well let me be honest.. our first week of ECC was overwhelming. My over achieving self lost perspective. I started to make school at home instead of home school. I felt like since we had moved up to 3rd grade we needed to  " bump it up" a few thousand notches. I lost perspective and tried to formalize every subject. I ran myself and the kids ragged to the point that I was really wondering why was I homeschooling? But after a little reflection ( so yeah I am writing this 2 weeks later) I am chilling out. Sorta. Its still gonna take some time. So I loved making the John 3:16 posters. We bought a bunch of old National Geographics from the local thrift store and the kids had at it. I know many people  shy away from National Geographic  sometime because of the lack of attire, but honestly I want my kids to see the world unedited to some degree, especially the bodies of real people. Maybe its my nursing background, maybe its the body issues I see so many young girls with. This is God's creation. We don't have to be gratuitous about it, but nor do we need torun and hide like its to be ashamed of.  

Ying was very impressed by the fire dancers and snake

We also began our new science curriculum via our co-op this week. The girls are taking Earth Science which starts with 9 weeks of Astronomy, and is followed by meteorology and geology. I tried to do the ECC science on top of it this week and decided it was a mistake. we will be very brief in our bioomes studies or maybe very direct when it is really distinctive of a country. Like I plan on doing a lot with the rainforest during brazil, but dusting over deserts in the USA.
Hulk continued with phonics. He will start his version of the girls science class next week at co-op. Here he is working on reading skills with a file folder game I got at a used curriculum sale this summer.

The girls got their karate uniforms and  a re very excited to start classes next week during co-op.

Starting a new... Not back to school!

After two weeks of fun, sun, and family at the beach, we are diving into Exploring Countries and Cultures today as our first "official" days of Kindergarten and 3rd grade. Public school started back here today also which made the transition a little easier to take. I will say that I am a little overwhelmed by the increase in the amount of work going on with adding in Hulk, but once we find our rhythm hopefully it will smooth out.

Hulk

Ying in the tree, Yang dressed up and ready to go