Our Prairie Primer Co-op

This year we have really enjoyed our Prairie Primer co-op.  We read Little House on the Prairie and we just finished Little House in the Big Woods.  The kids learned a lot, but most importantly they (and us moms) made new friendships!

Here’s a look at some of the fun stuff they completed since Christmas.  The focus was mostly on Indians. 

Here they are making some wigwams.

 

 

 

 

 

Our little guys hanging out :)

  

They made some Indian jewelry and head dresses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also had fun making teepees.

Each child picked a tribe and put together a project to present at the final class.  Big Ladybug chose the Sioux Indians and we completed our first lapbook.  We used some printable resources from Dynamic 2 Moms.

Thank you Miss. Eydie for volunteering your time to teach our co-op class!  We all really enjoyed ourselves!

We are sad to see it end, but our co-op will be continuing for some FUN summer science and then in the fall with My Father’s World Exploring Countries and Cultures!

Sketch Tuesday: Tails

 

Assignment:  Something with a tail.

“Beautiful Day”

 

Need a little art in your homeschool?

Check out Harmony Art Mom.

Hop on over to Discover Their Gifts to check out their great Sketch Tuesday.

MFW 1st Grade: Week #25

 

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes the crooked paths will be found out.  ~Proverbs 10:9

The Fiery Furnace

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were 3 Jewish men taken to Babylon to help King Nebuchadnezzar.  They were faithful to God, and God was to them. 
One day the king had a HUGE gold statue made and ordered all of his men to come and check it out.  The officials decided that everyone should worship the statue and if they didn’t, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace.
The people worshiped as they were told, that is except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The king was very upset and threw them into the furnace.  God protected them and they were shielded from the flames.
When they realized the men did not parish, they were taken out of the furnace.  The people of Babylon then realized that God had the power to save.
What did we learn?

Have faith, regardless of what comes your way. 

Big Ladybug made this craft from DLTK.

 This was a cute Veggie Tales movie that went along with the Bible story.





Daniel and the Lion’s Den

(I love this picture!)

Daniel was originally a prisoner taken to Babylon, and because he was honest and a hard worker, King Darius’ put him in charge of the whole kingdom. 

This made the other men jealous, so they devised a plan in the hopes to hurt Daniel.  They convinced the king to make a law that stated if you prayed to anything other then the king, you would be thrown into the lions den.

The evil men watched Daniel and saw that he continued to pray to his God.  They informed the king and he was upset.  Daniel was breaking his law, but he was the king’s friend and the king did not want to see him harmed.  However, he threw Daniel in the den and told him to pray to his God to protect him.

The next day the king went to the den and pleased to see that Daniel’s God had protected him and he was alive.  The king then ordered the kingdom to worship the God of Daniel.

What did we learn?

We need to live and act in a way that pleases God, regardless of what the rest of the world is doing.

Papa and E stopped by right when they girls were making their lion craft, so they got to join in on the fun! 

 

We enjoyed this book and movies from the library.



Science with Water:  Frozen Water

We finished up the Science with Water book this week. 

Big Ladybug looked at how ice takes up space, how it floats, why it is slippery, and how it melts. 

 

Did you know???

American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, even though his aim was not to cool drinks. Rather, he used the ice to cool the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms. (wikipedia.org)

Hop on over to A Heart Like Water to see what others are doing in My Father’s World.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time 4 Learning Review

We recently finished our 30 day trial period of Time 4 Learning.  We had used Time 4 Learning in the past, with Big Ladybug for preschool, and enjoyed it.  We were excited to get to try it out again at the second grade level.

What is Time 4 Learning?

It is an online Preschool - 8th grade curriculum that can be used as a supplement to your current curriculum or even as your entire curriculum for language arts, math, science and social studies.

The curriculum is customized to every child's particular level and need.

Time 4 Learning uses:

• animated lessons
• interactive activities
• unit assessments
• printable worksheets for reinforcement

 

Parents Can:

1. Access lesson plans and a scope and sequence at any time.
2. Log in to see how their children are doing in each area they are using. 
3. Print automated progress reports for record keeping or portfolios.

 

Lesson Plans

Progress Reports

 

My Thoughts

It is nice that it is so interactive, which makes learning fun.  Big Ladybug really likes it!!  In fact, she had enjoyed it so much that we have decided to continue with it for now and possibly through the summer.  She really likes that she does 15 minutes of lessons and then she gets 15 minutes on the playground to play games. 

Help For Struggling Readers Available

I have a niece that would enjoy Time 4 Learning, but is a struggling reader.  I was curious if there was a way for her to use the program without parental assistance all the time. 

I contacted Time 4 Learning to see what they had available for students that may have difficulty taking the quizzes on their own.  They sent me a email with a link to download Natural Readers.  Natural Readers is an alternate text-to-speech recognition program.  Any text that can be highlighted, will be converted to speech, and read out loud to the student.  It is an program that is independent of Time 4 Learning, but seems to work very well with it.

More Info 

Time 4 Learning offers a free 14 day trial of the site, lesson demos, and scope and sequence of their lesson plans.  There is also a parents forum for additional support.  Check out the site map for more info and links to navigate around their site.

If you'd like to take a video tour and see a demo,click here.

Cost

• $19.95 a month for the first child
• $14.95 for each additional child
• a 14 day money back guarantee and you can cancel at any time

Wordless Wednesday: Painting Princess

I do believe I have another budding artist!  I am so happy that she seems to enjoy art too :)

MFW 1st Grade: Week #24

 

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  ~Proverbs 25:21

Bible

Elisha and Naaman

Elisha was a great prophet in Israel, who God had given the capability to perform miracles. 

Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army who was brave and had leprosy.  When the Syrian army invaded Israel they captured a girl who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.  She knew of his leprosy and told him to go to the prophet Elisha to be cured. 

Elisha told Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River, Naaman thought this was silly.  His servants convinced him to try it and once he did, he was cured.  Naaman then knew that the God of Israel, was the true God.

What did we learn?

God has the power to heal and that he should get the glory for it.

 

Big Ladybug watched Bugtime Adventures: Riding for a Fall, The Story of Elisha healing Naaman.

 

 

Jonah

Jonah was a prophet that God wanted to go and warn the city of Nineveh that he was getting ready to punish them.  Instead, Jonah ran from God and boarded a ship that was headed to Spain.

God made the waters very rough and once the sailors learned that it was because of Jonah upsetting God, they threw him overboard.

God then sent a big fish to swallow Jonah.  He stayed in there for three days, praying to God.  Then God commanded the fish to spit him up on the shore.

Jonah then decided to obey God and traveled to Ninevah to warn them.  The people of Ninevah heeded Jonah’s warning, changed their ways, and were saved.

What did we learn?

God is in control, we can not run and hide from him.

 

Big Ladybug had fun making this Jonah craft. 

 

This was a cute movie:  Jonah, A Great Fish Story.

 

 

 

 

Science with Water:  Taking In Water

 

Big Ladybug collected some different items from around the house to see if they absorb water.  She had fun testing them and seeing how water can climb upward.

              

 

 

For fun Big Ladybug has been reading  the Keeker series.  She just finished the second book and seems to really enjoy them.

 

 

Did You Know???

Why fingers and toes wrinkle in the bathtub?

The outermost layer of the skin swells when it absorbs water. It is tightly attached to the skin underneath, so it compensates for the increased area by wrinkling.

 

Check out what others are doing in MFW at A Heart Like Water.

Sketch Tuesday: Fruit

 

Assignment:  Sketch something you see in fruit salad….yum!

 

Check out more Sketch Tuesday here.