We are not doing formal schoolwork this week because we are in the midst of indoor camp-meeting, but we are still taking the time to do our Bible studies.  Journey Through the Bible by V. Gilbert Beers.  has been great because it spurs some wonderful conversations.  Today's chapter mentioned the shofar.  We had fun listening to and watching Youtube videos about the shofar.

The Tabernacle

While reading The Bible Story books, we have been reading about the life of Moses and the Israelites' journeys through the wilderness, the building of the Tabernacle, and the Ten Commandments. We also watched a short documentary about the Tabernacle that was very helpful.

When I was in the fifth grade at BMCS, Miss Stetler had us build a small model of the Tabernacle.   It was a great idea, and I can still name the "pieces" from the Tabernacle today.

Guess what we decided to do?  After several hours over a period of about 3 weeks (here and there)  of cutting cardboard, gluing popsickle sticks, molding salt dough, and painting with gold and glitter, we have our very own model.  So, what's my purpose for doing this? Making memories!  And well... it counts as art, it is fun, and I hope this will help them remember the facts as well.

Please forgive the random order of the pictures. I had a really hard time getting these pictures uploaded, and I just don't have time to rearrange them.   The pieces turned out much larger than we intended -and because of space- I just outlined the Tabernacle and tents on brown craft paper.

The order should be: 1.  The Brasen Altar 2.  The Laver 3. The Golden Candlestick 4. The Table of Shewbread 5. The Altar of Incense 6. The Ark of the Covenant (included inside the Ark are the Ten Commandments, A pot of manna, & Aaron's rod).

The Golden Candlestick 

The Altar of Incense (see the smoke?)

The Brazen Altar

The Laver

The Table of Shewbread (see the loaf of bread on top?)

Inside the Holy Place

The Ten Commandments, The Pot of Manna, & Aaron's rod (see the green buds on it?)

The Ark of the Covenant (inside the Most Holy Place) with its items lying beside it.

Here it is in the actual order in which the items were placed.

I still need to even out the handles for the pieces that would have been carried.  I ran out of the long popsickle sticks and had to use what I had (which were ones that I had already cut).    

Video Memory Verse: Psalm 23

Scripture Memory Video: Matthew 5:1-16

Matthew 5:1-16

Ryan is so funny........he loves to watch himself do something silly in these videos.

Answers Magazine

A quote we read from Answers in Genesis magazine today :

"Although there is tremendous physical evidence of a global flood, ultimately, it is a matter of trust in a perfect God who created everything(Genesis1:1), knows everything (Colossians 2:3), has always been there (Revelation 22:13), and cannot lie (Titus 1:2).  The only alternative is to trust imperfect fallible human beings who can only speculate on the past."

Love it!

Things I am learning through home-education

One thing I hadn't really expected while home educating was how emotional I would get sometimes and how much I'd personally learn.  Today I found myself choking back tears while reading to the children about Ellis Island.  It really touches my heart when we look back and see what our fore-fathers and mothers endured and accomplished to get us to where we are today.

Thankfully the boys didn't see this, but there have been other times where they have seen me get emotional about our historical roots. I am enjoying learning again and I am also enjoying the opportunity to delve deeper into areas in which we are interested.

Another thing I have experienced is that I am learning so much spiritually.  We have been doing a character study about humility.  One of the most profound things I have learned through this series is the seriousness of pride.  Satan himself was kicked out of Heaven because of his pride.  If I have pride in my heart, then I am being like Satan.  It really hit me hard and made me realize how important humility is.  We have been reading verses about Jesus' humility and the contrast between Jesus' humility and Satan's pride.   We can also have prideful hearts if we think that the things that we do will somehow save us.  That is so prideful because it takes our eyes off His blood and what He did and puts it on our own works.  Humility is when we realize that anything good that comes out of us comes when the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts.  Our flesh is no good at all  (Romans 3:10).  The only good things I do are because He does them through me.  He is the potter and I am the clay.

 I am using  http://www.characterjournal.com/.  It is a fantastic resource for character trait studies because it points directly to Scripture.  I actually have to look the verses up as we study.

 

The Ten Commandments

 The boys and I are about to start a study of the Ten Commandments.  I plan to have them memorize the corresponding New Testament verses.  Brother Hight handed out those verses Sunday but I lost them.... but I did find this website and plan to use it.  My printer isn't printing for the moment so I am putting that link here:
Ten Commandments link... click here

I found a Ten Commandments song and have been teaching it to my Sunday School Class.  I am using that same song with the boys.  Justin said he was ready to start a new lapbook, so I am glad they want to do that.

Learning the Books of the Bible

The boys are learning the books of the Old Testament in song format. I am not for sure what the original tune would be called, but it is very familiar. I remember learning them this same way, and it is very effective.

We are also doing sword drills. Since sword drills aren't extremely familiar to them yet, I am starting out by just calling out the name of the book of the Bible. Once they get used to finding the books, we will go to chapter and verse. They really enjoyed this, and asked to keep doing it.

Object Lessons

One fun thing I have learned since coming home to teach my own children is that you can use the same things to teach your own children at home as you would in children's church! Wow, isn't that a revelation?! What kills me about all this is that I didn't think much about it before. I had my separate Sunday School/Children's church ideas in their very own box. Why in the world didn't I try that creativity on my own children?!

I love object lessons. My friend Pam gave me a great book with short object lesson devotionals. I have been doing these and the boys love them. The first one I did, I came into the room wearing mismatched socks. The lesson had a Scripture verse and then a devotional about how our lives need to match what we say. Really cute, really fun, and I hope it will be really memorable to them!