Colonial America

We have enjoyed our study of early Colonial Times.  We started by trying to solve the mystery of what really happened to the lost colony of Roanoke.  Then our journey took us forward to the first English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, where we met Captain John Smith and grasped a greater appreciation for the role Pocahontas played in our early American history.  As time went on we came to learn about the Puritans who sought after religious freedom and risked it all to begin a new life in a new land as they boarded the Mayflower and took the long dangerous voyage to their final destination at  Plymouth Rock. After struggling to survive that first hard winter, we joined in on the first Thanksgiving feast as the Pilgrims shared their gratitude to God and their new found friends; Samoset, Squanto and Chief Massasoit.  Watching this great nation take shape as we grew into 13 colonies has been fun and enlightening for all of us and we now look forward with much anticipation to seeing our founding fathers and their families fight for freedom in hopes to build a new and better form of government for themselves and their future posterity as we continue to study about the American Revolution.



We built a small scale model of the Mayflower using Dover's Cut and Assemble book.

    

                                            

It took several days and lots of patience to see this project to it's finish.

The kids had fun dressing as Pilgrims and Indians as they re-enacted the things they'd learned about the daily life and relationships between these two people groups. 

 Our homeschooling group held it's second annual "Living Wax Museum" where the kids dress as a character from history and tell a little about themselves. 

    

   

Reading Programs (Great Incentives)

Well what better way to get the kids reading than to reward them with pizza and icecream.  We have joined the "Bookit" reading club with Pizza Hut and the Braum's Book Buddy Program.  The kids are reading the pages off every book they can find.

"New World Explorers"

This year we have joined with friends in a homeschool co-op and have decided to study American History.  Well we've just finished our first unit on "New World Explorers".   From Native Americans, Leif Eriksson, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Coronado and the Seven Cities of Gold to Pirates of the High Seas we have had a blast! We've learned a lot about the life of an explorer and the many reasons they chose to leave home and venture out in search of new lands.   We've studied and understand to some degree the anatomy of a sailing ship and how to tie some pretty important sailing knots.  We've even created some nautical instruments of our own to read the stars and navigate across the open seas.  If by chance you need to brush up on your "Old Sea Sayings" or would like to understand a little more about Ship & Navigational terms,  just ask our 7 yr. old li'l explorer, he knows a lot about it and would be glad to share his new found vocabulary with you.   It's really been a lot of fun and now we are ready to move on to "Colonial Life in  America".   Hope to see you join us along the way as we seek to share our learning adventures with all of you, (our family and friends.)



Meet the Crew:

                "Rag-a-muffin Roosky"                     "GarBear" (arrrgh)
                      (4 yrs.)                                               (5yrs.)

                    Captain "AKC"
                         (7 yrs.)

 

              "KayKay Kinners" 

                   (11th grade)

Navigational Tools:

   "The Quadrant" 

Knot Tying:

                       "The Bowline Knot"                            "The Stopper Knot"

Making our Captain's Log:

The "Put On" Chart

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one have a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14

We are using Pam Forster's "Put On" Chart to help us learn some godly character traits that we will strive to "put on" everyday in order to be a blessing to others and to honor our Lord, Jesus Christ.  So far "humility" and "patience" have proven to be a wonderful challenge.  Here you see we did make our own paper dolls to help us remember what we are learning.

Flat Stanley

Stanley Lambchop is an ordinary boy.  At least he was, until the night his bulletin board fell off the wall and flattened him.  At only half an inch thick, Stanley can slide under doors, mail himself across the country in an envelope, and fly like a kite!  And that's only the start of Stanley's adventures.  If you have never read about Flat Stanley, please do.  We've had a ton of fun already and we've only sent him out to two places.   Can you guess where?  Please be looking for him to visit you soon, as we are about to digitalize Stanley and send him off to travel as many states as quickly as possible.  If you would be interested in helping us get Stanley around the country please leave a comment below letting us know that you would like to have Stanley  come visit you in your state.  Please give us an  email address where you can be reached. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about Flat Stanley and how he helps students learn about the world around them, then check out this link: http://www.flatstanleybooks.com/