Art Series: The Painting-In Book

Today I have a NEAT book.  It's  one of those use it up type books, but could easily, be adapted for a classroom setting.

It's called the Painting-In Book, it's written by Anna Rumsby, and it is just a fun book... meant to teach young children about paint and how to use it.

Book Synopsis: 
Can you give the gorilla a jungle to hide in? Can you create some honeycomb for the bees? And can you mix up some delicious flavors of ice cream?

Create paint masterpieces with nothing more than your poster paints and Anna Rumsby's entertaining activity pages. A great big book of painting fun!

Also contains an introduction to mixing colors and simple, easy-to-copy painting techniques. 

My thoughts:
This is such a neat little book.  64 pages filled with one sided sheets to help young children express themselves with paint, learning to mix colours, and use differing paint techniques.

Can you give a dog some long hair?

Can you help this boy have fun with the elephant?

The instructions on each page are written clearly and simply.

I am not sure if it is the copy that I received, but the pages pull out very easily.  This makes it easy to pull individual pages out in order to let your little artist create, and later display.

Recommendation:
If you have young children, and want to let them show their artistic side and learn a few things while doing so, this book will work for you.   If you KNOW someone with young children this would make a great gift, along with some washable paints.

The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities
By: Anna Rumsby
Pages: 64
Geared for ages 3-5
Published by: Laurence King
Size: 14.56 x 10.29
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Amazon.ca: The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities

Amazon.com: The Painting-In Book: 30 Paint and Play Activities

I Linked up at the Virtual Fridge this week. Good place to go to for Art Inspiration!

Lab Report: What happens if put bones into vinegar.

My son's lab report for studying human bones and learning how a base will dissolve the calcium in bones.   I needed to assist my son in preparing the bones, but otherwise he did the experiment himself.  He asked me to handle the bones after they sat in the vinegar.  He took the pictures.  :)

Hypothesis: Vinegar would weaken the uncooked bone, and it would not weaken the cooked bone in vinegar.   The bones not in vinegar... The uncooked one would not break and the cooked one would break. 

Procedure: We put one cooked bone and one uncooked into vinegar and let them in there for five days.  After five days we took them out too see what would happen.   We put one uncooked and one cooked bone on a plate and left them to sit for five days.

Observation: 
The bones in vinegar were both bendable.  The uncooked bone was more bendable than the cooked bone.  You could bend the ends of the cooked bone but not the middle.   With the uncooked bone you could bend the entire thing.   The ones in vinegar, the cartilage came off, it was gloppy with the uncooked one... spreadout with long strands, the cooked one stayed together but was mushy.  Both bones not put in vinegar were not bendable. 

Uncooked bones in Vinegar

Cooked Bone in Vinegar

Conclusion: Vinegar weakens bones and cartilage.  Letting bones air dry makes them harder.   Vinegar is a base and bases dissolve things.

Book Series: Parenting - be an ambassador parent

Paul David Tripp wrote an interesting parenting book called Parenting: 14 Gospel Principals.  I thought it might be interesting to read through this book.  Join in if you would like.

I decided to start with the introduction rather than digging into the first of 14 chapters.

In the introduction Mr. Tripp talks about how as he has travelled the world helping parents learn to do this job better, he has discovered that what they need help with is "big picture parenting worldview".   Having this worldview will give us grounding in what God calls to do as parents.. it explains, guides and motivates all that we do.   Ergo as he writes this book he wants parents to understand the gospel behind good parenting practices.

To start with, we have to know who we are in relation to God, to what life is all about and to who your children are.  This knowledge is of paramount importance.

Mr. Tripp wants us to move away from the ownership idea of parenting to the idea that we are ambassadors.   We need to remember, these children aren't ours.  They belong to God and we need to parent them with that idea in the forefront of our minds.

As we parent, we need to be aware of something.   As much as we desire to be ambassadorial parents..... we will fail.  We will want to do things our way, to meet our needs, to just want the short run satisfaction.  We'll fail.  But that's not the point.  The point is to keep striving to do God's will.

Questions we could ask ourselves.
1. Identity - where do we get our identity from. 
2. Work - working to turn your children into something?  or helping them develop into something more?
3. Success - which is more important the end product or what you are doing?
4. Reputation - Living with the craziness that children can bring... does it affect who you are or does it reflect your children?

An ambassador is called to represent the message, methods, and character of the Owner to their children.  (p.20)

The next 14 chapters will introduce different principles to reflect upon to help us do the job of ambassador of God to your children effectively.

....

I read the thought of "you will fail" and it made me smile.  I so often feel like I am failing in what I am doing as a parent.   But it strikes me that seeing oneself as an ambassador of God before the eyes of my son... strikes me as a grave responsibility, as well as taking a load off.  It's not my job to make my son into anything...it's God's job.  Mine is simply to show God to him.  That's it. 

Recipe: Homemade Marinara Sauce

Take a few marina sauce recipes, see what they have in common, and find a way to make it work.  This is what my hubby came up with.

Here is how we put it together:

Blogging Alphabet: E is for Edgewalk

Welcome to week five of blogging through the alphabet.  I am SO pleased that you have come to join us.  :)

Check out this link to see the rest in this series eh?

Anyways, as I go through the alphabet I am focusing on all things Canadian and this week we couldn't get much more Canadian than the CN Tower.   Did you know they have added an Edgewalk?

Imagine being able to walk around the highest building in Toronto?   Wouldn't that be breath-taking scary!!!  (at least in my eyes, my son says "that would be so cool!!!")

 Defining the Toronto skyline at 553.33m (1,815ft5in), the CN Tower is Canada’s most recognizable and celebrated icon. The CN Tower is an internationally renowned architectural triumph, an engineering Wonder of the Modern World, world-class entertainment and dining destination and a must see for anyone visiting Toronto. Each year, over 1.5 million people visit Canada’s National Tower to take in the breathtaking views and enjoy all the CN Tower has to offer. (source)

Canadian National built the CN Tower in 1976.  Their desire was the demonstrate the strength of the Canadian industry through building the tallest tower in the world.  It was a very ambitious product that involved 1537 people working 24 hours a day, five days a week for 40 months.   Worked started February 6, 1973.

Throughout it's history, improvements and changes have been made to the CN Tower.  The Edgewalk was added in 2011.  The Edgewalk gives people a chance to walk hands-free on a five foot walk completely encircling the tower.  It is 1168 ft above the ground. 

Adventure lovers can go around in groups of six.   As they walk they are attached to an overhead safety rail.  A trained guide walks with them.   The 30 minute walk is part of a 1. 5 hour event. To learn more check out Edgewalk CN Tower. 

So what do you think?   Want to join us?

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Rules for linking up:

1.       Your post must be family friendly

2.       Your post must relate to the letter of the week, specifically focusing on the letter.

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Review: Undefeated

I am so not a sports person it's almost laughable.. well though I really shouldn't say that.  I enjoy watching soccer, and seeing my lad and hubby do archery, and seeing my son's improvement in Karate brings joy to my heart.

But reading sports oriented book...not really my cup of tea.

So imagine my surprise when this book "Undefeated" captured me completely.   I started reading the book and simply didn't put it down (except when I HAD to...one needs to be safe while driving) until it was finished.

Undefeated is the story of the Carlisle Indian School football team, back when the game was just starting.  I never knew the start of football (can't say I ever really cared) but boy oh boy was it a rough and tough, let's potentially be killed game.   Not at all like the clean cut game that we see now-a-days with full protective gear, rules that are enforced, and various safety measures taken.   Games change as people take action to maintain the joy of the game, whilst protecting the young men who play them.   This book did a good job of spelling out the why and how some of those changes were made.

Steve Sheinkin does an excellent job of portraying the difficulties of life in the Indian Schools both in terms the deliberation of the administrators of the schools (whose aim was to force assimilation into white culture) and the harsh realities of being a student in those schools (who would rather have stayed with their families).  He did so in a manner that didn't sensationalize either end.    It was simply difficult and continues to have repercussions among Native Americans to this day.

What kept me spell bound though ... was the writing of the story, of the seeing how these Indian boys reacted to the pressures exerted upon them... the school, the racism of the day, the hard work, just the hardships of life that were thrown upon them.   These boys acted with a grace and dignity so often was found lacking in their opponents. 

This book captured my thoughts, spoke to me of the history of my southern neighbours, and enlightened my imagination to how people can live above how they treated.   There was indeed a nobility to be found among these young men.

Fighting hard.
Pride in their victories.
Stolid in their defeat.
Battered by the world around them.
These young men proved their mettle in the world of men in their day.

Jim Thorpe was an interesting boy... by today's standards you'd say he was all jock, not wanting to look at books or do his studies, only wanting to be out playing sports or running on the land.   A lad (and later a man) with a determination that was set deep within.   He would train, he would win, and he would persevere...and he did. 

Winning in football, winning at the Olympics, standing by what he knew to be right, and being loyal to his friends.   This was Jim Thorpe.

This book speaks mostly about Jim Thorpe, but also talks about his football coach Pop Warner.   A selfish, egotistical man, who knew how to play football, who bent his will when needed to the needs of his team, who struggled to understand the students he worked with, and looked out for himself in the end.  He always thought with pride on his Carlisle Indian School Football Team.

Throughout the book were pictures of the history of Thorpe and football.

What other reasons can I give you for getting this book yourself?   

1. It would be a great book to give your youth, to ask them to do a book report, or have conversations with them about the themes...how they would preserve under these situations, what their solution to the Indian problem could have been, and such like, even discussing how they might have reacted to the danger of early football.
2. HISTORY...it's part of the history of this world, and if you are American, it's part of the history of your land.   It's not an easy part in many ways, but in others, it's a glimpse of what strength of character people can have.
3. It's a good read.  It just is.  My hubby was so surprised at how quickly I went through this book, and how much I enjoyed it.  "It's not really your type of book hun".   It really isn't, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.   I'll be keeping it for my lad to read when he gets a touch older. 

 
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team.
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Roaring Brook Press
6.56 x 9.26 
288 pages
Ages 10-14 years

Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Song Study: I am Not My Own

This is a song produced by Jeremy Zeyl, it is based on the Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 1.   But don't let that scare you away.   :)   The song stands on it's own without as a biblically based song, meant for today's congregations. 

At age 21 "I heard Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer 1 read at a church service. Those words about “my only comfort in life and in death” leapt out at me and inspired me to write the song “Not My Own.” " (source)

Here are the lyrics: 

 

 Verse 1

This my only comfort in my life and in my death
You have fully paid for all my sins and all my debts
With your precious blood you’ve set me free
With your precious blood you’ve set me free

Chorus

I am not my own but belong body and soul
In my life and in death to you Lord, Christ my Lord
Verse 2

You preserve my life in such a way that without you
Not a hair can fall from me unless you will it to
All things work together for my salvation
All things work together for my salvation

Verse 3

Therefore by your Holy Spirit you assure me
Of eternal life and make me willing and ready
From now on to always live for you
From now on to always live for you

This song had my hubby singing out strongly beside me which is unusual with songs that he is not familiar with.  He tends to just listen until he's sure of the tune....but he sang with this one right from the start as loudly as if he'd known it all his life.  :)

No real history to it other then Jeremy is a CRC kid born and raised close to home in London, Ontario.

If you'd like to know more about him, read this interview with Calvin Institute.

Independence at Work

 This has over all been a pretty good week for us schooling.  It had it's ups and down with health issues and hubby needed to work through a disappointment.   We had a funeral at the end of the week for a dearly loved member of our former church.   With a new schedule made for his schooling it has furthered the lad's independence. 
 
Monday
Introduced chore chart and new schedule.
Started learning about Saturn and how it is the only planet that would float, it is gaseous, has storms, Galileo thought the rings looked like handles because of the poor quality of his telescope.
Weekly visit to Gramma
Hubby and I had a lovely walk on this warmish winter day in the park...we caught some pokemon and just enjoyed the quiet of the park together.
I sold a rabbit who didn't seem to be able to have babies, she's gone to the kind of home I wanted for her.  A rabbit experienced home.  Their first rabbit is dying and they wanted to have a new bun to love on when their first passed away.  BrightSparrow should be a good girlie for them.

Tuesday
Big job today!   The lad is going to cook his first meal for the family!!!

POUTINE!!!  The lad wants to try poutine for the first time ever and it's an easy meal for a lad to make so off we went.  We bought the poutine gravy, fries and cheese curds.

Wednesday
Foodbank this morning.
The lad wrote his first ever research paper... did it on the blog, also learned how to embed video, copy and paste from a website and is learning about citing sources.   Writing in his own words yet...that is still to come...though he's starting.  :)
Started our human body experiment.  Have to admit, I don't have high hopes for this working well....

 

Struggle to do multipliers and division in word problems apparent.
Played Sabateur as a family.

Thursday
Oh.. what did we do today?   I finished  cleaning up the book room.
The lad did his normal schooling... got done 20 minutes early.
The lad wrote a letter for his Waodani assignment today. He was supposed to write for 15 minutes but liked his assignment so much he kept going til it was done.  This is a review product from Home School Adventure Co., you'll need to stay tuned for a review.
Worked on making his helmet better for his Knight's outfit.

Started to learn how to play the "game of life".

We've been learning about Canada's woodlands and seaways this week, today it was the St. Lawrence Seaway.   Did you know it would take 8 days of sailing to cover it all?

Friday
Funeral today with a luncheon.
I had planned to do a Rocket Experiment and testing his improvement of his story grammar, but that didn't happen.  He did do his veritas history and bible and got his reading done.
 
Saturday
Karate and board games along with a movie day.   Just a nice day together.

 Reviews
 Art Series: One Last Word.   A great book based on Harlem renaissance.  Poetry, Art.
 Silver Soldiers.   Christian comic book
 

Faith and Life
 Showers of Blessing.  Devotion on Ezekiel 34:25-31
 Thoughts on Being ... Safe.   Word prompt post. A poem.
 The Lord Seeks his own.   Devotion on Ezekiel 34:11-24
The Prayer Saturated family, a book study, chapter one. 
 Should Shepherds not feed the sheep?   Devotion on Ezekiel 34:1-10
 Recipe: Seasoned Teriyaki Chicken.
 Come and Hear.   Devotion on Ezekiel 33:21-33
 
Homeschooling
 The Building of DaVinci's Clock.
 The Raven.   The Lad's first written report ever.  Much learned, much to learn yet.
 D is Dogsledding in Canada.   Blogging alphabet series.
 Hymn Study: For the Beauty of the Earth.  

  Linking up at the following Places:
 
Homeschool Highlights.
Family Friday Link Ups:
Weird Unsocialized homeschoolers: Weekly Wraps Up.
Homeschool blog and tell.

STEM: The Building of DaVinci's Clock

The other day my son and I made a model of DaVinci's clock, we learned a lot and had a great deal of fun.

I picked up this kit on sale one day thinking it would be great to build some day and it was!

The kit was made completely of plastic, included everything except the coins needed as a weight.

This instructions were clear but we learned it was good to both read the words AND look at the pictures.

The lad needed to work out how to get the clock to keep time.  This video doesn't show that accuracy, but it at least shows the clock working.
 
  

A couple of the big things we learned was 

1. Hands off mom, this boy will do it himself!!
2. Oops... reading the instructions AND looking at the pictures helps to prevent mistakes.
3. Asking for help when needed is an excellent thing to do.
4. IT WORKS!!!!!!

But other things that we learned:

1. Da Vinci didn't actually invent the clock, clocks had been around for a LONG time before DaVinci came on the scene and were becoming more accurate.
2. Da Vinci’s major innovation was to have springs, rather than weights operate his clock.
3. Leonardo included diamonds and semi-precious stones in his design of the clock

We have a goal to make this water clock one day.. possibly next week. 

Some websites we used to help us learn:
Leonardo Da Vinci's Inventions. 
Civil Machines.  

Showers of blessing

We continue our study in Ezekiel, the last time we met was about The Lord Seeks for His Own. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Do you remember from yesterday how God would seek for his own people, setting them up in green pastures and giving us a good shepherd to mind us?

God SO CARES for his people that he will make a covenant of peace with us.

• Banishing wild beasts from the land
• so that we can dwell securely.
• Sending down showers of blessing
• They shall be secure in their land
• Bars of yoke broken
• Delivered from the slavers
• No more be prey to those who surround
• No longer consumed by hunger
• No longer under reproach

God wants his people safe.
God wants his people to know.. HE is the Lord God.  HE ALONE.
And we are his. 
We are indeed the sheep of his pasture. 

²⁵ “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷ And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. ³⁰ And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. ³¹ And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

I need to stop and ponder this a while.  God always wants his people to know who he is.  So as he cares for them, provides for them, keeps them safe, he wants them to know what is going on, to not simply take life for granted.  EVERYTHING we have is from him.   So shouldn't that make a difference in how we think about him?   Should his care not merit some attention from us?

In this chapter, God is making it abundantly clear to the Israelites, through Ezekiel, that HE is their God and they are indeed his people.   Remember it. Make it important.   Because you know what?   It is important.

Oh... that I too would remember this.  To see the showers of blessing God pours down on my head, because they are indeed abundant.  :)
 

Thoughts on being .... safe

Thoughts on Being

Guarded

Protected

Strong walls

Words

Hugs

Cocoon

Shelter

Love

Challenge

Guidance

Learning

Community

Tended

Watched

Minded full well

Guided risks

A haven

Time given

Boundaries

Rules

Laws

A shield

Made

Delivered 

Loved

Sacrifice

Risen

Safe

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This is a five minute friday post

Hosted by Dear Miss Kate.

Today the word prompt is Safe.  

Five minute free write.

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Encourage others.

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