Today I have this cute, well-done children's book for all you about mountains! Put together by Lonely Planet Kids so you know it is a quality book. Let's Explore... Mountain is an interactive book with stickers, puzzles and activities.
So let me tell you about this great book, it's a bigger sized book with a whole variety of ideas to intrigue and delight your 8-12 year olds.
They will find themselves introduced to a number of mountains from around the world, as well as the gear you need to climb them, the animals you might see, and different activities you can do on them.
Imagine Cherry blossoms in Japan with Mount Fuji, or skiing down hills of black sand in Nicaragua, or let's visit the snowy peaks of the Matterhorn.
With over 250 stickers to use, dot to dot, colouring, multiple choice questions and a host of other activities, your children will be kept busy learning about the mountains of the world. Geared more for 8-10 according to my lad, it is an entertaining book.
If doing some learning about mountains, this book should prove to be helpful to you in your studies. Learning, reading, doing...it's a good mix don't you think? :)
Today we are reading from Ezekiel 37:15-28. Last time we met we learned about A God Who Hears and Acts. You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.
Today Ezekiel has a role play for the people of Israel.
Two sticks. Stick one: Judah and the house of Israel associated with him. Stick two: Joseph/Ephraim and the house of Israel associated with him. Join those two sticks together.
15 The word of the Lord came to me:16 “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’17 And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
People, being the naturally curious people that we are, will say:1‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’
Ezekiel's answer is to be:Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.
God's Promise to the people: First he will make them one nation.Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.22 And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.
Second: They shall no longer make themselves icky in the sight of God.He will save his people. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Third: David will be king over them. They will have but one shepherd, one voice to listen to. 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.25 They
shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your
fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children
shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.
Fourth: God will make a covenant of peace with them.26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.forevermore.”
End result: 28 Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst
When it refers to David being their shepherd, he was not referring to the actual King David who was long since dead. He was referring to the type of David. So this was a foreshadowing of Christ.
Which has me thinking you know? David, the best leader that Israel ever had. A man whose heart longer after God. Jesus comes from the line of David. God's very own son. Whose heart longed after obedience to his heavenly father.
God promises that he will give us a singular shepherd. We know from history that Jesus is that singular shepherd, that ONE voice we are to listen to.
My question is: Do I listen to that voice?
Lately in my head I've been feeling annoyed and bothered. It's a natural thing as I adjust to change. Once I've adjusted to the new norm I'll be fine... but everytime lately that I feel annoyed and bothered God is graciously putting this song in my head.. a mantra if you will that keeps running.. be still and know.. that I am God.
Over and over again.
It makes me check myself. To call myself to account. Do I want to listen to those voices of worry and doubt OR do I want to listen to the voice of the one who cares about me more deeply than I can even imagine.
God wanted Israel his people to know him, to trust him, to know that he forgives their sin, he wants them to be one people, not a people scattered listening to all kinds of voices but his own.
He wants the same for us today. To be a people united in faith. A people who will hear his voice and listen to the shepherd he has given us.
Today.. be still and know that HE is God. He is our Lord God and We are his people.
Did you know that some folks think that a good number of Canadians live in Igloos? I know!!! It's just so weird to me the first time I heard that. It wasn't said in jest...the person was VERY serious. Trust this... I don't live in an igloo and in fact I've never even been in one... at least a proper one. :) I've been in snow forts and tepees and half domes but never an igloo. I would love to be in one though, I think it would be VERY cool to see if they truly get so warm inside that a young child could bundle about naked. Made me wonder about the science behind the idea. 1. Igloos are made tight, in a spiral, out of compressed snow. Starting at the bottom, sinking the blocks in and building up on a spiral. The blocks decrease in size as they build up toward the dome.
2. In fact, the compressed snow is so air tight that if you don't make vent holes and leave an opening at the top you can suffocate. 3. The design of a traditional igloo has terraced sides, this leaves a cold dump at the bottom for the cold air to sit while the warmer air rises to keep the people warm. The more people you add the warmer it gets. Since warm furs are placed on the terraced areas, it gives younger children a warm and safe place to play. 4. With the door being at a right angle to the igloo walls it keeps the cold wind from blowing in, a fire in the middle and a vent hole at top, keeps the air circulating. Igloos WORK.
Another thing that works is the Inukshuk. Did you know they are built to act as landmarks? They are meant to say "someone was here" or "you are on the right path." An inukshuk in the form of a human being is called an inunnguaq. Each inukshuk (inuksuit would be plural) is unique, and they each have their own job. They can be a random stacking of stones, or they can be built to look like a person. Most of the time, traditionally, they were just a random piling of stones, sometimes with a directional pointer. Normally they appear singly, but occasionally you can find them in groups. The purpose of a inukshuk can be as
directional aids in navigating or to mark a memorial, or even to indicate migration routes for animals or places where fish can
be found. When they are grouped it can be in a series to make a path, or in a group to mark a significant place. They have been a valuable asset to the Inuk travellers throughout their history.
For the past few weeks, my lad and I have had the joy of Walking with the Waodani, as a review, a four part study put together by the Home School Adventure Co.. Imaging history, seeing God in action, trying new recipes and talking....oh the conversations we've had. :)
Walking with the Waodani is a four part study Lesson 1 = Shell Mera (Then), Lesson 2 =
Shell Mera (Now), Lesson 3 (Ecuador) and Lesson 4 (Quito). For the purposes of this review we mostly worked with lesson 1 and 2. It was created by the Home School Adventure Co., a company that has produced such wonderful resources such as Philosophy Adventure and Philippians in 28 weeks. Producers of faith-centred products to broaden our hearts and minds.
We received the preview version of this brand new study, it's a study near and dear to Stacy Farrell's heart, as she's been working on it for the past four years, gathering information, conducting interviews and just learning about an amazing group of people. :) We start off meeting a young man who made a great trip into Ecuador with an older mentor, where he met the Waodani. In case you didn't know, the Waodani is the preferred name for Auca, the group of savage natives who killed a group of missionaries (the Nate Saint story) back in the day. Each lesson is set up the same with lesson introduction, people & places, meals & markets, animals & agriculture and worlds and worldview. We get the chance to read blog posts that further our education, interact with websites, and fulfill worksheet requirements. The worksheets (taking the form of a travel journal) had a variety of components to it... question and answers about the material (often found in a blog post), a chance to rate a recipe, draw a picture of a favourite animal learned about and ... a creative writing opportunity.
I have to admit that my son freaked out the first time he saw one of these. He was completely flummoxed and I needed to explain it a few times. Once he figured it out though, he simply had fun with it. It was indeed a joy to read, and for lesson two he was asking "What do I get to do this week?" He did this work sitting on the computer as getting this lad to hand write anything is like pulling teeth. :) He was so very very pleased with his efforts when completed, but not enough to share them with everyone. :)I honoured his request by hiding most of his work. I expect that week three would cause him to grin...writing about a giant sloth snatching him away... it's an adventure!!!
Admittedly part of the work didn't interest him in the way intended, my story telling lad, rather than draw an animal would instead tell me a story about the animal he would have drawn if he felt like it, stories about ants and a jaguar. It's good to have the details in story form and hear about why he chose that animal and all the information he knows. My son thoroughly appreciated the aspect of judging a recipe. He thought roasted grubs would be good but was rather unsure about the live ones. He would have liked to try them, but frankly...where does one find live eating grubs in Canada in the middle of winter? I had no idea, and wasn't keen enough on the idea to research it. :)
Our fish experiment.. well.. let's just say that making up the fish recipe was not a hit in our household and lead to me making my first ever fish chowder. A great way to use up the fish that I didn't want wasted. :)
Lesson three has a meal that intrigues me, but not sure what the guys will think of it. Good to experiment with new things though eh? I am looking forward to reading through the history with my lad, I am positive he will ask lots of interesting questions.
I have to admit that has been my favourite part of this unit study.... watching my lad's eyes as he learns new information and thinks about the sacrifice people make. Families lose the husband/father ...and then go and serve among the people who killed them. Changing an entire culture.
Sussing out that sometimes "civilized" societies help best when they step back out of the way and let the "natives" handle things themselves... as the natives know best what works in their own culture. We've had delightful conversations and those moments I treasure. :) OH... and the laughter... we laughed at some of the exploits of that young man. You know you have options right? You can easily complete one lesson over the course of a week (each day is colour-coded for ease), or you can stretch it out over a month. You can use the material as a jumping off point for a more in-depth study of Ecuador, missionary work among indigenous people, innovative methods for travel and so much more. What else can I tell you? I haven't seen the entire study as week four has yet to be released (along with a blog post). I know you can see it in the store HERE. I know that the price is flexible with the anticipation of $14.95 for the digital edition and $18.95 for the print edition.
I know there will be a giveaway involved in the release but beyond that....
It's a great study and I think you and your students/children could get a great deal out of it. Seeing God in action, being inspired to try new foods, learning about some wonderful animals, seeing how a people group functions that is completely different than one's own and more. I know that you should come prepared to laugh, to think, to be surprised and filled with wonder at God's amazing work. Learn the history, learn the geography and the people. It's good stuff indeed.
This unit study covers geography, history, social studies, culture, and more. It is a flexible curriculum that should suit most learning styles and families.
If you want to stay informed about the release, click here to stay in the loop.
This week has gone by much too fast so this week I'm only going to talk about my highlights of the week .
1. My son cooking another meal.. a good one. Then Hubby made Spaghetti and meatballs last night. It's so nice not having to think of what to make a couple of nights a week. Poutine and ribs.
2. Learning that I and the lad may be accompanying hubby to the states in May. We do some sightseeing, he does some pastoral learning. So plans are in the works. Biggest thing will be to find affordable place to stay (most likely Pinchot State Park) and then affordable things to do driving around the area. Will be looking at the Hershey Chocolate factory and apparently there's a driving tour of Gettysburg and such like. 3. Building Lego together because the Lego Fair is coming up (tonight in fact!) and I can't show you pictures until AFTER the fact... oh and making cookies! Always good to make cookies you know? :) 4. Two litters of bunnies born. Not as big of litters as I hoped, but alive so all is good. One litter had two broken orange (though one might be a really like tort. And the other had two torts. Both were litters of holland lops.
I have a litter old enough to go to new homes, spunky kits these three. The broken chestnut already has someone interested in her.
Let's see.. other highlights of the week... My sweetheart brought home a few more things from the church this week. Slowly he's getting his stuff out of the church. It's a hard process so this is a step forward.. 18 years of his life was invested in this church.
As I was pondering this word this morning my heart was aching with the fear and panic a young mom Toronto must have been feeling. Loading her kids in the car one at a time, comes out of the house with the second to find her car stolen. Her four year old inside. I could only just imagine the panic she would be feeling. The youngster was found safe and sound an hour later...but that hour... wow... so hard for that mom I'm sure. The relief...oh the utter relief she would have felt then eh? To have your wee one back in your care, safe and sound. All that was in my head as I thought about the word abandon. Abandon is an middle English word that means to give up, reject, cast away and some such world. It also has this meaning "toyield(oneself)withoutrestraintormoderation;give(oneself)overtonaturalimpulses,usuallywithoutself-control".
I read that definition and I thought..hmm... if only more people could do this.. not in the "give yourself over to grief" or the "be stupid in your happiness"...but in the abandon yourself to the love of God. To just revel in God's love for YOU his person, the one he has called according to his purposes, to let yourself go into the love.
I say this knowing that I find that difficult myself.....to just let go with the looseness of a child knowing their parent loves them and will keep them safe. But wishing ... oh ... just wishing that I felt free to abandon myself to the love that God has for me.
What about you?
This is a five minute Friday post. the word prompt is brought to us by Miss Kate. Today the word is Abandon.
What is Five Minute Friday? Well it's a party of a group of like
minded folks who gather on Friday to do a five minute free write around a
singular word. AND THEN we take the time to offer up encouragement to
each other on this writing journey. It's fun, though it's not always
easy, but it is always good. Come join us won't you? You are always
welcome.
As you, my lovely readers know, I am a mother (and teacher) of one. I wouldn't treade it for the world, but sometimes it would be lovely to have a group you know? Like when you are using a curriculum that calls for a group of students, or when you just need an extra hand or ... (sometimes the solution is to use the cat as an extra body). But sometimes... more than one child would be great. It teaches things like taking turns, spurs on creative thinking, gives you another person to bounce ideas off on and so forth.
Since I can't change my son's lot in life (or mine), my solution has been to engage in my homeschool co-op classes that are held spring and fall.
I have to admit that it has been a work in progress. My first co-op class I thought I would teach something that my lad was interested in. I made two assumptions 1. my lad would transition well to me teaching a group (not just him) 2. similar aged children would learn the same Let's just say that first class was a mix a lot of FUN and a lot of FRUSTRATION, and a decision to not have my son in a class I was teaching until he was old enough to understand the difference between how we teach at home ... scattered and experiential and class..more organized, with everyone being noticed. and given a chance to participate. Lesson ONE: Teaching one child is COMPLETELY different than teaching a bunch of children, even if they are approximately the same age.
Over the
years, adjustments were made on both our parts and he is able to join in
my class WHEN he wants to. Sometimes he does, other times.. not so
much, depends on what is available and what I am teaching.
Lesson Two: Politeness matters.I helped in one class where I was asked to please bring in some bunnies to be models for their photography lessons. It was an older class where it was VERY apparent which students wanted to be there and which ones did not (and were pleased to let us know this as well). This aspect of teaching the many I don't like and made a point of teaching my lad that even if you don't like the class, you be polite to the person teaching as they are putting the effort into helping you learn something. Along with Lesson Three: That you can get something out of a class that you don't want to be in if you adjust your attitude. Learning something you aren't interested in, just might be what you need to learn, to spark an interest, to spur on new thoughts, you never EVER know where learning new information might take you.
Lesson Four: Some classes are just challenging. Teaching archaeology to a bunch of talkative 6-8 year olds is challenging... I had planned worksheets and question answer times and it was just beyond these children, so one adapts and makes it very hands on with reinforcing the learning as one goes. Lesson Five: Some classes are just plain fun! Seriously. :) Using regular tempera paint as finger paint and learning to do circles and shading, and experimenting with all the different ways you can use your hands and objects to do art. :) This art class was great, teaching youth about different artists and art forms and giving them a challenge to recreate it in their own way.
As I sit here typing I realize something... teaching the many has taught ME as much as teaching my singleton. How children are different, how adjustments need to be made,and how it's just as hard to teach many as it can be teach one.
I've been going through The Excellent Wife by Martha Pearce, you can find the rest of the series here. This week we are on Chapter Three: A Wife's Understanding of Sin. In this chapter we learn about God's provision of sin and Four Characteristics of it.
1. Sin is universal. No one is exempt. Romans 3:23 2. Sin may be open and obvious to others. Galatians 5: 19-21 3. Sin cannot be hidden from God. 1 Samuel 16:7; Hebrews 4:13 4. Sin justly penalized. Romans 6:23; Isaiah 53:11
If we trust the Lord God for our salvation, our sin is covered. We've repented, our sin is cleansed and removed from us Even horrible sins of the past. The sins of the present will continue to need to be dwelt with. If we have a long-standing sin we must be diligent about putting off the old self and putting on the new. Making choices to change what we do and how we respond. Changes thoughts, actions, patterns etc by making CHOICES that fit with the new nature we are putting on.
Our goal as believers is to be godly. To show God in the things that we say, do or even think. God is the image that we seek after, the image that we want to emulate. So understand that sin is NOT being godly. Turn from it. Seek after God and his ways.
Confess. Repent. Seek. Do. That's the calling up on us.
This chapter seemed very straight-forward to me. No hidden mysteries. Just a call to recognize that if we want to be an excellent wife to our spouses, it really starts with having faith, and living according to the higher calling God has placed on our lives. Seeking him, seeking to be kind, seeking to be more than what we sometimes want to be.
WOW! Did you know there used to be professional FEMALE ball teams? And that one of those teams travelled to Japan? Mostly playing against male teams and doing well?!!?!
Can you imagine being 10 years old and playing professional minor league baseball?
That is what Edith Houghton did... using a safety pin to tighten her cap, and using a knife to make holes in her belt to hold her pants up. :)
She was by all accounts a wonderful player, playing first for the Bobbies and then for other teams, she became the first woman scout.
This neat book "The Kid from Diamond Street" tells Edith's story from her first job through to her trip to Japan, playing baseball. The Philadelphia Bobbies were so named because all the players wore their hair cut in a bob.
This is an informative and interesting book. I had never thought there would be professional minor league baseball teams, much less one that would have been invited to Japan. Add to that a 10 year playing on the team? WOW!
The illustrations by Steven Salerno bring the story to life, you can just see Edith running after that ball with full determination. The funny fit of her uniform, baseball practice on an ocean line and the fun they had in Japan. Edith said "We were knocking balls out to sea."
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning about the determination of a young lady playing a game that she absolutely loved. She was by all accounts very good at her job. She played a rough, and tough game, the kind of game you would expect a girl to play when she grew up playing ball with a bunch of boys.
I would whole heartedly recommend this book.. particularly if you have girls that are sports oriented. Showing them just what a determined girl can do. Playing against the boys, becoming a scout when women just didn't DO that kind of thing, and travelling to Japan when you are 13 years old. Big stuff! Important for girls to see and understand. But then again...it's good for boys too you know... to let them see the girls are ALL THAT as well. :)
Get it for your children. Read it with them. Enjoy a good book.
I found this neat video on YouTube about Edith Houghton.
