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It’s been winter here for months already, and it seems like all we get is plenty of wind and snow. The boys have been asking me what snowflakes are made of, how they are formed and what they look like up close, so I thought this was a perfect chance to teach them about God’s beautiful and unique creations šŸ™‚

Snowflakes are symmetrical but they are not perfect.
They are ordered but they are created in disorder.
Every random branch, retells their history, that singular journey that they took to get here.
Most of all they are fleeting and temporary.Ā 
Even if they look unique on the outside, inside they are all different!

It’s okay to be smart- Joe Hanson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUot7XSX8uA

I don’t know about you, but when I heard this, It really touched something inside of me!

A Little Bit of History

“Wilson (Willie) Bentley (1865-1931) was born on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, … [an area with] an average annual snowfall of over 120 inches.”
“At age 15 he began drawing snowflakes while looking at them through his microscope – no easy task, because most of them melted before he could complete a drawing. At age 16 he learned about a camera that could be used with a microscope. His parents saved the money and when Willie was 17 they bought him the camera. It took him over a year of failures before he finally achieved his goal – a photograph of a snowflake, the first one ever taken.”Ā 
(Acts and Facts, 12/2011)

After a long time of studying, collecting and photographing snowflakes, Bentely eventually made thousands of pictures for magazines, universities and other forms of media.


“At age 66 Bentley published a large … book of his photographs titled Snow CrystalsĀ … Less than two weeks after his book was published, he walked six miles home in a snowstorm, caught pneumonia, and died two weeks later

Snowflake Bentley- Article

Lesson:

There Is No Explanation for the Universe Except That God Made It!

Bentley said:

“…wonders of God’s handiwork are to be found in the tiniest details of all He has made. One powerful example of this beauty is the intricate design of a snow crystal.”


Job 38 – God responded to Job by describing different aspects of creation that prove His right to control the universe.

Verse 22 asks: “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?”

Because we are not the creators of the universe, we have not right to control it! The stunning art, and beauty of snowflakes is just one of the many proofs that we have that God indeed, is the creator of our universe!

God Appreciates Beauty!


Bentley said: “Anyone who’s seen snowflakes under a microscope cannot help but be amazed by how beautifully complex they are.”


Ecclesiastes 3:11

“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”

All around us we see beautiful things! God’s creations are everywhere, and it’s easy to see the beauty of a fresh snowfall. But for thousands of years, nobody even knew that snow was beautiful! Nobody had ever observed under a microscope the individual snowflake, but God…He saw this beauty all along!

As we appreciate God’s beauty around us, we will begin to appreciate God Himself.

Are we not more important to God than a simple snowflake?!

If God spent so much time, creating something as simple as snow to be so beautiful, than how much time and love do you think he put into creating his most prized creation- His children?

YouTube Movies:

Activities

For our activities we cut out snowflakes together, as well as took the microscope outside to look at the snowflakes that we could find and try to identify their shapes! We also made snow candy to end up the day, because who doesn’t love a good treat at home?

Make Paper Snowflakes!

Here are some pretty printable patterns for snowflakes

Make Snow Candy!

Snow Candy Recipe

INSTRUCTIONS
Only 2 ingredients are needed to make maple snow candy.


– I use 1 cup of maple but you can double it. Just make sure you have enough snow ready.
– Fresh, clean snow. I like to use a rectangular pan with a 2-3 inch depth. Like a lasagna pan.


1.) first you fill the pan or pans with fresh Packed snow and set aside either outside or in freezer where it will stay cold.


2.) pour maple syrup into a 4 Qt. pan and heat gradually until syrup begins to boil. Make sure to adjust temp when it gets to a rolling boil so it doesn’t boil over.


3.) after a very short time on heat just low enough to keep it a rolling boil, the bubbles will begin to change both color and consistency. There is no need to stir at all but you must monitor constantly. Do not walk away and you will be rewarded!


4.) in the beginning it boils with a lot of large bubbles. It will be a light amber color.


If you use a thermometer then heat the syrup to about 234 degrees F. A higher heat will make a stiffer candy. I actually don’t use a thermometer. It’s how we did it growing up and you can too.


5.) as the hot syrup nears the candy stage, there will be fewer and fewer large bubbles and the mass will become more foamy in consistency.
Very quickly after this it should become uniform in consistency and the amber mass will take on a more glassy appearance. This means it is ready to pour – you have attained liquid candy!


6.) grab your pan(s) of snow. Pour the liquid in a thin stream onto the snow. Liquid is very hot so be careful!


Try not to pour too much on top of itself as it will be too thick.
The candy will cool very rapidly on the snow. The result will be a chewy, glassy looking taffy like candy.


You only need to wait 10-15 seconds as the snow will rapidly cool the candy. You can use your fingers or a fork to eat it.


7.) make sure to collect your candy out of the snow if you don’t eat it all right away. If you leave it in the snow too long it will begin to melt.

https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/maple-snow-candy/447094

Make Snowflake Cookies

Sugar Cookie Recipe

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar.

Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sugar-cookies-recipe-1914697

Conclusion

It was such a fun today! The kids used so much creativity in asking questions and making beautiful decorations for the windows. It was wonderful to be able to show that the same God who creates the million and billions of individual snowflakes is the same God that creates us! Thanks for joining us!

I’m so excited to learn about My Amazing Brain, and what God expects me to do with it! I thought today would also be a great time to teach the kids about how taking care of their brains properly can bless their lives forever!

I started our class today with this song for the kids to get them used to the parts of the brain before we started all our other activities and studies!

BRAIN SONG

Lesson

Many times it may seem obvious what God wants you to do.
Other times, it might not seem obvious.Ā When it isnā€™t, you may find yourself immobilized by indecision because you donā€™t want to make a mistake.
God expects you to make decisions!

God couldĀ tell you what to do moment-by-momentĀ throughout the day.Ā But thatā€™s not the type of relationship he wants with you.

Although sometimes itā€™s clear what God would want you to do,Ā many times he wants you to make good decisions ā€œon your own,ā€ guided by wisdom.
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.Ā (Proverbs 4:7-9)
Donā€™t be like a horse or mule

God didnā€™t create us to be puppets or robots.Ā Instead, he gives each of us the capability to make decisions. As Psalm 32:9 says, he doesnā€™t want us to be like a horse or mule that needs to be controlled by bit and bridle.
Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. (Psalm 32:9)

The horse and mule described in Psalm 32:9 are controlled by bit and bridle.Ā The bit and bridle create pressure on the horseā€™s or muleā€™s head that makes it difficultā€”and painfulā€”for the animal to go anywhere except where the rider wants to go.

Notice that the horse and mule ā€œhave no understanding.ā€Ā God doesnā€™t want us to be like that. He wants us to be guided by ā€œunderstanding.ā€

Ask wise, mature believers for advice
Sometimes we need to ask others for adviceĀ if we want to make good decisions.
Be careful to choose the right people.Ā Many of your friends might simply tell you what they think you want to hear, not what is wisest. Look for mature people who will give you honest, godly advice.

When people give you advice, ask yourself if their advice is supported by:
Godā€™s Word
Your circumstances
Godly wisdom
Other peopleā€™s advice
Your own sense of peace and direction

https://www.dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-godchristianityandchurch/tom10-4-hearinggodsvoice-prayandthink-thenmakeadecision/

Activities

We downloaded this awesome Brain Hat from: https://ellenjmchenry.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Brain-Hat-2.0-download.pdf

The kids absolutely loved wearing their hats and as we made them we talked about what would happen if this part or that part of the brain were not attached. It was a really fun activity!

Youtube Movies About the Brain

After learning all about the brain we discussed different ways that we can actually take care of our brains. This includes eating healthy, getting exercise, drinking lots of water and being careful what you put into your body. It also includes being careful what you listen to, watch and look at and how much time you actually spend looking at screens and devices.

Depending on the age of your kids you may want to watch one of the TED talks below.

Growth Mindset Ted Talks For Kids

Well today was a great success with the kids. We learned so about making decisions, our amazing brains and what God expects us to do with them, and how to take care of them! Join us next time for a fun Christian based homeschool lesson!

So today the kids wanted to learn about galaxies. Since we’ve already spent a bunch of time studying Ancient Greece and Athens, I thought it would be a good time to introduce Socrates to them.

We found this great quote from Socrates, and it’s full size so you can print it out for your kids too šŸ™‚

Lesson

A recent study by Australian astronomers says that there are 70 sextillion starsā€”thatā€™s 7 followed by 22 zeros, or 70,000 million million million. Mind-boggling, isnā€™t it?
Using two of the most powerful telescopes in the world, these scientists surveyed one strip of sky. Within the strip of sky some 10,000 galaxies were pinpointed and detailed measurements of their brightness taken to calculate how many stars they contained. That number was then multiplied by the number of similar sized strips needed to cover the entire sky and then multiplied again out to the edge of the visible universe.
Only God knows exactly how many stars there are. The Bible says ā€œHe determines the number of the stars and calls them each by nameā€ (Psalm 147:4).
Say, if God can keep track of the names of 70 sextillion stars, donā€™t you think He can keep track of the details of your life as well? Thank Him today that He is bigger than any problem you face. Then go about your work trusting Him to guide you just as He guides the 70 sextillion stars in the sky.

https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/god-is-big-enough/

Videos to watch:

Who is Socrates?

(470ā€“399 bc). Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher. He is respected as a brilliant thinker and teacher with a great thirst for knowledge. Along with two other Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, Socrates is remembered for developing ideas and thoughts that led to the Western culture that exists today.

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Socrates/476319

Socrates was born and lived nearly his entire life in Athens. His father Sophroniscus was a stonemason and his mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. As a youth, he showed an appetite for learning. Plato describes him eagerly acquiring the writings of the leading contemporary philosopher Anaxagoras and says he was taught rhetoric by Aspasia, the talented mistress of the great Athenian leader Pericles.

Did you know? Although he never outright rejected the standard Athenian view of religion, Socrates’ beliefs were nonconformist. He often referred to God rather than the gods, and reported being guided by an inner divine voice.

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/socrates

Many people believe that Socrates believed in only one true God, although his peers at that time believed in many different Gods.

Activities

I bought a dozen donuts from Walmart that were already pre-made. This made the activity a lot easier to do with kids!
Then we made our galaxies:
1. Melt the white chocolate wafers over hot water in a double boiler, until no lumps are visible

2. Drop in a few drops of food coloring

3. Take a skewer and drag the color around the chocolate

4. Dip a donut into the top of the chocolate.

Note: We found that in order to get that bright pretty, swirly pattern, we had to continually drop color into the chocolate before each dip.

5. Sprinkle with silver edible sparkles

6. Cool donut & Enjoy!

Watercolor Galaxy

I printed out these on cardstock at full size and let the kids watercolor the backgrounds in a galaxy- they turned out sooo pretty!

Conclusion

I am so glad that you guys stopped by to learn about God, Galaxies & Socrates with us! Send us a picture if you decide to make your own galaxy donuts!

The warmth of the sun rises, and the cool of the evening sky sets on our family classroom. 

It happens through the summertimes, and during holidays, starts early in the mornings and ends late at night. 

There are no limits to the students curiosity, no walls to their classrooms, no ages to their classes, no boundaries to their questions. 

This is the place where it’s okay to teach kids about God, Jesus, giving up and holding on. This classroom thrives on physical touch, hugs, high fives, and arms wrapped around each other.

In our family classroom it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to leave. It’s okay to choose not to participate.

Our family classroom is rarely clean. In fact, it’s usually overflowing with messes, and spills and books and toys and projects.


There are never enough walls in our family classroom to hold all the priceless treasures that my children create. And I mean that honestly. For somehow, each one of them is exceptionally talented.

Oh, in case you wonder, our family classroom is noisy too. There are squeaky flutes & pounding pianos, and loud teenage music (that I rarely like), and kids squealing and teenagers crying, and toddlers racing, and moms and dads yelling to be heard above all the commotion. But it’s a happy, busy, noise, and if it’s too much, there are quiet corners. In our family classroom I’ve noticed that one rarely chooses to escape to silent bedrooms when instead they could be enjoying the community we find in being together.

This classroom is a safe place to make mistakes. It could be the mistakes of the teacher, or the mistakes of the student but either way, you are given the grace to figure it out and try again while still being loved and accepted.

One of my children took her first university course at 12 years old, another was just opening a book for the first time to read on her own. But in our family school, there are no bully’s to make fun, or grades to compare.

It’s okay to show up late, or show up in your jammies, as long as you’re willing show up at all, you can join us.

Some months our family classroom looks like endless mathematical equations, other months it looks like flying across the world and standing at the top of a volcano while hot lava literally explodes in bombs above your head, or diving to the bottom of a sea discovering creatures you never dreamed existed all around you.

All. Across. The. Globe. I get people asking me if I really think my family classroom is the healthiest choice for my kids. 

My answer isā€¦ ā€˜Yes, itā€™s the greatest thing weā€™ve ever done!ā€™

Hanging out on the Windy Prairies of Alberta, Canada

Some people may peek into my classroom and wonder when Iā€™m gonna teach spelling rules and calculus. I reassure them that they need not worry, because at precisely the time when my children’s minds are ready to expand, they will get to immerse themselves in these important subjects, and nothing will stop them!

Until then, I am going to go from one end of the world to the other, and hopefully, spark a love of learning so deeply in their souls, that it can never be extinguished. 

Riding the Ferries on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Kayaking, Shipwreck diving, And Snorkeling at Irriki Island
Surfing on the West Coast of Long Beach, British Columbia, Canada
Girls on Island
Making New Friends on The Island of Efate
Taking Hikes In The Mountains of Waterton Alberta, Canada
photo credit: www.thousandwonders.net
Girl in front of Beach
Collecting Seashells on The Beaches of Vanuatu
Kids from the village
Sharing food in the South Pacific
mom in Arizona
Standing by 400 year old Siguaro Cactus, Mesa Arizona
Starting a Primitive Fire with no match in Wilderness of Arizona
Climbing trees in the Jungle of North Island Village
Kids in Mexico
Trying on Sombreros Street Vendors on the boardwalk of San Felipe, Mexico
Discovering Spiders on the boardwalk of Brisbane, Australia

See you around,

BeckyBoo

P.S.

YES!

Yes my kids will learn to read, and hopefully also learn to change the world with the wisdom theyā€™ve gathered from endless hours sitting in the sunshine, basking in the ideas of historyā€™s greatest thinkers. 

Yes my kids will learn to write, and hopefully use that gift to spread the cause of freedom, & equality.

Running With Dad on The Run 4 The Rescue
a 500 Mile Run in Chains to bring Awareness to Human Trafficking,
Washington DC

Yes my kids will learn to socialise, because from the time they were tiny they got to play with kids from cultures and countries across the earth, and philosophise with adults, and have one on one conversations with leaders and politicians. 

Yes my kids will learn to add and subtract, and multiply and divide, and hopefully use those tools to seek further education or build something beautiful or to heal bodies & hearts. 

My oldest left home at 17, is attending emergency medical training in another country, and trying to decide if she should go to Indonesia on a 6 month service mission with her cousin.

My 2nd oldest left home at 16, and is using this time on her own to discover the world. She is paying her own rent, buying her own groceries, and getting her own jobs.

My 3rd oldest of 15 years spends most her days reading, dreaming about horses and studying for the ACT.  

My two next girls attend our local public school in grades 6 & 8, (donā€™t worry, I’ll help them catch up later).

My two little boys spend everyday chasing words and animals and books as we explore together. They dress up, dig up, and build up all blessed day long.

Each of these 7 children will take their own path, but hopefully, if Iā€™ve done it right, they will each know who they are, or at least how to become who they want to be. That is the beauty of my family classroom.

Early this morning our little troop of students showed up to learn about Carbon Dioxide and Jesus- the Bread of Life.

Our newly baked loaf of bread was the perfect object to keep the kids interested

First we started by talking about different chemicals, & chemical reactions.

The kids blew into their bowls to see how big the bubbles could go

I gave them each an empty bowl and had the following ingredients available:

  • Hot Water
  • Food coloring
  • Dish soap
  • Baking Soda
  • Vinegar
  • Citric Acid
  • Straws

We took turns combining chemicals to see what the chemical reactions were with each one. These are some of the things we talked about:

WE ARE SCIENTISTS: During these activities we get to think and act like real scientists. We are going to compare things, ask questions and make observations using our senses.

BAKING SODA: Did you know? A long time ago people used baking soda to help their bread dough rise? They also used it just like we use soap today. Baking soda is used in lots of foods that we eat. It’s also used to clean space ships!

CITRIC ACID: Did you know that citric acid is a substance that is found in lots of fruits and vegetables. You can find it in lemons and oranges and other citrus foods. All acids taste sour, so if you were to taste citric acid it also would be sour. Citric acid is edible, and used in food, so that’s why it’s okay to taste it, but other acids can kill you or burn your throat if you taste them or EVEN TOUCH THEM!

CARBON DIOXIDE: The fizz that is created when we combine these items is called Carbon Dioxide. Carbon DioxideĀ is a colorless, odorless gas found in our atmosphere. Its chemical formula isĀ CO2, which means it is oneĀ carbonĀ atom bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is a waste product in our bodies and is also produced by burning fossil fuels.

YEAST: Yeast is the thing that make bread dough rise. Yeast is alive all around us in the soil, in the plants and even in the air. Yeast needs sugar to feed it and warm water to make it wake up.

They got to choose several different elements and combine them together to see what they could make, or what chemical reactions they could observe.

So while we were mixing and talking about all these different things we also took a ziploc bag with warm water, some sugar and some yeast in it and sealed it. We wanted to see what was going to happen to our bag when the yeast ate the sugar.

Flat bag of yeast

We also started a loaf of bread. We talked about How Jesus is the Bread of Life. And it’s because of Him that we can be forgiven of our sins and become perfect like him.

The kids were HAVING SO MUCH FUN mixing their potions and learning from the science experiments. This part lasted at least an hour before I told them we need to clean up. Once we had, I put the bread in the oven and took the kids into the other room to watch some movies.

We watched THESE MOVIES ON YOUTUBE:

After the bread had finished baking, we checked on our ziploc bag to see what had happened. This is what we found!

Our bag of yeast after one hour!

I explained that as the yeast ate the sugar, it created a gas which was carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide made the bag blow up and feel tight. I was going to throw it away, but of course the kids wanted to wait until it exploded on it’s own!

Once all our things were cleaned up we ate the bread and read stories in the sunshine!

Time to share the bread šŸ™‚

Well the boys wanted to learn about spiders today, and lucky for me a spider home school lesson plan is exactly what I felt like teaching! We are getting close to halloween, so the local grocery store had a few supplies that I bought for cheap to make the lesson more exciting!

YouTube Videos:

Lesson:

Thank you for your wise words, I shared them with my kids today

A spider is dedicated to its purpose: building a strong web. It stays focused, spending hours weaving in a circular motion, keeping the silk tight from the inside out. We can build a strong faith by dedicating ourselves to the purpose of knowing God. This means spending time in His Word, staying focused on what it says and allowing its truth to strengthen us from the inside out. Making Godā€™s Word the hub of our faith will keep us strong when the pressures of life try to bring us down.

Wendy Pope

Activities:

Of course the first that I always do when we are learning about something new is read to the kids from any books that I have on the topic. I often go to the library and check out books, as well as hit up the local thrift store.

I had a few other activities that I wanted to do today, so I’ll show them all below.

Spiders Web

  • First I had the kids draw a spiders web on white pieces of Cardstock
  • Next I turned their cardstock over and held it up to the window. I was able to easily trace their spiders webs with white school glue.
  • Once their web is traced, return paper to student and let them pour table salt overtop of the web
  • Next drop bits of watercolor paint into the glue/salt web
  • Lastly sprinkle sparkles over top of the web to make it extra special!

After our spiders webs were done and all the kids were happy, I have them a glass jar and told them to go on a spider hunt. They stormed through the house and after about half an hour they returned successful!

Once their spider specimen was securely in the jar, I had the kids fill out papers describing their spider.

I found this free printable worksheet here:

The kids still weren’t tired of learning about spiders so I printed out some cute math cards that I found free here.

I was seriously considering making the house into a big spider web with masking tape like this from 123Homeschool4me. But I never got around to it! Maybe next time!

https://www.123homeschool4me.com/bug-unit-2-spiders_57

Conclusion:

Pretty much the kids had an epic time learning about spiders today! It was a great creepy , crawly, lesson plan for kids. I love tying in our Christian values when I teach the kids, which is one of the reasons why I love to home school.

Leave us a comment!
xoxo

Beckyboo

Today’s lesson plan was all about Lions, Tigers, Daniel in the Lions Den & Courage! The boys were asking to learn about lions so I put together a fun day full of learning and activities.

When everyone arrived at the kitchen table for our home school class on lions I started by letting them color.

lion coloring pages for adults | Free Lion Coloring Pages | fun
I got this free lion coloring page HERE

After they were finished coloring I read some books I had picked up from the thrift store about lions and tigers. The kids always love it when I read to them.

Next they watched these movies on YouTube while I was busy getting everything else ready.

YouTube Movies About Lions & Tigers

After the kids had watched some YouTube movies and we discussed it together and it was the perfect introduction to faith, prayer and courage as we also discussed the story of Daniel in the Lions den.

Story of Daniel & Lions Den

The prophet Daniel was living under a King who didnā€™t respect God. Although the King liked Daniel, his advisor tricked the King into making a law made it so nobody could pray to their own God, but everyone had to only pray to the King.

Daniel was a righteous man who loved God very much. Although he respected the King, he didn’t follow the law to never pray. Daniel continued to pray each day as he had always done.

The punishment for disobeying the law was terrible.

Daniel was seen praying to God and so he was thrown into a den of live, hungry lions overnight.

The LORD saved Daniel and protected him from harm all night long.

The king was horrified that his friend was being thrown into the den, and he ran to the cave first thing in the morning the next day.

The next day everyone was amazed by the power of God.

Lesson about Courage & Faith

Just like Daniel, we can trust that Jesus will save those who follow him. No matter how bad the trouble, God has the power to save.

Daniel was COURAGEOUS when he went into the den of lions and he had a lot of FAITH!

What are some things we can do to have courage and faith like daniel?

Activities

No lesson is complete without a good activity. So the boys and I made Lion masks and then had a lion fight, which the kids thought was pretty amazing!

I got this picture for Free HERE:

I love teaching these eager, enthusiastic learners everyday šŸ’—

Image may contain: 1 person

After we did the lion masks, I printed out this paper bag and the kids loved their lion puppets.

I got this lion from HERE
Image may contain: 1 person

I’m so glad that the boys wanted to learn about lions šŸ¦ today for school! It was the perfect introduction to faith, prayer and courage as we also discussed the story of Daniel in the Lions den. šŸ’•

Today’s lesson plan was all about Lions, Tigers, & Courage.

Comment Below and tell me what you think!

xoxo

Beckyboo

Hello! I’m so glad you’ve stopped by! Today I’m going to share my lesson plan for Rocks, Minerals & Jesus. As you know, I like to bring in my faith to every lesson I teach to my kids. This is just ONE of the many reasons that I LOVE TO HOME-SCHOOL!

It was so cold and slippery out that even the school bus decided to stay home this morning. There was a cold blizzard blowing and I thought nobody would show up, but I was wrong! What it really meant was that we were delighted with lots of extra visitors. Anaya was glad because she doesnā€™t like being the only girl at my home school classes šŸ™‚

Today was a perfect homeschooling day. I spent the morning gathering all the supplies that I have been collecting to start teaching the kids about šŸŒ‘ Rocks, Minerals and šŸ’Ž Crystals.

As soon as the kids saw the table covered in our precious rock collection, including diamonds and fools gold, they were pretty excited!

We spent at least an hour reading a million books about gemstones, and rocks and how they are formed. I had just been collecting books on gemstones from the thrift store since I decided to teach this lesson last week.

Whenever I’m doing my cleanup or preparation for the next activity, I put on YouTube movies so the kids can watch movies on how rocks are formed. Today we watched these ones:

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeuYx-AbZdo

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsIHV__voMk

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVy3dzLSMLg

After the movies, I sent all the kids on a rock hunt.

I printed out THIS rock identification table, and once the kids came in with the different rocks they had found we spent some time trying to match them up with what we saw on our table. I was completely amazed at how many rocks we actually found that were on the chart, just from searching outside!

After all of that we did some watercolor paintings of our jewels.

While they were painting I led them into a discussion about the apostle Peter and Jesus Christ.

I read this scripture from Mathew 16:18

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Our Lord then declared to him: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”

I asked what would happen if the wind blew on grass, or a strong mountain. Obviously the grass would bend but the mountain would not. When we build our testimonies on JESUS CHRIST it’s the same as building our testimony on a rock. It’s strong and unmovable.

I love šŸ˜ it when I can share my faith with these eager, and attentive kids. I think it really means a lot to them to be able to learn in such natural and normal ways, and I’m so glad that we are doing this together at home!

Peter P. brought his microscope so we were happy to check out all our rocks and crystals. It was super awesome, and we could even see the crystal formations in our pink Himalayan salt as well as our sugar. The best looking rock was our pyrite, or fools gold.

I love this little microscope because itā€™s super affordable, but really does a good job of magnifying things. Peter bought from discovery toys.

Afterwards we made Geode cookies with real glass candy crystals for our rocks, minerals & crystal lesson plan!

The older girls did some water color and we delivered some of the extra cookies to our neighbor who helped us the other day.

RECIPE FOR SUGAR COOKIES

  • 1 cup of Soft butter
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 3/4 white flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix together butter, sugar and egg. Add vanilla, and then add baking powder & flour until everything is light and fluffy. Cook for 7-10 minutes.

RECIPE FOR ICING

  • 3 cups powder sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • Mix everything together with a mixer until it’s fluffy.

We first spread the icing over top of the cookies and then put them in the microwave for 10 seconds so they went really nice and smooth. Afterwards we used food coloring in a paint tray to paint our cookies and then we decorated it with the glass candy that we made.

How to make edible glass candy

RECIPE FOR GLASS CANDY

  • 1 1/2 cups of corn syrup
  • 1 cup of water
  • 3 1/2 cups of sugar
  • Once hardened you can just crack it with a fork or spoon by hitting it into desired size of pieces.  Once it is sufficiently hardened and cool to the touch, just crack it with the back of a spoon or hammer šŸ™‚

Mix everything together in a pot over the stove and stir it until the sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved and it starts to boil then DON’T stir! Leave it for 10-15 minutes until it’s a light caramel color or comes to 300 degrees if you have a candy thermometer.

We pretty much had the best time ever learning about Rocks, Crystals and Jesus!

Plus our house is now full of pretty cookies, pretty, candies, pretty watercolors and a lot of happy kids!

Leave a comment, and tell me how you relate Rocks, Crystals & Minerals to Jesus šŸ™‚

xoxo

Beckyboo

I can’t believe it’s already been one year. In some ways it feels like a lifetime and in other ways it seems as though we just arrived. The experiences that we’ve had have been irreplaceable. I made a video to celebrate our 1 year anniversary, on the adventure of a lifetime! If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t been blogging as regularly, it’s because I was crazy sick and had to be flown to Australia for medical help, and then because I started writing a book! Stay tuned, I’ll let you know when it’s ready to read šŸ™‚