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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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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.ย 
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.”ย 
(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 Crystalsย … 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!

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 ๐Ÿ™‚

Lesson

A recent study by Australian astronomers says that there are 70 sextillion starsโ€”thatโ€™s 7 followed by 22 zeros, or 70,000 million million million. Mind-boggling, isnโ€™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 โ€œHe determines the number of the stars and calls them each by nameโ€ (Psalm 147:4).
Say, if God can keep track of the names of 70 sextillion stars, donโ€™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?

(470โ€“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 isโ€ฆ โ€˜Yes, itโ€™s the greatest thing weโ€™ve ever done!โ€™

Hanging out on the Windy Prairies of Alberta, Canada

Some people may peek into my classroom and wonder when Iโ€™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 theyโ€™ve gathered from endless hours sitting in the sunshine, basking in the ideas of historyโ€™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, (donโ€™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 Iโ€™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.

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 Godโ€™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 didnโ€™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 ๐Ÿ’—

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 ๐Ÿฆ 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. ๐Ÿ’•

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 doesnโ€™t like being the only girl at my home school classes ๐Ÿ™‚

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 ๐ŸŒ‘ Rocks, Minerals and ๐Ÿ’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 ๐Ÿ˜ 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 itโ€™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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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 ๐Ÿ™‚

xoxo

Beckyboo

Today we went on a nature walk to find the aloe vera plant. I’ve been drinking the juice and it’s been helping me feel better so I thought I’d try making my own. Sure enough we found massive aloe plants and the guy who owned the property was happy to let us pick them. Here’s a little tutorial on how we made our aloe juice! Enjoy my video ๐Ÿ™‚

 

I woke up to a freshly picked bouquet of Island flowers gathered from my own back yard and given to me by two of my sweet children.

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, plant, tree, flower, outdoor and closeupEric brought me breakfast in bed with the tropical milkshake and an omelet. The tropical milkshake tasted a bit odd but I tried to be polite as I drank it. After Eric tried one taste he realized that what he had thought was powdered sugar was actually tapioca starch, and after a good laugh he didn’t make me finish the rest of my drink!

Image may contain: foodThe omelet was delicious however.

It was Sunday today and we were all excited to go to church because Lindy and Dustin were going to be speaking which meant the talks would be in English.

When we got to church we were so surprised to see the way that Mother’s Day was celebrated.

First each mother was given a flower lei.

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people sittingHundreds of hand cut streamers hung down from the ceiling and were blowing in the breeze.Image may contain: one or more people

Signs that said happy Mother’s Day which looked like they were written and decorated by some creative man we’re posted all over with scriptures underneath.No automatic alt text available.

I’m not used to our chapel being decorated in such a festive manner, but the children were delighted with the Decor and it was obvious that the Islanders love their mothers.

After church was over the men brought out a very large cake that said happy Mother’s Day on it. They said they had a special program for just the mothers. As we sat in the hot chapel we had the privilege of having an entire additional Sunday meeting consisting of an opening and closing prayer, an opening and closing hymn, two musical numbers, and four or five talks (all in Bislama of course!)

Image may contain: 3 peopleThe primary came in and sang the most precious song to us, as did the youth.

 

Afterwards there was an announcement that there would be special food for the mothers.

We went outside and we were first served chocolate cake, then we were served lollipops, then we were served chocolate icing on white soda crackers. It was all quite darling.Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people standing

There were ten matching plates and a pile of mismatch dishes were being quickly washed in preparation for the meal, there were also six glass cups. After they were washed a meal was served on them and given to the mothers first. As soon as the meal was eaten one or two of the men would come up, whisk the plate away, wash it under the outside tap and bring it back for someone else to enjoy a meal.ย Image may contain: 4 people, people standing, child and food

It was kind of strange having everyone stare at you while you ate because they had nothing else to do while they waited for their own plate. After a little while some of the other women who lived nearby saw what was happening and went to their houses &ย brought their dishes to add to the collection so more people could eat at once. It was very sweet, and although so different than how I normally experience Mother’s Day but was absolutely perfect and something I will NEVER forget!Image may contain: 2 people, people sitting and baby