Middle Ages Unit Study

With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season behind me now, I am enjoying a quiet week before we start back to school. The first half of the school year went really well and I am quite pleased with our progress. In addition to the basics of math, english, spelling, handwriting, and reading that each of the children complete at their own grade level, we have completed two unit studies - a HUGE one about the Middle Ages and a unit about animal classification. The Middle Ages unit was one of my favorite home education experiences with the children so far. I learned SO MUCH! The Middle Ages unit study was one that lent itself well to many projects and hands-on activities.


We found these delightful wooden shields and weapons at the Renaissance Faire and I couldn't resist letting each of the children pick out a shield and weapon to paint. The shields really turned out great! The kids used fabric paint in the little bottles to paint the shields. They used acrylic paints to paint their weapons.









Of course, M's battle axe HAD to be bloody!


We also ATTEMPTED to make chain mail using supplies and instructions from a kit. We were certainly humbled by the complexity of making the ancient protective armor. A and M decided that they would not have enjoyed being an apprentice to a craftsman who made chain mail in the Middle Ages. We finally admitted defeat and I was happy with the two older children having a very small chain mail sample. M took the remaining links and made a really long chain - at least they didn't go to waste!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day for giving thanks and I am thankful for many, many blessings that have been given to me. I am most thankful for my family. I am thankful for my husband who, after so many years, is still my sweetheart. I am thankful for my three wonderful, healthy children, my caring and supportive parents, and my mother-in law. I am also thankful for my best friend and her lovely family. The people I love mean everything to me and I am so thankful for them.

I am thankful for the creativity of my children. All three of my children love to make clay creations out of Sculpey III, but none more than M who spends at least an hour each day making delightful creations with clay. These two adorable turkeys seem to be thinking about their eventual fate of being eaten!

A and M each made a turkey and M made a cooked turkey! Aren't they adorable!

I am so fortunate that my children are all usually very appreciative of the things that I do for them. They were all VERY excited about the big Thanksgiving dinner!

A decided to indulge today with a really full plate. She felt confident that she would swim it off next week. Given her grueling practice schedule, I have no doubt that she will!


I am thankful for the full pantry of food in my kitchen and the fact that I have never had to worry about how I was going to feed my family. In this world, it is a blessing to always have enough food to eat. I am particularly thankful for the feast we had today. Here is the menu: TURKEY

Yes, just look at that golden bird, roasted to perfection! We also had Cheesy Potatoes, Baked Corn, Green Beans, Turkey Gravy, and.........................

Pumpkin Crisp! YUMMY!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving, except for little D - he was running a low fever today and had a headache so he was feeling a bit down. Grandma J and D came over to visit later in the day. M, Grandma J, big D, and I all played Mexican Train for hours. I had never played before but I caught on quickly and really loved the game. Good food, good company, a warm fire - it was a truly excellent Thanksgiving!

A Noble Lady, A Board Game Character, and a Scary Monster

What do a Noble Lady from the Middle Ages, a character from a board game, and a scary monster all have in common? Those were the costumes chosen by my kidlets this year for Halloween.

A knew what she wanted to be ever since we went to the Renaissance Festival - a Noble Lady from the Middle Ages. We have been studying the Middle Ages in school this year and A has been enjoying learning about the lives of people who lived so very long ago.



M liked the costume I found for him as soon as he saw it. He loves to goof around and make people laugh so this funny costume was perfect for him. The nose blinked on and off just like it does in the board game, Operation, on which the costume was based. He felt very good about himself after trick-or-treating. He told me that he made many adults laugh out loud at his costume and he received many compliments about what a great costume he was wearing.



D was the hardest of all three for which to find a costume. D enjoys simple costumes that are comfortable. He was a train conductor for several years in a row when he was younger, then he was a fireman for the past two years. Finally, he found a scary monster costume that was just a hoody and he liked that. He has already asked if he can wear his scary monster hoody costume again next year.


Following tradition, the children went to Grandma J's house for trick-or-treating. A decided that she didn't want to trick-or-treat this year so she prepared a big basket of candy to hand out beside her Grandma. She was very happy that many little girls told her how beautiful she looked in her dress.

The older I get the more the words of my mom ring true in my ears - holidays ARE what you make of them.

First Snow of the Season

We awoke this morning to the unexpected surprise of snow that was actually sticking to the ground and the trees! It feels a little early for snow but the kidlets were VERY excited about the change in the weather!

M and D insisted on going outside to play which entailed gathering up and getting out the winter coats, hats, snow pants, and boots. A wanted to go outside to play as well but since she is fighting a bad cough, I would not let her go. I was feeling quite proud of myself for my earlier trip to Target this week in which I purchased a new winter coat for D as last season's was too small. All was going well............until we pulled out last winter's boots. D's boots still fit him but M's boots were a full two sizes too small. So, he trudged out to the snow wearing his dad's boots. They were big - but not TOO, TOO big which doesn't seem possible.

The boys enjoyed their time outside, although M stayed out far longer than D. D decided he didn't want to have snow thrown at him any longer and came on in to warm up. Little arguments between M and D never last long, though. Their friendship and love for each other makes me so very happy. They are so fortunate to have each other.

Halloween Gingerbread Houses

Saturday, October 25, 2008

We have been trying to have relaxed, catch-up, craft and project filled days on Fridays during this school year. A, M, D and I have been really enjoying our "no independent work" project-based Fridays. A just commented again the other day how much she is enjoying school this year. Such words are a balm to my soul!

Since yesterday was Friday we stayed true to my plan and did several wrapping up things - A, M, and D each took a multiplication test for the fives times table (A and M have 60 problems in 2 minutes - D has no time limit which M still gripes is unfair), they did their State of the Union page on Rhode Island (I didn't know it was so very tiny!), we made Halloween gingerbread houses, and the kidlets finished their pumpkin and Frankenstein's monster jar projects.

We have been making Christmas gingerbread houses for years now but this was the first time that we, blessedly, did such a project alone. It was wonderful to just enjoy my three children making their gingerbread houses and not worry about any other children. This was our first time making Halloween gingerbread houses and it was really a lot of fun for the kidlets. I am always amazed at their creativity during such projects. A wanted dirt for her pumpkin patch so she went in the pantry to get brown sugar and made a delightful pumpkin patch at the side of her house. Of course, the pumpkin patch was close to the spooky graveyard!

My main job was finding lots of cute Halloween candy for decorating and getting the work area set up. I found some really cute little sugar Halloween pieces at the local cake shop - M and D were particularly excited about the sugar skeleton faces. Here is a picture of some of the choices for decorations that I found.

Here are some adorable pictures of the children working diligently on their Halloween gingerbread houses. All of them were quite the creations, complete with pumpkin patches, graveyards, and lots of spooky things that go bump in the night!


And, lastly here are the finished products BEFORE the kidlets starting picking away at the candy!

A had to take pictures of her Halloween gingerbread house to share with her friends at swim team. One of her friends told her, "Look at the cool things that you get to do because you're homeschooled." More words that are a balm to my soul.

Random Thoughts:

***I am LOVING the Southern vampire mystery series that I recently discovered. I'm almost finished with book 1 - Dead Until Dark - and am looking forward to reading book 2. I haven't read any vampire books in a long time and it makes me feel young and free again.

***I am LOVING our new recliner chairs. They have heaters which feel delightful on my lower back at the end of a long day. Tonight I sat and watched Mythbusters and two episodes of Ace of Cakes with the kidlets. Bliss, total bliss.........................

***I am LOVING our new DVR. I have no idea how I survived this long without one. I LOVE being able to record things so effortlessly and then watch them at my convenience. I just love doing things at my convenience! Last night dh and I snuggled on our couch and watched an episode of Criminal Minds that I had recorded -so great to just skip right through the commercials. DH said, "Look at you with your new toy!"