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Showing posts from March, 2018

The Cross (Creation to the Cross- Day 6)

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Focus:  The Cross Activity:  taste the bitterness Verse:  Colossians 1:19-20 Today, we probably could have done more to remember Jesus's death on the cross.  If you search Pinterest, you'll find a lot of ideas from nails to rocks to science experiments.  I decided to do a very simple activity during dinner. I placed the bottle of vinegar on the table.  The kids had lots of questions.  I had them each smell it and then offered them a taste.  We talked about how Jesus took the bitterness of sin on Himself when He died on the cross.  We also touched on the actual crucifixion story, where Jesus was given vinegar to drink as He died.  It was our sin our that held Him there, but by His wounds, we are forgiven. "O come and mourn with me a while, O come ye to the Savior's side O come, together let us mourn, Jesus our Lord is crucified." Come and Mourn with Me Awhile (hymn) Pin It! An InLinkz Link-up

Jesus is the Bread of Life (Creation to the Cross- Day 5)

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Focus:  The Last Supper Activity:  unleavened bread Verse:  Matthew 26:28 We had a very rough week!  Amazon sent me a message that they had oversold their matzah (unleavened bread) and wouldn't be able to get any to us in time.  It was such a disappointment.  I usually do a full Passover lamb dinner during Holy Week, but it didn't happen this year.  With the kids and my sickness, we didn't even get have lamb! For "The Last Supper" lesson, we got some crackers and sparkling grape juice and talked about how they represent Jesus's body and blood.  We ate and drank together and remembered Jesus. " Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away, Slain for us: and we remember: The promise made that all who come in faith Find forgiveness at the cross. So we share in this Bread of life, And we drink of His sacrifice, As a sign of our bonds of peace Around the table of the King." Behold the Lamb (hymn) Pin It!

Jesus Enters Jerusalem (Creation to the Cross- Day 4)

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Focus:  Jesus Enters Jerusalem Activity:  ___ Verse:  Matthew 21:9 We're still recovering from sickness, but I got to the store today, so tomorrow should be better.  In our Holy Week study, we jumped over one thousand years from the Exodus to the Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21).  Today, my husband drew the scene on the chalkboard while I told the story.  Then, we listened to "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna" on my phone.  It wasn't a very interactive lesson, but it was good enough for our circumstances. I'm feeling a bit better today, so I put together this quick round-up of Palm Sunday activities.  I hope you find something you can use. The Donkey Who Carried a King // R.C. Sproul Palm Branches Road // Our Crafts N Things Palm Cross // Joy Bo Bo Palm Palms Dance Party // O Amanda Palm Sundae Dessert // Southern Made Simple Triumphant Entry // All Play on Sunday Donkey Craft // Dandelions on the Wall Benjamin's Box // Melody

The Passover (Creation to the Cross- Day 3)

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Focus:  Old Testament Passover (Exodus 3-13) Activity:  ___ Verse:  1 Corinthians 5:7 We told the story of the the Exodus during dinner.  That's all I had energy for today.  I'm sure that there were lots of other things we could have done for activities, but they didn't happen.  We're still sick. I've written a lot about Passover in previous years.  Here are a few highlights (the rest can be found under the "holdays => spring holidays" menu.  Click on the Picture to visit the post. Pin It! An InLinkz Link-up

The Terrible Lie (Creation to the Cross Series- Day 2)

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Focus:  Genesis 3 and sin Activity:  Cookie Temptation Verse:  Romans 3:23 I caught a nasty cold from the kids, so today didn't go as I had planned (and I think that will be true for the rest of the week too).   We can't really control much, can we? Before dinner, I set a cookie in front of each kid.  I told them that they weren't allowed to touch their cookie, lick it, nibble it, or eat it, until I gave them permission after dinner.  I promised them that if they obeyed, then they would get two more cookies.  Some of my children had no problem following the One Rule.  Others tested the line a bit. Throughout the meal, I periodically asked the kids, "Whose thinking about your cookie right now?"  They all raised their hands. We told the story of the the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 3) and God's rule that the first people not eat the fruit from this tree.  Adam and Eve had One Rule, just like my kids only had one rule about the

Thumbs Up- I Love It! My Kids' Favorite Road Trip Recipes

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I've been enjoying Travel Time Tuesday so much and have been posting so much content (twice a week lately) that I decided to move all of it to it's own blog.  The recipe blog post is now at my new site-  Party Through the USA . Click on the picture to go to the road trip recipes post.

Creation (Creation to the Cross Holy Week Series- Day 1)

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Focus:  Creation Activity:  Seeds Verse:  Revelation 4:11 For our first day of Holy Week, we focused on Creation.  During dinner, we talked about what the kids already knew about creation.  We had watched March of the Penguins 2 the night before, so we spent some time going over the penguin life cycle as it relates to Creation. Next, I got out an activity that I had made almost four years ago, when we first started homeschooling.  It is a seed matching game where you try to guess which seeds belong to which plants.  For our family time, we just passed around the cosmetic jars of seeds and tried to determine the names of them (watermelon seed, carrot seed, etc).  Some of the seeds were ones that we eat and others were very challenging.  It was a great way to talk about "seeds after their own kind" (Gen 1) and to add in some fun science to our Bible time. I made sentence strips for Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord God, to receive all glory and hon

Passover Activities and Recipes for Kids

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Picture from Pixabay We love Passover time!  The kids talk about it and look forward to it all the time.  We love watching Prince of Egypt and making our lamb roast.  It's such a special time to stop and reflect. In case you didn't get the memo, Passover starts this Friday!  This year, I asked my Kid Blogger Network friends to help me gather some more kid-friendly ideas.  I hope you feel inspired! Beyond the Balagan - Elijah's Cup - Plague Puppets Multicultural Kid Blogs - Passover Celebrations Around the World - Books for Kids All Done Monkey - Videos for Kids - Sephardic Charoset Recipe Moms and Crafters - Red Sea Crossing Game - DIY Seder Plate - Sensory Haggadah - Felt Seder Plate My Passover Series from 2017 An InLinkz Link-up Pin It! Kid Blogger Network Posts An InLinkz Link-up

Math Helpers for Homeschoolers

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I was thinking the other day how many math posts I have on this blog.  I love making hand-on and visual manupulatives to help my kids understand different concepts.  Many of the ideas on this post are inspired by things that I used as a child to get past difficult math stuff.  I've already seen how many of these objects have helped my children already, and I know they will help more in the future.  I hope they help your children as well. Basic Math Counters We have dozens of objects for counting.  Many of them are stored in altoid tins, which make it easy to have a variety.  Click on the link under the picture to read about some of our favorites.  In the beginning stages,  10-frames  (and more themes  here ) can be used to help children understand number concepts and addition facts. 50 Objects for Counting If the dozens of counters in the last post weren't enough, this one has a list of fifty tiny objects.  The post also has a counting board for helping ki

Tangled-Inspired Bow Tying and Hair Braiding Activities for Kids

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I've been enjoying Travel Time Tuesday so much and have been posting so much content (twice a week lately) that I decided to move all of it to its own blog.  The Tangled Quiet Book Pages blog post is now at my new site-  Party Through the USA . Click on the picture to go to the Tangled post.

Tricks for Fooling Around with Your Kids

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April Fools Day is two weeks from today!!  Once again, I'm teaming up with the moms of the Kid Blogger Network to bring you a wonderful round-up of themed blog posts.  Today, we have lots of kid-safe, family-friendly pranks for April 1st. "Straw" Berries from J Daniel 4's Mom Spilled Coffee from Red Ted Art April Fool's Day Fun from Megan Zeni Best Pranks for Kids from Crystal and Comp Wacky April Fool's Day Fun for Kids from Kitchen Counter Chronicle Brown E's from J Daniel 4's Mom Kid Blogger Network Posts An InLinkz Link-up

How to Make a Sensory Donut Stacker for Babies

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I love making toys for kids, so when I heard that my niece was having a donut-themed 1st birthday party, I knew I had to make a themed gift.  After talking with another sister, I decided to make each of the donuts have a different texture.  My kids were excited about their cousin using the donuts for play kitchen. With my general idea in mind, I set out to start creating the pattern on my digital scrapbook program .  After printing out the donut shapes, I cut them out and taped them to my fabric.  For the terrycloth (bottom), I used duct tape to secure the pattern for cutting.  For everything else, I used office tape. Donut Stacker Pattern Download Supplies printed pattern fabric in many textures sewing machine duct tape office tape straight pins sewing machine hand-sewing needle brown thread stuffing First, I cut one circle out of the brown fabric.  Then, I taped the pattern to the colored or pattern "frosting" fabric and cut either a

How to Make an Animal Small World in an Altoid Tin

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I've been enjoying Travel Time Tuesday so much and have been posting so much content (twice a week lately) that I decided to move all of it to it's own blog.  The Animal Small World blog post is now at my new site-  Party Through the USA . Click on the picture to go to the Altoid Tin Craft post.

Learn Fractions with Pizza Pretend Play

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A couple years ago, I made this felt pizza as a road trip activity.  When I was working on the pie fractions this week, I was inspired to make one for pizza , too.  Like the other set of fraction flash cards, the printable covers halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, sixths, eighths, and tenths. Click on the Picture to Download the Printables All the pizza fraction sets can be printed together.  I recommend laminating them for durability.  Make two sets for use in a traditional Montessori 3-part card way or print one set to match with a play pizza.  There is a good explanation for how to use 3-part cards the traditional Montessori way on the Moms have Questions Too blog. If you have pretend pizza, you need to play pizzeria!  To reinforce the learning and promote real life application, I made a pizza fraction menu.  Kids can make orders, fulfill the orders, count money, and work with fractions.  The menu is based on a pizza divided in sixths, so you can either use the pa