Advent Count Down

We normally do Advent starting 4 Sundays from Christmas, but I missed the mark on that one big time this year. So instead we are going to use Luke 1-2 as our Advent countdown starting on the 1st.. I made a print off that breaks the verses into smaller sections and we will work on memorizing this from the 1st of December until the 24th of December and then recite the whole thing on Christmas morning. We did the same thing for Thanksgiving and it was really fun reciting Psalm 100 before we ate Thanksgiving Dinner.



Just a quick note about the print off. I designed it so that even and odd numbers are printed on different colored paper and then joined together in a chain.
Also, when you print off the pages you need to print 1 on the back of 2, 3 on the back of 4, 5 on the back of 6 and 7 on the back of 8. You may have to play around with your printer to get it to print right. What I do is make a tiny mark on the first sheet I am printing and then when I go to print the second page I flip over the paper but make sure the mark is on the same side of the printer tray. This way you know your page will go in the same direction and print on the opposite side.

Hope that helps and have a wonderful Advent celebration!!!!!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving

This week we are going through a mini study of the Pilgrims I found on Currclick for free. The Pilgrims Mini Unit is not free anymore but for $1.00 its still a great deal!!!! We are also working on memorizing Psalm 100 to recite at our Thanksgiving Meal.

Psalm 100

Be Thankful, A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness;

come before Him with joyful songs.

Acknowledge that the LORD is God.

He made us, and we are His 

His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal;

His faithfulness endures through all generations.

How about you? Are you doing anything extra along with your normal lessons, something special instead of lessons or just taking a nice break to enjoy Thanksgiving? How ever you are planning on spending this week, be blessed and give thanks!

A Country Notebooking Page

We are still working our way through Missionary Stories with the Millers. This time through I have decided to try a recipe from each country, do a mini study on the flag of that country and just added mapping the location of the country to our notebooking page. Don't forget that I am linking up our progress through MSM in my right column. Happy Homeschooling!!!!

Photo op with a worm?!?

So thankful McRuffy Math has amazing customer response and took the time to explain this lesson to me!

Independent reading!!!!

That is a black widow and it WAS huge!!!!

Not sure what type of spider but I do know that is a tangle web!!

Free Ideas

When I first started homeschooling FREE was the magic word!!!! Here are some free things to get or do on the web. Do you have a resource not listed? Feel free to add to the list in the comments.

Science and Math Simulations - All Grades
Touch Typing - Middle/High School
Star Fall - Phonics and Reading
Multiplication.com - Games to Master Multiplication facts
CurrClick - Has a Free items weekly

Simple Day

We have been so busy and fallen a little behind in our schedule but learning is still occurring!!! One unexpected way was our first ever booing outing. I have to say I am NOT a big Halloween fan but this appealed to me because it helped the boys and I to get out of our comfort zones and make ourselves known in the community. Here JJ is putting the final touches on our packages to deliver.

Here LJ is working on his Hiragana characters. This is a slow process but we are still hanging in there. I pulled out our First Thousand Words in Japanese by Usborne and I think they had fun trying to find all the Hiragana they knew. LJ went around the house naming objects in Japanese. Self motivated learning at its best!

And here is CJ finally interested in math again!!!!! I take an interest only approach for my children until they turn 7. Not that I have to wait that long before they are doing lessons but there is no demand of doing a scheduled work load before then.

So there you have a Simple Day at MorningStar Academy!