Time For Extras

Since we have chosen a curriculum that is so much more laid back, full of practical application and hands on activities, I feel as though I can BREATHE this year. Right now, I am waiting for our Language materials to arrive and Spelling doesn't begin until week three, so I get to give the boys fun, creative assignments. Yesterday they began doing research on an animal of their choice. B chose the echidna, it is in the same family as the hedgehog and is native to Australia. He has been fascinated with echidnas for years, which is what led him to want a hedgehog for a pet. J chose the hedgehog and C chose a red fox. We pulled out various books we have here at home and used the ever handy "Wikipedia" resource online. They will continue doing research on these as time allows.

Today, I asked each boy to choose one county to use as a prayer focus for the first half of the year. I think it is overwhelming to think of trying to pray for 230 countries, and I want them to learn to study a country, know the history and the spiritual condition of that country so they can pray for the people who live there. B chose Haiti, much to my delight! That little country can never have too many people praying for her redemption! I love Haiti, I served as a missionary there for a year and also helped to lead four short term teams there in later years. C chose New Zealand. Not sure why, but maybe there is a greater purpose here! J chose Russia. Each boy began to create a poster for the country he chose, featuring the nation's flag and this week's memory verse, John 3:16. We went online to the Assemblies of God mission website and pulled up real life stories of people who lived in those countries. We will use these as guides to help us pray for these countries throughout the year. I asked each boy to pick a country that we will not be studying, to broaden their worldview all the more.

Countries we will explore this year--United States, Mexico (my favorite unit for the food sampling portion!!), Canada, Brazil, Norway, France, Germany, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, India, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, Antarctica. We will learn so much this year, mommy included!