FIAR Volume 4: Hanna's Cold Winter

We had fun with this story as we do with all of the FIAR books!  This one is set in Budapest, Hungary during World War II.  Its based on a true story.  What a great way to learn history too!

During out co-op, we spent time learning more about the country and people of Hungary.  I found this great resource from Operation World to use for praying for people around the world.  You can print out prayer cards too.  http://www.operationworld.org/country-lists

We watched a Rick Steve's movie about Hungary.  It was fun seeing some of the sites from the pictures in the book also included in this movie.  You can watch it here.

We used some of the great resources from Homeschool Share to complete what we had learned about Hungary.

I made up a game with facts about Hungary.  Each child had a zoo animal to use to move around the board.  The goal was to be the first to reach the zoo in the center of the board.  When you landed on a square with a picture, you drew a card.  Some would tell you to move forwards or backwards for various reasons (ex. hippo ate your shoes, go back one space).  Others were questions about Hungary.  If you answered correctly, you were able to move forward.  If not, hopefully you learned something new!

The kids seemed to really enjoy this one.  If you have questions about this, I'm happy to try to answer them!

The pictures on the board are either zoo animals or famous sites in Budapest.

We learned a little about paprika.  Did you know that it is made from peppers and that there are two kinds?  Sweet and spicy.  Hungary is known for its paprika.  My mom brought some to me one time when she visited and it was really good!  Snack included peppers, hummus with peppers, cheese and crackers and grapes.

We also learned about hippos.  I had questions that I asked them.  We also looked at pictures from the San Diego zoo site.  There is a lot of great information here.

We also watched a video clip of a hippo running underwater which I thought was amazing.  You can check it out here.

We loved the food for this book!  Two fabulous Hungarian meals on two different nights - Hungarian Goulash and Chicken Paprikish!  YUM!  Here is a picture of one of them.

Like my other children, Daniel also enjoys cooking!  I'm so glad and hope this will be a blessing to them throughout their lives.  

Both meals were yummy which certainly helps motivate you to want to cook more!

Here is my pinterest board if you are curious about anything else I may have found.

Fun book and well worth the time to spend finding it and enjoying the activities.  I love learning this way!

Blessings
Leslie

Field Trip to NC Zoo

We visited the zoo with our FIAR group.  We were able to get in free too!  What a great deal!  Homeschoolers can get in free once per year as long as you register in advance.  We have never taken advantage of this before and it was a wonderful opportunity!  We hope to make this a more regular event.  Its been a long time since we had been to the NC Zoo.  We had a beautiful day!

 We met up with friends as we walked through the zoo.  

 And saw amazing animals!

We had two programs set up for our group. The younger kids (K-5) had a program about gorillas.  We learned many things about them including that they are identifiable by their noses - each one different from the others.

 After the younger kids program we wondered about a bit before meeting with the older children.  (Our programs were back to back instead of at the same time.)  There was plenty to keep us busy such as games to play.

 Fun photo ops!  And of course, plenty of animals to see.

 The older students met in the aviary and learned about birds and went on a search to see how many different kinds they could find.

 Everyone had a great time.

 The wind tunnel was fun - and was repeated a few times.

 Some of the older girls.

 A group shot of the ones that were around us at this point.  It was hard to stay together in a place this large and with everyone moving at different paces.

 Funny when we asked them to gather for the photo that the girls went to one side.

 And the boys to the other.

 Some of the moms.  :-)  I wish we could have gotten more, but this can be an elusive one to find at any time, kwim?

Two of my handsome boys.

 Loved seeing the animals.

 And this geyser was a huge hit!  Loved watching it and also being sprayed by it.  :-)  Would be really fun to see a real one.

 And isn't this river otter just the cutest thing?!

 Lots of fun things to explore at the zoo and we walked all over and saw as much as we could.

 The giraffes were so beautiful to see as we were leaving.  I was glad we were able to see them up close.  Such incredible creatures!

 My wild things had a great day!

 We were rowing Hanna's Cold Winter during this time - a book based on the true story of the hippos at a zoo in Budapest during World War II.  There aren't live hippos at the NC Zoo, but we did find these statues.

 And wanted to have our photos with them.

 A nice end to our day.

 Fun memories made.

 I'm thankful to be able to explore and learn with my family and friends.

We are looking forward to going back to the zoo again - hopefully soon.

Blessings

Leslie