Wee Gillis - FIAR

What a delightful story that takes place in Scotland.  We all took the week to explore some fun topics with this story.  In the book, a young man must decide if he is going to live in the highlands or the lowlands.  He learns things while living with his relatives in each place and the ending is a great one involving a bagpipe.  I won't share more as I don't want to spoil it.

Our FIAR group chose this book for our annual Family Event this year (so yes, there will be another post to follow soon on this event).  In order to get into the mood of the day, we made/found costumes.  I made these kilts for the boys.  They were very easy and I thought that they looked great.

Daniel was so taken with this story.  He loves making sure that we reenact as many of the details as possible.  He wanted to make a bagpipe.  Well, I think he initially wanted me to make a bagpipe, but I told him that I couldn't.  He improvised and came up with his own version using the various "pipes" and flutes that we have attached to a large baggie.  Very creative, isn't it?

We spent one morning doing some fun experiments on sound and lung capacity found in the Usborne book of Science Activities volume 2.  

Water in the air when you breathe on the glass.

We talkeed about how sound is made through vibrations.

This is easily demonstrated with a rubber band.

A noisemaker where you can feel the vibrations on the paper at the end of the tube.

Noticing how sound changes based on the size of the straw.  Lots of musical instruments make sounds because the air vibrates inside of them.

A similar experiment done with changing the water levels in bottles.

I love snuggling up with my sweeties and sharing a fun story!

I'm thankful that we have this time to share and make memories together.

This book will long be a favorite due to the rest of the events we planned around the story.  More to come soon.

Blessings
Leslie

Field Trip - Jordan Lake Educational Forest

This was our last field trip in October - and my last post about October.  I'm getting closer!  :-)  We went to Jordan Lake Educational Forest.  It was a beautiful day.  Love the fog  hanging over the lake as we drove up.  We split up into 2 groups by age.  I stayed with my youngest two.

We split up into 2 groups by age.  I stayed with my youngest two.

We rotated through 3 programs.  We started in this shelter.  Just loved the look of this photo.

The ranger talked with us about paper.  Some of the history and also how it was made.

Then it was time to try it for ourselves.  Scooping up some of the wet pulp and mashing it flat between 2 wire screens.

Rolling it to get out excess water.

Catching it on the other side.

After each of the children had a turn to help in making paper, it was time to switch locations.  We met up with the other group as we were switching.

Next was a presentation on various animals and recognizing them by their size, fur, and more.

Looking at antlers.

And skulls.

And pelts.  Then hearing about these animals.  The ranger mostly talked about animals that lived in our area.

The children liked having an opportunity to touch the fur.

What a great setting to learn about anything!

Our last activity was a game on the predator and prey relationship.

Initially each of the children pretended to be an animal (rabbit) and the ranger handed out food.  Since there were so many of them, the food ran out fairly quickly.

Then owls were added in that could tag the rabbits.  This lowered the rabbit population and more rabbits were able to get food.  It was a fun game.  Not sure how much the youngest ones got from the topic.  (Especially the little cutie in the middle of the square just watching it all.)

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch and just hung out with our friends.  We explored the forest too.

Heading home and seeing a beautiful sky with clouds.

A last look at the lake.

I love that there are so many wonderful places to see and visit so close to our home!  We have been doing ranger programs for many years with our FIAR group.  It delights me that one of our recent graduates is planning on becoming a park ranger!  I hope our group will have the pleasure of being in one of her classes in the near future!

Blessings
Leslie

Mrs Katz and Tush

We had such a fun time with this book.  Daniel loved the story and was very excited to pull out the Christmas ornament that goes with this book.

One funny moment when I realized that we had done so much to make our stories real that Daniel had come to expect it.  This is a story of a young boy who befriends a lonely older Jewish woman.  As they get to know each other she shares of her past and the celebrations that are a part of her faith.  One of the celebrations is the Passover which he shares with her.  During the celebration she gives him a hand-made knitted sweater.  Daniel excitedly asked if I was going to knit him a sweater this week!  LOL  I have enjoyed knitting in the past, but its hard on my hands now.  (They took a beating during my difficult pregnancies and its just hard to do some things now.)

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here a a few from our meal.  Daniel making potato latkes.  He enjoys cooking - as have all of my children.  I love that Five in a Row incorporates cooking with our lessons!

As we were getting ready for our meal, Daniel insisted that it needed to look nice - just like in the story.  As we spread out the tablecloth, he asked me if this was my wedding "chuppa".  (Like in the story.)  Nope, didn't have one of those.  We also had polish kielbasa (a family favorite), pickles and sauerkraut.  

 Enjoying a fun meal together.

 We have tried many new foods over the years and made lots of sweet memories with cooking.  As we learn to cook more healthily and gluten free, I'm thankful for help in the kitchen!

Blessings
Leslie

Book Club - Evidence Not Seen

Due to hectic schedules, we did meet with our book club until October of this year.  (Yes, behind but catching up on this month!)  For this meeting we read Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose.

This is a true story of a woman who was a missionary with her  husband in the Phillipines in the late 1930s when war broke out.  The Japanese eventually came to their island and they were made prisoners of war.  This is the story of what happened.  

While it was a challenging book to read, her faith is encouraging and compelling.  The more that was taken from her, the more she came to recognize how much God meant to her.  It is truly a beautiful story.  Note that if you are reading it to a younger child, you may want to pre read to decide if the subject matter is appropriate for him/her.

We've added a new member to our group.  Its always fun to have more people join us.  

Our snack was simple after reading such a sobering book.  Bananas and water.  Two items in the book that were cause for great thanks!

I do highly recommend this book.  I'm happy to answer questions about it too.  Not just as a read aloud either. A great book for  adults too.

Friends

Friendship is such a blessing.  I'm very thankful for the friends that God has given to me and also to my children.

A friend loves at all times, but a brother is born for adversity.  Prov 17:17

Walking through challenges does one of two things - draws us closer to people or pulls us apart.  What a blessing to have friends (and family) that stand with us in our hard times.

One of my favorite passages on trials is from the book of Isaiah.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  Isaiah 43:2

 Good friends laugh with us.  Cry with us.  Listen.  Comfort.  Encourage.  Challenge.  And sometimes they are just downright silly with us!  All are needed and appreciated.

 We have loved getting to know some of Christopher's friends.  Here are two friends from summer project - Alex (who also goes to State) and  Riley - hanging out with Eliana.

 I love how easily they jump into our family and have fun with us.  Its a blessing!

 We all - from the youngest to the oldest - look forward to having Christopher and his friends come over.

 We are also blessed to have many friends that we have known for a long time.  Our sweet friends, who used to be our next-door neighbors, came for a long week-end.  Catherine (the mom) and I have been friends for over 20 years.  Even though they have moved, we all still love being together.  I'm thankful for the friendships that last over the miles.  (Though I do still wish they lived nearby!)

 We spent a day at Pullen Park and I took tons of photos.  I'll not post all of them, but it will probably be a lot.

 We headed over first to ride the paddle boats before the day turned warm.  (This was Oct - yes, I'm still that far behind, but am catching up!)  Eliana and her dolly were ready to go.

 We rented 3 boats and headed out.

 Two people at a time could paddle.

 Up to two more could ride in the back.  Or a small person in the middle.

 We paddled around a small pond.

 Its a much tougher workout than it looks.  And paddling faster doesn't seem to move you as fast as you might think either.

 Kind of like life.  Sometimes just moving along steadily is the best course of action.

 Everyone is having fun!

 All who want to get a turn to paddle.

 Next up was the merry-go-round.

 You're never too old for a merry-go-round, right?

 We ate lunch at the cafe area.  We brought some things and bought some too.  I love that they have gluten free options!  Good ones too!  Ones that are kid friendly!

 Lots of fun on the playground.

 Wonder if there is a limit to how many can fit on this?  LOL

 Fun picture of the girls.

Going up!

 Last ride for the day was the train.

 A visit to Moonberries.  Always a treat!

 These two tickle me.

 I love seeing them play together.  Eliana so enjoys being with Caleb too.

 She happily went to Sunday School without Rebecca or I staying there since she was with Caleb.

 She often asks for him and I do wish that they could play together more often.  

Friends are a blessing.  I'm so very thankful for mine!  (And that includes my wonderful family as well!)

I pray that my children will develop strong friendships and also that their relationships with their siblings/family would always be strong and sure.

May you all be blessed with the gift of friendship,
Leslie