I Bless the Rains Down in Africa

Anna and I ended the school year in Botswana, Africa. It was a lovely visit, and we didn't even have to leave our home. We used a Five in a Row style unit study from Home School Share based on Honey, Honey, Lion by Jan Brett. It was a great end to the school year. The highlight of the study was making papyrus paper and drawing "hieroglyphs" on it. Here are some pictures and a list of the books we read for our study.

Honey, Honey, Lion ~ Jan Brett

Lions ~ Gallimard Jeunesse

Lions at Lunchtime ~ Mary Pope Osborne

Botswana ~ Sara Louise Kras

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

Waterhole Waiting ~ Jane and Christopher Kurtz

The Water Hole ~ Graeme Base

Anna and I had lot of fun learning this year. It is hard to believe she will be a 4th grader. This year really reaffirmed my love of literature unit studies. I plan to continue them next year, but with chapter books. I can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday: Adam and Anna

Spring Reading Thing 2011 ~ Conclusion

Spring is over, and so is the Spring Reading Thing challenge at Callapider Days. I did pretty well this year. I had 10 books on my list, and I read most of them, gave up on a few of them, and am still reading one of them. Here is a break down of my list and how I rated each book.

Books I completed:

Sing ~ Lisa T Bergran ~ C

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ ~ John Piper ~ A

The Shadow Women ~ Angela Hunt ~ A

Thin Places ~ Mary DeMuth ~ A

The Pirate Queen ~ C-

Life in Defiance ~ Mary DeMuth ~ A

Books I gave up on:

The Moment Between ~ Nicole Baart

Paradise Valley ~ Dale Cramer

Green Rider ~ Kristin Britain

Still reading:

Jane Eyre ~ Charlotte Bronte

I had a lot of fun and read some great books. You can check out what the other participants did here.

Book Review: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

I recently read Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. It is a very readable and understandable study of systematic theology. The author has an engaging writing style, and effectively uses stories from his own life to get his message across. His explanation of the basic doctrines of Christianity is easy to understand. I would recommend this book to any one who wants to know more about their faith, and why we believe what we believe. I think it would be an excellent study for youth and young adults, and I plan to have both of my teens read it.

This book was given to me free by Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of review.

Swimming With the Penguins

Anna and I have spent the last few weeks doing a penguin unit study. We have have studied not only penguins, but also their habitats, predators, Antarctica, the Arctic, and the men who explored Antarctica and the Arctic. When we do a unit study, we incorporate as many subjects into it as possible. Instead of just doing science when we do an animal study, I find ways to work in social studies and language arts as much as possible.

We read lots of books when we do a unit study. I had a picture of the 14 library books I had checked out for Anna to read. Russty deleted it. He says he thought they were EBay pictures. Honestly! Here is a list of them: 

Antartica~Wendy Viero

Life Under ice~Mary M.Cerullo

Summer Ice~Bruce McMillan

Sir Earnest Shackleton~Hal Marcovitz

What's a Penguin Doing in a Place Like This~MiriumSchlein

Penguins~Gail Gibbons

Penguins and Polar Bears~Sandra Lee Crow

 The Emperor's Egg~Martin Jenkins

Penguins and their chicks~Margaret Hall

Penguins and Antarctica~Mary Pope Osbourne

Eve of the Emperor Penguin~Mary Pope Osbourne

Mr. Popper's Penguins~Richard and Florence Atwater

Black Whiteness~Robert Burleigh

Yes, Anna read them all. We also blubbered through March of the Penguins together. Anna has inherited my low tolerance for nature documentaries. For written work, I printed worksheets from Homeschool Share which is a wonderful resource for unit studies. Lots of free stuff. We put them in the scrapbook she has been working on this year. Here are some pics.



I am now working on a lion/Africa unit study to finish out the year. I'm so excited! I'll do a post on it when we're done.

Wordless Wednesday: Backyard Birds

Book Review:31 Days of Power by Ruth Myers

I received a free copy of 31 Days of Power by Ruth Myers from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the purpose of review. This is the 2nd "31 Days" devotional book I have read, and I have enjoyed both of them. The focus of 31 Days of power is spiritual warfare. Every devotional reading is a scripture based prayer that focuses on a different spiritual warfare theme such as the power of God's goodness, victory, overcoming the world, etc. Ms. Myers has provided the scripture she used when writing each prayer for easy reference. At the end of the devotional is a short Bible study on the dynamics of spiritual warfare.
I think any Christian would benefit from reading this book. It is very practical, and easy to apply in daily life.