CCCW - Pumpkin Characters

Inspired by an idea I saw by that artist woman, I came up with a plan for a timely, festive two-part project where we artfully created characters and settings for some creative writing.

First, I read a few picture books for example and inspiration...because picture books are awesome!

I'm not going to write an art tutorial because you can go here to find that. I did switch it up a bit, though, so I'll explain that. Instead of painted paper for the weaving, we used patterned scrapbooking paper as was originally done at Cutting Tiny Bites. And instead of a green frame, we used black so we could use pastels on a nighttime background to create our story settings. (I love, love to use pastels on black paper, so I'm always looking for a reason to do it!)

Here is a closeup of mine, all finished. I even add the Big Dipper to my sky!

Here are all of the finished characters.

I'm a huge proponent of CCCW--Cross Curricular Creative Writing. Go here to see another fun example perfect for this time of year.

The Search for Delicious and Other Appropriate Words

As I mentioned before, I am tying Creative Writing into our BIO year. Here is how I kicked that off.

We began our day singing "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words" and discussed whether words have power in them, such as power to build or give life, or power to destroy. I shared the Mormonads on the worksheet below and we read the scriptures that go with each. 

A most appropriate scriptures was James 3:8-10:

"But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made of the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."

The metaphor of a tongue being full of deadly poison fits right in. (See also verses 11-13.)  We talked about each of the pictures and their implications and then I gave them this Life-giving or Biohazardous Words Worksheet.  

Examples of some of the additional scriptures the kids found that coincide with the idea of the words we say either giving life or destroying it are:

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:  so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature..." (James 3:6)

"The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life:  but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." (Proverbs 10:11)

Amazingly, the Piano Guys released the following video the very day I wanted to talk about this, so I tied it into our discussion as well.

After talking about the affect spoken words have, I moved the discussion on to written words. I love the following quote from an old Church manual and shared it (along with using it for handwriting practice that day).

"Reading the scriptures and other good books nourishes our minds, just as good food nourishes our bodies. Books are like companions. They can lift us up or tear us down. We should read only books that will help us become better people." 

Then we talked about how we're going to do a lot with creative writing throughout the year, giving life to words and trying to write words that nourish, or give life, to our minds.

I assigned everyone to read The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt. I love to use this book in language studies. I think it's very clever. Suffice it to say, the creation of a dictionary helps set off an impending civil war, the dictionary entry for delicious being key to both the creation of the crisis and its resolution.

After reading and discussing the book, I had my kids close their eyes while I said a word out loud. When I said the word, I wanted them to tell me what they immediately associated that word with. For example, I said, "Christmas." One child replied, "Presents," while another said, "Cookies!" I asked if either of those answers were the definition of Christmas and, of course they weren't. We then talked about the difference between definition and connotation. In The Search for Delicious, the dictionary entries weren't so much definitions as connotations, and words used contextually in a sentence. The assignment was to create a "dictionary" written in the style of the one in The Search for Delicious, with the requirement that every sentence had to be in reference to food.

(Incidentally, if you're looking to build your children's vocabulary and need some help for your tired brain, sites like this help. It came in handy a few times for me when I created the worksheet.)

Download the entire Search for Delicious Word Worksheet.

Just like the book, none of my kids agreed on what delicious is. We had pepperoni pizza, endless crepes, a bowl of mixed fruit, and creamy mac and cheese for contenders. Here are some of my favorite sentences written by my kids:

"Aromatic is a batch of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven."

"Aromatic is a hot bowl of Jambalaya."

"Aromatic is a freshly baked pizza."

"Unnecessary is orange juice in a smoothie." (From a kids who hates OJ and hates it when I try to sneak it into smoothies!)

"Juicy is a ripe pear."

"Tart is my dad's lemon bars."  

"Lucky is when I get to have Reese's Puffs cereal," and "Unnecessary is Raisin Bran cereal," from the same child.

"Lucky is getting a doughnut for free."

"Proud is baking molten lava cake for the first time."

Another day, I read aloud one of my favorite picture books, Cookies, Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. (There are actually several sequels to this, too!) This is another book that explains meanings of words in a very creative way, through the medium of baking cookies.

Then, using the exact words "defined" in Cookies, I created a writing assignment in which these words had to be explained referencing baseball/softball.

Download the Bat-and-Ball-Sized Lessons Worksheet here.

When it comes to understanding the meaning of patience, every one of my kids referenced waiting for a good pitch. :) Here are some of my favorite sentences my kids wrote:

"Open-minded means, 'I've never bunted before but I will try it.'"

"Content means you and me cheering together for our teammates."

"Respect means to not talk back to your coach."

"Unfair means (an umpire) calling strike three at the kid's eyes."

"Cooperate means to turn a double play."

"Open-minded means to listen to your coaches."

"Trustworthy means to let your pitcher know he has defense behind him."

"Wise means to pull your pitcher out before the other team scores too many runs."

"Loyal means to always be friends with someone even if he struck out to end the championship game that you just lost."

"Respect means to not hate someone just because he's on the other team."


We also began using the Complete the Story story starters.


Here's to the power of words!

Math in Units - Biotic and Abiotic Dimensional Shapes

It is torture to spend gorgeous autumn days stuck at desks (or tables) especially when learning can (and often should!) take place outside. Here is an outdoor math AND science lesson I created for our BIO studies.  (A question I often get regarding unit studies is, "What about math?" We do have a separate math program we use daily, but I am always looking for ways to incorporate math into every single unit. It's important for children to see real world applications of math and to see that math is literally in everything.)

Above is the first page of the scavenger hunt I created. Download the full Biotic and Abiotic Dimensional Shapes Scavenger Hunt Worksheet here. Obviously, the science aspect is determining biotic (living) things from abiotic (nonliving), and the math is identifying shapes and their dimensions. 

Below are a few photos from our scavenger hunt. We were actually able to find most shapes.

Parallel and perpendicular lines

Oval

Sphere

Cylinder

Oval

Trapezoid

Circle, or octagon, if you draw a line to connect every 3 petals

Rectangle

Homeschool--the world is our classroom!

Reading Challenge

A couple of years ago I picked up a paper at the library titled "Adult Winter Reading Challenge." It said the goal was to read 25 books in 5 months, and then it listed 50 different ways to choose those books. I was excited about the challenge, and very intrigued by the list, but since then have not found any time to actually take the challenge. (Not because I don't have time to read but because I have so much else I need to read.)

Here is the list:

-A book with more than 500 pages

-A classic romance

-A book that became a movie

-A book published this year

-A book with a number in the title

-A book written by someone under 30

-A book with nonhuman characters

-A funny book

-A book by a female author

-A mystery or thriller

-A book with a one-word title

-A book of short stories

-A book set in a different country

-A nonfiction book

-A popular author's first book

-A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet

-A book a friend recommended

-A Pulitzer Prize-winning book

-A book based on a true story

-A book at the bottom of your to-read list

-A book your mom loves

-A book that scares you

-A book more than 100 years old

-A book based entirely on its cover

-A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't

-A memoir

-A book you can finish in a day

-A book with antonyms in the title

-A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit

-A book that came out the year you were born

-A book with bad reviews

-A trilogy

-A book from your childhood

-A book with a love triangle

-A book set in the future

-A book set in high school

-A book with a color in the title

-A book to make you cry

-A book with magic

-A graphic novel

-A book by an author you've never read before

-A book you own but have never read

-A book that takes place in your hometown (or nearby)

-A book that was originally written in a different language

-A book set during Christmas

-A book written by an author with your same initials

-A play

-A banned book

-A book based on or turned into a TV show

-A book you started but never finished

As you can see, there is a lot of variety here. I am looking ahead and trying to find a time to do a challenge like this with my kids, whether it's just for one month, for the summer, or for next school year. (They tend to be one-genre kind of kids and I'm always trying to broaden their horizons.) I may or may not tweak the list a bit, but I think this is a fun start.

Of Doors and Keys, Prayer and Faith

I inherited an old box of music from my mother-in-law when she made a long-distance move. Every now and then I go through the stack. It's interesting to me how one piece will mean nothing to me one month, but then really catch my eye another. This month, as we have been studying to topic of faith, I was delighted to come across a gem written by Samuel T. Scott and Robert L. Sande. Here are the words.

Prayer is the key to Heaven,

But faith unlocks the door;

Words are so easily spoken,

A prayer without faith, is like a boat without an oar.

Have faith, when you speak to the Master,

That's all He asks you for,

Yes, prayer is the key to Heaven, 

But faith unlocks the door.

This is a poem to memorize!

I've also shared another great song with my whole family that I have been teaching to the Primary children in my ward. This was published in the Friend in 2007. I have turned more and more to music from the Friend recently as there are some fantastic pieces in there to teach doctrine, build faith, and also to mix things up.

Tree of Life

As part of our Year of Life, we are spending time studying the Tree of Life and Lehi's Dream more in depth.

We started out talking about how a Tree of Life is a part of nearly every culture/religion. We looked at some ancient depictions...

Mesopotamian Tree of Life

Egyptian Tree of Life

Babylonian Tree of Life

Mayan Tree of Life

Celtic Tree of Life

"The Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures" was one of the sources of information I shared with the kids as we looked over the images.

We looked for references to the Tree of Life outside of Lehi's Dream; it is of course mentioned in Genesis and Revelation as well as throughout the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price.

We began reading John Bytheway's Lifestyles of the Great & Spacious. (Really good read!)

After studying the description of the Tree of Life, we did an art project with pastels on black construction paper.

We watched videos like this, and did The Wonderful Fruit activity together with a discussion.

I've really been enjoying our studies of the Tree of Life so far. I think we sometimes get less familiar with things we think we know or are already familiar with over time because we don't realize there is always something new to learn or a new way to apply a lesson and we stop spending time and thought on it. I'm looking forward to continuing this path.

BIO-- The Year of Life

Anyone who has taken my Unit Studies class knows that I like to carefully and prayerfully choose a theme for each school year and tie our units into that theme. This year's theme is BIO.

The theme of BIO lends itself to so much! I am really excited. We will be studying Biology, picking up/continuing with the subcategory of Ecology inside that, adding some Botany, and incorporating Health and Nutrition (which will include cooking for my youngest) and Anatomy. While I will do this on a higher level for my high school-aged kids, it will be Life Science for my youngest; this allows us to be learning about the same things and doing many things together while tailoring certain assignments and experiences to individuals at each level.

We'll also be doing a lot with biographies. I have started a Biography Club including some other homeschooled youth for one thing. We'll be incorporating Family History for another.

Creative Writing is another focus this year, and believe it or not, I've tied that into our year of life as well. (More on that in another post.)

Last but certainly not least, we are learning more about the Giver of Life and the way to pattern our lives after his by participating in the Godly Characteristics Series, and we are spending a lot of time learning about the Tree of Life and the path in this life that leads to Eternal Life.

Here are a few things from our first week. (Some other things will get separate, more detailed posts.)

We of course began with the root bio. Each of the kids had to find 25 words that contained the root and write down the definitions. Using words from their lists and, adding some others, I created some Bio Vocabulary Cards. Then individually they matched words to definitions, I went over additional root words and prefixes/suffixes for being word detectives, and then over the course of a few days they continued to match and rematch until they could get 100% correct.  After that we played Memory with the cards.  Here are the cards I created. (Hopefully the link above will take you to a downloadable set you can use. If it doesn't work <sigh> I'll keep trying to get it figured out.)

We did another whole-brained project, each child choosing what they wanted to draw to represent BIO:

We began a biographical writing series of my own creation. The first two assignments are below. (The first one includes a photo of me; I personalized these for each of us.) These writing assignments are meant to be introspective, journalistic and biographical, and the topic word is chosen based on things we are learning about in our other studies.

General Conference - Sorry It's Over but So Glad it Happened

THIS is how feasting on the Words of Christ should feel! When General Conference is over, I feel full, knowing I have a lot to digest, yet at the same time I'm still hungry for more because it tasted so good. I really was sad as the last session came to a close; I could have listened for several more hours. There is nothing more inspiring, comforting, motivating, reassuring, instructive, buoying, and peaceful than Conference Weekend.

I am so glad that years ago I decided to establish some traditions around General Conference. I wanted my children to look forward to it and relish it as much as I do, and they do. Over the years there have been some little adjustments as we have moved states and as technology has made it more accessible, but we treat it like the very special occasion it is.

For one thing, I want it to be a feast, both spiritually and physically. I have come to realize and appreciate that food plays a huge part in traditions and memories and in bringing and binding people together. It is a form of nurturing and the sensations involved in delicious feasting contribute to our sense of well being; we remember it long after it is over.  That said, I don't want to be stuck in the kitchen on the Sabbath, nor spending listening time doing too much cooking.

For this reason, I usually make Morning Buns, aka cinnamon and orange rolls. I can knock that out on Saturday and bake them fresh Sunday morning as we settle in for the feast. Then I lay out a simple but tasty nacho bar for the afternoon session.

My kids' other favorite tradition is to print off Conference Squares and try to get a blackout while listening. I have tried other activity/listening packs in the past, but my children weren't interested. Conference Squares is what they love. Even now, as they are older, they still have a blast getting a Bingo and listening carefully to make sure they don't miss a square. It's TRADITION!

Now that Conference is over, it's time to re-listen, read, and study the talks. I can't wait to get started! Already the internet is being filled with Conference quotes. It's interesting to see which phrases in each talk stood out to other people; sometimes I was hit with the same sentence, sometimes not, and there are other nuggets that meant more to me personally. Here are a couple of them.

There is one for every talk over at Chocolate on My Cranium and LDS Smile if you're looking for easy quotes for your fridge or mirror to begin pondering.

So, it's six more months until I get to enjoy another such blessed weekend of listening live to prophets and apostles, but I get six months to re-taste and digest this weekend's delicious feast.