We had another great week with Heart of Dakota Bigger Hearts for His Glory. We continued learning about early settlements in the New World. We learned about Plymouth colony, Miles Standish, and Squanto.
As we were reading about the diseases that affected the white man and the Indians, we learned about germs in science. We did an experiment where Kevin rubbed his hands with lotion and then in dry green jello (we were supposed to use glitter, but we didn’t have any). The green jello represented germs.
He tried rubbing it off with a napkin.
Then with cold water.
He was relieved to finally be able to wash it off in warm soapy water!
After this experiment he made out a science experiment log sheet.
We also learned how early explorers and sailors navigated using the North star.
In art we made a sand painting. We were supposed to draw a design, outline it with glue, and then cover the outline with different colors of salt. The directions said to color the salt with food coloring and then sprinkle it on to the glue, but we did things a little differently.
Kevin drew the design. Then outlined it with glue. He sprinkled white salt on each section after he applied the glue, because the glue was drying quickly.
Then we dropped on thinned-down water color paints.
He enjoyed watching the paint spread along the salt lines.
Even his older brothers wanted to join in. (I suspect diluted food dye would have worked as well or better than paint.) This project was a lot of fun and we might try it again with food dye or dying the salt first as written in the guide.
In vocabulary he made a vocabulary card and filed it in his index card box.
When we were learning about the colonists and their struggle for food and shelter, Kevin cut pictures out of a magazine to illustrate the difference between needs and wants.
As always, we enjoyed how poetry is included in the guide every day. The poem for this week, Each in His Own Tongue, is especially fitting. Autumn is in full color here in upstate New York.
A haze on the far horizon,
The infinite, tender sky,
The rich, ripe tint of the cornfields,
And the wild geese sailing high-
And all over upland and lowland
The charm of the goldenrod-
Some of us call it autumn,
And others call it God. ~ William Herbert Carruth
We talked about how a lot of people see the beauty around them, but fail to give glory to the Creator. I told Kevin that when we see the changing leaves and the hills covered in different colors, we can thank God for the beautiful world He has given us.
I’ll close with a quote I saw on the windowsill of my sister-in-law a few weeks ago.
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” ~ George Eliot
Thanks for joining us and, as always, I love to hear from my readers.
What a fun week you had! I like how you changed the salt painting activity up a bit. I tend to change things a bit here and there, too. My kids also love the poetry each week, which surprised me! Their favorite poem yet has been, “The Arrow”, and they can still quote it!
Thanks for stopping by. My son likes “The Arrow”, too. He picked it when he got to choose a poem at the end of the week to read again.
Lovely salt art! I’ve tried this twice and it didn’t turn out so beautiful!