Fairest Lord Jesus

This month we've been singing this version of Fairest Lord Jesus by Amy Grant.

The original song was written in German by Schönster Herr Jesu, published in 1677.  Joseph A. Seiss translated into English and the original words are below. 

Beautiful Savior, king of creation
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.

Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration

Now and forevermore be Thine!

Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Christmas Hymn: O Holy Night

Our Christmas hymn for this year is O Holy Night.

O Holy Night
 O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
 It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
 Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
 Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
 A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
 For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
 Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
 O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night divine!
O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
 His law is love and His gospel is peace.
 Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
 And in his name all oppression shall cease.
 Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
 With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
 Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
 His power and glory ever more proclaim!
 His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
 O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night divine!
O night divine!

What are you singing this Christmas season?

Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Hymn Study: Jesus Paid it All

For this month, we are learning the hymn, Jesus Paid it All. It was written by Elvina Hall with music by John Grape.

The music was written first and then the lyrics. John Grape has been reported as saying that when we originally wrote the music only his wife believed in it.

Here are the original lyrics:

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
 Child of weakness, watch and pray,
 Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain (Played at the closing of each verse)
Jesus paid it all,
 All to Him I owe;
 Sin had left a crimson stain,
 He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
 Whereby Thy grace to claim,
 I’ll wash my garments white
 In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
 My robe His righteousness,
 Close sheltered ’neath His side,
 I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
 Thy power and Thine alone,
 Can change the leper’s spots
 And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
 My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
 Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne
 I stand in Him complete,
 I’ll lay my trophies down
 All down at Jesus’ feet.

Our hymnal only has 3 stanzas. And we chose to sing along with this song...And it includes 3 of the stanzas above.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Hymn: Lift High the Cross of Jesus

We just wrapped up a study of the hymn Lift High the Cross of Jesus by George William Kitchen and modified by Michael Newbolt.



Li especially likes the ending. You should see him sing it! :)

Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Hymn: Just As I Am

This month we'll be singing Just as I am. This is the modern version.

Here are the original lyrics with the traditional music. It was written by Miss Charlotte Elliott with music by William B. Bradbury. 

Elliott wrote this hymn shortly after coming to Christ and was published first in 1835. Her brother is recorded to have said, "In the course of a long min­is­try, I hope I have been per­mit­ted to see some of the fruit of my la­bor, but I feel that far more has been done by a sin­gle hymn of my sis­ter’s." ~Noted at the above link

  Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Our New School Year

Today is our first day of school and Li's first year of preschool. Are you wondering what we will be doing this year?

Let's see...

Our schedule looks like this for 4 days a week:

10:00-11:00   

• Family Time: Prayer, Hymn, and Memory Verse
• Breakfast
• Spanish & Composer

11:00-12:30 

• Girls will work on Bible reading, Independent Reading, Copywork, Math, Poetry & Recitation, Narrations, Latin, Grammar, Writing, Oral Speeches, Typing, Book of Centuries & Mapping. 
• I will pull them separately to read aloud to Jo-Jo and read Plutarch and Shakespeare with Ceesa.
• Li will have time to listen to a Story, Poetry & Songs, do Math & Copywork and lots of play like: 
• ~Rhythmic: knit, sew, weave, dance, puzzles
• ~Creative: clay, paint, draw, build, sand, water, mold, chalk, wax sticks
• ~archetypes: wood/peg toys, dress up, puppets

12:30-1:00 

• Go Outside

1:00-3:00

• Prep for Lunch, eat and Clean Up
• Folk Song
• Artist
• Rest

3:00-4:30

• Choose from Projects, Handicraft, Art, Experiments, or Nature Study 
• Piano
• Exercises

4:30-bedtime 

• Any or all of these: Outside, Stories, Strategy Games, Computer, Masterly Inactivity, Living Skills, Garden, Volunteer Work, and Family Chores

On the 5th day we plan our Joyful Moment for the week & we focus on:

• Family Time
• reading
• writing
• math

So here's what we're planning...

Big year long projects:

• Jo-Jo -Fables, Dragon Legends/Knights, Saint/Heroes, & Native American Tales/ Coyote; 
• Ceesa-North American Stories & Geography, Ancient Civilizations: India, Persia, Egypt, China, Greek & Roman

Reading Lists: Literature, poetry, history, geography, & science

• Year 6 
• Year 3

Composer Study

• Hildegard von Bingen
• Stephen Simon
• Sergei Rachmaninoff

Artist Study

• Fra Angelico
• Diego Velazquez
• Edgar Degas

Folk Songs

• Billy Boy, Billy Boy
• Cherry Ripe
• Pick a Bale of Cotton

Shakespeare

• Hamlet Prince of Denmark
• Midsummer Nights Dream 
• Richard II

Plutarch

• Crassus
• Timoleon
• Aemilius Paulus

Handicrafts

• Cross Stitch
• Knitting: purling & reg.
• Woodwork

Hymns
Just As I Am, Lift High the Cross, Jesus Paid it All, O Holy Night, I Am Thine, O Lord, Fairest Lord Jesus, Lord of all Hopefulness, Come Ye Thankful People come, and Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken

Grammar
Fix it! Grammar Robin Hood: Book 2

Art
Form Drawing, Modeling, Paper: Collage/mosaic,gift making, card making,Chalk pastels, Watercolor: Wet-on-Wet, Egg Dying, Sketching, and Oil pastel.


Nature Study
Butterflies, Bee, Conifer Tree, Weather, Chicken, Cow, Red bud Trees, Algae and Poppies/plant parts.

Math
Math Mammoth Grades 3 & 5

Spelling and Copywork
Spelling You See Levels C, D, and E

Latin
Latina Christiana

Piano
HomeSchoolPiano

Spanish 
Salsa
Reading with parallel books for oral and written translation
Bible with parallel

Li and I will work on these things:

READ ALOUDS

Series:

Alfie Series by Shirley Hughes

Angus Stories

Little Pear, Little Pear and Friends, Little Pear and The Rabbits

Billy and Blaze Series

Winnie-the-Pooh

Beatrix Potter

Brer Rabbit

Poetry & Nursery Rhymes

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young

A Child’s Book of Poems

Collections:

The World’s Treasury of Children’s Literature 3 Volume anthology

My Book House Book by Olive Beaupre Miller (12 volumes)

Fairy Tales

Goldilocks and three Bears     Little Red Hen                                    Enormous Carrot

3 Little Pigs                             3 Billy Goats Gruff                 Chicken Little

The Boy Who Called Wolf     The Gingerbread Man             Jack and the Beanstalk

Books:

Andy and the Lion                 One Morning in Maine                        Roxenboxen

Down, Down the Nature        All the Places to Love                         Down in the Meadow

Yonder                                                Ox Cart Man                                       Hiawatha

Owl Babies                             Make Way for Ducklings                    The Story of Ping

Joseph’s Overcoat                   I love you the Purplist                         Rainbabies

With you all the way

READING

Level A

CAP

Starfall

STORYTELLING/WRITING

Listen to Stories told orally

Tell stories orally

Draw pictures of stories

Label the stories

Make a sentence to go along with the story

COPYWORK

25 rainbow words

Name letters

Label items and work on writing in a real context

Letters in name & Name puzzle

Letters in ABC order

Match upper and lower case

Form Art, Write letters & numbers

Sound/letter matching

COMMUNICATION/RECITATION

Tongue twisters and rhyme

Narrate events, books, day, etc

Use who, what, where, when, why and how

Use proper grammar and complete descriptions

Listens to others, takes turns talking and speaks about the topic or text being discussed

Respond appropriately & Solve social conflicts through negotiation

Recognize consequences to actions

Focus even when frustrated & use creative and flexible thinking to solve problems.

MATH

Critical Thinking Math Books: Compare shapes, in different sizes and orientations

Count to 20

Identify and name numerals 1-9: dot to dot, spinner games, dice

Identify without counting small quantities of up to 3 items.

Demonstrate one-to-one correspondence when counting objects up to 10: dominoes, beans

Understand that the last number spoken tells the number of objects counted.

Make equal sets and sets of 1 more/1 less up to 10.

Solve simple addition and subtraction problems up to 8 with manipulative and story problems

Group and regroup: Sort and classify objects by one or more attributes (e.g., size, shape).

Recognize, duplicate, extend, create patterns: color, shape, size, sound, and motion

Describe and compare objects using length, size, capacity and weight

Order objects by biggest to smallest

Measure length and volume using non-standard or standard measurement tools: hand tracings

Collect data by categories to answer simple questions

Position: in/on/under,up/down,inside/outside,above/below,beside/between,infront/behind,next to

Create shapes during play by building, drawing & Combine simple shapes to form larger shapes

Describe, compare, sort, classify, and order.

Record observations using words, pictures, charts, graphs, etc. (Graphing: small, medium, large)

Days of the week & Months of the year

Build trains with rods: longer and shorter and Build stairs

EXTRAS

Weather                                   Mapping-represent places                   Cutting pages

Basic Needs                            Life cycles                                           babies to adult animals

Body parts                              Nutrition                                             Exercise

Safety rules                             Emergency routines

Wishing you homeschool blessings,


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Our Bible Studies

Why do we do Bible studies straight from the Bible?

For me, it is simple really. God has left his Word for us. Not to take it or leave it. Not to change it or water it down. He has left his Word so that we can KNOW what he wants breathed into our lives. We simply must pick it up. He will not force us to follow Him; we have to come to Him by choice.

So that is what we choose.

We break our Bible study time down into three parts.

Bible Reading: We read straight from the Bible (as soon as our kids can sit and listen to a story), so the Bible itself takes priority. Occasionally we will look at a print by an artist that shows a scene. When children can read at about a fourth grade level, ours start reading on their own in the Old Testament and 2 of gospels, making maps, studying pictures and doing additional research (we love looking into archeology). At about 12, children can look at doctrine, apologetics, how to teach the Bible, and working on understanding difficult doctrines.

Memory Verse: Once or twice a day we read a memory verse and commit it to memory by end of the week. I like writing the verses on this stand that I made. I put it is the kitchen so we can see it regularly.

Hymn Studies: We study one new hymn a month. Here are some that we've studied over the years.
There are some things that I hope my children will come to know by studying this way.
1) God is creator, king, Alpha, and Omega.
2) Jesus died for our transgressions and is the risen savior.
3) God is a loving father.
4) God is the ultimate authority.
5) We are mercifully given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
6) By grace alone, we are saved.
Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Hymn Studies

Every month we study a new hymn. We sing it every morning and then we learn a little about the time frame it was written and a biography of the person. Here's what we've been working on this year:

After listening to this one, I taped myself singing it for us to sing along with. The drums were a lot for the morning.

You should see and hear Little man sing this one (especially the crucify verse)

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Hymn: The Rock that is Higher Than I

Our Hymn for the month...



Sing with us!

Wishing you homeschool blessings,
Bethany

He Leadth Me

Our hymn this month

is He Leadth Me.

We are singing along with this version...



Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

O God our Help in Ages Past and I'll Sing of my Redeemer

We start a new hymn tomorrow,

so I thought I'd put this up today.

We are going to do I'll Sing of my Redeemer.

I really like this version:

If you are interested in O God our Help in Ages Past,

this link has some neat information: Songs and Hymns.

Wishing you homeschool blessings!

Bethany

At Calvary

Our hymn for this month is At Calvary.

Here is the version we will sing with:



Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

I'll Fly Away

For the next four weeks,

we will be singing

I'll Fly Away.

Want to sing along with us?

Learn more about the writer...

Albert Brumley

Here are the lyrics:
Some bright morning when this life is over,
I'll fly away;
To the home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; in the morning.
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone,
I'll fly away;
Like a bird from these prison walls I fly,
I'll fly away.
I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

Oh, how glad and happy when we meet,
I'll fly away.
No more cold iron shackles on my feet.
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away;
To a land where joy will never end,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, Oh Glory
I'll fly away; (in the morning)
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
I'll fly away.

When I die, Hallelujah, by and by,
And I'll fly away.

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

Hymn: More Love to Thee, O Christ

For the next four weeks,

we will be studying

More Love to Thee, O Christ.

We really love

this version:

Wishing you homeschool blessings,
Bethany

Hymns: Tell me the Story of Jesus

Here's the hymn we are working on:

Tell me the Story of Jesus

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

To God be the Glory and The Love of God Hymns

We've been working

on a few new hymns.

To God be the Glory

AND

Next up will be

The Love of God

Wishing you homeschool blessings,

Bethany

The River

In September, we learned The River (Lyrics).

We used this video to learn the signs:

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

Every month we learn a hymn.

Recently, we learned I Sing the Mighty Power of God. You can find some history and a traditional playing here.

We also really liked this version: