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a solar eclipse and pinhole viewing box project ~ Apologia Astronomy

a solar eclipse and pinhole viewing box project ~ Apologia Astronomy

The kids and I are moving right along with the Exploring Creation with Astronomy from Apologia.  We have made it to the end of the 2nd chapter about the sun.

The first thing we did, was create a solar eclipse using our globe, a small ball attached to a string and a flashlight.  By putting the ball between the light source and the globe, we were able to cast a shadow, showing the kids how a solar eclipse works.

showing the kids how a solar eclipse works.

We then moved on to making a pinhole viewing box.  I gathered the supplies that we needed.  One of the things I really like about Apologia and their projects,  it is stuff you can find laying around your home.  For this project, I had everything on hand.

supplies for the projects

Sarah started out cutting a hole in the side of the box.  This was to view the sun when we finished the project.  However, you could have cut the side of this box off.

Sarah making a hole in the side of the box.

Samuel had the job of cutting a piece of aluminum foil and white paper to go on the end of each box.

Samuel cutting the aluminum foil and paper.

Claire helped Sarah tape the aluminum foil over a hole on one end of the box.  She then helped tape the white piece of paper on the opposite end.

Claire getting a needle.

Sarah helped Claire poke a hole in the aluminum foil.  We found out the bigger the hole the needle made the bigger and fuzzier the sun showed on the white paper.  The smaller the hole, the clearer the picture of the sun.

Sarah helping Claire poke a hole with the needle.

The kids and I had a great time looking at the sun through the pinhole viewing box.  It worked really well.  We were hoping to be able to see some sun spots on the sun, but we didn’t notice any dark spots at all.

seeing the sun through the pinhole.

Trixie even came out on the porch and wanted to look in the box!

Trixie wanted to see the sun in the pinhole in the box!

While we were sad to end the chapter on the sun, we are looking forward to the next chapter about Mercury.  We can’t wait until the next project!

Linking up with:

Science Sunday

 

so thankful and blessed… #1051-1060

so thankful and blessed… #1051-1060

When I see this verse, other than thinking about God sending Jesus to die on the cross, I can’t help to think about another group of people who have put and continue to put their lives on the line for us.  That is the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.   Because  of those who have served and are serving,  We have freedoms that a lot of others do not have.

John 15:13

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

So in honor of Veteran’s Day, I thought I would share a few freedoms that I am thankful for.

1051.  the freedom to worship how I believe.

1052. the freedom to attend a church.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

1053. the freedom to stay at home with my children and homeschool them.

1054. the freedom to have a gun.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

1055. freedom of speech.

1056. I am thankful for my Uncle who served in WWII.  He lost his life while he was in the Army.  He was only 22.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

1057. I am thankful for my great grandpa who was the youngest to serve in the Civil War in the state of Florida.

1058. I am thankful for my father-in-law who served in the Air Force in Vietnam.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

1059. I am thankful for my step-father-in-law who served in the Air Force in Vietnam.

1060. I am thankful for the many more who served, are serving now and their families who sacrifice so much for us.

Vietnam Moving Wall Memorial

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal

 

I missed last week linking up with The Homeschool Mother’s Journal.  Honestly I can’t remember why I even missed it.  I just didn’t think about writing about her week.  I enjoy doing this though.  It gives me a good look at our week about what all we have accomplished or did not accomplish.  Stop by iHomeschool Network and see all the others who have linked up!

  • In my life this week…

    I had a pretty full week this past week.  Started off the week by taking the kids to the Denver Zoo. (post will be coming soon).  On Tuesday, we found where we needed to vote. While I am disappointed in the way the election turned out, I know God is still in control and as long as we keep our eyes on him, God will take care of our family.  I am also helping with social media for the Teaching Creation Thursdays at Creation Conversations.

  • In our homeschool this week…

    We had a great week in schooling.  My youngest son finished his math workbook and has started the next grade level.  We are learning a lot in MOH and did a cool project in our Apologia Astronomy book. (Post on that coming soon).  My oldest is participating in the NaNoWriMo project for the month of November.  The younger kids are doing great with their reading.  I am very pleased with how our school year is going.  I feel like we are accomplishing a lot.

  • Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

    Do not be afraid to ask for help.  I have a hard time with that one, but there are some days that I just have to ask for help.

  • I am inspired by…

    I love this question.  Since I have begin blogging, I have had so many ladies to inspire me not only with blogging, but with homeschool and even with my faith.  One of those ladies is Rebecca from Mom’s Mustard Seeds.  She is a sweetheart and a true woman of God.  While I have never met her in real life, I feel like I have known her forever.  I can’t wait until I am able to hug her neck.

  • Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

    We went to the Denver Zoo and plan on going back to the Zoo free day on November 16th.

  • My favorite thing this week was…

    I had several favorite things this week.  The zoo trip was definitely a highlight.  I also got a new pair of boots!  Getting back to my country roots!

  • What’s working/not working for us…

    I am extremely happy with our curriculum.  We are using Illuminations this year with Mystery of History, WonderMaps and Hands On Geography.  We are also very happy with the Apologia Science curriculum we are using.

  • Things I’m working on…

  •  I love helping and encouraging homeschool moms with their homeschool journey and their faith.   I was recently asked to help out with the Teaching Creation Thursday at Creation Conversations.  I would love for you to join us!
  • I’m grateful for…

    I am grateful for my husband’s job that he has at Colorado School of Mines.  It is the reason why we made the cross country move and I know God provided it for him.

  • I’m praying for…

    I am praying for our nation.  I am concerned about the future of our nation with the re-election of the President.  I am also praying for the other leaders that are in office.  I just keep telling myself that God is in control and as long as our family keeps our eyes on Him we will be okay.

  • A photo to share…

    We went on a field trip to the Denver Zoo this past Monday. Our neighbor who homeschools her boy, went with us.  We had an amazing time!  We can’t wait to go back!

    kids looking at an elephant skull

Stop by iHomeschool Network and see what all the other homeschool moms have been up to this last week!

*affiliate links are in this post

Jim Hodges Audio Books ~ a review

Jim Hodges Audio Books ~ a review

Recently, I was sent 2 audio books from Jim Hodges Audio Books, to review.  While we haven’t used audio books much in the past in our homeschooling, I am thinking I will try to incorporate using audio books in our lessons more.  We have thoroughly enjoyed listening to these mp3 files.

Stories of the Pilgrims from Yesterdays Classics and Wulf the Saxon written by G.A. Henty.

Jim Hodges sent me Stories of the Pilgrims for my younger two kids.  For those days that we have been sick and have not felt like reading aloud, this has worked out perfectly for our family.  Stories of the Pilgrims begins with Queen Anne’s visit to Scrooby Inn.  It continues to tell the every day life of the Pilgrims from England and Holland, in a story form.  It tells of their voyage on the Mayflower and of adventures they have in the New World.  This is a perfect story to listen to leading up to Thanksgiving.  The Stories of the Pilgrims is split into 43 chapters and is 4 hours and 10 minutes long.

Mr. Hodges also recommended that my oldest daughter choose a G.A. Henty book.  He has quite a few to choose fr om. My oldest daughter chose G.A. Henty’s book “Wulf the Saxon:1066“.  She loves this time period in history.  Wulf the Saxon:1066 is about when Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England is 1066. William of Normandy contests his right to be king because of an oath previously sworn to support William’s own acquisition to the throne.  The story has 22 chapters and is 12 hours and 35 minutes long.

I was really excited when Mr. Hodges had suggested Pilgrims for my younger children.  I love this time period and love reading about the settling of the country and how the Pilgrims sacrificed so much to start over in a New World.  The CD’s came in the mp3 audio file format.  They came in a CD case with a very nice cover.  We listened to the CD’s in my computer for us to listen to while sitting down.  I played it using Windows Media Player.  Once the program came up, all I did was hit play.  Very easy to use!   You can start and stop at any of the chapters when you need to and start back up where you left off.  I really like this a lot.  You can also play this in any CD player as long as that CD player can play the mp3 audio files.

Once the stories began, Jim just sucks you into it with his smooth voice.  His voice brings the stories to life and truly makes you feel like you are right there in the story with the characters.  Once you start listening to the stories, you definitely do not want to stop.  He keeps your attention and has you waiting and wanting the stories to continue!  The recordings are really great!  Overall, the kids and I truly enjoyed these stories and are looking forward to getting more to listen to!

For the month of November, you can get Stories of the Pilgrims as a download for $15 this month on the Jim Hodges Audio Books website!

 

*I was sent these cd’s to review.  The opinions expressed are of my own.

Teaching Creation Thursday at Creation Conversations

Teaching Creation Thursday at Creation Conversations

I am so excited to be a part of a new group on Creation Conversations.  It is called Teaching Creation Thursday.   I will be helping out Carolyn Reeves from Underground Paradigm.  While Dr. Reeves will be doing the majority of the writing and having guests post, I will be heading up the social media for this amazing group.

Each Thursday, there will be a post from Teaching Creation that will help parents navigate a sometimes difficult, confusing pathway about the origin of life and humans. We live in a wonderful world that was planned, designed, and created by God. We want to be an encouragement to you that this can be taught to your students with confidence.  Advanced degrees in science are not needed. Be sure to check out the free resources and giveaways you will find on Teaching Creation Thursday.

So, how do you join? Sign up at www.CreationConversations.com if you have not already done this. Look for Teaching Creation Thursday under “Groups” and click the invitation to join this group.  Also, be on the lookout on Facebook, Twitter (using #hashtags  #teachthetruth and #HScreationThurs) and Google +, for updates and new articles from Teaching Creation Thursday.

We look forward to having you join us at Creation Conversations in the Teaching Creation Thursday group!    Here is a look into what Dr. Reeves will be discussing:

There are two accounts of the origin and history of the world. One account provides a naturalistic explanation of how everything in the universe began. Supposedly, a single spot in space rapidly expanded, producing all the matter and energy of the universe, an idea known as the Big Bang.  Stars, planets, and moons, condensed and cooled out of a swirling expanding nebula, along with energy and basic chemicals. Finally, one-celled forms of life arose on Earth from random, chance combinations of chemicals. Over millions of years, these first living cells became multicellular organisms, which continued to evolve into organisms with more specialized tissues and organs. Finally, some kind of ape-like animals evolved into modern humans. The primary mechanisms for these changes were natural selection, genetic recombinations, and genetic mutations. In this account, God is irrelevant or false.

The other account tells us that everything in the universe was planned, designed, and created by God with great wisdom and power. The first man and woman lived in a perfect garden in harmony with their Creator. Early in the history of the earth, these first humans disobeyed and rebelled against God, introducing sin, death, and imperfections into the world. Although they probably developed many kinds of advanced technologies, most people had little regard for their Creator. As violence and evil corrupted this civilization, God decided to destroy them and the things they had built, except for one man and his family, along with a sample of the land animals who were preserved in an ark. A catastrophic flood covered the world until that first civilization was destroyed. The Flood was a unique unrepeatable event, as was the Ice Age that followed it. A few generations after the Flood, there was a failed attempt to build a great one-world government, and people dispersed to all parts of the world.  But, in spite of man’s rebellion, God chose to redeem men and women from sin, eventually sending His Son Jesus to complete His plan for redemption. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is celebrated by Christians as the greatest event in human history.

 The account of history we choose to believe form one of the basic planks of our worldviews and many of our fundamental Christian beliefs. There are a number of resources and great writers who will be sharing ideas about teaching the Creation version. We invite you to visit Teaching Creation Thursday often to find understandable ideas that will help you teach the Truth of the Creation account.