Happy 1st Birthday Thomas!

Here are some shots from Thomas' birthday party. I still can't believe he's one already.

Living History...and the weather, again

We decided this year to participate in a Living History weekend with several other homeschooling families in the area. This was time for the children to learn what it was like to live in the 18th century as a colonist in Georgia. The camp was divided into two sides - historically accurate and modern. Neither side had power or running water, so I don't think that really counts as modern, but whatever. It was a great time to get to know other families better, the kids ran barefoot, learned to throw tomahawks, shoot a bow, start a fire with flint, make candles, swing on a rope swing, etc. They had a time for the kids to trade items they had bought or made. Joshua ended up with a fox skin, and he was thrilled. Next time he wants to trade a plate of cookies, because he says you can get anything with cookies. We had two days of sunshine, and then, the rain came. It rained all night. We got up to fair skies, and we thought we could make it through the day. Then, the rain came again. It rained the rest of the morning, and after lunch, we called it a day. The river was rising. The creek where the kids had waded the day before was now three feet deep. We made it home to our dry house and decided to go out the next day to pick up the tent and the rest of our stuff. We got an email later that evening that the river was still rising, and if we had more rain overnight, our tent might be gone. So, Matt and his Dad went back out and pack up the rest of our stuff in the dark. We missed out on the community supper and dance and the adult trade blanket, so I think they are planning a make up day soon. Overall, it was a great time, the boys loved it, and it's in our plans for next year.

As Joshua pointed out, "Mama, here's another time that the weather was bad with you around." Thanks, son.

Joshua in the kayak
Luke making a candle
Joshua practicing knot tying using his brothers as prisoners
Luke and Caleb guarding the camp Joshua and Caleb trying to start a fire

WinterPromise Hideaways in History

We are well into our school year. This year we are taking a trip through world history making stops along the way to learn more about each time. Each week we have a theme, and we make a "hideaway" to remember each stop. I'm going to try to document each stop we make by including a picture of our hideaways. I have to do this for the notebooks the boys are making, so it shouldn't be too difficult to post the pictures here also.

Week 1: They made cave drawings, and we made a cave under the table. We learned about early people and ancient Sumeria. We started with a study of creation, Adam and Eve, and the garden of Eden.

Week 2: We studied ancient Egypt, mummies, and Pharoahs. We made two trips to Gwinnett to pick up the boxes needed for most of our remaining hideaways. We used one box to make our pyramid. The boys also dressed up as the Pharoah, a servant, and a guard. This was impromptu and completely done on their own. They are really getting into this!

Week 3: We learned more about ancient China, India, and Africa. This week we made the Great Wall of China (which will be saved for the Berlin wall later this year).

Week 4: We studied about feuds and fights in Mesopotamia - Assyrians, Phonecians, Israelites. We made an artic igloo. I'm not really sure where the igloo idea fits in, but we had saved LOTS of milk jugs for this hideaway, and the boys had fun with it.