A Lesson in Humility

Our family recently began formally studying character qualitiesas part of our homeschool day.  When looking for lessons, I had two main criteria:1. I wanted something that all of my children would benefit from
2. I wanted something that went beyond the basics and incorporated scripture.
I started with comprehensive lists of character qualities found at Character First and the Duggar Family's website.  I used these lists to create a list for our family. Here is the entry on our list for humility:

Humility vs. Pride

Recognizing that it is actually God and others who are responsible for the achievements in
my life

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6

 

Generally, we begin a new quality on Wednesday.  Each child receives a worksheet and writes the quality at the top of the page.  On Wednesday, we talk about the word, the dictionary definition, its synonyms and antonyms, and the operational definition.  We go through the operational definition word by word, taking it down to simple terms.  Then each child tells me what it means to her.  Lastly, we discuss other character qualities that work with this quality.  On Thursday, we review the meaning of the word and relate it to the Bible.  We discuss several verses relating to the quality.  We then talk about a few key Bible figures who do and do not live this quality.  We also talk about how Jesus shows this quality in his life.  Over the weekend, I look for ways to remind the kids about the quality in every day life.  On Monday, we review what we learned the prior week and move on to the application.  We talk about how we can live out this quality as individuals and as a family.  This is the best part, because the kids make connections to their life choices.  On Tuesday, we again review what we learned over the past few days and the kids draw pictures of themselves displaying this quality.  We wrap up the quality by putting the worksheets in a book the kids are each creating. 
A few tips: I found it works well to begin the quality on Wednesdays for two reasons.  Wednesday is the day that we are most consistently home so I can expect to have a good chunk of time to allocate for this.  Also, it works well to be in the middle of a lesson on the weekend. The kids are still focused on what we are learning rather than in between lessons.  Rather than being a gap, the weekends have become an extension of our learning time.  Secondly, I naturally expect our older children to do more writing and thinking in these lessons that what I expect from our younger children.  As with anything, don't allow your children to burn out.  When I see that my younger ones have had enough, I help with the writing or change gears.  Thirdly,  with all of the language lessons built into these activities, you must count this time for language arts hours or you will be cheating yourself!
To study the character qualities, I pieced several things together for our family.  In addition to the lists I mentioned above, I found a good start at Home Life Ministries.  In their Character Journals, you will find a wealth of information including stories, Bible verses, and my favorite, a list of five "I Wills" for each quality.  We work those into each week. 
Do you have another great resource for character studies?  Please comment and share them here.
 

No Labels For My Girls

My younger two daughters hate the labels in their clothes.  They have me cut the tags out as soon as we get home with them.  For some reason, they do like another kind of labels.  The kind that don't fit. 

DD: Am I a tomboy? Me: Well, not exactly because you like to wear fancy dresses. DD:  Am I a girly-girl? Me: Not exactly because you like to climb, play rough, load your pockets with rocks, and collect frogs. DD: So what am I? Me: You are you, just the way God made you.

My girls love helping their Daddy in the garage and can identify types of wrenches or screwdrivers.  They have taken dance classes and played softball and basketball.  They make cards with me, play piano, sew, knit, and act in plays.  They like to ride in their dad's tow truck, ride quads, and help their grandpa take care of his calves and piglets. They watch NASCAR and football with their grandma and our whole family bakes cookies together at Christmas.  Torn up jeans and stained shirts fill their drawers but poufy dresses fill their closets.  Toy boxes hold Legos, baby dolls, dress up clothes, Tech Decks, Barbies, and science kits.

Me (to DD): Do you still want a label? It would be "just right."

School Express

 I love the idea of thematic units, especially with homeschooling.  It is fun to pick a topic and take off with it.  It works well with learners of various abilities because everyone can study the same topic while each learner takes away their own little bit.  Our family uses one set of curriculum for language arts and math and studies almost everything else thematically.  One of my favorite websites has become School Express.  If you sign up for their free newsletter, they will email a link each week for a thematic unit.  I have received units on topics such as beavers, climate, and Christmas.  Each packet is about 20 pages long and includes word searches, info pages, spelling sheets, and coloring pages.  We use the packets for bonus activities - long car rides, waiting for appointments, sitting at restaurants, etc.  The website also has thousands of other free resources and pages to print for your children.  For a small annual fee, you can gain access to many other units and activities on the site.

Everyday Teaching: Grocery Shopping

Like everything else in our family, grocery shopping is a family activity.  My husband gets paid every other Thursday.  That is our big shopping day.  The other Thursdays are our in-between shopping days.  We keep a piece of paper on the fridge at all times and when someone knows that we need something, it is written on the paper.  The day before we go shopping, the girls and I brainstorm menu ideas and plan the meals for the next two weeks.  As we plan each menu, we write the items needed for each meal.  We then survey the cupboards and cross off anything we already have.  The items still on the list are transferred to the shopping list.  The repetition is good practice for spelling and handwriting.  We then go through the shopping list and write a dollar amount next to each item and estimate the total amount we will spend.  If we are over budget, we decide where cuts can be made to bring our spending down.  When Thursday rolls around, we load into the car and head to the store, list in hand.  Usually our middle or younger daughter carries the list and crosses things off as we put them in the basket.  Our oldest daughter helps choose which item to get, comparing price and quantity.  When items are crossed off, we make a note if the estimated price is higher or lower than our estimated amount.  If we run higher than budgeted, we make cuts at the grocery store.  Of course, as we shop we discuss things such as what produce is in season, quality of products, getting what you pay for, and any other topic that may arise.  After checking out and getting the groceries home, we race to get everything put away before moving on to the next item on our agenda.  Our in-between trip is pretty much the same as our big trip except for one difference.  We only buy necessities such as milk or anything else we can’t wait until the following week to buy.  This shopping trip has become a practical lesson for the kids in needs vs. wants.  Sometimes, just to throw in another component, I have the kids plan a balanced menu for a given dollar amount.  Whatever task they are assigned, the girls enjoy participating in shopping from planning to putting away.

F is For...

Food: fruit, fish, farfalle, fajitas, fennel, feta cheese, fettuccine, figs, filbert, filet mignon, flan, flour, flour tortillas, fondue, fortune cookies, frankfurters, freezer pops, frappucino, Fritos, French fries, French toast, fried green tomatoes, fried rice, fudge, fruit cake.

Animals: fish, frog, fox, falcon, finch, ferret, field mouse, firefly, fowl, flying squirrel, fawm, flamingo, fly to name a few. Choose one or two to learn about. Print coloring pages, draw, share facts, look at pictures.
Science: parts of a flower, freeze, Fahrenheit.

Geography: Fault, federation. Mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Florida, Fiji, France, Finland.

Math: four, five, fourteen, fifteen, forty, fifty.

Books: The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, Freight Train by Donald Crews, Frogge Series by Jonathon London
Songs: Frere Jacques, The Farmer in the Dell, Father Abraham, Five Little Ducks, Five Green & Speckled Frogs, Five Little Pumpkins, Five Little Monkeys

Games: Follow the Leader

Art: design a family flag, paint with feathers. 
 
Activities: visit a fire station or farm.
 
Other things worth mentioning: fall, feather, fairy, face, fork, freedom, family, farm, feet, flying, Father's Day, furniture, favorite, feelings, fire, flag, French, friends.

E is For ...

Food: empanada, English muffin, elderberries, escargot, endive, elbow macaroni, eggplant, elephant ears, egg.


Animals: elephant, eagle, eel, earthworm, egret, elk, emu, to name a few. Choose one or two to learn about. Print coloring pages, draw, share facts, look at pictures.

Science: earth, extinction, electricity, environmen, energy.

Geography: East, elevation. Mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Europe, El Salvador, Equador, Egypt, Estonia, England, Ethiopia.

Other things worth mentioning: eskimo, equipment, ears, eyes, entertainment, each, every, Earth Day, Easter, elections, Emancipation Day, elevator, emotions, education, empire, elbow.

Math: eight, eleven, equal, even numbers, estimation.
Books: Eating the Alphabet by Lois Elhert,
Songs: Do Your Ears Hang Low?, Everything Grows

Art: use an easel.

D is for...

Food: drink, dairy food, danish, deep-dish pizza, dessert, dill pickles, dijon mustard, dumplings, donuts, deep-fried _______, dried fruit, Doritos, Dr. Pepper.


Animals: dogs, dinosaurs, dolphin, duck, dove, donkey, deer to name a few. Choose one or two to learn about. Print coloring pages, draw, share facts, look at pictures.

Shapes: diamond.

Science: discovery, digestion, dissect, desert.

Geography: mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Dallas, Des Moines, Detroit, Duluth, Denver, Daytona Beach, Dublin, Dubai, Dominican Republic, Denmark.

States: Delaware.

Other places: dairy, deli.

Other things worth mentioning: democracy, Disneyland, dragon, daisy, drum, diner, drive-in, say no to Drugs, Declaration of Independence, doctor, dentist, dandelion, dump truck, dig, days of the week.

Math: division, play dominoes.

Books: Charles Dickens, No, David and other books by David Shannon

Songs: Do Your Ears Hang Low, Day-O, Down By the Banks, Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Art: draw pictures.