From Horses to Hurricanes!

Kentucky Unit

Kentucky is the home to the oldest continually-held horse races in the country - the Oaks & the Derby. Therefore, we decided to focus our unit on horses.  We studied horses during kindergarten so we did more reading and less activities this time.  

We read an abridged, illustrated version of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

I took a blank worksheet with 4 empty areas & sketched the horses (remember, I'm not an artist:-). C colored & labeled them to represent 4 of the horses in the story.  

I attended our church's Pastors' Wives Retreat that week.  I went on a walk & saw this sign.  Obviously I wasn't in the city anymore! 

On the way home from the retreat, several of us ladies went to an antique shop.  

They had a whole shelf of Kentucky Derby drinking glasses.

We displayed C's Horse Words to Remember sheet from kindergarten.

We also put up one of our favorite verses - Psalm 20:7.

Books Read - Welcome to the USA: Kentucky, A Field of Horses, & Molly the Pony

Louisiana Unit

After reading Molly the Pony, we decided to focus on hurricanes for our Louisiana unit.
This is an inspiring true story about a pony's life after being abandoned by her owners during Hurricane Katrina.

On Sunday, our preaching pastor said, "Expect Suffering; Life's forecast is 100% chance of suffering." So true, So true; but also in a believer's life there's 100% chance of God showing his faithfulness.  I took this opportunity to tie Molly's life circumstances to ways that God was faithful & worked it all for good.  This is one of the sweet blessings of homeschooling -          

Giving our children a biblical view while teaching academics.

Because Hurricane Katrina was so devastating, the residents of Houston, TX started leaving the area when they heard that Hurricane Rita was on her way in September 2005.  We were one of them!  Here are some photos of what it looks like when 2 million people try to evacuate a city at the same time!  

We actually enjoyed our family time together.  We were just a family of 3 so our little 2 yr old Christian got all the special privileges like driving the car with daddy....that's ok when you have to go 3-5mph on the same road for 13 hours! :-/

With all the talk about hurricanes, tornadoes, & storms, we thought it would be a good idea to create a Family Emergency Box. 

Our items: First Aid Kit, Canned Chicken, Peanut butter, Crackers, Granola bars, Can Opener, Whistle (to alert someone of our location), Antibacterial wipes, Small trash bags, Water, & a Mini Emergency Radio. We really like this radio because it has a built in LED flashlight & the battery charges with hand crank if the electricity is out.  

Thanks, Mom, for my new label maker! :-) 

God Incident - The girls' bible study class lesson that week was from Mark 4:35-41 ~
Jesus Calms the Storm! 

C completed a Hurricane Worksheet & Booklet.

Books Read - Welcome to the USA: Louisiana, The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane, & Hurricanes! 

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After completed this unit, C said, "Wow, Jesus is MORE powerful than a hurricane!"  I praise the Lord that she made that connection.  Academics will eventually fade, but God's truth will last forever!