Hello, Is Anyone There?

It's been 8 months since my last blog post.  And this may be my final one.  The Lord blessed me with 7 years of sharing my life here in the blogosphere.  I loved every bit of it.  However, because of the different callings that God has given me, I don't have time to blog.  My plate is richly full with helping my sweetie, mothering my 4 blessings, homemaking, homeschooling, teaching at our homeschool co-op, and most recently church planting.

I still enjoy sharing tidbits of my life and I have found a way to do that! I have been on Instagram for several months and it allows me to share snapshots of our day.  It's all about keeping it simple in this season of my life.  If you would like to follow me, click here.  

Thank you so much to all my faithful followers over these past years. I appreciate all of you especially my mom who has always been my #1 Encourager! I plan to keep my blog here as a resource especially for the Disability Community (Special Needs). 

God Bless You! 

Love, 

Caryn 

My 2015 Book "List"

How many books do you think I have on my list? Drum roll please...One! If you peruse the blogosphere, you'll see that I most likely have the shortest book list.

Why only one book? I'm not an avid reader except for my daily Bible reading. I'm also not a fast reader because I'm so reflective. I often sit and ponder one sentence or paragraph for several minutes. I then write my thoughts in the margin.  That's why I can't loan out my books because they become personal journals. I'll most likely read bits & pieces of other books but I'll plan to finish my one book first. And here's the book...

Our family is adjusting to the biggest transition of our lives as we prepare to plant a church - cityofjoyfellowship.org. My sweet hubby recently blessed me with this book. It is so helpful as I get acquainted in my new role as a church planters' wife. I have much to learn! Here is a simple yet profound statement that the author said, 

"In all my attempts at forming a job description for myself, God has continually spoken grace over me: Follow Me. Serve your family. Love people. As much as I panic and attempt a bullet point to-do list, He always brings me back to dependence." (p. 42)

I've been very encouraged by her transparency and honesty about the sweet & sour of this role. I'm looking forward to reading more. I've already read two chapters! My reading goal is definitely not set too low; it's realistic for me as I keep up with my insanely wonderfully full life. Hopefully I'll get done before I have to write my 2016 Book List!

We Made It!

We finished our Cruising the Country Unit! 

50 States in 50 Weeks...What An Adventure! 

Here are the last 2 states that we studied:

Utah

Utah's Capital is Salt Lake City.  

It's named after the Great Salt Lake which is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. We decided to focus on fresh water vs. salt water for this unit. 

Kalia did this Sink or Float activity.  

Carysse completed this worksheet. 

Then we did a Salt Water Experiment.

We talked about the term "density".  Salt adds mass to water & causes it to be more compact (dense) which is why things float in salt water but sink in fresh water. Using an egg is a perfect example to show this concept.

 

Wyoming

Wyoming is known as "The Equality State" because it was the first state that women were granted the right to vote.  

Even though it is the least populous state, a well known artist is from there ~ Jackson Pollock.  He was an Abstract Expressionist painter who was known for his unique style of action painting.  He would drip, pour, throw, & splash paint onto very large canvases which were often laid flat on the floor. Because we Turner girls err on the side of FUN, we chose to focus on Pollock's painting technique for our Wyoming Unit. 

We read this book about Pollock. 

The girls really enjoyed action painting! Thankfully we did it before winter came in early November so that we could keep the mess outside enjoy the beautiful weather. This was a great way to use up our end of year almost empty bottles of paint.

Thanks for trekking with us on our journey; we enjoyed sharing it with you! 

I don't know about them but mama is exhausted!

One Week Later...

I've been pondering what to say in response to the Michael Brown Case/Ferguson Verdict. However, a brother in Christ shared his thoughts and they fit mine exactly! His response was so on target and Gospel-filled that you must read it if you haven't already ~

Benjamin Watson's Response.

From Davy to Jamestown to the Delicious!

Texas

This state holds a special place in my heart.  Not only did we spend the first eight years of our marriage in TX, we had our first two babies there. I also have many dearly loved friends there.

We studied the Alamo and Davy Crockett for this unit.  Although Crockett was born in Tennessee, we decided to focus on him because of his significance with The Alamo which is in San Antonio. Crockett fought and died in the Battle of the Alamo. 

Teachers pay teachers has been such a blessing to me and thousands of other teachers! That's where I found this free Davy Crockett Powerpoint and this Reading a Map of Texas activity. 

I couldn't resist including this baby photo of my 7 yr. old. :-)  

Coloring Sheets: The Alamo & Davy Crockett

Virginia

Jamestown, VA was the first colony in America. We spent time talking about Colonial America, Pilgrims and Native Americans for this unit. 

Carysse also read the Felicity~American Girl Book Series. She enjoyed all 6 books! Felicity is a fictional American girl who lives in colonial Williamsburg, VA from 1774 to 1776. 

Coloring Sheets found here. 

West Virginia

We decided to focus on West Virginia's state fruit ~ The Golden Delicious Apple.  We did an entire Apple Unit with our Kindergarten Curriculum so we didn't spend much time here other than making Mini Apple Treats.

 Easy as 1) apple, 2) peanut butter, 3) sprinkles!

Other Activities: West Virginia Map and Black bear coloring sheet

Come back soon for our final state post! 

Beavers & Raccoons & Badgers...Oh my!

Oregon

My kids really enjoy watching Wild Kratts. I like them too because they teach all kinds of facts about animals in an interesting, fun way.  We studied Oregon's State Animal the Beaver for this unit.  Of course we searched to see if the Wild Kratts had an episode for beavers and here it is!

We looked at online photos of beaver dams like this one. It's amazing how God gave each of his creatures extraordinary abilities to live, function, & adapt to it's environment. 

The girls made edible beaver dams with pretzel sticks, peanut butter, & chocolate chips.

Carysse drew a beaver while Kalia completed this coloring sheet.

Books Read: Beavers, The Busy Beaver, & Little Beaver and the Echo

Tennessee

We studied Tennessee's State Animal the Raccoon for this unit. 

They may be cute but they're scavengers; they'll eat almost ANYTHING including your garbage! 

Acorns are one of the raccoons favorite foods so we decided to make some yummy acorns.

We followed the directions but used chocolate chips instead of black licorice....no brainer. :-) 

Coloring Sheet found here.

Book Read: Raccoons

Wisconsin

We could have focused on cheese for this unit but that wouldn't be as fun as Wisconsin's State Animal ~ the Badger.

Wild Kratts Outsmart Mom Conversation

Carysse: Badgers stink.

Me: I think you mean skunks stink.

Carysse: No; some badgers spray stinky smells because they're in the skunk family. 

Me: How do you know that?

Carysse: I learned it on Wild Kratts! :-) 

Now that it's Winter in November where I live :-/, we might as well talk about hibernation and read one of our favorite picture books. A badger is one of the characters in this book series. 

Thanks for stopping by!

All About Presidents

South Dakota

It's such a sweet thing to have other homeschool families follow our blog and help us out with our units.  Thank you so much Engresser Family for giving us South Dakota postcards from your family vacation! Why else would we choose anything to study for our South Dakota Unit than Mount Rushmore!!!

Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. 

It took 400 men 14 years (1927-1941) to complete this spectacular tourist attraction. 

It has the faces of 4 U.S. Presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, & Abraham Lincoln) carved in it. 

I found this coin rubbing activity but it was not totally accurate.

Washington is on a quarter, Jefferson is on a nickel, & Lincoln is on a penny.  However, Theodore Roosevelt is not on a dime.  It's actually Franklin Roosevelt (his distant cousin).  So, we decided it was alright to do this activity since they're in the same family. :-) 

God-Incident: Several months ago, one of the moms in my homeschool support group gave me a bag with a View Master & many viewing reels. I put the bag in the closet without even looking at all the reels.  During our South Dakota Unit, I happened to find the bag and when I looked in it, I saw a BlackHills, South Dakota Reel!!! 

The girls had as much fun looking through the View Master as I did as a kid...and even now as an adult. :-) 

Book Read: Mount Rushmore

Coloring Sheets found at: Raising Our Kids & Education.com

Pennsylvania

We thought it was fitting to continue studying Thomas Jefferson for this unit. He is one of our country's Founding Fathers & the 3rd U.S. President. He is best known for writing a draft for the Declaration of Independence which was then revised & approved by 5 others including Jefferson.

This sign is found at one of my favorite stores in TX ~ Hobby Lobby.

That's my favorite quote from Thomas Jefferson. The Liberty that we have in this country may eventually come to an end especially for us believers in Jesus Christ. However, our Liberty that we find only in Christ will last forever! 

Activities: All About the Nickel (from our Colorado Unit) & Coloring Sheet

Books Read - A Picture Book of Thomas Jefferson & When Mr. Jefferson Came to Philadelphia

Washington

Guess who we studied for this unit??? George Washington...no brainer huh?!? He was this country's 1st President and one of the Founding Fathers. 

He definitely has a famous face. He appears on...

The Washington State Flag (the only flag with a president on it)

Mount Rushmore 

Dollar Bill

Quarter

Books Read: A Picture Book of George Washington & George Washington ~ National Geographic Kids

Thank you, Mr. Presidents!