Through the Great Depression

We have finally closed out our official study of the Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression.
Stephen finished his WWI Ammo Belt.

We played the Route 66 History Facts Review Game. I was impressed with how much Stephen remembered.  I was unimpressed with how much I forgot.  And David really enjoyed playing, too.  He loves the games in these project packs!

We pieced together all of Stephen's mini-projects into the final lapbook.

 

And the rest of the projects that we finished that we haven't shown as of yet:

Ummm... I don't think we finished this one.

Homeschool in the Woods Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression was fantastic!  We did not complete several of the projects, though, as some of them were more suited for girls (sewing, making flowery ornaments, etc.) and moms with more homemaking skills than I.  I have not even tried a single recipe yet! (And these are not difficult - after all, recipes were not elaborate during the Great Depression.)  I had to complete a few projects myself because of the accuracy needed in cutting.  But I'm planning to use this curriculum again in a few years when David is in 6th grade and Levi is in 3rd.  (Now there's a scary thought!)

We are now starting the Homeschool in the Woods World War II project pack, which was a special request from our own official WWII buff. That will be our core history curriculum for the rest of this school year.  (Try the WWII Uniforms sample here.) Some other history resources can be found on our Cycle 3 Resources Page, but some of the best are Practical Pages WWII Maps & Activities and Pearl Harbor Lapbook, and The Price of Freedom: A Teacher’s Guide to American Wars.

(As a side note, Stephen finished Life of Fred Butterflies.  He asked me to order more of the Life of Fred math books.  He wants the whole set.  Through Calculus.  Well, ALRIGHTY THEN!!!!)

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My children are such a gift to me, and I want to surround myself with the present.
So many fleeting opportunities escape my grasp.
Life races by and I miss it.
How can I be home with my children all the time and not see?

I feel so blind.

I took steps into the wild unknown this week. I invited people over to our house AS IS.  AS IS is a complete and total wreck!   I didn't tell the kids to throw everything in its place because, quite frankly, we were having fun making Atomic Cookies.  But I didn't feel myself panicking about our messy house for once in my life.  That's the advantage of good friends who aren't looking at what YOUR HOUSE looks like but looking at YOU while you're talking to them.

I decided to let the kids decorate.  After sorting through much of the mess left over from the de-struction and re-construction of our home, I've been disappointed to find so many of the kids' paper toys and projects crushed beyond repair. So I finally set aside my perfectionist ways and posted the boys' artwork on the walls where I was planning to decorate otherwise...

And I'm leaving their constructed masterpieces on display all around the house.
One day, I will no longer have these boys making such special creations for us to enjoy.

The boys were de-lighted to see their artwork everywhere.  And now looking around the house fills ME with joy.   Even when our house is a wreck.  Really, that wall makes me smile.

And, what is that peeking through the trees?

Blue sky and bright sun through winter's trees.

Our ridge capped with great big blue.

That sun makes me smile, too.