Saturday, November 14, 2009

Unit 1 Art

We finished Unit 1 of Year 2 of our curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, a couple of weeks ago. We are too busy right now to have a Unit Celebration, so we weren't able to show off the kids' work. I need to clear out their projects to make room for their Unit 2 work, so as always I needed to take pictures and document their work for posterity before it gets circular filed. This unit covers the Middle Ages, from the end of the Roman Empire until the Renaissance.


My girls were very interested in crests. They both researched the meanings behind the colors and the designs, and chose the ones they felt best represented them.

My son, as usual, is not as interested in crafts - unless it involves building something. This is his Viking ship paper craft. His favorite part was making up designs for each of the shields along the sides.

My youngest had fun making this stained glass window. She picked out the colors and came up with the design all on her own.

My oldest is an artist and really enjoyed drawing this Viking ship with colored pencils.

My youngest again - she didn't finish the fourth element of this craft, which is supposed to represent the Four Alls of medieval life - the peasant, the knights, the king, and the church. Can you tell which three she finished?

Can't wait to see what creative ventures they delve into in Unit 2 - I heard my son and husband mention a trebuchet....

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Proud Mama

I am one proud mama today.

I love to write, but until now I haven't given them much of a formal writing curriculum. I wanted them to develop their natural writing abilities before putting strictures and conditions on them.

My oldest is now officially in high school, so last week she was assigned her first analytical essay. It took me a while to explain the concept of a thesis statement, but we took our time and worked on it together.

However, once we finished working on her topic sentences, she asked to finish the rest on her own. Here is the finished result:

God's Hand in Medieval Europe
by
C. P.


Famine, plague, and war were God’s tools to rebuild European society by building faith, reducing overpopulation, and giving men ability to create inventions for future prosperity. Famine is a very tough time when many people die because there is no food, or they are left with the scars of hunger. Plagues are even worse. Consider the ten plagues of Egypt, for instance. And wars are probably the worst of all. So much death and destruction are laid to the land. But God’s tools for all this are laid out in three simple responses; for our knowledge is no knowledge compared to God.

The first response we have come up with is building faith. God used suffering, death, and destruction as a renewal for our faith. As we suffer, we find that we are all alone. That is when God makes Himself known. Through death, he creates new life. And during destruction we know that He will rebuild.

The second response is reducing overpopulation. By doing this, He destroys the wicked, gives people a new start in life, and gives all life more land to thrive. Destroying the wicked leaves more and more righteousness in the world, and also protects His children by reducing the numbers of the wicked. God destroys all distraction that turn people in the wrong direction, therefore giving them a second chance to do the right thing. In order to survive, all life needs land. By destroying overpopulation God gives life the land they need.

The last response is giving men ability to create inventions for future prosperity. It resulted in a bettered society by inventing new weapons, medicines, and a better means for defense. Although weapons are sometimes created for murder, God used it to keep some peace between enemies. God gave us the knowledge for creating new medicines to keep His people healthier and giving them a better chance for survival. And last, but not least, a new way of defense for His people.

In conclusion, not only were God’s tools of famine, war, and plague an opportunity to start anew and discover new things, but for us to go Home. God wants to be with us, and He wants to bring us home with Him. Until the day comes when all of His people will go to His house, He needs some company. But while he is waiting, He will try to make more invitations to His home by building faith, reducing overpopulation, and giving men ability to create inventions for future prosperity.