Michaelmas - The Armor of God Slays the Dragon Within

picture courtesy of Answers VBS

Yesterday we began commemorating Michaelmas by focusing on the Armor of God during our homeschool lessons.  Our main reference is from Ephesians 6:10-17

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This video "I'm a Soldier in the Army of God" was a big hit with the boys.





Today, in keeping with our tradition, we read Margaret Hodges "St. George and the Dragon" and went on to talk about the armor of God, using the knights armor to illustrate the point.

 

Then the boys colored and labeled their own armor of God.

  I also touched on the archangel Michael, for whom the festival is named. I am still searching for a way to explain Michael fighting the dragon in Revelation and just what that means for us today in the here-and-now.  To keep it simple, yet meaningful, I explained that we all have our own "dragons" in our life to slay. Then we each picked something that we can improve upon in our life and then what aspect of the armor of God we could use to make the change.

We will work over the next few weeks at holding each other accountable toward our introspective self improvement that comes naturally as we pull in from the world around us.  It is seen throughout nature.  Here in central Pennsylvania, nature has offered her best, the harvest is coming in.  After a radiant burst of color, the leaves will fall, the sky will turn gray and a time of dormant introspection will begin in preparation of the spring season when all will be made new.  As in years past, we will look to God and His natural wonders to guide while we center our lives and our family looking forward to another season of growth.

Summer Bugs: Bees

This evening sees the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and to see summer off, here is the last installment of our Summer Bugs series.

These last few weeks, we learned about bees.  Big beautiful bumble bees tend to hover just outside our door where our bright lavender blooms.

Some of our favorite books included:

An easy to read little book that gives kids the facts about a bee's life.

 

From the perspective of a honeybee, the backyard is a busy place. A young bee faces many challenges as it takes its place in the hive and joins in the work of the bee community.

 Follow the chain reaction, and discover how important honey bees are.

Here is a great tutorial for needle felted bees from Passengers on a little spaceship.

Watch a PBS video about bees and their role in the beehive.

Here are some bee printables.

Illustrations courtesy of The Toymaker

 

 

So ends our Summer Bugs series.  Now on to new and creative learning.



Summer Bugs: Fireflies

 

 

 

In my early childhood I lived in Oklahoma with hot and humid summers.  When I was eight, we moved to Idaho, and while I consider Idaho home to this day, one thing I missed about Oklahoma was the fireflies (often called lightening bugs). The way they lifted above the grassy fields and lit up the sky at dusk entranced me in those early years.  Then, because it simply isn't humid in Idaho, I thought I would never see them on a regular basis again.  I was wrong, when I moved to Pennsylvania as an adult, to my delight, I found fireflies again!  Now my husband and I enjoy sharing their ethereal beauty with our children.

 



Here are some of the great books we read to learn more about fireflies.

 

Have you ever wondered how a firefly lights up? Fireflies in some areas of the world light up all at the same time, or in a specific order and pattern. Eager readers will glow with excitement while learning about these special insects!

An easy read for the beginning reader with beautiful, simple photographs.

A young girl recalls a remarkable moment-how she waited patiently through a long, hot afternoon for night to fall so she and her family could make a journey to the top of a hill to see an amazing sight: a multitude of blinking, winking, twinkling fireflies lighting up a nearby mountain

 

 

 

Here are some fascinating videos about fireflies:

 



fireflies in Utan  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFOmPQWw4Io

 

synchronized fireflies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC2OkCEdqU4

 

Our youngest loves walking around the neighborhood with his little glowing friends using his bug house from Imagine Childhood.

For a craft, we made paper bell jars, cut out the center, and put packing tape on both sides of the open space (laminating paper would have been even better). To make the fireflies, the boys drew little firefly bodies and using glow-in-the-dark paint painted little wings on with a q-tip. The boys hung their pictures from their bunk beds so they could see the litte fireflies glow at night.

It's not very impressive in the daylight, but

offers a subtle glow of light as little ones

drift off to dreamland.

 

 

Next week.... bees!

 

Green Bean Teepee

This year we decided to have a little more fun with the food we grow, so early in the spring I started green bean plants indoors and once the weather warmed, we built a frame for a green bean teepee. At the base of each string line we planted the bean plants and between the bean plants, we planted zucchini. It seemed to grow so slowly, then in August it suddenly filled out and we had a bounty of beans!

The green bean teepee has turned out to be a fine place to look for summer bugs.

We also planted rainbow carrots and orange peppers from Cubits. More on those in another post.

Summer Bugs - Butterflies

 

 



Welcome back to another installment in our Summer Bugs series.  This time around we studied butterflies. 

 

 

We were thrilled to have an indoor butterfly garden.  When our caterpillars arrived in the mail, we began our watching and waiting. About five days later, they formed their chrysalis.  We pinned the cloth holding the chrysalis in the protected netting area and just four days later our beautiful butterflies emerged.  Our neighbor was so kind to let us feed the butterflies from their butterfly bush.  After 3 days of observing our winged friends, we released them and they took flight toward our willow tree.  It was fascinating for everyone in the family to watch this transformation.  Such a wonder!

 

 

 

As in our previous bug studies, we found delightful books to read:

 

 

A delightful way to learn about the butterfly lifecycle with beautiful illustrations! It also includes tips in how to attract butterflies to your children's garden.

 

In this book an incredible variety of butterflies are celebrated in all of their beauty and wonder with lovely detailed illustrations.

For a fun recycle craft, visit my previous post on Paper Butterflies.

Visit the Nation's Treasures - For Free

This weekend we have an opportunity to connect with some of our greatest national treasures as the National Park Services celebrates Founder's Day.  On August 25 all fees are waived, and special programs will be available to the public. (Don't forget to ask for the Jr. Ranger Program.)

The National Park Service (NPS) began in 1872 with the founding of Yellowstone National Park.  With dedicated early leaders, the NPS grew into a highly esteemed organization dedicated to preservation and helping the public connect to its' resources. 

To find the park nearest you visit www.nps.gov.  If you are near Philadelphia, PA, come visit us at Independence National Historical Park as we open the new Benjamin Franklin Museum.  We are having special speakers, walking tours, and activities for families. 

Summer Bugs Series: Ladybugs

Welcome back to another post in our Summer Bugs series.  After dragonflies, we went on to study ladybugs. It just so happens we found one in our house the day we began our lessons, a rare surprise where our insect visitors tend to be moths and spiders.

The Ladybug Lady website had all the coloring pages, pictures, and ladybug facts we could want.

 

 





 

The UK Woodland Trust NatureDetectives site has many, many fun ways to help children interact with nature including ladybug (ladybird in the UK) games, information, and id sheets.  Well worth a visit.

Join Project Noah.  A wonderful resource where people submit photos and information on everything from aphids to zebras.  The submissions are wonderful!

 

Find ladybug lesson plans from the Lost Ladybug Project.

 

Learn a bit from National Geographic. 

 

 

Fill in  a ladybug lifecycle worksheet or make a ladybug minibook.

 

We also found some fun books at our library about ladybugs:

 

Ladybug encounters many predators while hunting for food and searching for a winter home. Ladybug's bright red coloring helps to keep her safe, while she looks for food for the long winter ahead.

 

 

 

 

This is a great educational spiral-bound book that explores the life cycle of the ladybug and the world of insects, and includes transparent pages that reveal the ladybug life cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

Another great book to learn about the ladybug life cycle.

 

 

I had intended to have the boys paint black rocks to look like ladybugs and use them as paperweights, but it we never managed to do it. *sigh*

 

 

 

Next, we are moving on to butterflies...