Cheap & Easy History Timeline

 

We use KONOS unit studies and LOVE it! If you have a wiggly, hands-on type learner you might find you love it too! One of my son's favorite activities is putting his characters on his timeline. We are super budget conscious (cheap) over here and have very limited wall space so, instead of the AMAZING poster KONOS offers, though I do plan to get it at some point, I chose to make my own. I did purchase their awesome timeline characters though, they were just too cute to pass up! You can see their amazing timeline and charcters HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

I found these packs of "word strips" at our local dollar store and thought I could use them as my timeline!



When I turned them over they were a solid color, which I liked better. I decided to use red for BC and alternate yellow and green for AD. I then used a sharpie to write dates on both ends of each strip. Each strip is 100 years. This is what it looked like when we first put it up...

 

 

 

...and this is what it looks like after our Inquisitive unit.

 

 

 Notice I had to add a green strip. I knew I would need to at some point so I made sure to give myself extra room on the wall to do so! I keep the extra strips in my teaching closet.

 

Annnd this is Xander photobombing me. Such a ham.

 Here's a close up of one of his favorite people we studied, Leif Erikson. Isn't he cute?!

 

 

Xander had to grab his globe to show Leif was an explorer!

 

This timeline was only $6 to make which made my frugal heart happy!

 

 I love the premade characters we use, but if you have an artistic child, they might enjoy drawing their own! Do you use a history timeline in your homeschool?

 

 

 

 

 

Making a Prayer Journal and Bible Notebook

A few years ago my best friend made me a prayer journal for my birthday. It has seriously been one of my most favorite gifts I've ever received!

This past week in our KONOS Inquisitiveness unit, Xander was instructed to make his very own prayer journal. I was more than happy to show him mine and help him make his own!
 

My prayer journal

I love that she organized verses into topics for easy reference and even added a few poems and hymns. She even put my favorite verse on the front! 

We used a small photo album we purchased at the dollar store and simply turned the decorative cover sheet over so we'd have a nice white background. I wrote out his favorite verse and put it on thop of the cover which he then decorated with stickers.

 Back cover

 

Front cover

On the inside I wrote out some of his favorite verses. He's already in the habit of highlighting verses he finds that he really enjoys, so I am encouraging him to write them out and add them to his journal too. 

Here's one he's already added

I also gave him 4 index cards all with different prayer topics so he could list the names of those he felt led to pray for. He has a card for friends, family, unbelievers, and healing. He may want to add more in the future, but I thought that was a good start! If he was younger, I would have had him put pictures of the friends and family he's praying for instead of having him write their names. I still may suggest it!

I have a separate journal I use for studying the bible and taking notes. However, I decided just to add a small notebook to the middle of his prayer journal for any questions or thoughts he may have while praying/reading.  

I just put the front cover of the notebook under the plastic to secure it. 

This little notebook/journal has already come in very handy, and I think it's helping lead him into a deeper level of study and prayer. I hope it gets as worn out as mine!

Tabernacle Study: Breastplate Cookie Craft

We are currently 5 weeks into our KONOS unit study on honor. One of our topics for the next few weeks is the Jewish Tabernacle. We have already learned about the building itself and are now studying the laws and practices of the levitical priests. Since the book of Leviticus can be a bit intimidating for a 9 year old ( and his mama ) we are doing as many hands-on projects as possible!

Yesterday, my oldest son needed candy for a DNA project he's working on for school - And since we all know that you can't buy candy for one child and not the other, no matter the circumstances, I decided we would make a cookie model of the Jewish High Priest's breastplate. I wanted to use jelly beans but was quickly shot down by both boys. Apparently there are kids that don't like Jelly Bellys! Who knew?! It was decided M&Ms were the way to go - which suits me just fine :)

First, we rolled out our sugar cookie dough. Next, we used a tiny square cookie cutter ( bought for a Minecraft project ) to cut out our squares. Then, Xander put an M&M face down on each cookie. 

Next, I rolled out a bigger piece of dough, cut it into a large square and had Xander place 12 of the small squares ( gems ) on top of it in 3 rows of 4. 

After watching it like a hawk for about 10 minutes it was done. . .  and only slightly crisp on the edges. Nothing a little stroke of the knife won't fix! 

 

 

If I were to do this again I would bake the cookie pieces individually ( duh! ) and put them together with frosting. I'm still happy with how this turned out though. . . .

. . . and I think Xander is too!

Sculptor Studies: Alexander Calder

I believe Alexander Calder has been Xander's favorite artist/sculptor we have studied so far! He was really fascinated with his mobiles and circus characters.

We read a brief biography online (HERE) and looked up some of his most famous works.

We watched a video of his famous mobile at the National Gallery of Art. . . youtube has a bunch of Calder videos!

Then we watched some videos of his circus which Xander found hilarious. (as with everything else, I suggest viewing the video first to decide if it's appropriate for little eyes. There were a couple scenes I skipped when sharing it with my son)

I also found this awesome video showing how to make a mobile from cardboard. I must confess, this has been MY favorite project so far!

 

First, we made a simple level using push pins as instructed in the video

 

Next I let my son draw the shapes on cardboard as instructed by the video and I cut them out using an exacto knife. Then I used paper clips to link the shapes together. 

After linking all the shapes, we decided to paint our mobile. 

 

 

Our finished project. . .

 

This was a really fun piece that was pretty easy to make and ended up looking really nice! We used oil paint, but you may want to use something a bit less messy. However, I think oil is Xander's favorite medium just because of said messiness!  Haha, such a boy ;)

You can see other ideas for KONOS on my Pinterest boards!

Sculptor Studies: Henry Moore

We have been using KONOS volume one this year and are currently on the Honor unit. Part of this study is on famous sculptors. This goes along with the notion that we are created and molded by God.

We have looked at a lot of famous sculptures and statues these past few weeks, including The Discus Thrower, The Thinker, The Statue of Liberty, and many others. So, I thought I would share some of his favorites over the next few days. 

Today's sculptor is Henry Moore. 

We read a biography from our local library and made our own Moore inspired art piece using foil.

First we made our design out of pipe cleaners

 

 

They totally look like race cars, right?! ;)

 

Then we simply wrapped our design with recycled foil....and done!



 

 

 

He really enjoyed this craft...I liked how simple (and cheap) it was ;)

You can find more KONOS ideas on my Pinterest boards! 

Making a Cardboard Puppet Theatre

This week Xander wrote/ directed/ and starred in this very first popcicle stick puppet show. We made his theater out of a huge cardboard box, paper towel rolls, and old paint we had lying around. His play was about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I have video footage, but I thought I'd spare you . . .this time

The bottom piece is just a regular box with a door cut out in the back.

My husband decided to get fancy and make the top an triangle, but a smaller box flipped upside down would be perfect to!

 



 

While Xander drew a background on posterboard, I assembled the card boar pieces with hot glue. Then we both painted it together. He decided on the stickers!

 

 

 

He had a GREAT time writing and performing!

 

You can get these puppet cut outs HERE

 

OR

 

You can use THESE Bible character puppet cut outs I found this morning!

 ~ You may be seeing more of these! ~

 

 

We baked cupcakes. Yum!

 

 

 

We learned about woodworking with my super talented friend, Lisa, and her boys.

 

 Yeah, I know his sweatshirt is backwards. He thought he could use the hood as a mask. Ha!

  

I thought it was so cute I stole it and put it on my nightstand. Mamas can do that. 

 

 

We are in week 2 of our KONOS Honor study. This week we are learning about the attributes of God, pottery and sculpture, and hymns. Xander has asked to learn about the names of God so we are adding that to the agenda as well. I will post more about that later. You can check out my KONOS: Honor board on Pinterest  HERE

 

 

We are also about half way through Grammar-Land by M. L. Nesbitt. Xander has found it very entertaining and helpful. . . though we're all book worms here ;)

You can find Grammar-land in Public Domain. I found notebooking pages, worksheets, and other great resources HERE and an audio recording HERE.

If your kids hate textbooks as much as mine, I'd highly suggest Grammar-Land!


Whew! Now . . . who's ready for NEXT week?!


Blessings,
Gina <3

 

 

 

Downton and KONOS

I can't believe I didn't make ONE SINGLE POST the whole month of January!! I'm gonna blame it on the return of Downton Abbey (woohoo!) and the recent subscription to Amazon Prime my mom so graciously blessed us with.

We've been fervently feeding our BBC addictions *sigh*

Back to homeschooling...

We have decided to go back to unit studies using KONOS vol 1 as an outline. We've tried other approaches and curriculums and although KONOS is very parent driven, I think (NOW) that may be exactly what I love about it! 

For instance, we were already beginning to learn about the attributes of God when Xander (encouraged by the sermon heard Sunday) decided he'd like to learn about the NAMES of God as well. So we will take a bit more time and learn BOTH at once. I've been researching this and am getting super excited about it myself! I will post about it as we get further along. 

I love the freedom unit studies give us to further explore his interests! Add that to the BLARING fact that he's an anesthetic learner and you can see why I'm so excited to get back to KONOS! 

Follow me on Pinterest for KONOS ideas and helps. I have multiple KONOS unit study boards on and am sure to be adding to them!

Blessings,

Gina <3