Jeopardy - Ancient History Edition!

When we ended our school year last week we decided to have a family Jeopardy competition instead of a unit celebration. June has shaped up to be a very busy month, and it was just easier to do a simple thing to mark the end of our year. And sometimes it's nice to have a change of pace!

I made up questions in four categories, based on our studies for the entire year. They ranged in point value from 100 (timeline 100 question: what does B.C. stand for?) to 500 (what year did the western Roman Empire fall?). No notes were allowed. (note: I am going to laminate this Jeopardy poster so it will be easy to use over and over again, but I am going to change the last category to "Daily Life" instead of "Countries".)


Daddy and the two younger boys made up one team.


And the three older children made up the other team. Team members could confer with each other before the final answer was given. To make it easier I did not have them answer with the question, as in the original TV Jeopardy.


Some of the conferring happened up in the air!


The older children's team won by a narrow margin. It was a fierce competition! Afterward we had cookies and ice cream.



A simple but fun ending to our year!

From B.C. to A.D.!!

We finished school last week, but a few weeks before our last day, we finally made it to the time period of history when Jesus Christ lived on earth! This was very exciting, as all we'd studied up to then pointed to Christ's coming, or in some way prepared for His coming. We re-read some of the New Testament accounts of his ministry (we read through all the gospels last year) and then read about his arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. When we finished reading, I asked Sons L, C, and Little Man to write (or narrate to me) what they remembered. They each made a mini book like this:


This is Little Man's.


Open the big flap, and three smaller flaps are inside.


This is what he told me to write under each flap.

Narrating to me, and writing down what they remember, is a great way to discern how much of our reading they have internalized. (By the way, this method is a hallmark of the Charlotte Mason style of teaching.)

After this we continued our study of the Roman Empire, ending our year with the fall of the western Roman Empire in 476 A.D. We will pick up at this time in history when we start Tapestry of Grace Year 2 in the fall.

It has been an incredible year of learning for all of us, probably me most of all! I have loved Year 1, and am already looking forward to returning to it in four more years!

Ancient Greece and Rome Kit from Hands and Hearts (and a valuable coupon for YOU!)

Throughout this school year we have used various projects from the Ancient Greece and Rome History Kit made by Hands and Hearts. What follows is a review of this kit. In exchange for my review I will receive a coupon, but my opinions are solely my own. By writing this review I will also be eligible to receive a free Kindle! I'll be honest and say that I really, really, really, really, really want the free Kindle. There are two ways to win ~ first, the blog author who has the highest number of readers purchasing an item from Hands and Hearts will receive a Kindle, and second, another winner will be chosen through a random drawing. Despite my desire for a Kindle, I will also be honest when I say that this kit is by far the best hands on kit I have used in our 10 years of homeschooling!

So, my dear blog readers, I am shamelessly asking you to read this post through in its entirety, and then PLEASE visit the Hands and Hearts website. They have many items that would enhance your homeschool studies, make great summer time activities, and even make wonderful birthday or Christmas gifts, such as their deluxe potholder loom, or the Night Sky Glow in the Dark Sticker Book. If you enter the coupon code "Pam" during checkout, you will receive 15% off your purchase! (and I will be a bit closer to winning that free Kindle!)

Here are some of the activities we did from the Ancient Greece and Rome kit. First, when we studied Ancient Greece a few months ago, our daughter used the mosaic project in the kit to make this beautiful masterpiece:



All of the materials that were supposed to be included were included, and the directions were clear and easy to follow. We also painted "Greek" pottery ~ some pots as well as paints and brushes were included in the kit.


For more pictures on the mosaic project and the painted pottery project we did from this kit, please go here. I did purchase an additional student kit, and found that with two kits we had more than enough materials for all five of our children to do most projects. I did have to provide a couple more small clay pots for the pot painting project, but those were easily found in our gardening shed.

More recently, as we've been studying Ancient Rome, we have had fun playing this game that matches Roman and English numbers. The cards for this game were printed on cardstock with perforations for easy separating. Again, the directions were clear and easy to follow. A great way to learn Roman numerals, and it's lots of fun!




Another project we did from the Ancient Greece and Rome kit was making frescoes. This was very fun and extremely popular with all the children. We did this activity on a weekend so that dad could be involved too! Again, I was impressed that all the parts for this activity were clearly labeled, and directions were easy to follow. First, as I mixed up the plaster the children drew on paper the pictures they would later paint on to the wet plaster.


The plaster came in heavy plastic bags, and I just added water to the bag and mixed it right in the bag. After pouring the plaster into the provided foam containers, I just threw the empty bag away. Virtually no mess!


After waiting about 35 minutes for the plaster to "set", we painted our pictures while the plaster was still damp.







Here are the finished frescoes, according to age. First Little Man's (with help from daddy). His is a carnivorous dinosaur in the process of eating something! (bet you didn't know there were dinosaurs in Ancient Rome!?!)


Son C's is a simple lake scene:


Son L painted a picture of Spiderman swinging through a city street:


Son G chose a sunset picture:


And daughter G painted a Roman chariot race:


Didn't they turn out beautifully?! Son G said, "I liked painting frescoes best of all the activities. I enjoyed painting mine, and I like knowing the picture will be there for thousands of years!"

I can honestly say that some of the major highlights of this year for the children were the fun activities we did from these kits! There are a wide variety of activities in each kit (even more that we did not get to), as well as copywork, and Bible verses for memorization. The kits are well planned, thorough, and easy to implement. What I love best about them is they are FUN, and the directions are very clear and not complicated.

If you are interested in seeing how Hands and Hearts can make history come alive for your children, please use this link to visit their website. If you choose to make a purchase, by using this link you will automatically receive 15% off your entire purchase (discount will already be applied). You can also go to their website directly, and then enter the coupon code "Pam" during checkout to receive your 15% off. This discount will expire at midnight on June 11.

Have a child who loves to bake? Check out this ABC baking kit.
Or a boy who is into building things? How about this foam construction kit.
There are so many great items at Hands and Hearts, including some beautifully illustrated books. Please check them out!

Edible Mosaics

We are now in unit 4 of Tapestry of Grace Year 1, and learning in depth about the Ancient Romans. The Romans took many aspects of Greek culture and made them uniquely "Roman", one of those being the intricate mosaics they are known for. We had already made paper mosaics when we studied the Greeks, but I got this edible mosaic idea from my friend at Much Like Hippies. It was a HUGE hit!!

We used graham crackers for our base, covered them with vanilla frosting, and built patterns with mini m-n-m's. What's not to love about a project like that? Fun to make, fun to eat, and nothing to store afterwards! ;-)


Little Man made a cat.



Daughter G worked on a globe picture of the earth.



Son G made this Roman soldier, complete with long, rectangular shield! (so different from the round shields of the Greeks)



Son C also made a picture of a cat, along with the word "meow" across the bottom.



And son L made a dog.



I made no mosaic but did enjoy the m-n-m's while everyone else was working!! A fun, easy, and "light" activity - thank you T!