BIBLE:
Memory Verse:
I created a Bible verse pack for this week’s Bible memory verse.
You can download your FREE copy here at our TPT Store.
On Monday, the boys traced and illustrated their Bible verse while listening to the Sing the Word track.
On Wednesday, the boys cut and pasted their Bible verse in their Bible notebook.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
The 13 Colonies:
Last week we read about Christmas in Colonial America.
I found a fun “seek and find” colonial recipe for Scripture cake in our Christmas USA .
I drew a quick Seek and Find Scripture Cake worksheet for the boys to use. You can grab your FREE copy here.
The boys had fun finding all the ingredients in their Bible. It was a sweet treasure hunt!
Christmas Around the World:
The Gingerbread Express:
We boarded the Gingerbread Express to begin our Christmas journey around the world.
The kids created their Christmas Around the World page to begin the holiday season.
Gingerbread Boarding Pass:
Each year, the kids color a gingerbread man as their ticket, or boarding pass, to travel the globe learning about Christmas celebrations around the world.
The kids painted their gingerbread buddies and we set them aside to dry.
Christmas in Italy:
The Gingerbread Express took us to our first destination, Italy! The kids enjoyed eating Pomodoro, Italian cake, for breakfast.
We read Christmas in Italy (Christmas around the World)
The boys colored their Christmas in Italy worksheets (Little Red).
Rustic Italian Bread:
I made stew for dinner and needed a nice loaf of bread to go with it. I asked Bub to make a rustic Italian bread while we were learning about “Christmas in Italy”.
I set out our recipe and ingredients and had Jordan add them to our bread machine pan.
He measured and added everything to the bread pan and we put it on the “dough cycle”.
After rising, Bub sliced the tops and we put them in the oven to bake.
I forgot to add the egg wash before placing them in the oven, but they still were crusty on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. Great job Bub!
Italian Wedding Cookies:
I’ve wanted to make Italian wedding cookies since I saw a recipe on Pinterest, but I never found the time. Well, after our school week was done I headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch.
I chose vanilla extract instead of the almond extract this recipe called for. The batter was sticky and slightly eggy, but I happen to love “eggy” dough. I used my cookie scoop to make the rounded spoonfuls of dough.
I popped the dough balls in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, I moved the cookie dough from the freezer into the oven. The deep-freeze keeps them from “melting” into the flat cookie shape.
I did NOT let them cool completely (you really should, but my patience was running low). I dipped them in the creamy glaze and added sprinkles.
Don’t they look pretty? They tasted delicious on day 1, day 2, AND day 3! They were fun to make AND eat!
Christmas in Australia:
We read A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas
The boys colored their Christmas in Australia worksheets (Little Red).
Jordan made everyone a refreshing citrus drink. Perfect for a Christmas party at the beach.
We enjoyed sipping our citrus drink and eating Christmas tree fairy bread.
Christmas in Germany:
We read Christmas in Germany (First Facts: Christmas Around the World)
When studying Germany, you MUST make gingerbread! I whipped up a batch of cookies for the kids to enjoy with cold milk.
On Friday, they created their own gingerbread cookie. We had a bear, “Guffy”, Baby Yoda (Grogu), Capt’n Cookie with his sword and ship.
The kids had fun decorating their gingerbread cookies.
They looked too good to eat….almost!
LANGUAGE ARTS:
5th Grade:
Grammar Ace – Voice:
We reviewed Jordan’s Grammar Ace lesson on “voice”.
I printed a copy of our Active and Passive Voice Christmas Presents worksheet. You can grab your FREE copy here at our TPT Store.
Syllables & Hyphens:
Jordan copywork was teaching him how to divide words with hyphens using a syllable break. I printed our Christmas Syllable pack.
You can purchase a copy here at our TPT Store.
I had him “slice the cookies” on the syllable break.
3rd Grade Grammar Grab Bag:
I created a Fall is in the Air themed grammar grab bag for this week’s language art activities, but since we started our Sonlight curriculum a few weeks behind schedule, I revised our version with gingerbread clipart to match our Christmas unit.
You can purchase our fall themed copy here at our TPT Store.
Spelling:
First, Parker practiced forming words with letter tiles on his spelling mat. Afterwards, he practiced writing his spelling words.
Synonyms & Antonyms:
I printed a copy of our Christmas Symbols pack to use with this week’s antonym lesson.
You can purchase a copy here at our TPT Store.
First, we reviewed antonyms (words with opposite meanings) and synonyms (words with similar meaning). Then I had Parker sort through the stack of word cards.
Afterwards, Parker color-coded his worksheet.
I also had him work through the Angelic Antonyms activity. He did a great job!
Creative Writing:
Hot Cocoa:
Our neighbors delivered hot cocoa, candy, and mugs to the kids in the neighborhood. How incredibly sweet and thoughtful! The kids were elated and could use a little “sweet kick” to finish their school day.
The hot cocoa was inspiration for this week’s creative writing assignment. We decided “making hot cocoa” would be the perfect “how to” subject. Now for the hard part (yeah right), whipping up hot cocoa to ensure we have the steps down.
First, I gave an overview of the process then Parker did each step in the process. Next, he “taught me” how to make hot cocoa which cemented the process in his mind.
Now that he was an expert, we took turns making everyone a sweet holiday drink!
Hot Chocolate:
On Thursday, I realized Parker should know how to make hot chocolate from scratch. So we went through the “from scratch” steps together.
First, we heated our milk. Then we melted our chocolate, in 30 second intervals.
Next, we added just enough warm milk to make our chocolate a syrup-like consistency.
Last, we filled our mug half-way with milk, added some chocolate syrup, mixed it, filled it to the top with more milk and mixed it again.
Voila! Parker made a mug of hot chocolate from scratch! He sat back and tasted the fruit of his labor.
He typed the entire process on his computer! This was a festive and fun twist!
Reading:
This week, I finally gave our bookshelf a holiday update!
I switched out our Thanksgiving books for Christmas picture books. Now “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!”
Parker and I read several Christmas books this week. Once again, I repeat myself by saying, “you can NEVER read too many books!”
MATH:
Calendar:
I gave the boys their December Calendar worksheets to complete this week.
They added the dates, birthdays, holidays and answered the calendar questions.
SCIENCE:
Christmas Tree Science:
I thought it would be fun to learn about growing Christmas trees.
We read Christmas Farm
We went for a walk and collected various pinecones.
I printed copies of our Pinecone Experiment worksheet from our Growing Christmas Trees – Little Science Pack.
The boys sketched the pinecone and placed it in a glass of water. After about an hour they recorded their results. They found it fascinating to see the pinecone close itself.