Planning Ahead: Presidents’ Day
February 10, 2010
Presidents’ Day, originally known as Washington’s Birthday, falls on the third Monday of February. As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, February 22. By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term “Presidents’ Day” began its public appearance. This day has since expanded the focus of the holiday to honor another President born in February, Abraham Lincoln, and often other Presidents of the United States. Although Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, was never a Federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington’s Birthday observances as “President’s Day”, “Washington and Lincoln Day”, or other such designations.
There are many websites to read about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. President Washington is almost universally admired. President Lincoln is viewed from several different perspectives which I won’t go into in this post, but may be worth further study. Below are two sites that interest me and that I will be using on Monday with the kids.
Read about George Washington here.
Read about Abraham Lincoln here.
Now for some activities to help celebrate the day. Dress up like the Presidents of the past with this fun “Powdered Wig“. This looks so easy and fun. We don’t do a lot of crafts in our home but this one has to be done. I just need to run over to the paint store to get the paper painters hats. I think it will be fun for all of us to put on our wigs and read about these two popular Presidents.
If the wig isn’t easy enough, you can fall back on these wonderful coloring pages. I am thankful that I downloaded these last year from the White House Kid’s website. The Obama administration has since removed them from the site. You are free to use and pass them on as long as they are used for personal use and not for profit.
Download a full coloring book of all 41 Presidents:
Download a George Washington coloring page only
Download a Abraham Lincoln coloring page only
Happy Presidents’ Day!!
Original posting February 13th, 2009
Planning Ahead: Valentines Day
February 4, 2010
Here are some ideas to plan a fun day for celebrating the holiday of the heart.
Do something totally different this year; a unit study of the human heart:
Purchase a beef heart at your local butcher. You can discuss the chambers of the heart, and the blood vessels. Compare this heart to a human heart diagram or model. Talk about the differences and likenesses.
Linkage:
History of Valentines Day Videos
Printable Valentine Stationary
Printable Puzzles and Activities
The following is one of my favorite posts from February 2009
The fruit of the Spirit is love. This is the first quality of the Spirit divinely inspired by God. You will find two kinds of love in scripture. Philos love which is a friendly love or the love one has toward a friend or companion. Agape love which is a caring love, the first quality of the Spirit. Agape is a divine capacity to love. Only God is capable of perfect Agape but we should strive to love as He loves us. Agape is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, and it is not proud. 1Corinthians 13:4-8
Agape seeks the highest and best for another. It is not self seeking, thus the ability to be slow to anger. Psalm 145:8. Agape keeps no record of wrongs and does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Praise God for His Agape upon us!
If you want to learn more about Agape love and other qualities of the Spirit, I recommend taking Beth Moore’s study Living Beyond Yourself, Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit.
Happy almost Valentines Day!
Here are some bible verses in the romantic King James version to help you celebrate this holiday of love:
Fill your heart with Gods word
Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Romans 10:10
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. Mark 12:30
Search me, oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. Psalm 139:23
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4
Verses that speak of God’s Love
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3
God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. 1 John 3:1
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19
Blueberry Season – Teaching for all Seasons
July 19, 2009
I am taking the 100 Digits berry picking this week. Since we need to get back into school gear after a couple weeks of summer camps I decided to look into a blueberry unit study. The blueberry council has put together some great pages to make learning about blueberries fun. You can download them below or visit blueberrycouncil.com . There are 3 worksheets for grades 3rd and 4th and 3 worksheets for 5th and 6th. I think that you can find ways to use them at any grade level. They are great, check them out.
add-up-fruit-fun -Math 5th/6th
blueberries-for-every-season -Geography 5th/6th
latest-fruit-news – Language Arts 5th/6th
read-write-and-blue – Language Arts 3rd/4th
blueberries-cuisine-Geography 3rd/4th
blueberry power worksheet (shown above)
For information on U-Pick Farms local to western Washington click here.
Fun Blueberry facts
- The blueberry muffin is the official muffin of Minnesota.
- It is also the most popular muffin in the U.S.
- The blueberry is the official state fruit of New Jersey.
- July is National Blueberry Month in the U.S.
- August is the National Blueberry Month in Canada.
National Poison Prevention Week
March 13, 2009
This year National Poison Prevention Week is March 15th-21st
What is National Poison Prevention Week?
Public Law 87-319 authorizes the President to designate annually the third week in March as National Poison Prevention Week. This act of Congress was signed into law on September 16, 1961, by President Kennedy, after which the Poison Prevention Week Council was organized to coordinate this annual event. Congress intended this event as a means for local communities to raise awareness of the dangers of unintentional poisonings and to take such preventive measures as the dangers warrant.
Did You Know…
…poisonings just surpassed traffic fatalities as the leading cause of injury-related death in Washington State and the third leading cause of hospitalization?
…91% of poisonings take place in the home?
…the WAPC answers more calls about medications (specifically pain killers) than any other potentially harmful substance!
(facts taken from The YUK Report Winter 2008)
Here are some activities to incorporate into school this coming week:
More on Plants, A list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants
You will be able to find these and many more educational resources on your local Poison Center’s website. The website for the Washington Poison Center is here.
What is a Poison Center?
A Poison Center is a knowledge resource center, set up for the benefit of you and your
community. Up-to-date information about millions and millions of dangerous products and raw
materials is available here for quick, easy retrieval, 24 hours a day, every day. The person who
answers your call to the Poison Center is a dedicated, highly-trained poison information
specialist with access to the latest medical research in toxicology, the study of poisons. Through
regular research and continuing communications with national toxicology specialists, the Poison
Center makes itself a resource for the latest information on the treatment for exposures to
hazardous substances.
The Poison Center is an education center. The staff helps train and update medical professionals
on new toxicological research and treatment. The Poison Center reaches out to the community
with valuable education programs for families at home, day care centers, schools, service clubs,
civic organizations, etc. The Poison Center serves everyone and animals, too!.
The Poison Center serves the community by saving money. When the public—you—learn to
call the Poison Center first, at 1-800-222-1222, when you suspect a poisoning, thousands of
needless hospital visits and unnecessary use of emergency transport vehicles are eliminated.
With the Poison Center’s knowledgeable help, most poisonings can be successfully treated at
home. This saves each community hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in medical costs
and frees-up police, 911 and other emergency personnel for other people that need them.
Call the Washington Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 for poison help or for information about
preventing poisonings. This is a national phone number so whatever state you live in you will be connected to your local center.
Observing Trees and Popular Hiking Trails
February 24, 2009
Click on the Image to Download Your Tree Guide
Here is a great little guide for tree spectating offered by the Washington Trails Association.
It’s amazing how many different types of trees we pass by every day without even noticing.
We can see many, many varieties of trees just by looking out the windows of our house. If you have this option, it is also a fun activity on an indoor day. Challenge the kids to name the different trees they can spot. On a day that is good for going on a walk, you can observe the trees closer and see if they guessed the species correctly. This guide has great close up photos of the leaves and bark so that you can easily determine the species.
Keep a copy of the guide in the car with you when you go on walks or visit the park!
Also, here are The Ten Most Popular Hiking Trails as compiled by the Washington Trails Association. Choose a new trail and take your tree guide to observe the trees.
2. Goat Lake (North Cascades/Mountain Loop Hwy.)
3. Rattlesnake Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass/North Bend area)
4. Oyster Dome (North Puget Sound/Chuckanut area)
5. Boulder River (North Cascades/Darrington area)
6. Snow Lake (Snoqualmie Pass)
7. Bandera Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass)
8. Granite Mountain (Snoqualmie Pass)
9. Lake 22 (North Cascades/Mountain Look Hwy.)
10. Twin Falls State Park (Snoqualmie Pass/North Bend area)
Valentine Puppet
February 10, 2009
These images are explicitly marked with the attribution. You may use these printable pages for personal and/or educational use only.
The Night Before Christmas ~ Coloring Book
December 13, 2008
Christmas Online Activities and Printables
December 12, 2008
This is an awesome printable of Christmas Worksheets based on Luke 2:1-20.
Variety of Word Puzzles by Month and Holiday at Newsword
Kaboose Funschool for a variety of online coloring and activities for Christmas
A list of many coloring pages at Squidoo
Thanksgiving ~ Setting a Bountiful Table
November 22, 2008
This is a project file in PDF format. Just click on the link and it will take you to full instructions on; How to set a bountiful table, create a Mayflower, turkey, and pilgrim table decorations.
I would like to give credit where credit is due. I have had this in my files for years and do not know the origin. Thank you for such a great project whomever you may be.
