Posts Tagged ‘Homeschooling’

31 Days of Bible Crafts

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Bible-crafts

Here is an index for the 31 Days of Bible Crafts, to help parents teach their children the Word of God with joy. While describing how to do many of these crafts, I will be drawing spiritual significance from the project itself. I’ve chosen many symbols to represent spiritual truths.

These crafts begin in Genesis and go all the way through Revelation. Feel free to sign up at the bottom of this post for the printable version that includes color photos of each craft.

1. Bible Costume in Five Minutes
2. Garden of Eden Terrarium
3. Model of Noah’s Ark
4. Lego Tower of Babel
5. Lot’s Wife: Knock Over the Salt Doll
6. Sand and Stars: Abraham’s Descendants
7. Jacob’s Ladder
8. Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors
9. Ten Commandments Clay Craft
10. Tabernacle Model
11. Breastplate of High Priest
12. Sheep Craft
13. Hebrew Alphabet and Acrostic
14. Proverbs Puzzles
15. The Altar of Elijah
16. Ezekiel’s Scroll
17. Fiery Furnace Craft
18. Daniel and the Lion’s Den
19. Prophetic Statue from Daniel
20. Clay Oil Lamp Craft
21. Roman Coins Craft
22. Three Kings Craft
23. Homemade Nativity
24. A Farmer Sows Seeds
25. Crown of Thorns
26. Cross Mosaic
27. Resurrection Garden
28. Paul’s Jail Cell
29. Sword of the Spirit
30. Tree of Life
31. New Jerusalem Model

Sign up below for a free printable e-book of this Bible crafts series!

Find lots more hands-on activities for studying the Bible inside the Unit Study Treasure Vault!

Ode to the Mona Lisa

Thursday, September 19th, 2013

Mona-Lisa

My son Stephen Evans, who is 11 years old, wrote this “Ode to the Mona Lisa” a few days ago during our poetry class. An ode is a lyric poem. Lyric poems often have a refrain, or words that are repeated. Songs are lyric poems (which used to be sung accompanied with a lyre), and so are odes, which magnify one specific subject. Stephen chose to describe the Mona Lisa, and his refrain captures the essence of how he feels about the portrait:

Lined with pictures left and right
A hallway stretches indefinitely
I’ll never forget that portrait
It’s creepy; she’s staring at me

Her eyeballs move from side to side
Her thin smile has no glee
Her skin is deathly pale
It’s creepy; she’s staring at me

The misty background of the picture
Could be a murky swamp or sea
Her chair could sink into the ground
It’s creepy; she’s staring at me

Her hair is like spaghetti
She looks so solemn; can’t you see?
I’ll never forget that portrait
It’s creepy; she’s staring at me

The Mona Lisa was painted by the famous Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci.

Fun Art Supply Ideas (Free PDF)

Monday, September 9th, 2013

fun-art-supply-ideasHere is a list of fun art supply ideas for making art projects with your children:

  1. Colored pencils
  2. Stapler
  3. School glue
  4. Scissors
  5. Construction paper
  6. Crayons
  7. Markers
  8. Glitter
  9. Tempera paint
  10. Watercolors
  11. Wooden sculpture base
  12. Clay
  13. Chalk
  14. Rubber stamps and ink
  15. Large roll of paper
  16. Yarn
  17. Twine
  18. String
  19. Hole punch
  20. Computer paper
  21. Fake jewels
  22. Buttons
  23. Glass jars
  24. Foil
  25. Pipe cleaners
  26. Hot glue gun
  27. Fabric scraps
  28. Tape
  29. Paper fasteners
  30. Juice lids
  31. Checkbook boxes
  32. Large cardboard boxes
  33. Plaster of Paris
  34. Needle and thread
  35. Sewing Machine
  36. Felt
  37. Gold rope
  38. Velcro
  39. Easel
  40. Card stock paper
  41. Newspaper
  42. Clear contact paper
  43. Fabric glue
  44. Cookie cutters
  45. Stencils
  46. Nature journal
  47. Acrylic paint
  48. Paintbrushes
  49. Tracing paper
  50. Popsicle sticks
  51. Paper bags
  52. Safety pins
  53. Leather scraps
  54. Wood scraps
  55. Drawing pencils
  56. Art eraser
  57. Small seashells
  58. Sand
  59. Scrapbook paper
  60. Small pom poms
  61. Ribbon
  62. Colorful tissue paper
  63. Toothpicks
  64. Hammer and nails
  65. Shoe boxes
  66. Magnetic tape
  67. Small fake ivy
  68. Feathers
  69. Rubber bands
  70. Fabric markers
  71. Florist wire
  72. Oil pastels
  73. Skickers
  74. Mosaic tiles
  75. Art books

Here is a free PDF download of this list:

How do you organize these fun art supplies? I show you one way to organize your art supplies in this 2-minute video. You will see a lot of the art supplies listed above inside this organized contraption:

Why not get a fresh homeschool room makeover? Check it out here.

Haiku: Memories of England

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

haiku-memories-of-englandBack when I lived in England as a teacher before I was married, I wrote a set of haiku. If you are not familiar with this type of Japanese poetry, it is only three lines, with five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku are usually about nature, and sensory details are used to bring out a moment frozen in time. Here are the haiku I wrote about England:

Half-timbered houses
Thatched cottages with roses
Crawling up old walls

Lazy afternoons
Sip cream tea and savor scones
At an old tea shoppe

Cathedral bells chime
Beckoning men and women
To draw near to God

Castles by the sea
Breathtaking in their beauty
Capture sighing hearts

Here you are with me
Among the valley’s flowers
And I feel at home