Month: March 2012

The Jesus Tree–Day Twenty-Three

Today’s reading was the story of the rich man and Lazarus as found in Luke 16:19-31. It’s a slightly less-familiar reading, at least for my children, so they really listened to the story. This led to a discussion about how people are given the chance to hear to the Word while on Earth, and there are no “do-overs” once you die. I thought that using an angel for the symbol was a bit of a stretch, because angels are only given the briefest of mention in verse 22, but then again, I guess I wouldn’t want a flame representing Hell on the tree, either. Not an easy reading to come up with a symbol for!

This was the first day where I had to use a children’s Bible not published by CPH to do our evening reading. Instead, I used our copy of the Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. This is also a good children’s Bible, because of how thorough it is. It covers more stories than are usually found in a children’s Bible, (like today’s reading),the stories tend to be longer and more detailed, and it also uses more sophisticated language than children’s Bibles tend to. It’s still a simplified version of the actual Bible text, but can be helpful in getting children used to listening to something a little closer to the words from the Bible.

The Jesus Tree–Day Twenty-Two

Today’s reading was The Parable of The Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-32. You could also easily call this “The Parable of The Lost Son,” as it falls in the same chapter of Luke as The Parables of The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin, thus emphasizing how Jesus came to seek the lost. I have also heard this parable referred to by a pastor as “The Parable of The Waiting Father,” thus putting the emphasis of the story on God, and not on us. I really like that way of looking at it, and I shared that with the children as we read the story. While there is certainly more information in the parable about the son and his exploits, the real point of the story is the father, who waited, and then welcomed his wayward son with open arms, (and a ring, as pictured in the symbol for today)  just as God does with us sinners. No matter how you refer to it, it’s a great analogy of God’s love for (and patience with) us!

Tasty Tuesday–Replica Qdoba Mexican Gumbo

After making Southwestern Turkey Soup in January, but substituting leftover Pork Carnitas for the turkey in the recipe, I realized that I had the basis for replicating the “Mexican Gumbo” that Qdoba serves. I have to say, I think I’ve come up with a pretty good approximation! Bunny seems to agree with that assessment, as it has quickly become one of her favorites, as well. It even works with leftovers from the original turkey soup variation, if you’re not in the mood for pork!

  • Leftover Southwestern Soup, (with the majority of the broth drained off)
  • Cooked Rice, (flavored with lime juice, to taste)
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Shredded Jack Cheese
  • Tortilla Strips
  • Sour Cream
  • Salsa

Place cooked rice in the bottom of a bowl. Top with leftover soup, using only enough broth to keep the rice moist. Garnish with toppings as desired…my favorites are cilantro and shredded jack cheese.

The Jesus Tree–Day Twenty-One

Today’s story was about Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night as recorded in John 3:1-15. Because this story focuses on being born again via Baptism, the symbol to go with the reading is a dove on a water drop. We had a good discussion about who Nicodemus was, and why he came to Jesus at night, instead of during the day. We also talked about the faith of Nicodemus, and how he believed in Jesus, even though his station in life and associates would suggest he “shouldn’t” have.

The Jesus Tree–Day Twenty

Today’s reading was about Jesus healing an invalid man at the pool of Bethesda, found in John 5:1-15. This is another familiar story, but still good to read again. We did have an interesting discussion about why the people gathered at the pool, and what it meant that they were waiting for the waters to be “stirred up.”  When we read the story in A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories, it pretty much stated as fact that the water was occasionally stirred up by angels for healing purposes, while the notes in my Lutheran Study Bible referred to this as a “Greek Cultic Belief.” In the end, we decided that while it could be true, the fact that the Bible doesn’t specifically say it’s true means that it at best doesn’t matter if the water had actual healing properties. All that really matters is that Jesus was able to heal this man with only a word!

Sadly, this was another symbol (a mat) that didn’t photograph well, and doesn’t show up well against the banner because of how dark it is. It was fun to make, though, partly because it was easy, and partly because it was just fun to fringe the edges!

The Jesus Tree–Day Nineteen

Today’s reading was about the Samaritan Woman at the Well, as recorded in John 4:4-42. The ESV reading was not only long, but it’s also a pretty complicated reading for children, so I was especially grateful to read a simplified version in The Story Bible, as well. For some reason, I had a hard time stopping and explaining the actual text as we were reading, possibly because it was so long.

My symbol for the tree today wasn’t so great. It’s made of dark felt, which makes sense, but doesn’t show up very well against the banner, and even less so in a photo. There were optional suggestions in the directions for adding stones to the base of the well, and shingles to the roof, but my felt techniques were not equal to that task, especially because the pieces would have needed to be so small and so exact. The children still seemed to know what the symbol was, however, so I guess that’s all that really matters!

The Jesus Tree–Day Eighteen

Today’s readings focused on the feeding of the 5,000. We read all three Gospel accounts of this event: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, and John 6:1-15. I really like this story, partly because of the way Jesus, when approached by His disciples about what to do about the late hour and lack of food, basically tells them: “You take care of it.” John even goes so far as to mention that Jesus was testing the disciples, because, obviously, He already knew what was going to happen. We also took the opportunity to discuss how the feeding of the 5,000 was a.) not a one-time event, as Jesus fed another large crowd (4,000) in the very next chapter of Matthew, (a story also recorded in Mark); and 2.) actually the feeding of many more than 5,000, because only the men were numbered, but there were women and children were there as well. It’s such a familiar story, but still so amazing!

Third Grade: Week Twenty-Two Wrap-Up

I’d like to say that we accomplished a lot this week, especially in light of the fact that we only have one more week of school before we take off for a good month for Chickadee’s arrival. In actuality, however, this week was all about the bare minimum. Between doctor’s appointments and errands that need to be taken care of before I’m in the hospital, it was hard enough just getting through the stuff I consider mandatory–namely religion, math, spelling, handwriting, grammar, Latin, read-alouds, and reading. We did manage to squeeze in history, too, (although none of the fun extras), and some fun games, but electives and science? Well, they’re just a fond memory at this point. I’d like to think we’ll do better next week, but to be honest, between more doctor’s appointments and more errands, plus the St. Patrick’s Day activities I want to do, we’ll probably just be covering the basics again. Oh well…that’s one of the perks of homeschooling, right? And I still think my children are learning a lot more than their public school counterparts, even with my slacking.

We did do one fun craft this week, in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day.

We talked about the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland as we made paper plate snakes. (What would I do without paper plate crafts?) I was especially impressed with Turkey’s snake, as it is quite detailed. He labored over it for quite some time to get it right. The children’s only sorrow is the fact that the weather has been so mild, there hasn’t been any air (heat) coming out of the vents to turn their snakes when suspended from the ceiling…but that’s a first world problem if I ever heard one!

When we went errand-running, one of our stops was at a fantastic local bakery, to order cakes for Turkey and Bunny’s Confirmation on Palm Sunday, as well as Chickadee’s Baptism that same day. Normally I would make the cakes myself, but ten days after major abdominal surgery…well, that’s just not happening! Anyway, while we were there, we noticed that they had green, snake-shaped donuts in honor of our favorite Irish holiday, so we splurged and got some, (none for me…I had my donut last week!). Another chance to discuss Irish legends, and have some delicious fun to boot!