W – Water, Week 12

January 6, 2020February 20, 2020Hoover Academy 5 Comments

For water week, we spent time learning about fresh water and salt water. We went over the 8 oceans, their names and locations. Then her favorite part of talking about what lives in the water.

All of these books are a part of our home library. Secrets of the Seashore is her favorite book in this pile because she can hold the flashlight to see the images appear while I read the book to her.

I just love how the Bible is integrated in this curriculum. In the study of water, she is learning geography, about the living things in the water, and how Jesus is the Living Water.

Don’t forget to check out our other blog posts!
Organizing My Father’s World God’s Creation A to Z
My Father’s World – God Creation A to Z
S Sun
M Moon
L Leaf
A Apple
N Nest
T Turtle
U Us
D Dinosaur
O Octopus

Christmas Break

December 28, 2019February 20, 2020Hoover Academy Leave a comment

We had a nice long Christmas break! Christmas did not actually fall during the suggested weeks of 16-17. It fell after week 11. We set up our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Though we did attempt to put some non-breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree, Brother decided they looked really exciting to play with.

We have a family tradition of opening a Christmas Eve box on Christmas Eve. Inside the box I put PJs, a book for each child (Sisters came as a set of four books), a Christmas movie, popcorn, hot coca and marshmallows, and a personalized ornament for each child. We then get in our PJs, pop the popcorn, heat up the hot coca and put in the movie.

Sister is in ballet and tumbling. She was a really cute gold ornament in her dance recital!! It was so cute how much she enjoyed and took her dance moves seriously.

We also took Sister ice skating for the first time! The helmet and aid were great for this! By the end of the time we were there she no longer wanted the aid.

We had a great fun filled Christmas Break! We had time with the extended family, immediate family and just time to relax.

O – Octopus, Week 11

December 18, 2019February 19, 2020Hoover Academy 6 Comments

Octopus week!!!! Under the Sea studies are always a favorite in this house. Some of the books for Octopus week and for water week were dual purpose.

Sister had fun doing craft pages to match two of her favorite books for the week.

D – Dinosaur, Week 10

November 25, 2019February 19, 2020Hoover Academy 7 Comments

Sister LOVES Dinosaurs!!! We had a great week of dinosaurs! Her little toy dinosaur had to be a part of schooling too.

I found a dinosaur dig kit at mindware.com. I decided to purchase the kid that you could fossilize the dinosaur bones over and over. After she excavated each dinosaur we were able to talk about what kind of dinosaur it was.

We were able to find a lot of great books on dinosaurs. Some were educational and some were just fun. I’m a Dirty Dinosaur was her favorite FUN book! This was a great book that lets you act out the motions. Our favorite books on the history of dinosaurs was What Really Happened to Dinosaurs? by John Morris and Ken Ham and Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham. Our favorite book on Dinosaur fossils was Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Haskins Houran and Francisca Marquez from our local library.

There is a wonderful lady that puts the MFW badges onto canvas bags. This week she colored the dinosaur badge. https://www.etsy.com/listing/704630958/my-fathers-world-mfw-gods-creation-from?ref=yr_purchases

Don’t forget to check out our other blog posts!
Organizing My Father’s World God’s Creation A to Z
My Father’s World – God Creation A to Z
S Sun
M Moon
L Leaf
A Apple
N Nest
T Turtle
U Us

U – Us, Week 9

November 4, 2019February 19, 2020Hoover Academy 8 Comments

This week we studies about our five senses, our family and what makes us unique. I loved the little hands on activities they suggested using your give sense. One was to put items in a bag and have her guess what they are. Then talk about if the item is soft, hard, etc.

We found two fun worksheets to use to talk about the senses. The sticker sheet had her put the stickers in which sense category t hey belong too. There were a few that could be in more than one category so was a great way to talk more in depth about the senses.

We LOVED all three of these books for this week. Boy is about a boy during Viking times that can’t hear. He was able to hear what others couldn’t hear and was able to end the fighting and bring peace to his village. Love You Forever made me cry. It was so touching and a perfect book to be a part of the MFW K5 Deluxe kit. I’m so glad we are able to add this to our home library. Usborne Look Inside Your Body has a Lift the Flap section going into detail about the senses.

Don’t forget to check out our other blog posts!
Organizing My Father’s World God’s Creation A to Z
My Father’s World – God Creation A to Z
S Sun
M Moon
L Leaf
A Apple
N Nest
T Turtle

T – Turtle, Week 8

October 30, 2019February 10, 2020Hoover Academy 9 Comments

Turtle week was a lot of fun. I think Sister’s favorite part was making a turtle shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Apple jack cereal finished it off perfectly.

The favorite book of the week was The Tortoise and the Hare. This was one of the books that came with the My Father’s World God’s Creation A to Z. I really like the life lesson of the story.

I thought this set by Safari Ltd was perfect for this week. It shows in detail the life cycle of the Green Sea Turtle.

Plus we love crafts!!! She did a fun stained turtle craft and a sea turtle necklace.

Don’t forget to check out our other blog posts!
Organizing My Father’s World God’s Creation A to Z
My Father’s World – God Creation A to Z
S Sun
M Moon
L Leaf
A Apple
N Nest

Field Trip – Brookfield Zoo

October 27, 2019February 25, 2020Hoover Academy Leave a comment

We ended up with a really nice sunny day! Late October in this area can be really cold, so we were excited for the great weather. There were a total of eight of us that went to Brookfield Zoo.

We went for the Boo at the Zoo event! There were a whole lot of people there. Sister dress up as Fancy Nancy. Brother dressed up as a pilot. Their cousin dressed up as a dinosaur.

First stop was the dolphin show. The instructors taught us how to identify the dolphins. Each dolphin is unique. They come in different sizes and shapes, they have different coloring and different shaped fins.

Then we went to check out the exhibits.

The kids had a lot of fun picking which animal they wanted to ride on the carousal. Sister picked a jaguar and Cousin M picked a penguin.

Dad and Sister fed the giraffes. It was amazing to see how long the giraffes tongues are in person.

Due to the size of the zoo there was a whole lot of walking, but we all had a great time. The weather was great so a lot of the animals were out.

Field Trip – Effigy Mounds National Monument & Pikes Peak State Park

October 17, 2019March 2, 2020Hoover Academy Leave a comment

Today was the second day we were in Iowa because of Dad’s work. We decided to take a trip up to Effigy Mounds National Monument and to Pikes Peak State Park to check out the effigy mounds.

There were three mounds right outside the visitors center that we were able to see. In the visitors center we learned about the people that made them and why they were made. Some were created for ceremonial purposes, some were burial mounds and some were made in the shapes of animals.

Some of the more intricate mounds were along a path we couldn’t do down so we headed for the nature hike. Along the way we met a ranger that showed us some of the animal habitats in the area. She also informed us that we could see a bear effigy at Pikes Peak State Park. The part was right up the road and the effigy was in a location we could see it from the trail.

When we were done exploring Effigy Mounds NHS we headed to Pikes Peak State Park. The bear effigy was big and if someone hadn’t pointed it out we wouldn’t have realized what it was.

Pikes Peak State Park had a great view overlooking the Mississippi. Sister and Brother were more excited about the playground.

Field Trip – Herbert Hoover NHS

October 16, 2019February 25, 2020Hoover Academy Leave a comment

Mom, Sister and Brother all got to go on a few educational field trips while Dad was sent to work in the area. First stop was the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. This location has a little more sentimental value to us due to his last name, though no family relation as far as we are aware.

This was the birthplace of Herbert Hoover. He lived here until he was nine years old and was orphaned. “His Quaker family had helped settle the town, and their principles of honesty, hard work, simplicity, and generosity guided Hoover throughout his life of service to the nation and the world.”

He is also currently buried here with his wife.

Sister completed the Junior Ranger requirements and earned her Junior Ranger badge. It took us on a great adventure down the history of Herbert Hoover and the area.

N – Nest, Week 7

October 2, 2019February 5, 2020Hoover Academy 5 Comments

Nest week we had some amazing weather!!! The great thing about homeschooling is class can be anywhere. Today it was outside!!! Sister really enjoyed helping make a “nest” to see what it would be like living in one!

This week she learned all about animal homes! One of our favorite books this week was the Usborne Books and More Look Inside Animal Homes! It has fun flaps with little pieces of information about different animal homes. She loves to lift each flap and hear what it says. The other favorite was Cactus Hotel. It’s a great book about the life cycle of a cactus and how it offers a home to so many different dessert animals.

We can’t forget to have a fun craft too!!!

After we worked on her schooling we decided to make some fruit pops. They were really easy to make. All we need was freeze pops containers, juice and cut of fresh fruit. It makes a perfect hot day snack!!