How I homeschool

Some of you have asked what approach, curriculum, etc., I use. So here's the short version.

I was "schooled at home" from 8th to 12th grade using ABEKA video school. My younger siblings went through all of school that way. I knew before my oldest was born that I wanted to homeschool my kids, so last spring and summer I checked out all manner of homeschool books form the library and spent countless hours online researching options and ideas. And I discovered literature-based homeschooling and unschooling - and it blew me away. I had no idea that homeschooling could be that much fun! I mean, it's the best thing since sliced bread...my new hobby! Needless to say, I took those ideas and applied them. But my well-regimented brain couldn't completely let go of needing to know that my children were learning what they needed to know. My solution? I am armed with four scope and sequences. ABEKA's. Bob Jones', my school districts (they're easy - we were finished with the kindergarten objectives before we started kindergarten!), and William Bennet's (The Educated Child). At the beginning of the year, I look to see, where my child is on these scopes and sequences, and what concepts are on the lists that he might not be familiar with. Then I simply make it a point to add that in to our learning (if I think it's worth bothering with). I'm not rigid about it, though. If we're a year ahead on the biology points, then I'm not going to worry about all of the chemistry points of science.

I do use a math curriculum. We use Horizons. Anna Kate will use the K5. Ethan 1. I have the teacher manuals, but have barely cracked them. We just do the worksheets. The kids think they're fun. We often do 3-4 lessons at a time, and I always cross out duplicate problems and unnecessary review so I don't make my kids crazy. We don't really do much with the lessons and manipulatives because, so far, the kids have picked up the concepts easily without them and I remember them driving me nuts in kindergarten. Why illustrate what's already understood?

We used a mishmash of phonics last year. BOB books, ABEKA, and lots of different readers. This year I am going to focus in on ABEKA more. My kids like their Handbook for Reading and I got a set of their phonics readers this year. I looked at the phonics workbooks, but decided not to bother. I'll pull worksheets from my huge stash of dollar store workbooks, or print them from online if I need them. Ethan is reading Level 1 and some Level 2 readers. I have the ABEKA first grade readers too.

With an artist for a father, handwriting seems to come naturally. Ethan pretty much jumped straight into copy work. Anna Kate is only four, so she'll probably work straight through an alphabet handwriting book, probably one with letter sound concepts (I have a few around here and I've pulled one that I think will work fine.) Then she can move on to copy work too. Our copy work will involve Proverbs and other Bible verses, stories on story paper with illustrations, thank you notes, etc.

In other Language Arts news, we'll continue working to learn a poem each week (some longer poems will take longer), and we'll read through a lot of classic children's literature. I use Sonlight's book lists as a guide.

Science and social studies are the really fun things. We do a lot of subject oriented stuff.

Some social studies ideas for this year include:

• Christopher Columbus and other explorers
• Safety
• Exploring countries online and filling a passport book
• Learning the 50 states - Target has an awesome sale in their dollar bins right now of workbooks, flashcards, dry erase maps, etc.

And in science:

• Bats
• Magnets
• Water
• Bird journalling
• The human body

Whatever the kids take an interest in, I run with. And they love the ride!

For music, I'm planning on buckling down and really making sure that they practice every day and have a piano lesson once a week. We'll also go see many musical performances, some folk music, some band concerts, some ballet. Our concert hall offers special daytime performances for school children to see plays and concerts for a small charge and I'm planning to take full advantage this year. I also try to have the children learn a new hymn or worship song every week.

For art, I've found several art appreciation series that I've begun weaving into thematic units. For example, we planted sunflowers earlier this year, then we read several books on sunflowers recently and included books on Van Gogh. Some series to check out:

• Come Look With Me
• Mini Masters
• Katie books by James Mayhew

My kids are also serious crafters. We have a designated craft day in our schedule and if a theme day or holiday pass without decent art projects being included, I'm in trouble.

For Bible, we've been memorizing a Proverb about every other day with the "make-up -a song" method. We'll also work on memorizing a weekly passage. I'm planning on becoming more consistent with those and also will be using Big Truths for Little Kids. Brian will continue in our family devotions through the children's Bible and teaching the children's catechism. And I'm wanting to formulate a plan for introducing the sermon/adult Sunday School material for the upcoming week now that Ethan will be sitting in with us.

I think that gives you a general idea. We also utilize lots of videos, DVDs, and PBS, as well as tons of field trips and educational experiences such as concerts, living history, children's museums, the science center programs, etc. I collect resources from family, friends, thrift stores and have a huge quantity of really interesting stuff just waiting for me to use it. It really is too much fun.

The cost of milk

The Walmart brand whole milk was $4.69 yesterday! They've got to be out of their mind. I got organic whole milk at the health food store the week before for $4.50 a gallon and know that I can get raw milk for the same price. Rose pretty much drinks only chocolate milk (she's rather insistant), but she's been drinking powdered milk for the past few days. I think she can tell the difference. I've got to get to Aldi's. I think that it's at least $1 cheaper there.

How much is milk where you live?

Gifts and Calling Part 1

Have you noticed that there is a lot of confusion surrounding these two concepts? While I'm obviously no authority on the matter, I decided to go back to the authority of Scripture and see what to had to say.

"God hasn't called me to do that, but if He did, I would gladly do it." "I don't know what God has called me to do with my life, so I'm not sure what to do when I graduate from high school." "I would love to go serve the Lord in at ministry in India, but I'm not sure if that's what He wants me to do."

These type of statements are heard all the time, especially if you're around high school or college age young people. I've really been thinking about them lately, and have even needed to encourage some of these kids.

First, what has God called us to do? Well, I did a word search in the KJV, and the word "calling" in the Old Testament typically referred to literally calling out,calling people together, or calling to rememberance. In the New Testament, the pattern continued with one addition. The call of salvation. That's it. Every reference to "your calling," "heavenly calling," "holy calling," "high calling," etc., is a reference to our salvation and its eventual fulfillment in our glorification. It is never in reference to being "called" to a specific work.

Then I also did a search on the word "called." I found a lot of children being given names. The Lord called Samuel, but He was literally calling to him in order to speak to Samuel and give him a specific message. God called Israel as his chosen people (again a reference to God's election/salvation), as referenced in Isaiah 48:15 and 49:1, and in 51:2 where "I called him [Abraham] alone.". Similar references are found throughout the prophets.

Now the New Testament, in Matthew 4 he tells Peter and Andrew to follow Him, and then calls James and John who leave their nets and follow Him too. So the calling, it seems, was simply to follow Jesus. In Luke 6, He called together his disciples and chose twelve, whom He also named apostles.

Finally, in Acts 13, we have the first reference to someone being called to a specific work.

1. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

and later in chapter 16:

9. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
10. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us [in chapter 15 Paul chose Silas to accompany him after Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark] for to preach the gospel unto them.

and then in Romans 1,

1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2. (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4. And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6. Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continuing in Roamns 8 & 9, the "called" are referring to those called to believe, the elect. Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Romans 9:24. Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25. As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

Paul again speaks of himself as "called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ" in 1 Corinthians 1:1 and in verse 2, speaks of the church there as "called to be saints." Many references continue in that usage. Chapter 7 talkes about continuing in the calling in which you were called. Uncircumcised not seeking to be circumcised or vice versa, slaves not seeking to be free men, or free men slaves, etc. People seeing their position in Christ and not needing to change their postion im the material world. He then states in verse 24, "Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God."

Ephesians 4 seems to be the source of the concept of specific callings [ I recommend reading the whole chapter here], verse 1 says, "that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called," then verses 4-6, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Then, "... And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine...Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (ESV)"

The beginning of that passage, once again refers to our position in Christ. And it seems relatively obvious to me that only some people would be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, and that there is also a group of people here that are simply "the saints". All of these gifts or callings are specifically related to the edification of the body of Christ.

In Hebrews 11:8 we see that "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

I may have missed a few things, but even after consulting a concordance, I'm simply finding very few references of people being called by God to do specific work. However they are told to do specific things - more on that in Part 2. But for most of us, our calling is to be saved, holy, saints, and faithful, among other things.

I like this verse in Revelation chapter 17, "...These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."

Today's proverb

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. Proverbs 25:26

The children are quick and eager to learn proverbs set to music. I am eager to teach them as many as they can hold. The new mission: to determine how many tunes I can make up, and they can memorize, in one week. One a week? One a day?...

My Beautiful America

The midi music is a little irritating, but the photographs are worth it.

Update: Link fixed. Thanks, Hannah!

The News from Here

I keep thinking of posts that don’t get written. Here come a bunch of disconnected thoughts.

We had SunRocket’s VoIP phone service and they have suddenly gone out of business. Right now our phone service is iffy and due to die at any moment. Until it does, it is still routed through our cable internet, leaving that spotty and unreliable as well. We’re looking for a new phone service. Probably another VoIP. We’ve looked at going to all cell phone, but we used to have no reception at our house. It’s gotten much better, but is still a bit lacking.

Have you heard of Focus on the Family’s Truth Project? We’ve been doing it at our church on Sunday nights and it’s been so interesting, and, frankly, rather inspirational. The main instructor on the videos, Dr. Tackett, is a phenomenal teacher. He reminds me of my New Testament Messages teacher in college at BJU. When you left his class, you wanted to go out and dive into the Word and win the world for Christ.

I think I’ve asked several times recently, but please continue to keep Brian in your prayers. His fibromyalgia seems to just keep getting worse this year. He has been in so much pain lately, and his chronic headaches have been getting worse too, almost like migraines.

My in-laws, who live less than 10 minutes away, had a 15x30 foot above ground pool installed last week. The first liner leaked and is getting replaced tomorrow, so there’s been some delay, but we enjoyed swimming Friday and Saturday before the water had to be pumped back out, and look forward to enjoying it again soon and often. Brian is able to do this with us because it is such a low impact activity and this makes everyone happy.

And, finally, for your amusement, we arrived home today from the library to a terrible racket in our huge magnolia. I thought it must be a cat or raccoon the way branches and leaves were shaking down, but when I stepped under the branches for a better look, what I saw was a highly entertaining, knock-down, drag-out fight between a squirrel and a mockingbird. I ran to get my camera, but in the short time that took, it seems that the mockingbird had won, because he sat in the branch rather smugly and the squirrel was nowhere to be seen.

This Is My Beloved and This Is My Friend

I spent the day yesterday pouring over picture from our first three years, trying to find all of our honeymoon pictures that had been inadvertently mixed in. How I wish I had had the camera I have now! There was only one picture of us together in Williamsburg. I didn't realize it until we got our pictures back. Since then, I have stopped complete strangers on a regular basis to have them take our picture together on every little day trip or vacation!


But do you know what I thought as I looked at all of these pictures together? "What a good life." Old friends remember with us the bumps along the way, but on vacations people would still ask if we were on our honeymoon three years later.


Before we were married, I thought we were special. That we had something magical, a deeper bond than other couples had. Intense passion, idolatry... he was my life.


Then came life, clarity, shattered illusions, pregnancies, hormones, and the magic was illusive. I couldn't hold onto it, sometimes I couldn't feel it at all. But I went searching. Not for love, but for truth. Choosing to love. Choosing to see my faults and acknowledge my need for God in every part of my life.


Ten years later, I've come full circle. I love being his wife. I still believe in love at first sight. And I love those moments when it's just the two of us again and I see that we are better and stronger than we were. Together we stand heart to heart with God. The threefold cord in the verses we requested for our wedding ceremony. No idolatry, no illusions.

And we still have that extraordinary connection. I have a deep respect for who he is and who I can be with him.


Two that have become one. The passion runs deeper now, and the magic sparkles in ordinary moments.

A Curious George Party

Here are some pictures of Rosie's official birthday party (as opposed to the "party" on her actual birthday). I'm going to link you to all of the great ideas that we used as well as a few that we didn't get to. This would make a great homeschooling party. Some of the printable party stuff online is actually designed to be a book, not birthday, party.

The decorations are just streamers, a birthday sign, and some inexpemsive Curious George boingy things from the party store. The Curious George is one of the bubble blowing variety - Anna Kate just happened to get it for her birthday. With a few balloons from the dollar store, he was really cute and allowed me to trade a complicated cake for some brightly dyed cupcakes. And I couldn't resist the $2 palm platter from Target. I read a neat idea online of attatching artificial palm branches to the ceiling fan blades, then using brown streamers coming down from the middle of the fan and attaching to the table to look like a palm tree -but I couldn't find brown streamers.

The food: aforementioned chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing dyed bright with gel food coloring. Paste coloring would have made richer colors, but i had the gel already. Root beer floats took care of the drink and ice cream for less mess and less waste. M&ms, cheese popcron and frozen bananas that were then chocolate dipped and sprinkle doused.



Okay,crafts. We made these toilet paper roll Georges, Curious George masks, and also had a variety of coloring and activity pages (in the links at the bottom).




Rosie enjoyed her new toys, including props for her doggie routine and a camera.





Here's the rest of the links:

1. Lots of cake ideas
2. Coloring Pages
3. Party and game ideas - here too! And this one includes the streamer palm tree idea.
4. Complete set of printables for a Curious George reading party. I especially liked the mazes, dot to dot, and step by step instructions for drawing George. Here's the pdf for all of it.
5. The official movie site is great! Don't miss the downloads page which includes printable stickers and t-shirts. With craft store t's and transfer paper you could make t-shirts for about $3-4 a shirt.
6. PBS has a Curious George party page. My favorites there are bookmarks , a flip book and a the mask.

Updated February 2011:

Most of the links above still work, but the publisher's book site is here now with lots of great games and activities and a "Curiosity Kit" pdf. You can also "Like" Curious George on facebook.

Old Fashioned Clothing

Since Rosie loves Little House so much I had to find her a sunbonnet. I got an amazing deal on a e-bay auction for this brand new one from Old Fashioned Clothing. They have all sorts of "prairie wear" for young and old. Amy was sweet and helpful, and they shipped it out pronto. Check it out!

BTW, they have smaller bonnets, but the auction was for a bonnet for ages 4-12 and I figured she'd grow into it. :^)

On Disappointment

"...The great and unexpected benefits He intends us, by all the discipline we meet with, is to tread down our wills, and bring them into subjection to His. So far as we attain to this, we are out of the reach of disappointment; for when the will of God can please us, we shall be pleased every day, and from morning to night..."

-John Newton

Day at the Park

Last week we enjoyed the latest edition to our beautiful downtown -

an interactive children's water play area.

Is there hope for the song?

I bought this Little house book through used bookseller since it is unavailable new. I specifically bought the one that had a comment saying that the song still played. It played beautifully. Twice for me when it first arrived, and twice for Rose which made her day - then it quickly began distorting and now is nearly inaudible. This ranked as her favorite gift, and it's very frustrating. It is the metal button set in the book variety and doesn't seem to be made to be changed, but has anyone ever tried to change it anyway? Thanks.

Teaching the Proverbs

Sometimes, lately, I've read the chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month for family devotions when Brian is gone or feels too bad. (Tonight he had a migraine again.) I'm thinking about doing this for regular morning devotions, especially when we begin school again. I've been considering Doorpost's Proverbs book. I'm also planning to get Big Truths for Little Kids this year. I was so excited to find out that this goes along with the curriculum that our kids are using in our new shepherding group. Right now we've been working through a very detailed and rather comprehensive Bible story book for evening devotions, The Children's Bible by Golden Press.

Anyway, however and whenever we read the Proverbs, I'm trying to make them very accessible and meaningful. I also want the kids to memorize many of them. Tonight instead of reading all of chapter 11, I decided to pick out a verse. Verse 30 seemed an obvious choice. I read it first, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise."

I love teaching my children and watching them grow. They're getting a grasp on "righteous", so we spent a little time on what "fruit" was and paralleled "capturing souls" with the more familiar "fishers of men." By then, it seemed natural that we should quickly memorize it. So I made up a tune on the spot that turned out rather well, the children loved it, and Ethan even fell asleep tonight still singing it.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And whoever captures souls - is wise.

I'm thinking this could be the way to go, but I'd better get a new manuscript book for the tunes so that I don't forget them.


BTW, Doorposts has a free PDF on why you should teach with the book of Proverbs and activities to help you do it.

Last Night's Visitor

Birthday Pics

Happy Birthday, Baby

July 11, 2007

Oh my Rose Emily,
You are the one for me.
You’ve come from up above -
You are the one I love!

My Rosie baby,

You love to sing this song with me to the tune of Veggie Tales “Barbara Manatee.” You are the baby and very proud of that fact. You list the names of everyone that you know, but stubbornly refuse to identify yourself by any name other than “the baby.”

You love to sing, but you love to dance even more. Anytime any music comes on you are up and dancing away. Often you come over and urge us to “dance” with you. And you have really good rhythm.

You are a very picky eater. You usually find one meal a day that suits you and pretty much skip the rest, filling up instead on a piece of cheese, “jelly” (PBJ), and the only thing that you will drink – chocolate milk. (Occasionally you make exceptions, but you get very unhappy when we’re out of milk, pointing to the chocolate syrup and insisting that I find some milk to put it in.) You were on a banana binge for a long time this year, asking for one first thing after waking in the morning and after your nap and often eating three a day, but you finally got sick of them and discovered “jelly.” You make me crazy, Em.

Favorite toys… Your “pup” has been your companion most of this year and “moo” is cherished now too. You still love Anna Kate’s doll Felicity better than your nearly identical doll. The Shrek toys from our McDonald’s Happy Meals at Gramma’s house are your favorite toys right now. It cracks me up how much you love that ugly green guy, pointing him out at stores… I almost gave you a Shrek party, but I just couldn’t do it. You’ve really loved Stitch since Gramma gave you your “Deck- the- Halls”- singing- Stitch at Christmas, but there were no Lilo and Stitch supplies to be found, so I went with another favorite – “George,” the curious one, that is.

You also love Miss Pattycake, and a highlight of your year was going to see her last fall and getting to sit in her lap for a picture. You didn’t want to get down!

But your very favorite things are books. You will sit for long quiet periods of time alone on the little stool by your bookshelf. For a long time Wild Animal Baby magazines were your favorite and finding Sammy was the highlight. Then you discovered the My First Little House books and now you do your best to recite with Daddy, “Once upon a time, a little girl named Laura lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin in a little house made of logs. She lived with her Pa, her Ma, her big sister Mary, her little sister Carrie, and their good old bulldog Jack.” You even have a realistic looking flocked rubber dog that you call “Jack”. Because once again it’s all about the dogs.

And I should mention that you’ve only recently deigned to use the word “dog.” You have always called them “pup.”

You're my Rose, Daddy's Rosebud, the Rosie roo, Rose Em, Emmie, Emmie bug, and Emanem.

You are TROUBLE. From flooding that bathroom twice in a row while I was cooking Easter dinner, to adding artwork to the walls and doors of nearly every room, to pulling a chair over so that you can sit on the stove… What am I going to do with you?! It’s a full time job just trying to keep you alive.

You are stubborn and strong-willed, affectionate and insistent. You are storms and rainbows. You are pulled hair and sweet kisses. You are my “I Love You”.


All my love,

Mommy

Mmmm...

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Could Modesty Influence an Election?

I don't know much about Fred Thompson yet. This is not a comment on him or his wife's positions or eligibility. But as I read this article the thought that struck me was not an age difference, but a modesty issue. I won't pretend that the age difference would not have still been an issue, particularly among those of opposing views, but could these comments have been avoided? All politics aside, in a culture of immodesty it was a simple reminder that the way that you dress is still important. To God, to your husband, to yourself - and maybe even to an election.

Independence Day Crafts

I was informed that there was a lack of crafts in my holiday plan. So I adjusted.

1. Fireworks for the little girls to trace with glue or glitter pens. Ethan drew his glitter fireworks on black construction paper.
2. A construction paper windsock with cut and glued stripes and stars and crepe paper tails.
3. A bald eagle.

Happy Birthday, America!

The Flag Goes By

Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,

A flash of color beneath the sky:

Hats off!

The flag is passing by!

*

Blue and crimson and white it shines,

Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.

Hats off!

The colors before us fly;

But more than the flag is passing by.

*

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,

Fought to make and to save the State:

Weary marches and sinking ships;

Cheers of victory on dying lips;

*

Days of plenty and years of peace;

March of a strong land's swift increase;

Equal justice, right, and law,

Stately honor and reverend awe;

*

Sign of a nation, great and strong

Toward her people from foreign wrong:

Pride and glory and honor,--all

Live in the colours to stand or fall.

*

Hats off!

Along the street there comes

A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;

And loyal hearts are beating high:

Hats off!

The Flag is passing by!

Win a Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library!

Hop over to Crystal's blog at Biblical Womanhood and enter to win this ten volume set newly reprinted by Vision Forum.

Prayer Request

Please pray for Brian's dad as he's having a heart cath right now and probably some stents put in. And pray that the virus my girls have will stop with them and clear out so that we can see him soon. Brian's an only child. Thanks.

Update: Brian's dad had four stents put in - it didn't look good in there. But he is doing well, there were no complications, and he should be home today. Anna Kate is all better, Rosie had a very painful case of diarrhea, but I think she may be over it, and Ethan is okay - I think. Thanks again for praying with us!

Countdown to the Fourth

1. Paint your toes like flags...and your face too, while you're at it.
2. Make selzter rockets.
3. Plan a future trip to Washington D.C. for their parade and fireworks. There's nothing like it.
4. Check out the top fireworks in the U.S. and find fireworks in your area.
5. If you can't make it to your local fireworks, catch the Boston POPS Fireworks Spectacular at 10PM on CBS. I just love how the city's church bells chime in unison during the "1812 Overture."
6. Read the Declaration of Independence and other historic documents.
7. Teach your kids the Pledge of Allegiance with this free printable.
8. Make America a birthday cake. She'll be 231 years old!
9. Or, for those of you who can eat it, check out this beautiful Patriotic Cookie Pizza.
10. Make some can holders and some easy sand candles for your table.
11. Let your kids make a red, white, and blue paper chain.
12. Print and make a patriotic mini book.
13. And don't miss the Presidential Prayer Team for Kids website.

If you still want more, check out my Flag Day for Kids post.

Modelling by Anna Kate. :^)