One year ago a little package arrived with no clue what lie ahead.
He joined a band of brothers….
….and watched while he grew.
And grow he did! From learning to play,
To crawling
To walking!!
Whether part of the larger group
or just along for the ride
Ryder came into his personality.
And a few curls.
Happy Birthday little man!
With the coming celebration on the Resurrection, we took time this week to do some activities with the kids each day.
Palm Sunday:
Brian’s mom had given us these nifty little “magic pencil” coloring books on the Easter story so we did those with each day’s story. It was hard to keep them from coloring more than one page!
Jesus cleansing the Temple:
Reading the Biblical account was followed by reenactment outside. (This was good because the kids were very energetic that morning!)
We had a snack of chocolate coins to remind us of the money changers at the temple.
We also started making a poster of what happened each day.
Next was Jesus teaching daily in the temple. In one of the Gospels he tells the story of the Vineyard owner with the hired workers who won’t give him his due and finally kill his son. We acted out that story and ate grapes as a snack.
Spy Wednesday
Again we read the account from the Bible, this time of Judas going to the High Priests and agreeing to betray Jesus. We read all the various “scenes” with Judas then acted it out and made a video.
This time the snack was a chocolate kiss to remind us that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Thursday:
Foot washing
Last Supper
And snack was – of course – grape juice and crackers.
Good Friday:
Worked some more on our poster.
It happened that the cooperation/behavior of the kids this day was a perfect lead in to why Jesus gave his life. We wrote our sin and then nailed it to the cross. Then with the idea of Micah 7:19 we through the cross with our sin into the depths of the sea (or pond in this case).
Finished off with a crown of thorns snack (cookie with pretzels on top).
Saturday: Jesus was in the tomb and not much happened. Good thing because at our place we had a work day and not much happened on our Easter study either.
Resurrection Sunday!!!
Wake up to Hot Cross Buns!
Beautiful flower bouquet from our garden.
Brian made up the “empty tomb” game – you looked under each cup and if there was nothing under it, you won a chocolate chip! Played that about a dozen times until everyone had a chocolate chip.
Finished up with a scavenger hunt, getting items that related to various parts of the whole week.
Thanks for reading! Many ideas came from others who have shared on their blogs. What fun to try new things with my children. I hoped to do something that would stick in their minds and already they are asking about if we will do this or that next year – and so traditions start.
May you find the blessing of new life in Christ!!!
Lance’s 11th birthday is upon us! It is becoming apparent that he enjoys a good physical challenge. Last year it was nerf war games and this time around an obstacle course!
He also asked to design his own cake again. Ivy baked it and he set the figures – looks like this mom is almost out of a job!
It rained hard the day before, so it turned into a type of mud run, but that didn’t seem to phase the participants.
We took the whole group through it once, then set them in teams of two and timed them.
We used whatever we had around to build obstacles. From empty barrels…
…to piles of logs…..
…and even some wheelbarrows.
Happily, my neighbor had a bunch of tires and let me borrow them.
Since we ran it across 3 properties, we were able to take advantage of existing obstacles like our zip-line
and my parents cargo net.
We even borrowed my sister’s riding toys 
We borrowed and reinforced some ninja jumps from another birthday party….
…and a few pallets took care of the rest!
A good time was had by all and we sent them home dirty and worn out!
The up and coming boy cousins took their turn running the course.
And judging by their enthusiasm, we’ll be running a similar birthday party in a few years!
Preface: Last semester, we did a much enjoyed unit on Vikings.
The Saga unfolds….
Meet Frodi and Rolf – fierce viking raiders.
They have sailed far and wide in search of gold, livestock and thralls for their farms back home.
Training in the art of warfare begins at an early age and is quite rigorous – lasting right up until bedtime on some days!
When the summer raiding season is over, the men will come home to their families in time for the harvest.
Meanwhile, those in the settlement have been busy making clothing, cooking “authentic” food and creating the basic tools for life.
Thora and Idunn use Runes to write their names in clay. Runes were practiced further by sending “coded” messages to each other.
Little Noss is still learning her letters but sure enjoyed the clay!
Gade decorates the wood to be used for the tent.
A project that particularly intrigued Mom was melting zinc over a campfire….
…and pouring it into molds – casting trinkets that had a satisfying weight and feel.
Hot stone massage was a popular way to relax after a hard days work. The 95 degree heat plus humidity nicely added a sauna-like feel to the experience.
In the winter months, Skalds (Norse word for Bard) entertain in the great hall with tales of great heroes, gods and goddesses.
Sif gives her story.
Many years later, artifacts from this great society can be seen in museums, preserved for future generations to learn about their past.
