The Armor of God

So my boys are becoming very excited to be knighted. It will happen this weekend and they can not wait to receive their new swords. Once they are knighted we will be spending the month learning about the whole Armor of God.

In Ephesians 6:11 it says Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

We will be learning about what each piece of the armour represents and its importance to us.

The scriptures continue with the following and outlines what each piece does represent.

 12 For we ^awrestle not ^bagainst ^cflesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ^drulers of the ^edarknessof this world, against spiritual ^fwickedness in high places.

 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery ^bdarts of the wicked.

 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Here are two cut outs one could use for teaching. I like them because they are not to childish but ad a visual element

But for the younger ones here is a great coloring sheet.

I hope this gives you some great ideas on how you could teach your children about the Armor of God. Let me know if you have done anything extra fun on this topic for Family Home Evening or at church.

Here is a great talk by N. Eldon Tanner titled "Put on the Whole Armor of God." 

Stories

“Special Witness: The Shield of Faith” 

“To Be a Knight” 

“Friend to Friend”

Activities

Make your own armor of God at home

Quick and easy matching game

Songs

"Dare to do Right" LDS Childrens Song Book 158

click the above link to hear the song.

Great online classes

John Owens Music Academy has added an 11am drummimg class to the list of great classes. Classes now all have days and times so it is time to enroll. 

Please let others know about this great online learning opportunity.



Other classes available:
Music History
Jazz History
Music Conposition
Music Theory 

Knighthood

This summer we have been working on becoming knights. The first month we learned about the Page and his duties. They had to do things like kitchen work, hold dress the lord of the house and assisted in taking care of the knights armor  and clothing. They also started to learn how to work with a lance and would watch older pages, squires and knights work on their skills. This all started at the age of 7

Then they would become a squire at the age of 14. They had to learn things such as chess, dancing, table manners and more. They also had to start to prove their strength in skills such as climbing as also combat. 

 So far we have done many things to support this theme. The boys painted their own lance (dowel) and shield (wooden plate from hobby lobby). They wrote down thing about themselves for their own family history. We learned about Wales (family clan). We have been playing chess and plan on learning backgammon (I better get on that). Table manners are what we are working on right now. We also took the boys to a climbing wall at Kent State to "Prove" their climbing skills. Quincy enjoyed being pulled up and down. Milo on the other hand actually made it to the top after a lot of encouragement. He went back again with his Dad and climbed to the top twice to include a new path. We have read a lot of books from the library about castle and knights and dragons. We have learned about feudalism and we are also going to learn the rules of Heraldry.


We also watched The Sword in the Stone. I see this movie through new eyes. Between learning about knighthood and TJEd I have added this Disney movie to the classics list. Merlin is a wonderful mentor. The owl is a hoot and also a great mentor.

If you want to learn more about Knighthood click here. 

This is where I got most of my information. It is a great site.

Next month the boys will be knighted and receive their new sword made by Forged Foam.

The boys are quite excited. We have watched videos on sword fighting and jousting. Milton has woven his very own sling. Learn how to do this here. It is quite easy. Hint Milo used his toes and then fashioned a 2 peg thing to hold the loops still while he wove. just make sure your loops don’t twist. 

This has been a blast and I cannot wait till my husband knights them next month.

Flash Floods

 I lived in Page Az. for 6 years and one think you learn quick is that you don’t go hiking when it is raining out. Then again, it could be raining 40 miles or more away and there could still be a risk of a flash flood. That’s right. In the most northern part of Arizona flash floods are a scary reality. Even while living there people had lost their lives because of being in a wash at the wrong time.

In all of the years of living there I had always wondered what a flash flood would look like. Well, thanks to Rankin studios you can now see a real life flash flood. Notice all of the wood and stuff floating in the water. It may not look like a lot but these walls of water are powerful and can be deadly.

Click the link bellow a watch a very real flash flood video. PS. no one gets hurt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yCnQuILmsM&list=HL1374418206

To the teens of entitlement.

Sorry if you have already seen this. It was posted on Facebook. This says leadership education all over it to me. The world is raising teenagers and not young adults. 

What do mormons do in their temples?

So I ran across this great viedo and wanted to share it. Why? To help people learn that we are not strange crazy people. Well, I dont think I am strange and crazy :)

I hope you enjoy this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGN9Mg-KnMY#at=608

Free Mom Education Classes

I did the Classic Moms class this year and I am going to do the Abigail Adams Colloquium this year. They are so cheep and worth the money and it is something just for you. A bunch of Homeschooling moms continuing their education. They are offering a free test ride this summer. Give it a try. If you decide to sign up let them know that I told you about it.

Classic Moms free LIVE online class

Have you heard?  Abigail Adams Academy Is gearing up for 2013 - 2014 with Free Sample Classes

Treat yourself this summer!  Try Classic Moms or Abigail Adams Colloquium for free!

"The Great Conversation"

Thurs, Aug 15th

6:00 - 7:30 p.m. PDT (9:00 - 10:30 p.m. EDT)

Watch a short lecture (30 minutes) followed by a group discussion (60 minutes) of "The Great Conversation" by Robert M. Hutchins.  

Abigail Adams Colloquium free recorded class

Gandhi’s speech: Statement In The Great Trial Of 1922

This is a recorded class, so you can check it out when it’s convenient for you!

Visit www.abigailadamsacademy.com to reserve your spot today!

Because Mom needs a Leadership Education Too.

• Did you miss out on getting a Leadership Education in your youth?
• Are you too busy homeschooling your children and running your home to study 12 hours a day?
• Are you still working on your own Core and Love of Learning Phases or are you transitioning to Scholar Phase but don't feel ready to commit to the hours or the price tag of University-level classes?  
• Do you long for "community" but live in an area where most homeschoolers are stuck in a conveyer-belt culture?
  

Abigail Adams Academy is here to help.  At Abigail Adams Academy, we focus on Mom's education. How do we give our kids the type of education we ourselves never had? We can't. We need a leadership education too.

You can choose from two levels of courses.  

1. Classic Moms:  If you are just beginning to study the classics or apply leadership education principles in your home, Classic Moms is the place to start. It's the "bunny hill" of the "You not Them," ideal.  We meet twice each month. Once to listen to an inspiring lecture on TJEd principles, and again to discuss a classic book with other moms live via Internet classroom.
2. Abigail Adams Colloquium:  Here we begin practicing the basic method of leadership education. First we'll read a great classic. Then we'll write about it. And finally, we'll discuss it. Continue to practice the "You not Them" principle and deepen your study of the classics.
   

Everything is online, so you can participate from the comfort of your own home. We record all our sessions, so when life interrupts, you don't miss out.  

Go to www.abigailadamsacademy.com for more details and to decide if Abigail Adams Academy is right for you.

Summer organizing

So we went out looking for a desk at garage sales and had very little luck. Currently my computer was on a card table and it took up a lot of space and my husband hated how it looked. Well, needless to say, we found some great books and a nice bit of cloth but no desk. As we started our round about drive home, hoping to hit up two thrift stores there was a pile of junk on the side of the road and there sat a spray painted desk. We turned around to check it out and it was sturdy. Now it had to drawers and was made of particle board but how can we say no to free. We took it home and my darling hubby painted it red. Now I have a free desk for my computer to sit on. Now I just need to find a place for all of the stuff that was on  the old table.

Making a bug net

Ok, so as I have mentioned before Milton has become interested in catching bugs to add to his collection. Tonight I made a Bug Net for my two older boys. Here is the link  where I found the instructions on how to make them. The only things I did different here that my cloth was cut with a curved bottom and used duck tape to seal the thick wires to the dowel.

4th of July

Today we took off to the Stow parade and could not believe how many people were there. Lucky for us we found a nice patch of grass that had not been claimed. The children were told they were not allowed to catch candy that was thrown out on the street. Do we really need more sweets. The boys did so good that John rewarded them with a small Lego set each (9.99 or less) that they are playing with right now.

Lunch was just hot dogs without buns, simple large salad, smoked cheddar and watermelon. We read the Declaration of Independence out loud and talked about it. This evening we will be attending the 4th of July concert at the Blossom outdoor concert theater which will include the 1812 overture complete with cannons and ending with fireworks.

We will be sporting pants and long sleeves though due to our being eaten alive at the drive in movie theater two nights ago. I don't think we can handle any more bites. I hope you all have a 4th full of meaning. Take a minute and think about why we really have this holiday covered in Red, White and Blue.

Smash Books

So what is a Smash Book. Simply put it is a simple, back to the basics, scrap book as it was first intended. A book you can save a few photos, ticket stubs, journal notes and more. I just added a maple leaf that I took home from the Sacred Grove in Palmyra. I do love to scrapbook the crazy decorative way and the digital way but with three kids now it is proving to be much more difficult to make time. So back in November with some birthday money(Yes, I still get birthday money) I purchased one at Wal Mart and have fell in love with it. Smash Books come with a double sided pin that also has glue in it. You can also get little mini zip lock Baggies that are cute and tapes to decorate with. They are not to much money either. But if you wold like to custom make your own here is a site for how to make your own smash book.

I use to do scrapbooks more like this in high school and I still love them. They are more real and personal. Give it a try you may like it to . It will make the coolest journal.

June FUN

This summer is just jamming along. Milo finished his own chapter book on his own about Sir Lancelot and has been picking up books a LOT more. He has decided to take up Entomology as a Hobey so now we hunt down and kill bugs. So far we have two kinds of moths, fire fly, ear wig, June bug and two sorts of Beatles. We also have a couple fruit flies but I am not sure how that is going to work out. Quincy is proving that he is soaking up information on his own as he identified the "M", "I", "L", "K" today at lunch and asked "shat does that spell. I was so gitty that I took in a breath as john and I smiled at each other and I choked on my lunch. Spike is now trying to talk some. I baby versions of Bye bye, hello, amen and such are coming out. He also loves to point out trees and lights. He can also point out the moon when asked where it is. He can stand on his own but then falls once he realizes what he is doing and is so close to walking on his own.

We did attend a civil war reenactment in Columbus Ohio. We are members of the Ohio Historical Society and did not want to miss this living history village complete with Abe Lincoln, encampments, Calvary, drummer boy and so much more.

We just completed a trip to Upstate New York for a short 4.5 days.
Day 1 was driving up to Rome. After a 2 hour head start we realized Milos diabetes stuff was still at home so we had to turn around and head home and then again start our trip.

Day 2 we went to Martinsberg NY and visited the graves of the Owens, who came over from Wales. Here the boys are standing next to the graves of Price and Hannah Owens in the East Martinsberg Cemetery which is in the middle of a dairy farm.








                                                                                   Day 3 we checked out Utica and visited some sites that are a part of our family history. Cemeteries and churches relatives were married in. Above is the St. Johns Church in Utica that our Italian relative Bennedetto was married in back in 1891.







Next was a stop for Canollies before we hit up some more graves and 2 graduation parties.
After the parties we had a quick stop at Grandma Owens's house to take a look at a bunch of old family photos. Thank you so much Grandma.

 Palmyra was the next stop. We visited all of the historical church sites. Here are the boys walking in the sacred grove where Joseph Smith saw Jesus and Heavenly Father.









Bellow is a pic of the boys at the Palmyra temple. We stop at any temple we come close to. I have a goal to take a picture of as many temples as I can. On day 5 we did a trip to Niagara Falls on the way home. We went on the Maid of the Mist and we all loved it. We then walked in the state park and looked at the Canadian falls while enjoying some ice cream. Computer is wigging out so no pics of the falls yet. Sorry.