A Girl With A Treasure

We have been reading through this book this year.
Yesterday we read about Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1878) She was the daughter of a minister and one of those gifted with the talent for music. From an early age she could sing like a beautiful song bird. When Frances was seven she began to write songs and she studied the Piano.

More than her musical gifts Frances was captivating and delightful. People loved to be around her. She had a special enchantment about her everyone found irresistible. Can you imagine what it was? She wrote her secret down in her journal…..
She prayed for everyone around her.
It was not an out-loud prayer, and the people she prayed for never even knew she was asking God to bless them. Thy just felt it. As she played with her friends or talked to adults, she was secretly asking God to work in their lives and give them special thoughts.

One day Frances went for a five-day trip to a house where there were ten unhappy and grumpy people. She decided to spend her days there asking God to do something special for each person. Then she watched and waited to see what God would do. In her journal she wrote; “God gave me a special prayer to pray, it was that he would give me all in this household.” And he did, before she left the house everyone in it had a blessing from God. She was so Happy that night before she left that she could not sleep…the words of this song came into her head.

Take My Life and Let it be

Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee, Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise, let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for thee, swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing, always only for my king. Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee, filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect my heart, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne, it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour at thy feet its treasure-store. Take my self, and I will be ever, onl,y all for thee, ever only all for thee.

Imagine how our households can be effected as we pray for those around us!
Imagine how cool it would be to have sleepless nights because we were so happy we had to stay up praising God and making up hymns in our heads!
Imagine and begin!

Peep Behind the Scenes...

Another great audio drama by Lamplighter is finsihed.

You will be transported back in time to the world of the traveling theatre. Written in 1878, A Peep Behind the Scenes quickly sold over 2 _ million copies. Now, over a century later, it comes to life as a powerful audio drama! You will meet Nora, who, enticed by the lure of fame and blinded by the romance of the theatre, soon grasps the reality of what life is like behind the scenes; Augustus, who thrives in the very small world of himself; Rosalie, whose faith shines bright in a very dark world; Betsy Ann, convinced that nobody loves her because nobody ever did, until she meets the Good Shepherd, Who goes to extremes to seek and to find those are lost. Once you hear this seven-episode epic drama, you will be compelled to share it with family, friends, and neighbors, here and around the world! A Peep Behind the Scenes audio drama-an unforgettable experience!

NOW FREE TO DOWNLOAD

Read what Lamplighter is up to....

We are excited to present a special offer for you to receive Lamplighter Theatre’s most recent dramatic audio production, A Peep Behind the Scenes, absolutely FREE — a $35 value. Here is an opportunity to provide your church family, friends, neighbors, and your entire community with redemptive entertainment that will bring healing to the broken-hearted, inspire Christ-like character, and provide a substitute for the negative media influences that continually infiltrate our homes.

Lamplighter dramas are produced through the talent of world-class actors and former Adventures in Odyssey staff of Focus on the Family. These godly and creative geniuses have woven timeless truths and powerful principles of the Word of God into hours of life-transforming dramatic experiences. Lamplighter Theatre can be heard on over 900 radio stations in twelve countries. These beloved stories are bringing redemptive hope to listeners around the world!
A Peep Behind the Scenes in particular is a redemptive story that powerfully demonstrates God’s love for children, and for those in embittered relationships who have no hope. We invite you to take advantage of this special outreach opportunity. Be creative! This dramatic production would be enjoyed not only in the homes of your neighbors whom you would like to reach for Christ, but in nursing homes, schools, hospitals, prisons—the possibilities are limitless!
Please inform everyone about this exciting evangelistic opportunity. Like our salvation, it’s FREE! But unlike our salvation, it will only be free during the month of May! Yes, this adapted story can be yours FREE in a six-episode audio drama format, if used for evangelistic/discipleship purposes.
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
Founder and President

Sonny's Treasure Hunt

Sonny's Treasure Hunt

This is one of our favorite picture books. It was one of the first books we didn't just read but it reenacted it. It led us into the fun habit of letting books lead us into living life in a new way. We have read this book over and over since my oldest was 3 year old (he is 6 1/2 year olds now). Inevitably we end up doing a treasure hunt. In the Story Sonny is bored so he asks everyone in his household to play with him but everyone is busy doing something, except gran she sets aside her knitting and stops watching the cooking show and creates for him a treasure hunt by drawing pictures of where each clued is hidden. Where each clue is hidden in the treasure hunt a small new toy is found with the clue. When the boys were young I drew pictures of all kinds of things around the house and when the day lulled a bit I would send them on a treasure hunt too. Sometimes with treasure with each clue, sometimes just at the end. Now that the boys are older, I print out words they know and can read, like grass, truck or rock and send them off all over the yard in search of treasure. Today the treasure was face paints. But the real treasure is learning that books are more than just information to learn, but meals for the mind, full of nourishing ideas for living life to its fullest.

Pressed

"Don’t be surprised by the many trials you are facing"
I am importing a rather good post by John Stumbo...He is our friend who just recently swallowed for the first time since the Bush administration..he has been eating small bites of things for two weeks. Though swallowing is a huge improvement he is still not eating just like you or I would. He is making progress in baby steps. Some times baby steps are still to be celebrated. He has some great things to say about life's not so good moments.... we often call them tests.

Hints for Taking Life’s Tests  by John Stumbo


#1 Every test is an open book test. It didn’t happen very often when I was in school, but I always loved it when my teacher or professor announced that we could use our notes or text book in taking the test. Good news: God has given us the finest resource—the Bible—and welcomes us to keep it wide open during our trials. Joanna and I have always been students of the Word, but in this era of testing, our commitment to turn to the Word every day has only increased. This has been a key to our emotional, spiritual and relational health during this hardship. If you are in a trial, stubbornly resist the temptation to withdraw from the Word. This WILL be a temptation for you. There were months in this journey that my Bible reading time was 100% determination and 0% inspiration. I’ve referred to that era of Bible reading as feeling like “sandpaper” to my soul. Yet, Joanna and I persisted and testify that we are the better for it. Keep the Book open. Feed your weary soul. Seek your Father’s heart.

#2 Every test is a group project. On a rare occasion, my teacher or professor would announce that the project or exam was going to be done in a group context. I didn’t always appreciate this. I liked to work at my own pace and do my own thing. I can be a bit of a “loner.” However, in the tests of life, God never intends for us to bear them completely alone. He’s placed us in a family with brothers and sisters for a reason. To be sure, some of those family members will disappoint us in our time of trial; forgive them knowing we have done the same thing to others. Resist the temptation to isolate. Determine that you won’t wallow in your private pool of self-pity. Keep opening your heart to others who in a direct or indirect way will walk with you through this trial.


#3 Every test is a personal encounter with the Instructor Himself. If I am able to finish my doctoral program, I will have to give an oral defense of my work. This will be a “test” unlike any I’ve had in my academic past. However, I look forward to it because it will be a personal encounter—a dialogue—with people I’ve come to respect. In a much more significant and personal way, every test we face can be a personal encounter with God the Father, Son and Spirit. Our mysterious God reveals more of Himself to us through trials than in any other way I know. You don’t have to like your personal test, but you will have less angst and more hope it you see the test as an opportunity to enter into new dialogue and deeper relationship with God.


#4 Every test elicits something deeper from within us. In our school days, exams drew out of us knowledge that we had acquired. Often we didn’t realize we had learned something until we were tested on. Of course, the opposite was also true: we didn’t know how little we knew until we were tested on it. I want to encourage you today that in your “life-test,” you are not being graded so much as you are being guided. The Guide, our kind God, wants to use the test to draw deeper things out of us…to carve deeper furrows into our shallow hearts so that roots of truth can reach further into our being. I think this is part of what A. B. Simpson (founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance) was suggesting in the following:

Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length;

Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;

Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul,

Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.

Pressure by foes, and a pressure from friends.

Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.

Pressed into knowing no helper but God;

Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.

Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;

Pressed into faith for impossible things.

Pressed into living a life in the Lord,

Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured.

Traveling with you,

John

"I was crushed…so much that I despaired even of life,

but that was to make me rely not on myself,

but on the God who raises the dead."

II Cor. 1:8-9

Look What I got Mom!!!

Zak has found a very small lizard.

Zak put him in a jar.

See him up close.

Zak makes holes in the lid for air.

Lots! of holes.

Zak gets the nail out.

A job well done Zak.

Epilogue: Brother TJ came along later and found the little lizard in the jar sitting by the front step. Dad thinking it was TJ's lizard says, "I bet Sheba (our cat) would eat it!" TJ took out the lizard and sure enough Sheba ate it. Dad and TJ had some sorries to say. *Sigh* nothing lasts forever. I am glad I got these pictures though.

The Way of the Will

I read often from Laying down the Rails by Sonya Shafer, a handbook of the sayings of Charlotte Mason on habit training. I was reading recently about the habit of self control and was encouraged by many of the ideas Charlotte Mason had about how to develope this in children. This quote is great,

"Every effort of obedience which does not give him a sense of conquest over his own inclinations, helps to enslave him, and he will resent the loss of his liberty by running license when he can. That is the secret of the miscarrying of many strictly brought up children."

Sonya is writing about the way of the will which has alot to do with habit training and self control on the Simply Charlotte Mason Blog. Here is a portion of her three part discussion on this topic if you want to check it out. She posts once a week.

"If you have ever been on a diet, you are intimately acquainted with what Charlotte Mason called "the way of the will."Let's say your friend invites you out to lunch. As you open the menu, you dutifully look for the salad section and make your selection. But as you set down the menu to wait for the server, your gaze falls on a gorgeous picture of chocolate cake. Moist, three-layer chocolate cake. With raspberry sauce.
All through the meal that image flits into your mind. And when the server comes back to offer dessert, she brings a tray with a slice just for you to see again.
Here is the defining moment. You know you want that cake. What will you do?
If you give in and eat the cake, do you later explain, "I just couldn't help it; my will was so strong, I had to eat it"? No. We usually say things like, "I was weak" or "I really need more will power."

You see, the will is what governs our passions and appetites. If our will is strong, it governs well and helps us choose to do what is right even when we don't feel like it. If our will is weak, it takes the easiest route of "I want" instead of making the right choice.
Now, apply the principle of the way of the will to our children. Charlotte explained it this way: "The baby screams himself into fits for a forbidden plaything, and the mother says, 'He has such a strong will.' The little fellow of three stands roaring in the street, and will neither go hither nor thither with his nurse, because 'he has such a strong will.' He will rule the sports of the nursery, will monopolise his sisters' playthings, all because of this 'strong will.' Now we come to a divergence of opinion: on the one hand, the parents decide that, whatever the consequence, the child's will is not to be broken, so all his vagaries must go unchecked; on the other, the decision is, that the child's will must be broken at all hazards, and the poor little being is subjected to a dreary round of punishment and repression.


"But, all the time, nobody perceives that it is the mere want of will that is the matter with the child" (Vol. 1, p. 320).

When I learned this principle, it changed the way I looked at my child. I had been thinking that my child had a strong will, and it was my job to dig in my heels and butt heads with her to show that my will was stronger. I was my child's opponent in the battle of the wills.
But once I understood this principle, I suddenly realized that she did not have a strong will--one that had enough power to choose what was right even when she wanted what was wrong. She had a weak will that constantly chose the easy path of "I want." It was my job to help her strengthen her will to be able to choose what was right, even when she didn't want what was right. I was not her opponent; I needed to be her coach.

Ways to begin Coaching:
From Laying Down the Rails Pg 97-99
1.Teach your child by ways and example that self-control brings JOY!
2. View your child as weak willed and begin your job of helpling him strengthen his will to do what is right even when he doesn't feel like doing it.
3.Help your child understand that obedience is a steping stone to slef control.
4.Encourage your child to feel a sense of conquest over his weak will whenever he exercises self-control.
5.Invite your child's cooperation in developing this habit within himself.
6.Watch for and applaud any efforts your child puts forth to control himself.
7. Teach your child to think hard on good thoughts and actions will follow.
8.Introduce and reinforce these principles little by little as oppertunies arise.

Back to our little life:
This morning it was Zak's turn to take out the compost to the the chicken pen. The compost dumper gets to hand out vitamins, and ride the bike for that day. We have only one bike for the three boys and everyone loves handing out the vitamins. To say that Zak was not into doing it this morning would be an understatement. He asked both brothers if they wanted to trade. No one did. He asked if one of his brothers wanted to share the job and help him. No one did. So he was stuck with his duty and he did not want to do it. I reminded him of the two benefits of riding the bike and doing the vitamins but that did not get him over the hump of "I don't want to." We also insist this job be done before breakfast is eaten so I reminded him of that consequence and left him to himself to decide. Before I knew it he was picking up the bucket and heading to the door...then he faltered. He looked up at me and I said, "It's almost done.....breakfast is waiting for you." Out he went in a torrent of whines and complaints, but he went. Upon finishing he skipped back into the house cheerfully and joyfully put back the bucket and washed for breakfast. He was a delight to be around his attitude was so positive. He overcame himself and won a great victory today!!! As he learns what is right and what is wrong, he will already have the habit of being in control of which way he goes. The rail will keep him on track to be an active participant in choosing the life he will lead one day on his own. God is already romancng his heart to make it His own, But Zak will be free to choose it, because he owns himself and is not enslaved to passions or lusts. 

"Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power." Seneca

Seneca was the tutor and couselor to Nero. I just finished reading about Nero and Seneca and others in a very insightful novel called The Flames of Rome by Paul L. Maier. In this story one can see the devastaing results of a man governed not by his will but by his passions, and how the absolute power he had as a Ceasar led him to ruin.

"The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions." -Alfred, Lord Tennyson

And we have this great hope that in Christ this is all not only possible but a way of life for us who believe that we have died with Him and are raised with Him. The body of sin has been rendered powerless.....sin has lost it's grip on us. It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives within me. The fruits of His life in us are...Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF CONTROL. We can do nothing apart from him but IN HIM all things are possible.

Turning "I can't" into "I can" and "I did!"

Max is on step 5 of 6 of the Blend Phonics book, our tutor for learning to read. Yesterday as he read through the list of words for the day he looked up from his reading and declared with a smile, "it works!" :) (Max is the one smiling)

Max has been through alot of discouragement in learning to read....much of the failure has been mine not his. He is a bright and very motivated to learn, but finding a phonics curriculum that led him in the right direction took me a while. Not all kids begin with the same predisposed tendencies; some naturally follow, some naturally invent. Some naturally like to put new information together piece by piece in a sort of linear order, some children are more rhandom and look at more than one piece of information at a time. Max is inventive, and global. I also, am inventive and global...and one of my weaknesses is learning subjects that do not lend to this kind if thinking like math, some sciences and phonics; anything linear and sequencial. In my own expierence I have found that people or lessons whhich are different from me benefitted me the most because they led me through a thinking path I was not accustomed to. A thinking path I needed. Instead of teaching into Max's learning style, we discovered that matching a learning style that complimented his weaknesses gave him more success. Blend phonics is a program that teaches one skill at a time and builds step by step. It orders the information in a logical sequence. For Max it has been the kind of skills he has needed to compliment his natural ability to see things in the big picture. It supports him where he is weak in going step by step. The book does some organizational work for him so he can see the patterns in the language, get some rules in practice and see them work. He can now see that another way of thinking can be a help to him. Now he is reading. Reading makes sense.

"Success implies overcoming an obstacle, including perhaps, the thought in our minds that we might not succeed. It is turning, "I can't' into "I can and I did!"   -John Holt from How Children Fail.

Wind Winch

I set out all the things the boys would need to make this cool wind winch. Then they looked at the picture and away they went.

Max drew his own propeller.

Zak cutting out his propeller.

Giving it a Whiiiirrrrl!

The directions for this can be found in the Usborne book of science activities Vol 2.

Love that Lasts

Loving those who don’t deserve it,

Loving those I hate,

Loving on when all seems lost and loving is too late.

Loving when love’s not returned

And when my heart’s in pain,

Finding courage deep within to live and love again.

Loving God with all my heart

And enemies as friends,
Loving those who’re difficult,
Yet loving till the end.
Finding all-sufficient love when love is hard to find,
Loving and forgiving those who’re thoughtless and unkind.

Love like this is gifting from God who came to give
Life and love through Jesus Christ,
Who died that we might live.
You cannot love without Him
In the many ways you should,
Loving unloving people…the bad as well as the good.

So put yourself in silence,
And receive the Spirit’s power
To love and love without end until the final hour.
Our human love is not enough
To love a broken race
Into the loving arms of God with tears upon his face.

So love me into loving, Lord,
Reduce me, Lord, to size
Till Jesus, all is Jesus, and you alone the prize.
Work in me by your Spirit till
You melt this heart of stone,
Perfect your work till I at last am loving you alone!

By Jill Briscoe from her book entitled; Love that Lasts

Collect Ten

     

Collect Ten, is from Peggy Kaye's book entitled Games for learning. My Sister-in-law Suzanne gave it to me last year and we use this little gem of a book alot. There are language arts and math games in this book. All three boys can play together. It is a brillant way to reinforce counting skills, factors that make ten and place value.

How to Play...

Take a card off the top of the deck.(remove aces,and all face cards) The number tells you how many popcorn kernals to pick up. You can use whatever token you want; paper clips, raisins,buttons, nuts etc but whatever you choose you will need one hundred pieces of it for each player. The popcorn kernals are then placed on the playing card one kernal for each space. There are ten spaces. If you get ten you simply put that ten straight into one of the ten bowls at your side. I always sit by and referee and ask questions like how many more do you need to make ten? How many will you have left over once you make ten? How many do you have all together now? Next turn you may get a number that takes you over ten on your card. Say you get 6 on your first turn and then 8 on your next turn. you would put four kernals onto your card to make ten. Add that ten to a bowl, then put the remaining four from the 8 drawn onto your card. The goal of the game is to be the first person to fill all ten of your bowls with ten kernals, making a total of 100.

After the boys finished with this game we took their 100 pieces of popcorn into the kitchen and popped them 100 pieces at a time. They then ate the popcorn counting to see if all 100 popped. Amazingly all 300 popped!!

Rushing History

I was looking over the materials I had planned for next year in History (Ancient Greece and Rome) and realized that for the age level of my kids, (twins 5 and Max 7), I was too gungho and rushing them too fast.  Most people don't do Greece and Rome until age 8. As I looked at the material I realized that my boys would miss so much if we tried to tackle it now....so why rush? How I missed this point when I was planning last year I don't know. Some how I got two years ahead and was feeling behind. All that to say we are slowing way down and I will be starting History over from the beginning with a whole new set of materials this next fall. The Spine we were using, I still aboslutely love. I love how Chirstine Miller has revamped H.A. Guerber's Histories with maps, art history and woven Bible and creation theories into the text. I have learned tons in reading them. But the boys are not ready for it. It lacks pictures and the stories are a bit over their heads. They groan a deep groan when I pull it out. Charlotte Mason said to throw out books which bore the student. She is right, but, I decided to keep it for later and keep reading them myself.
So, I will begin again next year using Greenleaf Press's Guide to the old testament and spend a whole year on that using activities and living books mostly the Bible. The following year we will use Green Leaf Press's Guide to Ancient Egypt, with activities and living books. This puts us on a nice 7 year tour through history before we repeat it again in the Dialect stage using the great books via Omnibus.
Slowing down will give us more time to spend on the basics of writing and reading which is the the main focus of the first few years.

Why do I love doing History from a Biblical perspective?

because.....

We will not hide them from our children;

We will tell the next generation

The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,

His power, and the wonders he has done….

So the next generation would know them,

Even the children yet to be born

And they in turn would tell their children.

Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forget his deeds

But would keep his commands.

Psalms 78: 4,6,7

Ancient World Lapbook

We did two lapbooks for history this year because Egypt is such an interesting subject in itself we did a lapbook just on that by itself. It can be found here. The Ancient World lapbook covers the stories from Genesis on through to Joseph.

For the cover we painted thin stripes of color on a piece of card stock one day, then cut out the shape of Joseph's Many Colored coat the next day.

The Days of Creation Book is from the Old Testamemt Activity Pack. We also did a large wall poster of each day.

The finger print tree we used for a set back drop on our drama of the story of the fall in the garden of eden. I took the drawing and tacked it up inside the bottom of a cardborad box. The we cut out one side of the box. The cut side was placed on the table so we could insert or charaters below into the stagge setting we had made. I narrated the story and the boys made the puppet characters act it out. We did the drama three times once for each of the boys to use their tree and their puppet characters. It was very fun!!

These pupest characters can be found here.

To make the snake simply trace a lid the size you want the snake to be then draw a spiral towards the center. cut along that line and attach a string to the head. The boys worked it out that the snake would drop down from a hole in the top of the box during the drama.

The Noah's ark projects cane be found here and here.

This little mini book, and the one below about Lot and his family escaping the destruction in Sodom are from the Old Testament Activity Pack.

Short Vowel Long Vowel

Short Vowels and Long vowels, I have read, are kinda tricky for the young reader. Seems the sounds are subltle and thus difficult to distinguish. Spending time really getting this early on can give readers a very good foundation for the future.  So for step three in our Blend phonics book I am creating games to review the short vowels and the long vowels. Step three looks at the short vowel becoming long due to the addition of the silent "e". I used the free decoding cards from step three and some from step one and printed two copies of each onto card stock. I chose words like "man" and "Mane", 'fat' and "fate" so that the change of adding the silent "e" would be very well rehersed.

We are sticking with only words with the vowel "a" at first until the boys are comfortable switching from short to long due to silent "e". Then later I will add the other vowels and then mix them up a bit. The game we play with these cards is Go Fish.

It Couldn't be Done

I am always inspired when I read this poem by Edgar Guest, because it reminds me of the freedom to try. It says to me that though the thing ahead of me looks impassable I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It reminds me that it doesn't matter if I feel I can, or I know I can......if I start I may just finish...and finish well. I may find my life become a dream I thought impossible. All things are Possible with God. I just need to trust Him and walk out into the future He has planned for me, one step at a time.

                                 It Couldn't be Done

Somebody said it couldn't be done, But he with a chuckle replied That "maybe it couldn't" but he wouldn't be one Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.

So he buckled in with the trace of a grin On his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled that thing That couldn't be done and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that; At least no one ever has done it" But he took off his coat and he took off his hat, And first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of the his chin and a bit of a grin, Without any doubting or quid it, He started to sing as he tackled the thing That couldn't be done and he did it.

There are thousand to tell you it cannot be done, There are thousands to prophesy failure; There are thousands to point out to you one by one, The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,Just take off your coat and go to it; Just start in to sing as you tackle that thing That "couldn't be done" and you'll do it.

-Edgar Guest

For further inspiration watch Susan Boyle do just this on episode 1 of Brittian's got talent.

1Co 4:10 Because of Christ we are thought of as fools, but Christ has made you wise. We are weak and hated, but you are powerful and respected.

Egypt Lapbook

I am still learning how to effectively use lapbooks. I have now tried several different approaches. First off, I had the boys do all the work so it was a slower process and the lapbook was simpler. We did one item a day and glued it in place.(dung beetle lapbook) With the Egypt Lapbook I transistioned a 'little' by doing more of the work and we left the positioning of the items until the end. We still did an item every other day or so and just threw the finished piece inside the folder once they were done. The result was a bit of a hodge podge layout but with adding a few extra pages we got it all in. Recently I have done most of the cutting work and I use the lapbook sort of like a teaching visual with a hands on element.(meerkats, arctic animals) For the boys this has been a good idea. They enjoy the freedom to think about and to manipulate the already assembled pieces. They can focus on the information we are talking about and not the cuttig, folding glueing etc. There is a time and a place for everything. I have used Lapbooks to introduce a subject and to review a subject. Thus far it seems that lapbooks can be what you want them to be...depends on your objective and the skills your kids have. I am all for experimentation so I will probably do something different in the future as I see the boys changing and adding new skills to their tool belts. It is fun to have the flexiblity to adjust and see what really works today...it may not work tomorrow. Kids are forever changing. :)

Cover can be found here.

Ten Plagues lift up flap page is from the Old Testament Hands on Activity pack from Homeschool in the woods.

Once the Ten Plagues page is lifted up this is what is underneath.

We had a fun time with hyroglyohics.I found this fun online translater that helped us to write our name and to create this sort of ABC decoder. It is chalked full of other fun things to do as well.

We used this book to also give us more information about heiroglyphics.

This paocket was added to store all the micellaneous stuff we had made but did not know where to put it. These two egyptian puppets, the stone worker and the pharoh can be found here. The other things in the pocket is a bracelet, a necklace and head band for when we dreessed up as Egyptians.

This occupations wheel simply spins around the names of different occupations of people in Egypt.

Inside the book are pictures of each occupation listed. They are from the DK eyewitness book extra CD  of clip art.

The Egyptian art stickers can be found at Dover.

Finally the books we read and which gave background for the mini books and items in the lap book. Our Manin "spine' book was this one.