Building an Ark - Our Seventh-day Adventist homeschool and family life
Stay in Touch with Us
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Contact
  • My Kitchen
    • Salads Smoothies Raw
    • Cooked Veggies, Stews, Soups
    • Beans and Meat Alternatives
    • Desserts
    • Sauces Seasoning Ingredients
    • Grains and Starch Substitutes
  • Homeschool
    • Morning Meeting
    • The 5-Minute Homeschool >
      • Language Arts Elementary
    • Planning the School Year K-8
    • Staying Organized
    • The Independent Student
    • Life Skills Class
    • Nature Classroom
    • Play Ideas
    • Sabbath Activities for Kids
    • Guinea Pigs
    • Recommended Resources
    • College Planning >
      • College-bound HS Transcript Plan
      • Options After High School >
        • Career Training Programs
        • Fast Track Bachelors Degree
        • Traditional College
        • Missionary Schools
        • Service Opportunities
      • The College Admissions Essay
      • Choosing a Bachelors Degree
  • Sustainable Living
    • Baby's First Year
    • Health and Healing
    • Gardening
    • Food Waste Management
    • Managing Money
    • Marriage
    • My NFT Collection
  • Etsy Shop
  • Diary of a Homeschool Kid

Building an Ark 1...2...3

Our Adventist Home Step by Step

Meet the Family

Zippy's Little Furry Reading Buddies

6/20/2018

0 Comments

 
"I can't hear you reading, Zippy," mommy said.  Zippy was whispering when it was her turn to read the book.  Zippy was a shy little girl, but at home, she usually would talk and play loudly.  In fact, she could be quite silly.  Mommy knew Zippy was a very good reader.  But, when it was time to read together, Zippy would get very serious and very quiet.  
One day, Zippy tagged along at big brother's Adventurer Club meeting.  They earned their reading award by reading books to therapy dogs.  Even Zippy wanted to read aloud to the dogs!  Mommy thanked God for a new idea!​
Sparkles and Britney are Zippy and Shiloh's two special guinea pigs.  Sparkles is white and black.  Britney has white, black, and brown patches on her.  Zippy loved helping mommy feed the guinea pigs.  "Here are your pellets, Sparkles and Britney!" she said, as she poured a little scoop of pellets in the bowl.  "Come and eat!"  Sparkles and Britney circled the bowl and ate happily.  Then, mommy would drop in their hay.  Sparkles and Britney would jump with delight.  They love fresh hay.    
Zippy also liked making tube mazes for her guinea pigs.  Mommy would put the little piggies  in a kiddie pool lined with fleece and filled with PVC tube pieces.  Zippy would arrange the tubes in different ways.  Sparkles and Britney liked exploring the tubes.  They especially liked Zippy bringing them a seed head from the hay to nibble on for a treat.  Zippy helped her guinea pigs have an enriching life.  Now, it was time for her guinea pigs to help her.
Picture
"You know, Zippy, Sparkles and Britney need help reading this book.  Can you help them?" Mommy asked.  Always eager to help, Zippy didn't hesitate to say, "Yes!"  Mommy had Zippy sit down on the reading rug beside the book.  Then she sat Britney right beside her.  "Make sure you show Britney the pictures, so she can see them," Mommy said.  "Ok, Mommy!" Zippy said eagerly.  
Picture
Soon, Zippy was reading aloud while Britney quietly looked on.  "Britney liked the book, Mommy!" Zippy said.  "I think so, too.  Maybe you should read her another one," Mommy replied.  "Ok!" Zippy said.  Zippy read Britney another book.  "Now, it's Sparkles turn!" Zippy announced.  Mommy put Sparkles down to listen to a book.  Sparkles sat very still and looked on.  Zippy read two books to Sparkles.  She read nice and loudly and showed her the pictures.  Mommy sent a silent thank you prayer to God.
Picture
Zippy has been reading aloud to Sparkles and Britney for many months now.  Sometimes both piggies listen at the same time.  Sometimes Zippy even teaches them her geography lesson or tells them the alphabet.  Sparkles and Britney always sit very still and listen nicely.  
Zippy isn't afraid to read aloud to people anymore.  She reads with Mommy.  She reads with Poppy.  She reads with Grandma.  It's fun to read together!  
Picture
In Revelation 1:3, the prophet John writes, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near."  Prophecy means message.  The Bible contains God's messages to us.  When we read or listen to God's messages, we receive a special blessing.  It is almost time for Jesus to come back.  Let's practice our reading skills, so we can read the Bible and discover God's messages to us.
0 Comments

Bubble Possibilities

6/5/2018

0 Comments

 
Do you like blowing bubbles?  Shiloh and Zippy LOVE bubbles.  We blow bubbles inside over the carpet and outside everywhere.  One day, Shiloh and Zippy explored bubbles in different ways.  
Picture
They blew little bubbles and big bubbles.  They made bubbles fly slowly.  They made bubbles fly fast.  They made bubbles swirl all around.  Shiloh mastered the art of blowing just right to get the most bubbles out of one breath. ​
Zippy discovered that you can use long grass blades as bubble wands.  Just pinch the ends close together and swirl the grass in some bubble solution.  ​
They even made bubble mountains!  Bubble mountains are made when you blow lots of bubbles on top of each other.  They had a special bubble blower that helped them do that.  Shiloh made the biggest bubble mountain of all!  ​
Sometimes we get bored because we don't imagine or try all the possibilities.  One of the best ways to have fun is to explore something in a new positive way.  You might discover a new game or a new favorite toy.
Jesus said in Matthew 13:54 about teaching truth in old and new ways, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  Discover the fun and insights God wants to share with you as you study and play with "old" things in "new" ways.
0 Comments

Guarding the Milkweed and Waiting for Monarchs

6/5/2018

0 Comments

 
"Uh-oh," Mommy said. "Look at these." Mommy turned the milkweed leaf over to reveal a perfectly ordered arrangement of tiny orange elliptical beads.  "What is it, Mommy?" Shiloh wondered. "I don't know, but I know that they do not belong to the monarch butterfly." Mommy turned on her phone and searched for images of milkweed pests.  Mommy scrolled through images while Shiloh looked on. "There they are!" they exclaimed.  This is what they saw.
Picture
Mommy and Shiloh discovered that those eggs were from the Milkweed Leaf Beetle.  This bug looks sort of like a giant ladybug, but it doesn't have circle spots.  Just as their name indicates, these bugs claim milkweed as their primary food source for their larva.  And they are some ugly looking larva.  Mommy noticed these beetles hanging out on the milkweed plants a couple of weeks earlier.  They were mating.  Now they were laying eggs.  Can you spot the Milkweed Leaf Beetle in these two pictures?
Picture
Picture
Unfortunately, we don't have enough milkweed to share with the Milkweed Leaf Beetle larvae if we want to raise Monarch butterflies, so Mommy removed the eggs and fed them to our quail.  She left the beetle because it doesn't seem to do any damage to the plant.  It's the larvae that greedily eat up many leaves.
Milkweed has many pests that want to eat it.  We are watching our milkweed plants carefully.  We keep them by the front door, so we can inspect them whenever we come or go from the house.  We are guarding our milkweed for the Monarch butterflies.  They will come from afar in late summer to lay eggs on the milkweed.  We want to make sure there will be leaves available to the newborn caterpillars to eat when they arrive.
Protecting our milkweed plants from pests reminds me of a warning Jesus gave in Matthew 24:42-44: "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (NKJV).  Jesus is coming back to this earth very soon.  He wants us to watch and wait for Him.  But, we must be careful.  The devil wants to steal our hearts away from Jesus.  Guard your heart with prayer, Bible study, and obedience.  When you find the devil planting the greedy eggs of covetousness, pluck them out right away.  Our sweet Jesus is worth the wait!
0 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    Hi, I'm Inga, a Seventh-day Adventist homeschooling mom.  This is a heritage blog.  I am trying to document the memories and knowledge I want to pass down to my children and theirs.  Most posts are told in story format, so my children and their children can enjoy reading about our special times together.

    Picture
    Please check out my new Christian chapter e-book series for elementary children called, Diary of a Homeschool Kid!

    Topics

    All
    Garden Stories
    Homeschool Update
    Lamby And Doggy Stories
    Mommy's Reflections
    Pet Stories
    Shiloh Stories
    Zippy Stories

    Archives

    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    February 2016
    September 2015

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2015 - 2020 by Inga Goodwin. All Rights Reserved.
If you like something here, please link back to it.
Proudly powered by Weebly