Category: Xtra Astronomy Stuff

On This Day in 1968…

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…the crew of Apollo 8 sent back this Christmas Eve broadcast. Here are Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman reading from Genesis 1.


With all of the technological advances since 1968, the science community, and our country at large, has only managed to get further and further from the truth.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…and from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:1-18

The babe in the manger was no less than the Creator of it all.

Just a Reminder…

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We’re on break right now, but I wanted to share a few things this week.
#1- There are lot’s of people out looking at Christmas lights this time of year and many miss one of the most spectacular light shows of all —The Geminid Meteor Showers which should be peaking tonight. So get out there and look up. No store-bought tree or decked-out rooftop could ever compare to the brilliance of God’s night sky. Follow this link for more info on where and when to observe.http://www.amsmeteors.org/2012/12/viewing-the-geminid-meteor-shower-in-2012/

Yet another great use for old calendars...
Yet another great use for old calendars…

#2- The ladies at the deli counter of our local Asian food market created some fun decorations that we took immediate notice of because of their celestial theme. So here’s our attempt at some Calendar Page Stars as we say goodbye to this year and prepare to usher in the next.
The finished product...
The finished product…

#3- With so much emphasis on the birth of Christ we sometimes forget the other message of Advent which is that He is coming again, and next time not as a helpless baby but as Creator and King of the Universe. Here’s some special memory work we’re focussing on during our break:
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who desires take the water of life without price… He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. COME, LORD JESUS! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. AMEN.” -Revelation 22:16-21

A not-so-scientific experiment…

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The past few weeks we have been experimenting with a new school-day schedule with the following goals in mind:
1. Get the math instruction out of the way all at once because it does require my focused attention for each student individually. But if I know that’s the only thing I have to do that day…. awesome! We can ease into our week by tackling only one subject head on.
2. Pull out the textbooks once and get deep into the zone for that day only
3. Free up Wednesdays for more independent busy work that travels well since we often find ourselves going places midweek
4. Creative, messy, hand’s on, take-it-to-the-next-level activities all on the same day so we only have to cover the table and wipe up glue spills once!
5. A book/instruction-free day to end the week. Just the facts, thank you very much!
6. Get’s us even further away from the snippet style post-modern learning experience and gives us an opportunity to really work particular areas of the brain for a whole day. The subject matter might vary but the thought processes involved should remain fairly constant.
7. At the very least, gives us a little break from our normal routine while we try something new. Here’s what it looks like so far:

Mondays-Fridays
-Begin each day with Bible reading, memory verse work, and hymns.
-End each day with Ukelele lessons, Bible and literature reading with Dad, plus star-gazing if it’s clear.

Everyday Essentials
Everyday Essentials

Math Mondays
-Read aloud from “How Math Works” (a rather corny book put out by Reader’s Digest with lots of colorful pictures of kids doing fun math things and even more rather un-fun, dry, adult level narrative on the history of math. I have to do a lot of ad-libbing when I read this book but it is very interesting and I love anything that helps put what we’re studying into context).
-Go-over and complete entire week’s math assignments
-Math games
Math Mondays
Math Mondays

Textbook Tuesdays
-Read aloud from Science textbooks
-Read aloud from Hawaiian Language textbooks
-Older boys read together and work from English textbook while I work with little brother on reading.
Textbook Tuesdays
Textbook Tuesdays

Workbook Wednesdays
-Science workbooks
-Hawaiian language workbook
-Phonics workbooks
Workbook Wednesdays
Workbook Wednesdays

Deep-Thought Thursdays
-Astronomy related oral math problem of the week from Bedtimemath.org
-Read aloud any astronomy related news articles from the week, glue into scrapbook
-Science experiments and activities
-Hawaiian culture and art projects
We love activities we can eat like these Oreo Cookie Moon Phases
We love activities we can eat like these Oreo Cookie Moon Phases

Factoid Fridays
-Memory verse recital
-Hawaiian language vocab cards/quizzes
-Write and post Friday’s Factoid
-Add any new date cards to Living Timeline
-Math flash cards
-Spelling lists and quizzes
Just the facts, thank you very much.
Just the facts, thank you very much.