Tag: homeschool

Friday’s Factoid 25 (by Titus, Joel and Nate)

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This week we learned about galaxies like the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Only spiral galaxies can support life and only on the outer arms. That is where our solar system is (Titus, 9 1/4).

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We learned about the different shapes of galaxies. We made our own galaxies with glitter and glue. Mine was a spiral galaxy and so was Ti’s. Nate’s was a barred spiral galaxy and Sam’s was an irregular galaxy. There are also elliptical galaxies but nobody made one of those (Joel, 7 1/20.
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We made Sombrero Galaxies out of tortillas and beans and sour cream and cheese. Our friend Sei made one, too. Then we rolled them into burritos and ate them (Nate, almost 6!).

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Teacher’s Two-Cents (by Mom)
Great place for a messy project.
Great place for a messy project.

With a house full of boys I don’t have a whole lot of glitter in my life. So when I planned this galaxy project I thought we were safe doing it outside on the picnic table. All of you glitter veterans out there are probably laughing at my ignorance. That stuff is a true scientific wonder. The makers of germ warfare should use it as a model. I’ve never seen anything spread so quickly or so thoroughly onto and into every square inch of our persons and household. And showering doesn’t help either. It even showed up on the Sombrero Galaxies we made later. One of our neighbors joined us for that project. The boys taught their friend, Sei, all about galaxies and Sei’s mom gave them their Japanese lesson in return. A great trade off, I think. I started out teaching the boys German with plans to move onto Latin, because that’s what I knew. But the Lord moved us all onto an island in the middle of the Pacific and now they are learning Hawaiian and Japanese instead, two languages I know nothing about. I have no idea how God is planning on using these languages in their future but I’m sure He has something in mind! Oh, and by the time Sei and his mom left they had glitter on them, too.

U is for…

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This Weeks Memory Verse: U is for…

“Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.” Matthew 5:18

A Psalm 113:3 Moment
A Psalm 113:3 Moment

Hymn of the Week: “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” (Matheson/Peace)

O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

T is for…

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This week’s memory verse: T is for…
“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” -Daniel 12:3

This verse reminds me of another part of the great missionary story I made mention of a couple weeks back. Over 10 years prior to the overthrow of the Kapu system, a young Hawaiian boy witnessed the awful slaying of his parents by an opposing tribe. He escaped with his baby brother on his back but they were overtaken, the baby was pierced fatally through with a spear while they were in flight, and the boy was captured and taken to be raised by the very man he saw murder his parents. Not a pleasant start to my story, is it! This boy’s name was Opukaha’ia and eventually he was found by an uncle who was a high priest, and taken to be raised by him into the priesthood. At the age of 16, Opukaha’ia offered himself as a servant to a ship’s captain that had harbored there and left Hawaii not caring where he went. In 1809 he arrived in New York and there Providence led him to the steps of Yale University where he was taken in by Timothy Dwight, the president of the school and a devout Christian. Under his care and that of many other educated Christians, Opukaha’ia, already a gifted scholar in his own right, received an education that today would be the equivalent of earning a Ph.D. More importantly he learned the Good News of Jesus Christ and set about immediately on translating the Book of Genesis from Hebrew into the Hawaiian language to take back to his people. Opukaha’ia, now called “Henry,” traveled throughout New England pleading with churches to send missionaries to his island home.

Henry Opukaha'ia portrait from wikipedia
Henry Opukaha’ia portrait from wikipedia

Sadly, Henry’s life was soon cut short from disease, which brings me to the part of the story that I was reminded of by this week’s memory verse. It is said that when Henry died there was such a radiant glow of joy on his face that they cut a window in the top of the casket so that the thousands and thousands that attended his funeral could see this evidence of Christ in him. His memoirs were published immediately after his death and became the most widely read book in New England. This proved not only to be a great inspiration to the Mission Board but the sales of the book were exactly what was needed to finance the first group of missionaries which left aboard the brig Thaddeus in October of 1819. You may remember from the previous post that at the very time of their departure the Hawaiian people were overthrowing their old religion and the Lord was preparing the way for His gospel to be sown among Henry’s people! Those island fields were indeed ripe for harvest!

Hymn of the Week: “Nearer, My God, to Thee” (Adams/Mason)

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!
Even though it be a cross that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be, Nearer my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs, Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.

Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, Upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.

E pili i ou la wau,
E pili i ou la wau, E ku’u Iesu.