Special Connection Homeschool

We signed up for our summer reading program again.  This year's theme is Every Hero Has a Story . Gess is now in the middle school challenge where she only has to read 10 books, but they have to be from the J, YA, or A section. She selected several books but started with a Young Indiana Jones book. She was thrilled they had one in a font size she can read!  Her reading is excellent but she can't read books with normal small print. I also signed up and have to read 10 books. Adults can read from any section but I try to make my own challenges. This year each book must be a different author, but I am not sure what other limits I might set. Anyway, I started with The Auschwitz Escape . I have been wanting to read that since it released but never got around to it. We started reading right away and are already several chapters in. Hubby came in and took our picture! I didn't like putting mine away last night, too much was happening!  What are you reading thi...

All these names can get sort of confusing. What you need to know is that those 3 titles mean the same thing!  “You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks , that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year." Exodus 34:22 Feast of Weeks is, of course, our English term. Shavuot is the Hebrew word for weeks. Pentecost is the Greek term used in the New Testament, but it is the same holiday that is observed above. Pentecost literally means fiftieth for The Feast of Weeks was to occur 50 days after the Passover. You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths.‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. Lev 23:15-16 Christianity celebrates Pentecost Sunday as the day the disciples received the Holy Spirit but while this year P...

It was Gess' third year at piano and her recital was last weekend. She enjoys playing and does fairly well. Her biggest challenge is the rhythm of the song. She knows where the notes are but doesn't necessarily hold them the right amount. Her teacher works well with her and I am glad for the experience. Reading music is a great thing to learn! Here was one of her songs: Spaceship to Mars

On Friday May 8th at 2:00pm Clara Dey was laid to rest. She was a 15 month old darling little girl who lost her struggle with Down syndrome. While I love to share the up side of Down syndrome and all the accomplishments that our kids can make, there is a down side to it. The medical problems that arise from that extra chromosome are many and sometimes they cause a life to end before it really even starts. Clara spent a huge portion of her life in a hospital room yet her smile was one of the most incredible things you could ever see. Her resilience was amazing and those who knew her will be forever touched. Down syndrome is about much more than learning difficulties. There are medical complications as well, sometimes serious ones. Their yearly check ups always bring about a sense of anxiousness even when you know all is well. While Gess' heart repair went smoothly and she is now healthy and strong you can't forget that things like Leukemia and Alzheimer's disease are com...

Our celebration of the Passover led us to look for some activities for Gess to do to help her learn about the holiday. I found Chabad.org had a site for kids called the Jewish Kids Club . There you can find lots of visuals, videos, and craft ideas. The Passover Holiday page has lots of great information. Of course this is solely from a Jewish perspective but it really helps to get a feel for how it has always been done. We did two of their crafts, colored some printable pages , and used one kid friendly recipe. I really had trouble finding many of the things I needed for our Seder meal, including a matzah cover. Their Matzah Cover Craft was a great idea! Now I didn't need to buy anything. We used our own stencils and materials, but the idea came from them. We ended up doing the stenciling just like we did our Challah Cloth . Next I found a video teaching the kids to make an Afikoman Bag . I had no idea what that even was! You see during the Passover meal you break a ...