Meteor Shower Memory Making

What a good way to spend a late evening -
watching some of God's handiwork in the form of a fabulous Meteor shower!

We are going to grab a blanket, some pillows, mosquito spray (yea, they love us way too much), the Bible and Narnia for some pre-reading.

The Perseids Meteor Shower happens every August with its peak in the wee hours of August 12th and 13th of 2010.

Here is some info from Wikipedia:

"The stream of debris is called the Perseid cloud and stretches along the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it travels on its 130-year orbit. Most of the dust in the cloud today is around a thousand years old. However, there is also a relatively young filament of dust in the stream that was pulled off the comet in 1862."

Did you get that? The meteor shower that we will see over the next few days are from 1862 or maybe even 1,000 years ago!!!

Also from www.meteorblog.com:

"I find that the times leading up to the peak in the morning are always stronger. For some of you the peak times will occur when it is light outside, so my best advice is to look in the morning of August 12th, a few hours before dawn and then again in the evening of August 12th into the morning of August 13th. There are some good things going for viewing the Perseids Meteor Shower in the morning of August 12th. One in particular is that the Constellation Perseus (the radiant located in the northeast for most of us) will be at it’s highest in the sky just before dawn and the moon will be a small crescent shape. The best part about viewing in the morning of August 12th is that, if for some reason, you don’t see as many meteors as you would like, you’ll have a another chance later in the evening to have a second go round at viewing."

 

We will be having some Star Crunch Little Debbie Snacks and don't forget some Moon Pies!

We drew some meteors and shooting stars with chalk on some construction paper today, 

 and watched the Magic School Bus - Space Adventures (which you can see HERE on Amazon).

There are so many things that you can talk to your children about this amazing occurrence. 

From www.biblegateway.com,

In the Creation Story:

Genesis 1:16
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

God's Promise to Abraham:

Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 22:17
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Psalm 147:4
He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

Birth of Narnia by Paula Novak

You can talk about C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew. Read Chapter 8, The Fight at the Lampost. See the creation of Narnia. It is just a few pages long...move in a few pages in Chapter 9 and you will find how the lamppost arrives in Narnia.

I found this piece on Into the Wardrobe,

"Lewis continues to draw from Biblical creation images as he describes the introduction of light into Narnia. The singing stars are the first things the children see in Narnia, and Lewis again uses the character of Digory to establish a connection between the text and a youthful reader: "If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves which were singing," (Lewis, 1988, p.93-94). Genesis, on the other hand, automatically appeals to adult sensibilities when describing the stars, relating them to such "grown-up" concerns as the calendar: "Let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and them be lights in the expanse of the sky..." (Gen 1:14-15). The singing stars image that Lewis draws from here is located in Job 38:7. Comparing these two passages, it is evident that Lewis chose to convey his creation story using the Biblical images that are not only easier for children to understand, but also easier for children to appreciate and enjoy."

In Prince Caspian, Chapter 4, Doctor Cornelius is showing Caspian the stars.

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Chapter 14, Caspian, Edmund and Lucy meet a "retired star".

And if you have read The Last Battle before tonight (and ONLY if!), then turn to Chapter 14, and bring the tissue box!

This night is a memory maker for your family, sleep late tomorrow, be amazed at God's creation, and treasure it. Your children definitely will:)

(I am linking this post to Raising Homemakers)

ABC Prayers

Do you ever have difficulty trying to teach your children how to pray?

We have found a unique way to teach our children their alphabet, praying, and art all in one!

This special event is called ABC Prayers or Alphabet Prayers.

We do this during the day as part of our Homeschool after our lunchtime, but you can alter it to fit your needs. 

Start off by brainstorming for the letter of the day – we started the first day with A (of course) then the next day was B, the next C… you get the picture.

When we brainstorm for that letter, we will use B for an example.  Each child (and Mommy) picks a thing that we are thankful for, and a person (past or present) to pray for or thank God for their Godly influence in history.  

Here is the list for the Letter B that we did:

Brittany/Birthdays

Bach/Bible

Benjamin/Buzz Lightyear

Babies/Breakfast

After we all pray for our chosen items, we go to the table and draw a picture in our own notebooks of the items we prayed for.  The little ones may need Mommy to draw it, and then they can color it in.

This notebook will be something that the children will be able to look back on throughout the years, and you will have created a memory that could last a lifetime:)

So this is our ABC Prayers Tutorial.  I hope that it will bless your family in its efforts to be more thankful in the days ahead.

Let me know if you decide to use it in your family!

(I am linking this article to Raising Homemakers and Works for Me Wednesday, 
and Wordful Wednesday.)

Full Name Tragedy

Clip art courtesy http://etc.usf.edu/clipart

How do your children know their full names?

You say it when they get in trouble, right? 

He spilled cheerios all over the floor: "Thomas Freeman Watson!" 

She left the hose out in the driveway and the handle got run over and crushed: "Brittany Ray Newsom!"

How much time did you spend deciding on that middle name? You may have spent months doing research on meanings of names, saying them over and over to hear how the first and middle sounded together, maybe looking into family genealogy, and even making sure that it didn't spell a bad acronym!

But now, to use that child's precious full name - the name that you gave him on the day of his birth - only when he gets in trouble? Well, that's a tragedy. 

But what do you do about it?

One thing I have done since my children were infants is to use their full names when saying "good night" to them.

So I will say, "I love you, Victoria Grace Newsom." 

And she will say, "I love you, Mommy Newsom."

Then we will say any other good night words, and I say a prayer for that specific child.

Speaking your child's full name in a positive way, and as a regular ritual, such as before she goes to bed, gives comfort and confidence in who she is as a child in your special little family.

So start a new tradition...lose the full name tragedy, and embrace some new good night words:)

(I am linking this article to Raising Homemakers.)