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November... came and went in a hurry

I can't believe it's already December!  November went by in a flash!!  It was a great month that had a great ending.  I love fall, Thanksgiving, eating and fellowshipping with friends, and this year being home made it even more special.  Here are some highlights:

We went all over Europe and leaned lots and lots of stuff. 


We went to Italy...

  
home of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

 We learned  opera music is very popular in Italy, and that Italians love soccer, snow skiing, bicycle racing, and all types of water sports.  Italy also has several active volcanoes;








in France, 




where we find the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we learned how important food is.  The French love to watch and play sports and every July they host the Tour de France- a 3 week bicycle race.; 


Germany, 
which is famous for its fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers - Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Sleeping beauty, to name just a few of my favorites.  Most of the classical music we listen to today were composed by German musicians such as Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Handel, all from Germany.  Some of the most most famous inventions came from Germany:  the printing press, pocket watches, bicycles, x-ray machines, and electric trains.  My favorite fact was that the Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" castle was inspired by a famous castle in Germany; 












Norway, home of the Vikings, 


have languages similar to the Swedes and the Danish; 






and Spain...

 where the guitar was developed. Bullfighting is also a very important part of Spanish culture. 

     We studied and loved...
Leonardo da Vinci!...
who is most know for painting the Mona Lisa, but who was also an amazing inventor.  Among the many inventions he created or envisioned—hundreds of years ahead of his time—were the submarine, tank, helicopter,bicycle, and telescope. Many of Leonardo’s creations were never finished, but he left behind thousands of pages of drawings, records, experiments, observations, and plans in dozens of notebooks. We watched Time Warp Trio on the Internet- the boys loved that,  


                    Michelangelo... 

who carved David (the shepherd boy turned king of Israel) and decorated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  He was one of the most famous artists who ever lived, and... 


                             Galileo...
who was imprisoned in his home for his belief that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the universe.  He developed the telescope and loved to study the night sky.  He also invented the clock, compass, and thermometer. 

We also spent some time talking about the election process since the Tuesday following the first Monday in November is known as Election Day.We talked about the importance of voting and how it is a privilege we should never take for granted.

We also spent lots and lots of time "Celebrating Thanksgiving" and had a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our homeschool friends.  We had a great time and some wonderful food.  Each family brought two dishes and let me tell you we had a feast.  We had a devotional about Jehoshaphat where our focus was that we give thanks to the Lord, He love endures forever.  We divided the kids up into two groups and performed two plays.  THEY WERE PRECIOUS AND THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY.  The kids did great.  We did a fun fall craft, rode the 4-wheeler, and just spent the after noon enjoying each other.  We had a new family come join us and we enjoyed them very much.







              Play Practice...





These two were out sound effects!




The History of Thanksgiving
 The performances...


                                                
            

                                                                 Thanksgiving Guests



The Craft...


















The Saturday after Thanksgiving, my mom, Bailey, and a family friend, and I left for a 5 day cruise to Mexico.  We had an amazing time and our favorite thing was swimming with the dolphins.


We were off to a rough start!!!!!





Formal night!



In Progresso

In Cozumel


      SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS!!!!









What a wonderful way to end November and begin December. 


 I can't wait to start back to school on Monday when will begin Christmas Around the World as well as a "Celebrate the Savior" study.  Looking forward to a great month and end to our first semester and most importantly having the opportunity to truly celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior - to really sit at His feet and focus on the fact that He came to die....for MY sins.  He is so faithful, and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to share my need for a Savior with my own children, family, and friends.  

What a mighty God we serve, Kayce

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