Along the Alphabet Path

Along the Alphabet Path
Bb Week

Bb is for blue, birds, birdhouses, and boats
and for St. Bernadette

Though we went through the letter Bb weeks (and weeks) ago.  But, alas I am slow to post.  We had such a good time with this letter though; and spent some time on it since we started birdwatching for fun over the summer.  It does look I still need to post the picture of our St. Bernadette wooden doll. 

Books...lots of books

Bb is for Bugle Boy

(while we listen to a song)

Bb is for birds

We began to look a lots of Bb related worksheets and poems.  There was a good amount of botany lessons to choose from and the kids had fun with it.  The illustration pictured here was Caro's best work.  She has an eye for drawing that one.

Like I said....lots of work sheets

See, look at that masterpiece!

Bb is for boats don't ya know

Birdhouses

Our Virgen de Guadalupe ~

Perhaps there is no other image more known and cherished in most Latino homes then that of Our Virgen de Guadalupe.  I grew up knowing her as a companion, my trusted Mother.

'Our Virgensita' is there for us and she has comforted the toughest men, brought hope to the hopeless and faith to the faithless.  She has brought many to her Son,  Jesus.  And is the glue to Mexico.  We are not bonded by ethnic backgrounds or by a shared dialect.  We are bonded by the strength of our faith; because of our devotion to our mother and our desire for Heaven.

 On December the 12th a national holiday for many parts of Latin America there are massive celebrations with food, music, prayers, processions...the colors are vivid and the devotion is grand.  Thousands will gather at her basilica, there will be food to spare and great songs sung by grateful hearts.  Tears will fall down many cheeks as they say thanks for answered prayers while for others it'll be because of continued hope.  But they are bonded and I do believe Our Mother is looking down upon each soul crying with us and embracing us only like a true mother can.

Our plans, then, to remember her today are simple (because of the rain and need of a peaceful day) but heart felt.

• Star and moon shaped chocolate chip pancakes
• Mexican hot chocolate later in the afternoon w/ a story
• Paper doll crafts from Paper Dali
• Our Lady of Guadalupe cut 'n' color for big girl from illuminated ink
• This story and this one The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola to read
• A few of these pages to color
• Pozole or Tortilla soup for dinner
• And ending with the rosary before bed

Our plans for Advent~

So yes, after that last "depressing" post we still have a few things planned for Advent

I picked up on the idea given by Jessica and Elizabeth for a mantle memo of what it is we are doing during Advent:

PREPARE

So I picked up the wooden pieces painted them purple and placed them nicely on...no, not our mantle since we don't have a fireplace...gggrrrr...but used the piano as a nice replacement.  I did goof a bit and bought the wrong type of letters.  My letters don't have a lip on the bottom so that the P's stand by themselves.  Luckily, a lit up garland placed behind the letters hold those wobbly P's upright and straight enough.  I'll post a picture soon.

Our list of books for Advent are coming in fast so our basket  has been put out for little girls to skim through, Older Girl to read, and Only Boy to gaze at.  Again, I'll post the list of what we're reading soon.

I also purchased a beautiful pelegrinos statue from the sweet Poor Clare Sister's.  They sit nicely surrounded by an evergreen wreath in the middle of the kitchen island.  I just love looking at Momma Mary and thinking of sweet baby Jesus within her womb.  It is an awesome piece.  Princess proudly announces to anyone willing to listen that Baby Jesus is inside Momma Mary's belly and "that's St. Joseph there next to her and the donkey that took them to where Baby Jesus was born"...then she coos over the faces of each figure...mainly the donkey's but it's still so darn cute!!

Again, thanks to some really creative moms out there; we will be hosting our own version of an Advent Tea during the last week of Advent.  SIL will be here with all the kids as well as my MIL.  Very excited to see how this turns out.  We don't have a lot of space for 11 bodies but I think I will use the serving table for all the food and the island (our dining table) to be just that...the dining table.  Once I post the pictures my wording will be clearer of what I'm envisioning (hee hee).

SIL will be hosting a Posada this year.  It has been years since we had a traditional Posada....I think we stopped hosting them b4 Rose was born.  So, that's like 6 years ago.  Wow!  SIL wants to do it though and I think that's awesome.  She has some great ideas for baking and singing carols so I don't know if the plan is to make this all traditional (with the procession and all) or is bit smaller so as to be more relaxed.  Either way I'm happy to have this as part of our "celebrations".

St. Nicholas feast day is all set up, thanks to last year.  So we'll have some St. Nicholas coco, shoes waiting outside the door, books to read, books to be given as gifts, and a yummy candy cane shaped treat to eat.

I am attempting to get creative in order to stitch up our own Jesse Tree ornaments like the ones I did for my SIL and her family.  I have all the supplies but am lacking the drive.  Our old paper ornaments will do fine though...we just need to get them out of storage.

Other than a cookie exchange between the moms, a handmade gift exchange among the kids' friends, a visit to a Navitity exhibit yikes..I was about to write "that's all that is on the calendar" but boy that sounds like a lot.  It really is only two dates though so it isn't that bad.

Yes, I am looking forward to cherishing each moment.  Each moment indeed!!

Advent

The season of Advent has started and I am feeling lost and ill prepared for this time of....preparing.  Our wreath is still in storage and I am still compiling reading list and activities to do or not do.  This isn't the way I had envisioned our cozy nights of reading and sipping hot chocolate.  Alas this IS how is has been and I shouldn't dwell on the imperfections of our house.  We have been delt an added worry this season and this new element in our family needs our attention.

The good things that are occuring are pretty fabulous.  I'm at my 3rd session of spiritual direction and thank you dear God for carring me to this place.  I am so very grateful for your wisdom and love shown over me in the last few months.  My marriage is fuller and I feel strengthen to withstand our current situation.

I do wish to get a handle on the little ones increased level of naughtiness activity.  They are all over the place!  Poor babies, I don't really belame them.  Our life is a bit different lately...isn't it?  I need more patience now.  I need to call on St. Monica for her prayers.  Oh dear St. Monica who never stopped being patient.  Help me to persevere now.  Show me how to pray.  Help me to stay hopeful.

Overheard

Carolina, Victor Mario, and I listen to a lot of History CD's while in the car.  A few days ago we listen to the story of a young boy from China who wanted to work "like a man".  This is what Carlina said this evening while folding her clothes:

Caro:  "I want to work like a lady"...
Me:  "A what"?
Caro:  "A lady...remember the story of the boy who wanted to work like a man for his father...well I want to work like a lady"

she then gestures at her work (the folded jeans and her sweet attempt to folding her sweater".  To some this may seem like a "horrible" comment.  I can hear the gasp of women rights groups already.  But frankly, there isn't ANYTHING wrong for her or any young girl to want to work "like a lady" and believe that keeping house is what ladies do.   This is Caro we are talking about so let's remember how fisty she is and quick to tell you what is on her mind. 

No, Caro is no ones fool.  She knows at a very young age that she can fold her clothes, tend to her children, work outside/inside the home... and be "a lady".

R is for Rhyme

B is for Ballad

Concepts to be presented

1. poetry type:  Ballads
2. poetry concept:  stanzas, rhythm, meter, foot
3. Our poet:  Henry Wadworth Longfellow

5.  Our books:  R is for Rhyme and Poetry-Young-People-Wadsworth-Longfellow

It was a lovely first part to the lesson.  C wasn't involved with it this time since the lesson occured during her science class.  SIL took the little ones to class that morning to meet w/ her ES so I took the opportunity to begin the next poetry lesson.

I have to admit this is an area that all the kids are doing very well in.  I wish our ES, or rather our school, would allow this to count for all language arts.  They get so much out of it; writing, grammar, copy work, art, critical thinking...

But at last we are a part of a state run program so until that changes we have to abide by the "rules".

Anyhow, we began the lesson with a bit of Mr. Longfellow's bio and read his poem "Ballad of Butterfly and Rose".  What a great start...love, joy, tragedy!  Isa loved it while V.M thought it was a odd choice for a poem.   Such a guy.  We continued on to introduce the concepts; stanzas, rhythm within the ballad, meter, and foot.  The kids each got a copy of the poem to label each line and stanza...then found the rhymes and ended with hearing the meter (beat) to each line.  Both kids copied the definition with examples of each concept and read the ballad a few times.

Along the Alphabet Path

Along The Alphabet Path

Letter Aa

We are following little Micheal along his grassy path picking up flowers and letters along the way.  It is a sweet way for young learners to learn their letters.  There are so many "rabbit trails" one can take with the Alphabet Path that it's hard to keep to a letter a week.  So we haven't really stayed tried to stay on track. 

There are many books we get from the library and if the book proves to be a keeper then it gets put on a wish list until the funds allow for it's purchase. 

Here then is our first stop...

Aa is for apples, St. Anne, apple pie, and ants

Our books to read:

Apple Picking Time

Brother Bartholomew and The Apple Grove

Johnny Appleseed

Life Time of an Apple

Angelina Ballerina
How many apples to make an apple pie
Reading Rainbows Apples DVD

In addition to reading about apples C and V.M made a Johnny Appleseed lapbook using homeschool share free lapbooks templates. 

A is for Apples

A is for Apple Blossom

(and a lovely song)

A is for      

          alligators, ants, & astronants!!

Lessons For Today

Monday 10/26/09

Isabella

math:

chap 8 lesson 55

Morning Basket:

GW: 2.1 excercises 1-3

V: page 47

MCS: week 8

Hx: Colonial Homes lessons

cut out samples for lap book

watched video (united streaming) on colonial america

Writing:

watched and researched Salem Witch Trials for paper

D is for Dinosaurs:

read Aliki's Fossils Tell About a Time Long Ago

made fossils prints of leaves, shells, and foot prints

Victor
Morning Basket:
MCP:
V:
Math: Chap 3.5
Hx: same as above
D is for Dinosaur: same as above
read: Dolphins at Daybreak & Fossils Tell About a Time Long Ago

Carolina
100 easy lessons
lesson 15
HSP:
Alphabet Path:
dinosaur discovery look above for activity and read
Fairy Dd page

If You Like Puppies, You

If You Like Puppies, You

Little Flowers Girls Club

Littlest Flowers

2009-2010

 

This year our Little Flower group opted to split the girls up a bit more.  This gave the older girls and opportunity to be there own group where they can dig deeper into the virtues and explore their faith in a more age appropriate level.  And since we had 8 new girls coming into the group we had to add a wreath I.  This group is now being led by yours truly and my friend V. 

Now because these new girls are 5-6 year olds V had an idea to morf the wreath I a bit to suit the age group.  We mixed the saints a bit and used simple biographies for their history.  In addition to our own little crafts each group, wreath I, wreath II young ones and wreath II older, will host the tea craft for our LF Tea Party at the end of the year.  There are lots of wonderful ideas and I'm really looking forward to this year.  Lot's of work ahead of us but, I hope that the girls will enjoy it.

 

Resources & credit:

• Ecce Homo Press for materials, monthly newsletter, and girl's own montly newsletter
• Sacred Heart Books
• Little Flowers Girls Club blog
• Little Flowers Yahoo Group
• Shower of Roses 

Craft supplies:

• Oriental Trading Company

This is what we hope our year will look like:

 

~ September ~

virtue: Love of God

Saint: St. Therese

Craft: sacrafice beads

• reading to them about St. Therese using the Treasure Box series
• discussing her love of God
• Made hand prints onto a table cloth that will be used during our meetings Mary will be placed in the center surrounded by little hands
• we added a few quotes in the center of the table cloth

~ October ~

Virtue: Obedience

Saint: Mary (as a child)

Craft: making a rosary

Tea Craft: braided napkin ring

added activity:  sashing ceremony

• since we had so many girls missing at the first meeting, mine included, we opted to do the sashing ceremony this month.  It was lovely and we followed the examples from the ceremony and prayer handbook
• there was the reading of Mary as a child
• discusion of the virtue.  I used the Leading Little Ones to Mary book to talk to the girls about obedience and how this is pleasing to God when we obey.  It was very sweet to have them want to be just like Mary.
• Our craft was a pre-prepared beaded rosary kit.  There was more preparing than I thought there would be but, it turned out ok and the girls really liked beading their own rosaries.
• We closed with the sashing ceremony and each girl then presented Mary with a carnation and a decade of the rosary.

Even with a fussy baby and a distracted 3 year old in the mix the meeting went very well.  Hopefully, I can get some pictures to post soon.  The rest of the year will be posted monthly.  Not a promise to do so since I don't post all the time.  But, I'll do the best I can to keep up.

 

~ November ~ 

Viture: Truthfulness

Saint: St. Bernadette

Craft: grotto

Tea Craft: Mosaic Flower Pots

 

~ December ~

Virtue:  Hope

Saint: St. Imelda

Craft: hope chest

Ivy

Snack: heart shaped brownie?

 

~ January ~ 

Virtue: Love of Neighbor

Saint: St. Rosa of Lima

Craft: Bird house

Peony

Snack:

 

~ February ~ 

Virtue: Faith

Saint: St. Agnes (introducing Nellie)

Craft: Sunflower Faith Magnet

Tea Craft: tea placecards

Sunflower

Snack: sunflower decorated cupcakes

 

~ March ~

Virtue: Piety

Saint: St. Jacinta

Craft: sacred heart prayer pocket

Forget me not

(Lent)

Sanck: fruit kabobs or rainbow decorated cupcakes

 

~ April ~

Virtue: Industry

Saint: Blessed Kateri

Craft: make up crafts for tea

Daffodil

Snacks:  daffodil cupcakes

 

~ May ~

Virtue: Humility

Saint: St. Anne of Guigue

Craft: bookmarker/ spiritual bouquet

Violet

Snack: mini violet cupcakes

New Jersey

It was a good intro to the Garden State of New Jersey.  The kids awoke to a post card email sent to them by their teacher (me).  It was a nice little picture of a 1907 Life Insurance Building found here. It was a lovely building and the kids immediately asked if it was still there.  I have to look that up b4 the next class.

So here is a recap to what we did:

~ We began with finding where New Jersey is located.  There was lots of questions like is New Jersey on the west coast or east cost of the United States, what ocean is New Jersey nearest too, and asking them why they thought the state was known as "the Garden State". 

~ We then found it on the map and colored the state in on this map and added it to their notebook.  We actually used a map I found at the homeschool share web site for a lapbook my kids were working on.  I thought it was a nice map for geography too though.

~ We looked at the symbols of the state map and briefly talked about the ones that caught there attention.

~  For reading we read through G is for Garden State.  Luckily our library carries most of this series.

~  For fun, I mean for an added learning experience, we played Junior Great State game.  This took up most of the time but, it was worth it.

That was mostly it.  Funny how it took over an over to get through.  The game really took a while to complete. 

Unitl next week...

State by State

Tomorrow C and the triplets begin their state study of New Jersey.  I thought it would be a cool idea to send the kids a post card from each state we go to prior to the lesson.  Well, of course, that idea doesn't come until late into the night when I should be in bed.  It's obviously too late to send a post card via mail...plus I have to first get the post cards from each state.  I wonder how much that'll cost?

Anyway, I found a cool site here and sent an email version of a post card to each child.  Maybe I can download the pictures in the future and send them the old fasion way.  We'll see.

Small Successes

1.  A very successful Home Grown Activity Day as described below.  A few families couldn't join us, one was completely my fault...so sorry Sarah, everyone was missed though and we hope to see you soon.  The kids seemed to get a lot out of the lessons and the families all received valuable information to being prepared for emergencies.

2.  We have had a good learning week:

1.  We have covered Christopher Columbus and completed this craft from enchanted learning.  Carolina had fun making the little boats and the bigger kids did some good research on the life of Columbus. 
2. Carolina is working away in her Alphabet Path.  We started Dd week.  I hope to get a camera soon so I can document her work.  She is becoming a pretty good artist.

3.  St. Francis must be telling us something because we have rescued 2 dogs this week, given my SIL and her family a much needed hamster, and really learning to live in a state of charity.  Got a problem...come on over our door is open.

What are your small successes for the week?

Stop by Faith & Family to read more

 of this week's Small Successes

First Aid Activity Day

Today I hosted our October activity day for Home Grown.  I had been waiting to complete this committment for a few weeks now.  Boy, it had been on by mind...25+ kids under one small house, a wet and muddy backyard....yikes!

Fortuanately these kids are awesome and their moms are so so great.  What a great group of moms we have met through Home Grown.  A tiny little group starting out with just a handful of new home schooling moms interested in the same goal...giving our kids joy in learning and exploring their world.  Though there has been many changes since the core group 6-7 years ago, but the common thread between our families continues to be respect and admiration for each family. 

Anyway, the main reason to post today was to document the success of the lesson.  Each family brought a sketch of their home, their first aid supply kits, and a predone check off list of the standard supplies for a good kit.

The kids did good.  We touched on various areas and did lots of role playing.  This was their favorite part, I'm sure.

~  The basics of First Aid

• what to do incase of an emergency
• looking for clues
• using what you have to deal with an emergency
• assigning a leader
• remaining calm
• getting help

~  What should be in a First Aid Kit and how do we use the supplies

• went through a kit
• discussed each item

~  First Aid

• putting on a sling
• checking for a pulse
• stopping a bleed
• checking for infections

~  Stop, Drop, and Roll
~  Fire safety and knowing your exit routes and meeting place
~  Using fire extinguiser

There was lots of socializing and catching up between the moms; we really don't get together as much as we use too.  There was lots to catch up on.

It was a great afternoon and I am even happier that there wasn't a HUGE mess to clean up.  A successful meeting for sure.

Pro Life

Thinking about this:

"Several years ago, when 17,000 aborted babies were found in a dumpster outside a pathology laboratory in Los Angeles, California some 12-15,000 were observed to be black"
~ Erma Clardy Craven (deceased)
   Social worker & activist

Wow, 17,000 babies thrown out!  My goodness do we have such a long way to go.

Happy Birthday to these babies