Papal lapbook

I thought I was so original in planning to do a lapbook of our study on the Papal transition.  Then I went here and was humbled. Oh, well, it is Lent after all.

Homeschool resources

On Saturday, I hosted a tea for the local Catholic homeschool moms. After being the only Catholic homeschooler our last couple of years in Japan, I was very excited that there were nine of us!

Today, I thought I would write up a list of resources for moms who are thinking about homeschooling, especially for little ones, and I put it in an email to the hyattsmoms Yahoo group. But I want to keep it here, too, so I can find it again and not have to retype it.

Hello, Ladies,

Thank you all again for all the great ideas you shared on Saturday at tea. Below
are some links to resources that I mentioned or was asked about and a few that I
thought of later. Wendy, Jolene, and Therese, I hope you will have time this
week to reply with links for the awesome things you shared, too.

You truly don't need to purchase a pre-made program in order to have a
successful preschool at home, but it can help you to make your plan for the
year. It is easy to spend a lot of money on curricula that don't work out, so
please take me up on my offer to borrow or at least look through books before
you decide what to buy. :)

You are in my prayers as you and your husbands discern the best educational
paths for your children.

Blessings,
Judy

LENT STUFF:
Stations of the Cross pictures are available from Catholic Heritage Curricula
and Leaflet Missal Company:

CHC: https://www.chcweb.com/catalog/StationsofCrossPrints/product_info.html

Leaflet Missal 8x10:
http://www.leafletonline.com/8-X-10-STATIONS-OF-THE-CROSS-ILLUSTRATIONS/producti\
nfo/26363/

4x6:
http://www.leafletonline.com/4-X-6-STATIONS-OF-THE-CROSS-ILLUSTRATIONS/productin\
fo/26365/

I cannot find the 7-candle tealight holder online. I think it came from Craft
Warehouse out in Washington State in an after-Christmas sale. The thing is, if
you have an idea of how you could fit the Stations in your home and where you
might like to put them, you can find something for your space and in your own
style, and it will be lovely. Keep ideas like this in mind and the right thing
will turn up in a thrift shop or yard sale. :-)

For those who are still deciding whether to homeschool or not:
GENERAL HOMESCHOOLING books (an obvious classical and montessori bent here--I
haven't kept the books I didn't follow after we figured out how we wanted to
homeschool :-)) These are all on my shelf and you may borrow if you like:
Catholic Education: Homeward Bound, Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson
Catholic Home Schooling, Mary Kay Clark (a little dated, but still worth
mentioning)
Home Grown Kids, Raymond and Dorothy Moore (the only non-Catholic book in the
list, but worthwhile insights on readiness that led to Washington State's
decision to delay required public school entry to age 8)
Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, Laura Berquist
The Well Trained Mind, Wise and Bauer
The Trivium, Sr. Miriam Joseph, CSC, Ph.D.
The Montessori Method, Maria Montessori

PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS and RESOURCES:
Little Saints Catholic Preschool program (I own this if someone would like to
take a look at it). You can purchase it here:
http://emmanuelbooks.com/product_detail.cfm/ID/649/OID//Little-Saints-A-Catholic\
-Preschool-Program-with-Classical-Disciplines/

Alphabet Path (all online, from a Catholic mom, Elizabeth Foss, who writes for
the Arlington (VA) Catholic paper) starts here with A, and other letters are
linked in the blog post:
http://www.elizabethfoss.com/serendipity/along_the_alphabet_path/

And one I forgot to mention on Saturday: I have found the book list in Catholic
Mosaic helpful in suggesting picture books and accompanying activities that
follow the liturgical year. I have this if anyone would like to take a look at
it. Or you can buy it at this link:
http://hillsideeducation.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_10

Another one I forgot to mention is Natural Structure (all online): an idea about
combining Montessori works with Classical Education that has inspired our
family's preschool:
http://www.nsmontessori.com/index.html

We have also had fun with the craft ideas for the liturgical year on the
following two blogs. You may already know about these or others that are also
great (please share!), but just in case:

Homeschool Goodies: http://thankevann.com/homeschoolgoodies/

Catholic Icing: http://catholicicing.com/

A.M.D.G.

Our New Home #2

Here are some different views of our Family & School Room.  We think it has everything we need to relax and spend time together...books, piano, pillows, light, books, games (in the cabinet under the windows seat), books, etc.  The only "television" we have is the computer monitor, which is tucked away in the armoire.  We occasionally arrange the pillows to recline and watch a movie together.  There's no end to the activities Matthew and Meghan can find to do in this room.  Every day, Joseph serenades us playing Pachelbel's Kanon and other songs as he practices on the piano.  Meghan sits at the little table for school while Joseph and Matthew share the white desk.  Judy teaches from the window seat.  (Katie does most of her school work at the desk in her room.)

Roman Newspaper

Joe's Ancient Roman newspaper assignment.  Click on it to read...

Look who's riding!

Matthew is "riding with pedals." This summer, he had become very frustrated by riding with training wheels. They don't work well on our gravel road, often embedding in the gravel, or preventing the regular wheels from touching the ground when he gets to a low spot or pothole. He cannot keep up with the older kids, and he feels left out when they fly out the back road without him.

Last month, my friend mentioned that she and her husband had removed the training wheels and pedals from their kids' bikes to create a homemade version of the balance bike. They were successful in increasing their boys' (ages 5 and 7) confidence enough that they have now learned to ride independently. So we talked it over with Matthew and decided to remove his training wheels, but not his pedals. At first, he was timid and didn't really believe he could ride without the training wheels. He tried on one day, then left the bike in the garage for most of July. No amount of encouragement could get him to try it again.

Until Saturday, when we went to a birthday party down the road, at which the kids were encouraged to bring their bikes. Since we were walking over, Matthew pushed himself along on his bike and discovered that he could push with his feet and balance and go much faster than on training wheels. Best of all, "Katie was right," he didn't get stuck in potholes. He was pleased and excited.

But it was a little hard on his calves. The pedals scraped them slightly, and he was talking about taking the pedals off, but as we walked along, I saw that he was balancing and coasting so well that he was very close to really riding. I told him so and encouraged him to give it a few more days of practice before we took them off.

After we got home from the party, he stayed outside and practiced balancing and coasting.

Sunday afternoon, he came running into the house yelling "Mommy!" at the top of his lungs. I ran out to the front hall expecting to see blood. Instead, I saw a triumphant Matthew who told me, " I am riding my bike. WITH PEDALS!!" He stayed outside for about 20 more minutes, then came in and said nonchalantly, "I haven't been doing much outside, Mommy: just riding my bike WITH PEDALS!"

Exultation!

Crystals

Joseph concocted grape flavored rock candy this month. The crystals are so beautiful, we haven't wanted to eat it yet.


It took awhile for them to form, but wow! he got a lot of crystals in the end. We can't wait until he's ready to share. ;)

Sharing

a lovely post suggesting favorite children's books from a blog my brother Dan pointed me to. It is written by the mother of one of his students. So now we know one reason why she got to be one of his students. Nice. :) And I love the blog.

http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2011/07/dear-auntie-leila-are-fairy-tales.html

Doing nothing

Here are a few photos of today's unstructured time activities. I love it when the children find (independently) fun and interesting things to do in their unstructured time. It is why I never mind having a summer break (more about what we do during summer break later).

Katie has been upstairs reading Jane Austen's Emma all afternoon. :)

After Matthew read to me today, I read this story to him and Meghan.


The main reason I bought this book was that it had directions for making 5-pointed stars in the back. I remember reading a biography of Betsy Ross as a grade-schooler and wanting so much to make those stars, but having no idea how to go about it. Matthew was equally excited when he saw the directions. Then he discovered it was easy to do. Even Meghan could help--just one line to cut.



Between them, they made 13 stars, which Matthew was inspired to glue onto blue construction paper.


Which grew into a full Betsy Ross flag.



From there, he dug out the "Flags of the World" placemat and went on a flag-making adventure. There are at least a dozen construction-paper flags hanging around his doorway this evening. He says, "We have a STATE room now." :)


Meghan used Matthew's busy time to dress her dolly in peace. She quietly brought her to me at one point with a cloth belt that she wanted me to tie around the dolly's head. She's already got the big head-bow fashion down.

Joseph took out his wooden boat project again today to finish the sail.



He designed and constructed the boat almost all by himself after we got back from the voluntary departure in the spring. When the early rains came, he sailed it in "Liberty Creek," the stream that pours out of the downspout on the corner of our back porch. He had cut and hand-stitched the sail, then lost steam on the project. The sewing was a lot of work!


But today, he was back at it and made great progress. He is pondering the problem of how to attach the mast to the boat now. I have no doubt that he will come up with a solution and have the boat sailing before the autumn rains begin.


Afterwards, they all went outside, drank lemonade, and played some sort of invented lawn tennis game with our Japanese neighbor's grandson. Happy days.

A picture thought for you today...

St. Lucy's Day - December 13

Detail, St. Lucy Altarpiece, Veneziano

"This holy woman fought to the death for the law of her God, never cowed by the threats of the wicked; her house was built on solid rock."
--Entrance Antiphon, Mass for St. Lucy's Day, December 13

We haven't made a whole lot of St. Lucy's Day before, but this year, after reading Lucia, Saint of Light, by Katherine Bolger Hyde, the kids and I thought it would be fun to celebrate.


Last night, I baked some Lussekatter: cross-shaped, saffron buns. I had to adjust the recipe for my instant yeast and fresh-ground flour, and I used brown sugar instead of white. Then they didn't rise. Oops! I forgot that I should have dissolved half the sugar with the warm milk and butter. Baked the buns anyway, since I had all the dough. And they were tasty, if a little heavy.


The swirly cross shape fills the plate in a pleasing way.


Surprisingly, we had to wake the kids at 7:00. I was sure they would be up by then! We wanted to eat together before John went to work. He scrambled some eggs to compliment the Lussekatter. We had a little fruit salad left from yesterday's brunch, which made our breakfast complete. And yummy!

As the kids came downstairs, I lit the candles on their rolls.

‎

We don't have a St. Lucy crown, and Katie was not awake enough to wear a white gown with red sash at 7 a.m. She observed that in Sweden it is dark most of the day at this time of year, so if they get up in the dark, it doesn't necessarily mean it was early; it might be 10:30 in the morning. We'll work on her for next year. ; )

We prayed Morning Prayer for the feast of St. Lucy from my Magnificat. The readings and antiphons are all about eyes, sight, and light, like this antiphon before the Canticle of Mary.

"I shall deliver you from this people to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God."
(cf Acts 26:17-18)

Later in the morning, Matthew cut out a St. Lucy paper doll for Meghan,


and some of us colored in a line drawing of St. Lucy by Matthew Alderman that I found online and printed. Alderman is an architect in Chicago (an alumnus of Notre Dame) and also an artist and blogger.


The older children were only disappointed that she wasn't holding her eyeballs on a plate. It appears that our attempts to instill a Catholic artistic sensibility in them haven't been completely unsuccessful.

Or something.

Meghan's St. Lucy art (line drawing by Matthew Alderman)

Tonight, we are hoping the clouds will have cleared so that we can watch the Geminid meteor shower. Our day will have begun with candlelight and ended with starlight.

"May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to God's call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones. Amen. (cf Eph 1:18)"
--Magnificat, Evening Prayer for December 13

St. Lucy, pray for us.

Colors

Meghan has learned the name of her first color.

And it is pink.

We are really in for it with this girly girl.

: )

Citizenship in the nation

Monday night at Bible study, we were discussing St. Paul's actions while in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 22, specifically, his use of his Roman citizenship to obtain a fair trial. One of the discussion questions asked whether it was moral to take advantage of citizenship in this way. Another asked whether we use those prerogatives of citizenship in our own lives.

A coincidence, then, or perhaps a God-incidence, that this week I should be presented with two opportunities to do just that.

First came a request from the Susan B. Anthony List to send an email to my U.S. Representative asking him to defend the unborn by signing the Akin-Taylor letter to leadership requesting removal of the clause in the Defense Bill that would expand abortion to military hospitals. That one was easy. They provided a pre-written note to use.

Also this week, the Senate is scheduled to consider the Supreme Court nomination of Elena Kagan. The Home School Legal Defense Association sent an email asking members to write to their U.S. Senators with concerns about Kagan's possible intention to make the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child into legal precedent by referencing its tenets within a Supreme Court decision.

That would be a bad thing because, well, HSLDA has a paper that explains it better than I can.

Here's what I wrote (using some phrases from HSLDA's note to members to help me):

Dear Senator (Murray/Cantwell):

As a lawyer, a citizen of Washington State, and a homeschooling mother stationed on a U.S. military base overseas, I have serious concerns about Elena Kagan's philosophy on the use of international law in United States legal decision-making. While she was dean at Harvard Law School, Kagan instituted a requirement that first year students take a course in international law. With the world as connected as it is in the current system of things, this seems an admirable idea. Until one realizes that the new requirement meant that U.S. Constitutional law became an elective course.

This gives me great concern that Kagan believes lawyers and judges should look to international law and the laws and precedents of other countries as the lens to use in examining our own Constitution and founding legal documents. This philosophy will come in direct conflict with a Supreme Court justice’s role. Judges should not look to international law and the decisions of foreign nations in order to interpret the U.S. Constitution and apply it to disputes today.

With the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child already signed by the United States, it would be perilous to parental rights to have a justice on the court who values foreign treaties above the U.S. Constitution. This is an issue that affects every parent in the State of Washington and the country as a whole. We need a clear statement of Elena Kagan's position on this issue in order to understand how she would make decisions as a member of the Supreme Court.

Senator Murray/Cantwell, will you please question Elena Kagan during her confirmation hearings about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and what role she believes international law should play in Supreme Court decisions?

Thank you.

Very truly yours,
Judith Riordon
Yakima
and Misawa Air Base, Japan

Lunar eclipse

Here's what Saturday's lunar eclipse looked like from our back porch in Misawa (well, technically, Oirase-town).

June 26, 2010, 8:00 p.m.

8:25 p.m.
Sorry, this one is a little dark. The eclipse was about at its zenith here.

8:35 p.m.
This one is brighter, but the glare makes the Earth's shadow look like it covers less of the moon than it really did.

For a really cool photo, go to Fr. Z's blog and take a look at an amazing series of photos from Australia that Fr. found on Spaceweather.

How does your garden grow?

Vegetable garden--June 19, 2010

Katie, Joseph, and Matthew have been building a lasagna layer garden since last fall. At the end of May, we passed the last frost date for Misawa, but the weather still wasn't very inviting, so it took a couple of weeks to finish preparing the garden soil.

Matthew enhanced the border with his extensive collection of butter clam shells (scroll down the linked page for info). He also planted a small fiber square of flower seeds that came in our book, The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle. No leaves yet, but he is watering and weeding faithfully. The rest of us are hoping, for his sake, that they sprout soon.



The children set out their yellow and red cherry tomatoes (with marigolds interspersed to discourage pests), corn, and strawberries on June 18th. Joseph had planted pumpkin seeds and peas last fall. The rains and warm sunshine of the past week have really gotten things growing.

Vegetable garden - June 27, 2010

The tomatoes already need to be staked, and the pumpkin has almost filled its quadrant of the garden.



The peas didn't come up at all: a disappointment.



We loved the sweetness of the peas Joseph planted in our flower garden last year and were looking forward to eating them again later in the summer. But it was an experiment--to see if last year's seeds would germinate.

As Joseph, the gardening optimist, says, "We can just plant those bean seeds you bought for my science experiment in that spot instead."

Their other planned experiment is to plant Japanese cucumber seeds even later (not until July 3) in the hopes of having them ripen after we return to Misawa in late August. And hopefully ripening before the first frost in late September. :)

Lenten lapbooks

On the first Sunday of Lent, we put together Lenten lapbooks. We had ordered A Lenten Calendar for Children from Emmanuel Books for Katie, Joseph, and Matthew.


Matthew wanted to hang his calendar up in the dining room,


but Katie and Joseph thought making a Lenten lapbook to hold the calendar, the path poster, and some devotional items would be a good project to begin the season. Japanese paper size is different from American, but we couldn't find purple file folders (or any file folders, for that matter) at the bookstore on base, so I purchased purple pocket folders there instead.

Then I downloaded a miniature, accordion-fold Stations of the Cross booklet (ht: Homeschool Goodies) and printed one each.


All three children worked meditatively on these for quite some time.

Matthew, at five, needed to come back to the work the next day, but he was enthusiastic about the project. He didn't forget it, but got started again right after breakfast on Monday.

The older children added a page to make room for the poster.

We have several high-quality, Catholic coloring books, from which they colored and cut out pictures for their front covers.


Then they used the pockets to hold the stickers for the pathway. Katie made a pocket to hold her mini Stations of the Cross booklet.


Joseph divided one pocket into two and labeled them with gold glitter.


Nice work everyone!




N.B.:
By the end of the second week of Lent, Joseph decided that he would remember to mark his calendar better if he hung it up next to Matthew's. So that's what he did on Friday.

It's working fine for him now.

Lapbooks

We recently discovered how much fun lap books are. We have always made books of one kind or another: with folded paper, or stapled pages, or cut-out shapes. But we have never made use of the file folder-based lap book idea until this winter.

Thanks are due to my mother-in-law, who sent me The Ultimate Lapbook Handbook, and my husband, who agreed that we could also use The Big Book of Books. We are off on a great book-making adventure.

Katie devoured the resource books and was inspired to organize my grading materials, which were always floating around on the school table buried under binders and books just when I needed to calculate a percentage or translate into a letter grade.

Then she added a page and made a pocket to hold other resources that I use when grading essays and planning course work.


Now, everything is together in a folder that fits beautifully in my book basket.


Thank you, Katie. :-)

Catholic folk toys

I do not want to lose track of this site. I am hoping to get Meghan some wooden saint dolls for her birthday.

http://catholicfolktoys.com/

Post-tsunami beachcombing

Yesterday, some small tsunami waves hit the Pacific coast of the Aomori Prefecture (that's Misawa). They were the result of the Chile earthquake a few days ago. 3-meter-high waves were predicted, but as far as I can tell from the Japan Meterological Agency website, we only got about .5-meter-high waves.



There were loudspeaker announcements all over town yesterday, and the city decided to evacuate all residents east of Route 338 (what we call the beach road, but it actually runs up along the coast all the way to the top of the island). We are several kilometers inland, so we weren't worried, but it was exciting to think that a tsunami was hitting the coast at about 2:10 p.m. yesterday.

This morning, we were all curious what the beach and ocean would look like today, so at low tide (about 9:30 a.m.), we took an impromptu field trip up to Miss Veedol Beach, a few kilometers north of our house.

beach preservation measures in the background--rocks and concrete

There were still some pretty big waves,


and the beach, instead of being littered with trash and treasures from the sea, had been swept clean.


This is very unusual. Our experience with beaches in Japan has led us to expect piles of junk at the high tide line. This includes plastic (trash) and glass fishing floats (treasure!), lots of rope and net and other fishing paraphenelia, old soda cans, and driftwood.

It's everywhere

It's generally a big mix. But this morning, it looked like the waves had come in much higher on the beach than usual and washed all the trash back into the ocean.


No glass balls today. And very few shells. We did come up with a few that were worth bringing home.


And had some fun in the brisk winter breeze.

Breezy!

snow melting away from the beach preservation concrete--it's almost all gone now, winter will be over soon