Continent Study

Throughout this school year the boys and I have been learning about one continent each month. I must admit that this study has not been as extensive as I had planned. The boys have just not been that into it. But for each continent we have managed to color a map, learn about major climates and landforms, read fiction and nonfiction, and look at pictures of the land and native peoples and animals. It's been a pretty good basic introduction.

We've been putting the boys' maps and other continent work in their portfolios. In addition to that, I've been adding items (mostly pictures) to our continent study box. I think (hope!) that the continent box will be a good resource for us as we go into more in-depth studies over the years to come. I know that Catholic Heritage Curriculum (which we are using so far) does a more in-depth continent study in second grade. And as we read stories and follow news from around the world, we'll be able to refer to the box AND continually add more items.

Here's how it works. I attached a basic map of the continents to the inside of the lid of a big cloth bin. As we study each continent, I gather maps and pictures and back them with construction paper that is the same color as the continent on the map. All of those pictures (which have come from google, old books, calendars, and a set of world landmark flashcards) go into the bin. I also put continent books and other artifacts in the bin, making sure to color code them with a sticker or piece of tape.

Honestly, the boys haven't paid much attention to the bin yet, but I think they will come to appreciate it. I think it will be fun for them to use it for reference and to explore the contents. It's a way to keep our resources organized and accessible.... and it gives me such a "sense of well-being" along the way. :)

It's hard to believe that we're rounding the corner toward the end of the school year. We're working hard this month as always. We've been studying South America, emphasizing the rain forest and dabbling in a little bit of Spanish. We've been having a great time reading lots of fairy tales. This week we're moving on to conservation studies.

Both boys are making steady progress in their core studies. We just ordered a Kindergarten Math book for Adam and he is eager to get started. His handwriting is really looking good. Ray has recently completed the Kindergarten reading material (as outlined by Catholic Heritage Curriculum). He's going to begin the first grade Hooked on Phonics set. His Math and Phonics books are nearly completed as well. It's so fun to see the progress they're making.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

We enjoyed learning about Saint Patrick this week and celebrating his feast day today. I apologize for not taking pictures, but we've colored pictures of Saint Patrick and read about him. We made shamrock crafts and painted rainbows. We also read several storybooks about Ireland and leprechauns. I showed the boys my photo album from the trip I took to Ireland (in my former life before children). They each received very nice Saint Patrick's Day cards with window clings and $5.00 from their Polish grandma in Michigan!

This morning our breakfast table was all decked out... a rainbow, gold coins, mini-pots of gold, and even a magically delicious (but usually not allowed in our house) cereal.

After completing our schoolwork, we packed a lunch and headed downtown for the Saint Patrick's Day parade.

We had a wonderful time.... except for being very cold! It was supposed to be 67 degrees and sunny today, but the clouds and the wind made it feel much colder! (Fortunately, it did warm up in the afternoon.)

We came home and played in the yard and rested a bit, but there was more fun to come.

Here's Adam waiting for his dad to get home:

 Yes, he's in Jon's hockey jersey again! Jon, Adam, and Adam's best buddy Ryan and his dad went to a *Blue Jac*kets hockey game tonight. It was great for Jon to take an evening away from taxes and spend some special time with Adam.

Ray went out on a "date" with Mamaw and me. We went to Calif*ornia Pizza Kitchen* and walked around *Eas*ton, stopping at the Lego Store and the train display. We did a little bit of clothes shopping and Ray discovered some very stylish hats.

This picture doesn't show it well, but he ended up getting a very dapper plaid hat. I think it's a golf hat really.

As soon as he put the hat on he began to dance. He danced all through the mall to the parking garage, stopping every once in a while to remove the hat and bow dramatically. It was really hilarious. He told my mom this would be his special hat that he will wear whenever he goes out. This should be interesting.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.

Just Another Crazy Saturday Night at Our Place!

On Saturday my family celebrated the 90th birthday of my Aunt Loretta, who is a Dominican Sister of Peace. We are so thankful for the inspiration she is to us.  We gathered at the Motherhouse for a party. Here she is with my boys and their cousins:

After the party, lots of us came back to our house for a pizza party. We called some of our homeschool friends to come over and join us.

What do you think could possibly have held the attention of all these kids? We've NEVER seen them this focused and this quiet!

They were watching and listening to......

THE BUBBLE LADY!!!!

You may remember my mom's cousin Marge, the Bubble Lady, from this post. Well, she (and her awesome brother Jerry) came all the way from Maryland for Aunt Loretta's birthday party. She brought her bubble stuff, of course, and she put on a great show for us! Unfortunately, because it was so windy outside, she had to do bubbles in my living room. But that didn't slow her down much at all! And, amazingly, there wasn't even much mess on my carpet. (It's probably cleaner now from the soap, right?)

After "sliming" a few kids with giant bubbles popping on their heads, she taught us all some Science lessons. Margie is a former teacher and she loves weaving lessons in with crazy fun. (I guess we can check Science off the lesson plan list for this week!) The lessons were mainly about chemical reactions.  She put dry ice in a jar and then put a tube coming from the jar into her bubble solution. The result..... smoke bubbles! The kids (and adults) were absolutely mesmerized. I loved watching the kids' reactions to each different experiment.

Here's a SQUARE smoke bubble!

Here's Ray holding a smoke bubble in his hands!

I wish I had gotten a picture of the older boys (and Jon) at the kitchen sink after the bubble show. They had a BLAST watching the dry ice make cascades of "smoke" pour out of the sink. None of us could believe how long it lasted.

I was laughing as I lay in bed last night thinking of the crazy chaos of the evening. We had 34 people here. 9 pizzas. Toys strewn everywhere around the house. We had a GREAT time! No electronics! No TV. Just fun. The boys collapsed into bed and were asleep in an instant. It's awesome to have family and friends to play and learn with like this. Thank you, God, for crazy chaos... for friends and family... for good old-fashioned fun!

Changing the Clocks

Setting: Dinner at Big Boy on Friday evening

Conversation:
Me - "Tomorrow night we need to do something that we do only two times each year. Do you know what it is?"
Adam flings back his head and bonks it on the booth, while proclaiming in the whiniest voice ever, "Pray the Rosary!" 

YIKES! Two times a year? Really? I guess I know what we'll be doing more often.... praying the Rosary!

I hope you all remembered to change your clocks.

Ready for Lent

Today we sang lots of "Alleluia's" and enjoyed a few extra sweets.

We culminated our mini-study of the apostles by finishing this super cool craft project! It's a model of Jesus and his apostles at the Last Supper. (This is one of many really great Catholic craft ideas posted by Lacy at Catholic Icing. Get the printables and directions here.)

We got out our Lenten decorations and other resources. Ray was delighted to find his Stations of the Cross kit that we created last year. (Get the details here.) He remembered exactly how to lay it all out.

We had a special Mardi Gras dinner - pancakes and sausage.



We worked together to transform our family prayer space, taking away the green decorations of Ordinary Time and setting things up for our Lenten observances. Our tree branch is ready and waiting for the "Jesus Tree"  ornaments. We "buried the Alleluia"... placing our Easter Alleluia banner under the pot for our Jesus Tree.

We prayed together and discussed our plans and resolutions for Lent. It's awesome to witness the boys begin to understand and embrace the concept of sacrifice. (We'll see how it goes tomorrow when "the rubber hits the road.")

Since we're doing the Jesus Tree this year, I decided not to make a Lenten journey poster as we have in the past. We will be using Catholic Icing's printable Lenten calendar. I also plan to introduce the concept of almsgiving. I'll post on that in the next few weeks.

As we enter into the holy observance of Lent, may we all be renewed in our commitment to be followers of Jesus. May we bring into balance all that keeps our minds, hearts, and bodies from loving and serving Him. May we embrace with love and humility the crosses that are necessary parts of our journey with Jesus. We walk with Him and with one another... to Calvary and to eternal life. Amen.

Another Big Birthday!

Well, I'm no longer the only one in our house who is OVER THE HILL! On Sunday we celebrated Jon's 40th birthday. He's dealing with "old age" fairly well so far and he's been making us laugh a lot with his old man impression. Mostly he was just happy that he didn't have to work on his birthday this year. (That RARELY happens since his birthday is always during tax season.) AND his birthday rarely falls outside of Lent. So, he really wanted to "live it up this year."

What do you think Jon's idea of living it up might be?

1. A big breakfast out at a restaurant.... and the place he chose even gives you a free meal on your birthday.

2. Mass. We lit a candle at the statue of Saint Joseph and said a special prayer for Jon.

3. A party with family and friends. We had decorations, lots of food, and..... VIDEO GAMES.

You see, Jon still has his original Atari system from the 1970's. And it still works. And he is very proud of it. All he wanted was for people to come over and play Atari. (Yes, he's so cool!) He set up four different gaming stations and called it his "retro arcade." He had the Atari, two "plug and play" games, and a Wii (which we borrowed from my mom). It was a fun afternoon/evening of food, games, and even a big Buckeye basketball win!

One of the funniest things about getting ready for Jon's birthday was watching him introduce his retro games to the boys. They are clearly cut from the same mold. The boys were so excited to discover all the games. All three of them huddled around the TV and occasionally I heard shrieks and cheers.

The boys fell in love with Pac Man. When I took them shopping for birthday gifts for their dad, they managed to find a Pac Man plug and play with NEW versions of Pac Man games, a Pac Man t-shirt, and Pac Man pajama pants. (Who knew that Target had an entire "Pac Man" product line!?) On Saturday they even created this "party decoration" on our front window:

                                    

Here they are anxiously waiting for Jon to open his new game (so they could play it).

The birthday boy playing with his toys:

                                     

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, my best friend!

I love sharing and celebrating life with you... even the adventure into old age.

May you be blessed with at least 40 more years of health, faith, growth, and fun.

Sign of Spring

Yikes! Biggest worm I've EVER seen! Ray really thought I was going to let him bring it in and keep it in his room. It was great to be outside in the sun and a little bit of warmth today. It will probably snow tomorrow!