Marvelous Manatees!

Although we missed our scheduled zoo class last week when the boys had strep throat, the teacher was kind enough to allow us to attend another session of the same class this week! This class was all about manatees.

I was surprised to learn that the manatees are the most expensive animals for the zoo to feed! Each manatee (our zoo has three) eats 60-70 heads of romaine lettuce each day! Also, their lungs stretch almost the entire length of their body. They are able to stay underwater for about 20 minutes at a time.

This month's animal visitor was a very cute penguin. He made friends with this stuffed manatee!

 

 The boys enjoyed this quiz game during class.

 

We have a beautiful manatee exhibit at our zoo. Manatees that have been wounded are brought here for long-term care.

 

 

 Here's Adam sitting on a manatee's head!

 We also love the penguin exhibit!

 They are so cute.... but stinky!

 The boys aren't old enough to remember Kroger's "Pepe the Penguin" commercials... and not sophisticated enough to read French words. So they love visiting this sculpture of "PeePee the Penguin." Gotta love boy humor!

We have really enjoyed visiting the zoo more regularly in all kinds of weather as part of our learning adventures this year!

Strep Throat!

So much for that Saint Blaise blessing we received on Sunday after Mass! On Monday Ray started complaining about a sore throat. Then Adam. But they acted pretty normal, schooling and playing and eating and sleeping well. Finally today I took them for strep tests.... and then felt like a bad mother for not taking them sooner. Oh well.

We've been in the house all week... and we've missed karate and zoo class and tomorrow we'll miss Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. BUT.... the doctor said we're clear for tomorrow afternoon's valentine bash with the homeschoolers! Yeah!

I'm choosing to just thank Saint Blaise for his protection. I figure without that blessing the boys would have had tongues of fire leaping out of their throats or something.

And in addition to the "bad mom who doesn't take her kids to the doctor" award I also get the "mean mom who makes her kids do school even when they're sick" award. Yeah me!

I hope you're having a good week! Things are looking up here.... I hope!

Recent School Projects

These winter months are heavy duty school months around here! We've been working hard on lots of learning! Here's a peek at some things we've been doing ---


Ray is officially preparing for his First Communion!
I am using materials that I used in my first career as 2nd grade teacher.
We are having fun making a First Communion Scrapbook.

 

 

Ray has already completed his formal preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which he will receive prior to his First Communion. This handwriting sheet shows some of the words he learned AND how great his printing is. He is also now studying cursive handwriting.

We spent the first part of January learning about the Civil War. The boys both made poster booklets with the basic information about the Civil War.


Front of booklet

Inside booklet

Back of booklet

We also read lots and lots of short biographies during January. Most of them were about people who were important in the Civil War and then later in the Civil Rights Movement. We made booklets about some of the people.

We used these cards to play a matching game and help us remember "who did what."

A Winter Rebus Story by Adam

A Winter Rebus Story by Ray

Both boys continue to make good progress with their reading skills. In addition to their daily reading practice and our ongoing chapter book read alouds (right now they're really into The Magic Treehouse series), we work on a "Story of the Week."

A few weeks ago we enjoyed this old poetic favorite.... Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak.

 

 

The boys had fun helping me make yummy chicken soup with rice for dinner too!

 

Although I didn't take pictures, we practiced counting money in January. Both boys are really good at that. They continue to work on learning their addition and subtraction facts and Ray is now adding two digit numbers.

 

The boys also finished their morning workbooks in January. I updated the template, making the work a bit more challenging, including more daily writing practice. And then I got new books made that should last the rest of the school year. Here's what their books look like now ---

 

 

 I'll try to remember to post some completed pages for you to see.

And so we're up to 100 days of school this week. (We need to complete a minimum of 180.) This month we'll be focusing on Geography and map skills, with a special emphasis on South America. We'll be telling time, working on ABC order, doing a dinosaur unit study, and learning household words in Spanish. It's a short month.... and a busy one in our homeschool!

A Day Full of Meaning!

Today, February 2nd, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is also Candlemas. It's a day of great spiritual meaning, yet it somehow has become mostly noted for being Groundhog's Day. It's a shame that many people don't even know about this Feast, much less celebrate it's liturgical significance.

First of all, February 2nd is forty days after Christmas. It's the very end of the Christmas season. Many people leave their Nativity scenes displayed until this day.

 

 

According to Mosaic Law, Jesus, the first born, was brought to the Temple on the 40th day after His birth. A sacrifice of two turtle doves was made. The Temple ritual also included the Purification of Mary (which was actually unneccessary because she was sinless, but nevertheless she submitted herself to this tradition according to the Law). You can read about the Presentation in the Temple in Luke 2:22-35. The Scripture tells of the prophecies of Simeon and Anna.

 

We know Simeon's prophecy as the  Nunc Dimittis:

 

NOW dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, * in peace, according to Thy word: For mine own eyes hath seen * Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared * in the sight of all the peoples, A light to reveal Thee to the nations * and the glory of Thy people Israel.

 

Jesus was recognized as a light to the nations!  Thus, over time, the tradition of Candlemas developed. On this day candles are blessed for liturgical use in churches and homes. Candlelight processions are held.

 

 

This day falls halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox. The light is gradually returning as we turn toward spring. Today we celebrate the light and the Light who is Jesus. Our eyes turn from the manger toward the Cross as we approach Lent.

 

 

 

Because of this significant turning point in the seasons, this day also became a day for predicting the weather. An old English song describes this tradition --

 

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,
Go winter, and come not again.

 

It's easy to see how Groundhog's Day evolved from such folklore!

 

 

This day is so filled with meaning and symbolism that it is even commemorated by New Age and Wicca followers.... often termed "Imbolc." Ancient Celtic legends and rituals are rememberd and performed as Spring is anticipated and welcomed.

 

See? I told you it's a day filled with meaning! And I didn't even mention Saint Brigid of Ireland. It's her Feast Day as well.

 

 

How blessed we are to have such a rich liturgical bounty. We can learn and celebrate more and more year after year, binding ourselves to the Church of all ages and to God who is the center of our lives!

For us, this was the first of many tax season Saturdays when Jon had to work. However, the office closed at noon and all of the employees and their families got together for an afternoon of bowling fun! It was great for us to have some family time before tax season becomes too harried.




Jon being attacked by two crazy "alley-gators."

 When we returned home, we ate dinner by candlelight.

Yesterday, all of the families at our co-op were given these information sheets and prayer cards about Candlemas.... along with some yummy "pretzel candles." As part of our dinnertime, we read and prayed and ate our candle treats.

 

 After dinner, we processed with the candles to our Nativity scene. We prayed:

Lord Jesus Christ,
Light of the Nations and glory of Israel,
make your home among us.
Bless us and enable us to be a blessing to others
that we may reveal your light, your love, and your glory
today and always.
Amen.

(I did not get a picture of this procession because I was too busy making sure our house was not set on fire!)

And the day was capped off with Jon and Adam attending a hockey game with their friends! Ray and I watched at home. As you can see below, we're a divided family when the Blue Jackets play the Red Wings!

And so.... the groundhog didn't see his shadow here.

We're definitely looking toward spring... and focusing on following Jesus our Light!

Happy Feast Day of Saint John Bosco!

Saint John Bosco is one of our favorite saints and today is his feast day!

John Bosco was an Italian priest in the 19th century. He cared for boys who lived on the streets. He entertained them with stories, magic, and even juggling and then encouraged them to pray and attend Mass. He ended up creating housing and schools for many boys and young men. He taught them the faith and also skilled trades so that they could support themselves and contribute to society.

One of our favorite quotes about St. John Bosco is, "Run, jump, play, but do not sin." He really understoon boys! He was holy and kind AND knew how to have fun.

Last year I did monthly posts here about our homeschool club called "Bosco Boys Club." We are continuing to have a blast meeting with our friends each month this year. We are focusing on different virtues, learning about saints, and having fun!

So far this year we've..... had a visit from Franciscan friars, played fun games and relay races, made candy bugs, painted Christmas ornaments, decorated cool wooden shields, played with catapults, and had balloon sword fights! Here are some pictures of the fun....

 

 

Saint John Bosco would be proud to be our patron, don't you think?

 

It's so great for the boys to be able to learn, grow in holiness, and have fun together!

Saint John Bosco, pray for us.

A Prayer to St. John Bosco

O glorious Saint John Bosco,
who in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master
and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian morality
didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life
and didst set up a proper religious Institute destined to endure
and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work,
obtain also for us from Our Lord a holy love for young people
who are exposed to so many seductions
in order that we may generously spend ourselves
in supporting them against the snares of the devil,
in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world,
and in guiding them, pure and holy,
in the path that leads to God.
Amen.

Book Club!

We've got a fun new learning adventure! We've joined up with two families to form two book clubs which meet two times each month. We take turns meeting at each other's homes. I lead the older group of five boys. My friend Jen leads the younger group of three girls. And my friend Becky watches the three toddlers during our meetings. We are all enjoying it a bunch!

We began a few weeks ago. Our first task was decorating book bags.

 

 

At our first book club meeting the boys learned about idioms and we read the book, The Last Straw by Frederick H. Thury.

 

We played a fun game.... trying to pile packages on a "camel's" back.

We illustrated and discussed the meaning of various idioms.

The best part of this meeting for me was at the end. I had brought several books of idioms from the library. Even after our meeting time was officially over, the boys sat together enjoying those books.

I just loved seeing them enjoy reading together.

 Here are the idioms that Ray and Adam illustrated:

 We had our second book club meeting this Tuesday.

At the beginning of each meeting, the boys need to share a book that they've read. (Mary -- You'll be happy to know that both of our boys brought your homemade books to share. They were a big hit!)

Before the meeting all of the boys had read Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. They had drawn their favorite scenes and written three sentences about them. We shared those assignments and discussed our opinions of the book. Then we made a story map.

Next, we played a Stone Fox Trivia Game (which I had purchased from Teachers Pay Teachers website). The boys LOVED this... and I can't believe how many details they remembered from the story.

 

Finally, we worked on a craft. In the book, a little boy competes in a dog sled race. So we drew dog sled courses (based on the one described in the book). We used magnets above and below the courses to control the dogsleds and run the race.

For our next meeting, we're reading The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling. This should be a FUN meeting... on Fat Tuesday, two days before Valentine's Day! We'll definitely be eating chocolate!

 

 

While the boys were working on their craft project, I did manage to sneak into the other room and snap one quick shot of the girls. They read Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. They were making snowflake crystals!

 

Our book club meets at 11:00.... so we can get basic school done beforehand and so we can pack our lunches and enjoy eating together. (The little girls keep talking about how they want to go to "real" school so they can pack a lunch and eat with their friends!) Then we have some play time. This week was awesome... the weather was so warm. The kids played soccer in the back yard.

I'm looking forward to our book club adventures through the spring. The main goal: to help our children love reading.