Studeo: My Thinking Spot: lists of all sorts

Showing posts with label lists of all sorts. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Terri's Summer Reading List

Terri (age 12) is a voracious reader and is particularly interested in reading about history and saint stories...

I also wanted to mention that when I make these sorts of lists, I do them alongside and with the input of that child. It definitely increases the interest level and opportunity for success!

Archimedes and the Door of Science
St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio
Mother Cabrini: Missionary to the World
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Abigail and the Widow Mary
Saint Paul the Apostle
The Door in the Wall
Viking Adventure
The Hundred Penny Box
Silver for General Washington
A Proper Acadian
Shhh! We're Writing the Constitution
Across the Puddingstone Dam
These Happy Golden Years
The Wind Blows Free
The Wide Horizon
The Good Land
Escape from Warsaw
A Place to Hide
Magnificent Failure: The Story of Father Solanus Casey
Number the Stars
The Small War of Sergeant Donkey
The Weka-Feather Cloak
The Hobbit
The Shadow of the Bear

Friday, May 28, 2010

Summer Reading Lists (in progress)

Well, summer hasn't quite started here yet, but I'm already starting in on our own summer reading program lists (good for a Cold Stone Creamery treat upon completion). Here's Ria's (much of it picked by her):

Memory and Identity by Pope John Paul II
A Dickens of her choice (previously unread)
A Chesterton of her choice (previously unread)
A Map of Life by Frank Sheed
Dante's Inferno
The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker
Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII
What it Means to be a Christian by Pope Benedict
The Jeweller's Shop by Pope John Paul II
Stories by Leo Tolstoy: The Forged Coupon, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Walk in the Light

I need to work on Terri's list next. She is interested in reading a lot of history (which is good, because we didn't get to as much as I had hoped during the year).

Friday, September 11, 2009

Yet Another List

We're at our fullest capacity yet in our homeschool and run the gamut of K-12. We've got Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 12th grades running all at once (and sometimes all over the place!). I've been attempting to collect a list of the different curriculum and educational resources that we use (And like - at least so far.) for the sidebar of our learning notes blog, Age Quod Agis. It's really helpful for me to write it all down. I'm sure this is still incomplete, but it's a pretty good start (and a significant update to my very old list) and, I think, covers most of the big stuff.

Monday, September 07, 2009

And a Movie List Too

"School" Movies We've Seen This Year (08-09) - This one is particularly incomplete as I wasn't very good at keeping up with it.

A Man for All Seasons
Ancient Mysteries: Lost Castles of England
Battlefield Britain: The Battle of Hastings (not for younger children)
Battlefield Britain: The Spanish Armada (not for younger children)
Bill Nye the Science Guy (Various Episodes on YouTube)
Emma
Great Ideas from Classical Physics Series (Ria finished this)
Magic School Bus: Bugs
Magic School Bus: Human Body
Magic School Bus: Space Adventures
Microcosmos
NOVA: How the Towers Fell
Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca
Secrets of Lost Empires: Pyramid
Song of Bernadette
The Footprints of God: Paul

Time to Move the Booklists Around

Every September I empty the booklists from the sidebar of my learning notes blog and store them elsewhere (including print copies, when I'm that organized). So here are our 08-09 lists (I really wasn't good about writing down the ones we read at the end of the summer - there were quite a few picture books, especially in the history realm):

Picture Books We've Enjoyed This Year (with the younger set - not a complete list!)

A Cache of Jewels by Ruth Heller
A Day on Something-something Farm
A Picture Book of Jesse Owens by David Adler
A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard
Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
Animals Do the Strangest Things
Baby Animals by Garth Williams
Billy and Blaze
Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony
Blaze and Thunderbolt by C.W. Anderson
Blaze Shows the Way by C.W. Anderson
Caedmon's Song by Ruth Ashby
Cat and Canary by Michael Foreman
Crinkleroot's Guide to Animal Habitats
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths by Jim Arnosky
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds
Crinkleroot's Guide to Walking in Wild Places
Crinkleroot's Nature Almanac
D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths (in progress)
Danny and the Dinosaur
David and Goliath (another one - can't remember the author)
David and Goliath (Little Golden Book)
Eloise Wilkin's Poems to read to the Very Young
Father Bear Comes Home by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
For the Children: Words of Love and Inspiration from His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Fossils Tell of Long Ago by Aliki
Growing Up in Ancient Egypt by Rosalie David
Hokusai: The Man Who Painted a Mountain by Deborah Kogan Ray
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Katy and the Big Snow
Kites Sail High: A Book About Nouns by Ruth Heller
Little Bear's Friend by Else Holmelund Minarik
Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip
Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Paddle to the Sea
Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow, illustrated by Monica Vachula
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
Pocahontas: Girl of Jamestown by Kate Jassem
Simpson and Sampson by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
Sir Kevin of Devon by Adelaide Holl
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
Starfish by Edith Thacher Hurd
The Art lesson by Tomie dePaola
The Blue Number Counting Book
The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse
The Frog and Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel
The Good Man of Assisi by Mary Joslin and Alison Wisenfeld
The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth
The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn Branley
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Red Letter Alphabet Book
The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff
The Story of Jonah (Little Golden Book)
What Lives in a Shell?
Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs

Night Time Read-Alouds with Daddy 2008-2009

Anne of Green Gables
Canadian Summer
Friendly Gables
The Mitchells: Five for Victory

(He's also working on Sun Slower, Sun Faster right now and I'm pretty sure there were a few others I missed on this list.)

Ria:

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Comfort Joyce Moyer Hostetter
Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem
How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc
Joan of Arc by Mark Twain
King Lear by William Shakespeare
Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Lepanto by G.K. Chesterton
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Murder in the Cathedral
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Song of Bernadette by Franz Werfel
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
Sun Slower, Sun Faster by Meriol Trevor
Thank You Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
The Book of Tobit
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Bernie:

Canadian Summer
Friendly Gables
The Last Battle
The Mitchells
Thomas Edison (Childhood of Famous Americans)

What Mommy Read (2008-2009)

Better Off by Eric Brende
Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love by Myron Uhlberg
King Lear
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Murder in the Cathedral
The Ball and the Cross (in progress)
The Good Land by Loula Grace Erdman
The Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman
The Wide Horizon by Loula Grace Erdman
What it Means to be a Christian by Cardinal Ratzinger

I only started writing out my books read on this list. In the end I found I was more consistent in keeping track of those on GoodReads.

Recent Movie-Watching

I've been extra negligent of my blog lately as we had a family staying with us for quite a bit of August (as well as taking a trip to Oklahoma) and Ria and I have been busy working on the latest issue of mater et magistra magazine (which is dedicated to history studies!).

Partly because of these history projects, we reinstated our Netflix account and have watched quite a few movies in the last month or so. Here are some really brief notes (on the ones I can remember, at least):

Captains Courageous (Spencer Tracey) - Based on the story by Rudyard Kipling. This is a great old flick that was recommended to me by my sister-in-law and we finally got around to watching just a few weeks ago. A spoiled, wealthy lad is kicked out of his exclusive boarding school for obnoxious behavior and his single father hopes to spend more time with him to help improve his ways. The boy ends up getting in a situation with some boys aboard an oceanliner and falls off the ship unseen. He's is rescued by a Portuguese fisherman and forced to help out onboard a working boat for three months.

Henry Poole is Here - An interesting, understated movie about a man who finds a waterstain on the house he's just purchased that everyone else thinks is an image of the face of Christ.

Mary, Queen of Scots - A quality period piece (made in 1971) about Mary, Queen of Scots and her rivalry with Queen Elizabeth I of England. Not very family friendly (especially one disturbing scene that I couldn't make sense of from other historical sources), but surprisingly balanced in historical viewpoint.

Tucker: The Man and His Dream - Fascinating story of an inventor who attempted to market a new line of cars in competition with the big three automakers in the late 1940s.

The Boy in Striped Pajamas - A Flannery O'Connor-ish piece about the young son of a Nazi commander who is overseeing one of the Nazi concentration camps. Quite good, in a somewhat disturbing sort of way.

Breach - A gripping (though sometimes disturbing), real-life spy thriller about the capture of Robert Hanssen - an FBI agent who perpetrated the largest breach of security in U.S. History by selling government documents to the Russians over the period of several decades. Though the details of the spy's Catholic background seem a little muddled (for example, people who attend the Latin Mass don't tend to also hold hands for grace before meals), the movie treats it on the whole (and quite reasonably) as part of the enigma of the man. Also, not a bad reminder that people aren't always who they appear to be on the surface. I will probably let my teens see this only with a little editing. The sexual deviance stuff is definitely out there (even though it's a PG-13).

Love in the Afternoon - This was sort of a random choice, partly because I'm a fan of Gary Cooper. It's a quirky comedy/romance that made John and I laugh out loud in a number of places (and ended pretty well), but was a little creepy given the age difference between Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn. Very Billy Wilder.

Playing Elizabeth's Tune - Interesting documentary on Catholic composer William Byrd, who worked for Queen Elizabeth I in spite of Catholic persecution of the day (and is one of my very favorite composers - we had his Mass for 3 Voices sung at our wedding). Fascinating, very British (somewhat Protestant) perspective.

Catholic Heroes of the Faith: The Story of Saint Perpetua - Interesting and surprisingly substantial children's cartoon about the martyrdom of Saint Perpetua and some of her companions. The quality of animation is better than the CCC movies, though not fantastic, but the dialogue is excellent. My children enjoyed this very much.

El Cid (Charlton Heston) - Epic movie (co-starring Sophia Loren) about the legendary 11th century Spanish hero and warrior. Definitely worth a watch, though not entirely appropriate for family viewing.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (directed by Franco Zeffirelli) - A beautiful film on St. Francis of Assisi, that moves and inspires in spite of a few (surprisingly few!) 70s moments. Some disturbing elements might make it inappropriate for younger or more sensitive children. Culminates in Francis' audience with the Holy Father.

Pride and Prejudice (Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier) - A sometimes laughable, though well-acted (I love Edmund Gwenn as Mr. Bennett!) 1940 version of the classic Jane Austen movie. Some of the rewrites seem a little funny after enjoying other film versions of recent years, though the film is probably most enjoyable if you're already somewhat familiar with the story.

Friday, July 24, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

I really need to write more about Pope Benedict's book on St. Paul when I get a chance (I did share a few highlights here). We've been discussing this book with our teen catechism group throughout the summer and it's just amazing (especially after having read a number of St. Paul's letters during the year). The group has really been enjoying it and I really appreciate the clarity he brings to a number of issues - particularly on the very strong theme of charity that runs throughout the book. We have five chapters left out of twenty. You can also read the entire thing online here: General Audiences of Pope Benedict XVI (look for his audiences on St. Paul dating from July 2, 2008 - February 4, 2009).

2.

Garden Success!

I officially declare this year our first successful gardening year, although this is my favorite picture of our garden projects (taken about a week ago):

It reminds me of Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree.

We've had a lot of garden fails, including one year where we planted lots of seedlings and got nothing in the ground and one year where our entire crop of tomatoes was eaten by deer.

For those who might be interested, you can see more pictures of our garden here on our Flickr account.

I am very grateful to the book Square Foot Gardening (it's worth getting the new one - much easier than the old one we originally checked out from the library) even though our gardens don't technically qualify as Square Foot Gardens since we never built the little grids that the author INSISTS are essential. :) Particularly helpful were their suggestions to plant close to the house so that the gardens are very accessible for weeding, watering, etc.

We're still enjoying our salad tables as well, though they're waning just a bit at the moment.

3.

We've got a number of activities that we're helping organize this summer and are really pleased with the response so far. We've actually got a local park day going on a weekly basis, which has been a great place to connect, particularly with newer homeschool families. I started a weekly Latin "Study Group" that runs through August (we've met twice so far in this "session") and I think that's turning out pretty well. We do some Latin songs (both fun songs and sacred music) and prayers, have a few handouts with word lists, basic timelines and such and play lots of games. We have a Latin Bingo game, a Greek and Roman art & architecture memory game and a few sources for Certamen (a game show for all things Latin related) questions.

4.

Speaking of Latin, a friend of ours is involved with developing some very interesting (and free) web tools for studying Latin and Greek. They're live online now, though still in progress, and would appreciate feedback, particularly from teachers of Latin and Greek. You can find the project here:

http://alpheios.net/

Alpheios is designed to work with Firefox.

5.

We also have a weekly ballroom dance "gig" going for families in our homeschool group through the end of the summer. We've met twice for that so far and have had, I think 50-75 people for each session. Here's a shot from last week's Virginia Reel:

And this is the promenade (we went outside for awhile because the air conditioner wasn't working):

As you can see, the dances are pretty informal and include a wide variety of ages. There isn't a dress code per se, though some of the kids like to dress up and most of the girls like to dance in skirts.

6.

I am still doing the Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and I think I'm on day 27? It's going pretty well so far. I've lost a few pounds, but noticed a big difference in energy and focus. Definitely planning on sticking to it beyond day 30 - it seems to be a good "fit".

7.

My long neglected Reading Your Way Through History blog is finally getting a little TLC of late. I expect to stay more involved with it - at least for awhile - since the next issue of mater et magistra magazine has a history theme. Should be a good opportunity to dive back into one of my very favorite projects for awhile.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Library Craziness

Twice this month I've made huge trips to local libraries in which I've checked out twenty-odd picture books to see which ones we like and might be willing to recommend (particularly for a unit study I'm working on for mater et magistra magazine). There are plenty of ones that needed only a quick glance before I didn't bother and several that we finished reading, but were only so-so. Here is a list of our favorites so far:

Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why, Every Punctuation Mark Counts! by Lynne Truss

Wonderful Words: Poems about Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

As: A Surfeit of Similes by Norton Juster

How Much Can a Bare Bear Bear?: What are Homonyms and Homophones? by Brian P. Cleary

What's Inside: Fascinating Structures Around the World by Giles Laroche

Here are two more that we haven't quite finished reading yet (just nosed through quite a bit) and really liked so far:

G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book by David Schwartz

Go Figure! A totally cool book about numbers by Johnny Ball

P.S. We're also in the process of reading Ethel Pochocki's Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints (from Bethlehem Books) and really like it so far. There have been a few spots that made me furrow my brow or that seemed just a little too silly, but these have been more than compensated for by some incredibly beautiful stories that are really well done. There was a little bit in the story of Juan Diego that bothered me (a little off on the Aztec story) and an aspect of the story of St. Nicholas that I thought pretty disturbing for young children, but some of the other stories, like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Thomas Aquinas are really lovely and the one we just finished - on St. Paul Miki and St. Charles Lwanga - has an absolutely stunning and incredibly appropriate explanation of the martyrs. Fabulous stuff and I very much look forward to reading the rest. Oh yes, and Ben Hatke's illustrations (he also illustrated Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman) are wonderful!

Friday, May 22, 2009

7 Quick Takes

1.

It was very much a week of celebrations of all sorts, really. Monday I celebrated my 39th birthday... for the first time. John and I went to see Star Trek. We're not Trekkies in any sense of the word (except for the fact that I've probably seen all the episodes of the original TV series once upon a time) - it was just the most interesting-sounding movie on the list at the local theater. It was unexpectedly fun and rather delightful, aside from one or two rather crude moments early in the movie.

2.

Ria was confirmed this week! She chose two names - Gilbert and Karol. Gilbert is after G.K. Chesterton (though there are some "official" St. Gilberts as well) and Karol, of course, is after Pope John Paul II.

Sadly, my in-laws weren't able to make it to the confirmation as my mother-in-law spent most of the week in the hospital after stomach surgery on Monday. Happily, she returned home yesterday evening and is resting comfortably and very much over the worst.

3.

It was also a week of getting together with members of the Catholic online community.

On Tuesday night we hosted a potluck for Ana and family as they made their way home from ND. We had 55 people here! It's already the most beautiful week of the year, with many blossoming trees, lush green grass and new leaves on most of the trees. The weather also cooperated beautifully! We had a delightful visit filled with food, fun, dancing and good conversation.

Last night our family attended a Latin Tridentine Mass for the Feast of the Ascension. It was organized by members of our Latin Club (so John and I actually brought 11 people with us - including six of our kids) and we planned to head out for some famous Wisconsin Frozen Custard afterwards, to celebrate the Feast and Ria's 16th birthday. The Mass was very nice and the St. Anthony Choir (which includes my brother-in-law and two nephews) provided beautiful music.

The priest shared a delightfully funny story during the homily, which I will attempt to re-tell here. He was talking about various theories regarding the end of the world. Apparently one lady at a previous parish he attended insisted that he warn his congregation that the world was going to end the next day (or sometime that week, I can't remember the particulars). He explained to her that he always preaches about conversion and wouldn't do anything different this time. The following week (after the world was supposed to have ended) she came up to him excitedly and said: You are such a good priest! Your prayers have stayed the hand of God! ;)

Afterwards, Robert introduced us to Matthew Alderman, who recently relocated to the Milwaukee area. Ria and I have been fans of his beautiful artwork for some time and he ended up very kindly accepting our invitation to join our little celebration at Kopp's Frozen Custard. The slightly surreal aspect of the meeting was that I had read half of his blog post on ND yesterday morning, and the thought was unexpectedly completed with the author in real life that same evening. Life is funny!

4.

I was pleased to discover a week or two ago that I qualify for Amazon.com's Vine Program - which provides top reviewers with free review materials of all sorts. Though I receive many Catholic review materials through my work for Love2learn, I like to promote good books and publishers through Amazon already and when I only read books from a limited field, I get burnt out very quickly. So I ordered a few interesting-sounding books, including a picture book about children with autistic siblings and a non-fiction title about a soccer team composed of refugees. Interesting stuff!

Unfortunately, when I received the latest edition of their review offerings yesterday, I had too many out-standing books to request more - and one of the review items was a Flip Videocamera! (I bought a very inexpensive Flip Videocamera for John for Valentine's Day, thanks to a tip from Danielle, but we managed to break the screen just a few weeks later.) Whaddya do?

5.

The gardens are coming along, though there's always too much to do terribly well. We're actually eating some lettuce (both red lettuce and Mesclun sweet mix) and arugula (which I wasn't really familiar with before). The potted cherry tomatoes (which we started from seed in February, I think) are coming along beautifully. I think we'll be eating some in a week or so. We also have spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, zucchini and onions growing pretty well.

6.

Late last week (or was it early this week) I finished reading Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy for the first time. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but it's basically the story of how a very devoted couple walked the path from atheism to Christianity. It's quite a touching romance and C.S. Lewis plays a major role. Can't wait to get my hands on the sequel, Under the Mercy. It also makes me want to go back and re-read all of the C.S. Lewis I read in high school and READ all the C.S. Lewis I haven't yet read. Good stuff!

7.

Last, but certainly not least, I'm very excited about my friend Karen's new book on the Rosary. I'm reading it slowly, amidst the other miscellaneous books and am enjoying it very much. It's simple and very accessible. Not necessarily things I didn't already know, but insights and helpful ways of understanding things (and possibly sharing them with others). Here's a little sample:

The Church affirms that we are to give the mother of our Lord the respect she deserves, which was foretold in Luke 1:48, "All generations will call me blessed." And simply put, why would we not wish to offer her love, honor and respect? Mary surrendered herself completely to all that accompanied bringing our Saivor into the world, including intense suffering. Seeking to emulate her faith is not an act of worship; it is an act of learning from another disciple.

Friday, May 15, 2009

7 Quick Takes

1. I have a new great-niece who was born earlier this week - Anna Philomena! Can't wait to meet her (and at least see photos soon, I hope!). Congratulations M & M!

2. It's been a major book-buying week, between a fortuitous trip to the local thrift store (that was having a two-for-one deal on adult non-fiction) and a big rummage sale we dropped by that had a huge selection of books. I wonder sometimes, if those who look at my LibraryThing account might think we have a large book-buying budget. The reality is that there are all kinds of books that I can't resist when they're priced at 5 for $1. :)

And please keep in mind that just because I own a book (all of which I try to keep track of on LibraryThing) doesn't mean that I recommend it!

Favorite finds this week include a binder full of fun-looking chemistry reproducible activities (think crossword puzzles and such) and a couple copies of "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" to have around for gifts. Saddest finds were a batch of Catholic (some good and some not-so-good) books all belonging to one person (name left in the books) that seemed to tell a story of confusion and withdrawal from the Catholic Church over time.

3. We got a little sixteen-inch non-motorized lawn-mower for the little areas in our yard that the rider mower just can't handle. As expected, this is a huge hit with the kids. Their new-found creativity in lawn-mowing... um... shows.

4. Regina Doman blogged this week about The Midnight Dancers production that several of my girls were involved in. You can see her post here.

5. I can't believe that Ria is turning 16 next week (as well as receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation). I took her out for her first parking-lot driving lesson a few days ago. She did very well!

6. I listened in on Fr. Mitch Pacwa's webinar today at Homeschool Connections. It was very good! A good friend of mine, Dr. Robert Gotcher, will be offering some high school classes there this summer. Hoping to sign Ria up with at least one (they look really good and she thrives on that sort of thing) as she has very much enjoyed his Catholic Lit class this year. More info available at the Homeschool Connections blog.

7. And on a related note (I might have mentioned this already - I forget.) - I'm scheduled to host a webinar myself at Homeschool Connections on Choosing Educational Materials on Wednesday, June 10th.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

100 Species Project - The First Fifteen

We're doing pretty well on the 100 Species Challenge since we started last week over on our gardening blog. Here are our first 15 species identified (plus a 16th we're rather unsure of) with links to the posts the kids wrote on each plant over on the gardening blog.

By the way, the kids did all of the photography, except perhaps the gladiolas from last summer.

1. Ornamental Apricot Tree

2. Tulips - More Pictures Here (I love how the red ones seem to magically appear amongst the yellow a few days after the yellow ones start to open up.)

3. Apple Tree (with beautiful leaf buds just opening up - this tree should be blooming in a few more days)

4. Rhododendron (Or is it an Azalea)

5. Crab Apple Tree (this one should be blooming soon too)

6. Daffodils

7. Rose Bush

8. Gladiolas (This one was kind of cheating. It's definitely not blooming right now, but one team decided to post a picture from last summer.)

9. Wild Pansies

10. Birch Tree

11. Buckthorn (Ugh. We're always trying to get rid of this stuff. It's not native to the area and is super-invasive.)

12. Dandelion

13. Wild Violets

14. Mustard Weeds

15. Phlox

16. Purple Iceplant?

Friday, January 09, 2009

Homeschooling with a Four Year Old during Winter

~ a post for a dear friend who asked :) ~

I feel a little reluctant answering this question right now just because there is the definite risk of making it sound like we've figured out how to run things really smoothly with a four year old in the midst of homeschooling. That wouldn't be an accurate summary. Each day is new and requires creativity and a lot of patience and I feel like I've got a long way to go.

Nevertheless, I do have some ideas that have been helpful for us over time and I can share those here. This is somewhat ironic, because an idea-refresher will probably be helpful to me right now!

1. Some four year olds need more time than others. My current four year old (who will be five on Saturday!) is definitely one of those. The more time I take with him, especially reading picture books or general "floor time" (link courtesy of Willa, from whom I first heard the term) the better. This is probably exactly what I need more time on at the moment, but I've been working on the picture book reading time lately and it's been helping some. Anyway, when he's had this sort of time with me, he tends to be more contented at other points of the day.

2. Think Montessori. Not so much as in all the Montessori materials, but some general concepts. First is not doing everything for them, but allowing them to do as much as they can (within reason) themselves. This "Love2learn Moment" of mine includes a wonderful quote by Maria Montessori on the concept. The second is giving them work to make them happy. Here are some examples from our own Frank when he was a newer four year old. Unfortunately he doesn't always distract himself from temper tantrums so easily.

3. Stay Home a Lot. This Autumn was difficult for Frank, I think largely because we were running around too much. Winter is looking a little calmer and I'm working on not getting so over-booked in the future.

4. Parades any time at all. Here's one old, old post about it. Our favorite "parade" CDs are the Lyrical Life Science and Lyrical Earth Science CDs. I should probably also pull out some of the Wee Sing CDs that have been rather neglected of late.

5. Limiting screen time. Nothing seems to wig out our four year old (in particular) than too much time spent in front of the computer. Movies aren't as bad, but the idea does apply to a certain extent. If we've been over-doing it in these areas for awhile, there are sometimes a few slightly ugly days of withdrawal (reduction, not cold turkey) and then things are happier.

6. Frank, in particular, loves puzzles (including some computer puzzles that I don't mind him doing - like the "drag a state" game here which he's quite good at). He loves any sort of memory game (which the other kids love too as long as it's not the Spiderman one - we have a lovely world landmarks memory game called Heritage that everyone can play together) and he loves workbooks if I can keep up with him in that regard (he cruises through anything right at his level and gets frustrated with anything above).

I think there are more things somewhere in the back of my head, but this was all I could pull out at the moment. :)

Geography addendum for Margaret (because links are much easier here than in the comments):

A good U.S. map puzzle has always been the fun beginning of geography for our littles. Frank has already mastered this one. I sit down with one or more of them and hand out states, naming them as I hand them out. They each try to put them back in the right place. That's usually the beginning point, but it has all sorts of crazy manifestations. This is definitely a picture of some of our floor time.

Online geography games have been favorites around here for years. I have a pretty good collection of links at this very old (2005!) post about preparing for the Geography Bee (it's probably my most googled post ever):

National Geography Bee Prep

We also have loads of geography board games - most picked up from rummage sales and many which innocently teach some completely out-dated facts. :)

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Resolutions

A few years ago (wow - is it three years???) I blogged about a New Year's Resolution here. I tend toward New Year's resolutions of the more intangible sort like this Age Quod Agis. One of the disadvantages, naturally, is that it's not a quantifiable thing that you can check off a list and stop working on when you're done. This is a resolution that I'm still working on and has had different manifestations over the past few years.

Last year, though I think I neglected to blog on it, my emphasis was to work on staying more engaged with my children and my family since I have a tendency to do too much zoning out. (Make no mistake - zoning out can be necessary at times!) I ended up working on this in part by getting my prayer life in a little better order. I started using the Magnificat Magazine, which includes morning and evening prayers. Though I wasn't perfectly consistent about praying with it, by any means, I like how it gave a natural order to my day and I think I made some progress on my resolution. I highly recommend this beautiful little magazine!

An interesting thing developed out of this at the end of last year. Because of the interest in the Liturgy of the Hours of a blind relative (and the lack of availability of much of it in Braille or on audio - and she doesn't get on the Internet) I decided to dive in and start doing the Liturgy of the Hours myself. I don't think I would have had the courage (gumption?) to give it a try if I hadn't eased my way in with Magnificat (which itself is a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours).

I absolutely love it. It's beautiful, ever new (which I think is a good personality fit for me - I'm the sort that gets bored quickly with things like exercise routines if they're always the same) and lends itself, more than Magnificat I think, for praying out loud. John and Ria and Gus really like it too and whenever said blind relative is over, we pray it together (Terri is starting to join us once in awhile too). Slowly, but slowly, we're working on Brailleing (not sure how to spell that!) the unchanging parts to help her use as much of it as she can at home and to participate with us when she's here.

We started saying it in the middle of Advent and so one of the most exciting parts (for us Catholic nerds) was to pray the "O Antiphons" in their intended context.

I'm trying to say at least one morning and one evening prayer each day, but sometimes we manage to say it as many as four parts a day (I think there are six or seven parts available in the four book set). I really love the "Office of Readings" with the second reading being from a saint or Father of the Church. Really neat and beautiful stuff! That's the first one of the day and sometimes we manage to do the "Morning Prayer" as well. "Evening Prayer" is a little hit and miss too depending on if we're running around or not, but the "Night Prayer" is short and beautiful and ... peaceful (and we can generally sneak it in just before bed).

One neat thing I'm finding is that it's giving (or starting to give - really, truly, I have a long way to go, and you'd believe it if you saw my house!) an order to my day, a peaceful, manageable order, that I was never able to achieve on my own (I'm sure this is somewhat personality-related too.) It's also neat that my kids are enjoying reading aloud parts of it - which is particularly exciting in the case of my more reluctant readers. I've noticed Gus grow in confidence in reading as he does bits and pieces from the Liturgy of the Hours.

I don't have a very specific resolution in mind this year, other than to keep working on the Age Quod Agis and the staying engaged, but there is a bit of the working-on-ordering-my-life that is becoming a theme so far and I hope to continue with. One area I'm especially working on right now (and have made some progress on in the last year, but need to keep doing more on) is prioritizing and thus reducing some of our out-of-the-house commitments. There are many other areas that need work too, believe me!

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Books I Read, 2008

This one might take awhile, but will be useful to me in various ways, even if it doesn't turn out to be interesting to anyone else. Some of these still need to be officially reviewed for Love2learn. It seems like it's been a slow year in the writing (especially reviewing) department. I also started and didn't finish quite a few books. I've read lots of picture books too, of course, just a little too difficult to keep track of. :)

Shakespeare:

King Lear
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing

Other Literature:

Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot (3rd or 4th time I think)
Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Beowulf (2nd time)
The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll (2nd or 3rd time)

Fiction:

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall
Atticus by Ron Hansen
Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (umpteenth time)
Arms of Love by Carmen Marcoux
Surrender by Carmen Marcoux
Healing Water by Joyce Meyer Hostetter
Blue by Joyce Meyer Hostetter
Fingal's Quest by Madeleine Polland (2nd time)
Catholic Reluctantly by Christian M. Frank
The Good Land by Loula Grace Erdman
The Wide Horizon by Loula Grace Erdman

Non-Fiction:

Crossing the Threshold of Hope by Pope John Paul II
Witness to Hope by George Weigel (abridged audio edition)
Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI
A Haystack Full of Needles by Alice Gunther
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Legacy of John Paul II: Images and Memories by Cardinal Ratzinger
A Picture Perfect Childhood by Cay Gibson
Alfred of Wessex by Frank Morris (2nd time)
Behind Enemy Lines: A Young Pilot's Story by H.R. DeMallie
Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI (2nd time)
If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard (2nd time)
What it Means to be a Christian by Pope Benedict XVI
How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc (2nd time)
Great Explorations: John Charles Fremont, Pathfinder to the West by Harold Faber

Blog Review, 2008

I saw this fun year-end meme on several other blogs and thought I'd add my own variation - a favorite quote shared on my blog from each month of the year. Here are a few of the places I've seen it: UK Bookworm Melanie Bettinelli Willa. The idea originated here.

Here are the rules: Post the first sentence of your first blog post of each month. You can also add a favorite picture from each month.

I added my own little twist by including a quote cited on my blog for each month.

January:

Kate and Frank got cute little Christmas clearance apron and chef hat sets.

We may distinguish two types of knowing: one is particular, specific, thing-centered, while the other is fundamental, deep, ultimate, person-centered. Examples of the first are the molecular structure of water, the sum of the angles of a triangle equaling 180 degrees, the location of Chile in South America and the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Examples of the second are moral decisions, the ultimate purpose in life, the thirst of men for happiness and the quest for God.

The research-study model for the attainment of truth is effective for the first level of knowing. A proud, avaricious, lustful person can through sheer study reach an extensive knowledge of things. He can learn precious little about persons, nothing about God - nothing, that is, that transcends the mere data level of books and lectures.

Deep, ultimate, person-centered knowledge is achieved through love, genuine love. And love is achieved only through conversion from an opacity resulting from the original fall. (from Authenticity, by Fr. Thomas Dubay)

February:

Some thoughts swirling around in my head - nothing resembling a "train of thought" here, I think! ;)

It is not surprising that it should now be felt that a view, a decision, a conviction are imperatively needed. But it is plainly only in the consideration of Beowulf as a poem, with an inherent poetic significance, that any view or conviction can be reached or steadily held. For it is of their nature that the jabberwocks of historical and antiquarian research burble in the tulgy wood of conjecture, flitting from one tum-tum tree to another. Noble animals, whose burbling is on occasion good to hear; but though their eyes of flame may sometimes prove searchlights, their range is short. (Tolkien on Beowulf)

March:

I have no idea when the last time was that I went an entire week without posting on Studeo.

Thomas says that through the praise of God man ascends to God. Praise itself is a movement, a path; it is more than understanding, knowing and doing - it is an "ascent", a way of reaching him who dwells amid the praises of the angels. Thomas mentioned another factor: this ascent draws man away from what is opposed to God. Anyone who has ever experienced the transforming power of great liturgy, great art, great music, will know this. Thomas adds that the sound of musical praise leads us and others to a sense of reverence. It awakens the inner man... (Cardinal Ratzinger, Feast of Faith)

April:

Sometimes I worry that I'm not doing enough with my little ones.

Because the Pope is a witness of Christ and a minister of the Good News, he is a man of joy and a man of hope, a man of the fundamental affirmation of the value of existence, the value of creation and of hope in the future life. Naturally, this is neither a naive joy, nor a vain hope. The joy of victory over evil does not obfuscate - it actually intensifies - the realistic awareness of the existence of evil in the world and in every man. The Gospel teaches us to call good and evil by name, but it also teaches: "Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good." (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope)

May:

Another photo by Ria.

Therefore, these two aspects - the affirmation of the person as a person and the sincere gift of self - not only do not exclude each other, they mutually confirm and complete each other. Man affirms himself most completely by giving of himself. This is the fulfillment of the commandment of love. This is also the full truth about man, a truth that Christ taught us by His life, and that the tradition of Christian morality, no less than the tradition of saints and of the many heroes of love of neighbor, took up and lived out in the course of history.

If we deprive human freedom of this possibility, if man does not commit himself to becoming a gift for others, then this freedom can become dangerous. It will become freedom to do what I myself consider as good, what brings me a profit or pleasure, even a sublimated pleasure. If we cannot accept the prospect of giving ourselves as a gift, then the danger of a selfish freedom will always be present.... a complete expression of all this is already found in the Gospel. For this very reason, we can find in the Gospel a consistent declaration of all human rights, even those that for various reasons can make us feel uneasy. (from Crossing the Threshold of Hope by Pope John Paul II)

June:

After many years of getting mostly odd comments at grocery stores about our noticeably large bunch of kids, I tend to savor the funny or overtly positive comments related to shopping trips with the gang in tow.

The only Christian work is good work done well. Let the Church see to it that the workers are Christian people and do their work well, as to God: then all the work will be Christian work, whether it is Church embroidery, or sewage-farming. As Jacques Maritain says: 'If you want to produce Christian work, be a Christian, and try to make a work of beauty into which you have put your heart; do not adopt a Christian pose.'
He is right. And let the Church remember that the beauty of the work will be judged by its own, and not by ecclesiastical standards. Let me give you an illustration of what I mean.
When my play The Zeal of Thy House was produced in London, a dear old pious lady was much struck by the beauty of the four great archangels who stood throughout the play in their heavy, gold robes, eleven feet high from wing-tip to sandal-tip. She asked with great innocence 'whether I selected the actors who played the angels for the excellence of their moral character?'
I replied that the angels were selected, to begin with, not by me but by the producer, who had the technical qualifications for selecting suitable actors - for that was part of his vocation. And that he selected, in the first place, young men who were six feet tall, so that they would match properly together. Secondly, angels had to be of good physique, so as to be able to stand stiff on the stage for two and a half hours, carrying the weight of their wings and costumes, without wobbling, or fidgeting, or fainting. Thirdly, they must be able speak verse well, in an agreeable voice and audibly. Fourthly, they must be reasonably good actors.
When all these technical conditions were fulfilled, we might come to the moral qualities, of which the first would be the ability to arrive on the stage punctually and in a sober condition, since the curtain must go up on time, and a drunken angel would indecorous. After that, and only after that, one might take character into consideration, but that - provided his behaviour was not so scandalous as to cause dissension among the company - the right kind of actor with no morals would give a far more reverent and seemly performance than a saintly actor with the wrong technical qualifications.
The worst religious films I ever saw were produced by a company which chose its staff exclusively for their piety. Bad photography, bad acting, and bad dialogue produced a result so grotesquely irreverent that the pictures could not have been shown in churches without bringing Christianity into contempt.
God is not served by technical incompetence; and incompetence and untruth always result when the secular vocation is treated as a thing alien to religion. (from Creed or Chaos by Dorothy Sayers)

July:

Ria managed to post about our California Mission visits in honor of today's feast.

This bulletin board is a lot bigger than it looks.

"Always go forward and never turn back..." (a motto of Bl. Junipero Serra)

August:

We had way too much fun taking funny pictures today.

'The manifestation of the glory of Jesus,' to quote Danielou, 'appears to Peter to be the sign that the times of the Messiah have arrived. And one of the qualities of these messianic times was to be the dwelling of the just in the tents signified by the huts of the Feast of Tabernacles'... By experiencing the Transfiguration during the Feast of Tabernacles, Peter, in his ecstasy, was able to recognize 'that the realities prefigured by the Feast were accomplished... the scene of the Transfiguration marks the fact that the messianic times have come'. It is only as they go down from the mountain that Peter has to learn once again that the messianic age is first and foremost the age of the Cross and that the Transfiguration - the experience of becoming light from and with the Lord - requires us to be burned by the light of the Passion and so transformed. (from Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI)

September:

A partial re-posting from April 2007 because we're praying for all those on the Gulf Coast as the horrible hurricane makes landfall...

There are two types of decision makers. Satisficers (yes, satisficers) make a decision once their criteria are met. When they find the hotel or the pasta sauce that has the qualities they want, they're satisfied. Maximizers want to make the best possible decision. Even if they see a bicycle or a backpack that meets their requirements, they can't make a decision until they've examined every option. Satisficers tend to be happier than maximizers. Maximizers expend more time and energy reaching decisions, and they're often anxious about their choices. Sometimes good enough is good enough. (Gretchen Rubin as quoted in RealSimple Magazine)

October:

It's homecoming week at a local high school, which includes spirit-oriented dress-up theme days throughout the week.

Moral strength has not grown in tandem with the development of science; on the contrary, it has diminished, because the technological mentality confines morality to the subjective sphere. Our need, however, is for a public morality, a morality capable of responding to the threats that impose such a burden on the existence of us all. The true and gravest danger of the present moment is precisely this imbalance between technological possibilities and moral energy. The security we all need as a presupposition of our freedom and dignity cannot ultimately be derived from technical systems of control. It can come only from the moral strength of man, and where this is lacking or insufficient, the power man has will be transformed more and more into a power of destruction. (from Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures by Pope Benedict XVI)

November:

I'm a little behind on these as I've had incredibly packed days lately.

"Go, make disciples of all nations" was the last command Jesus gave to us before returning to His Father. It's a big one. How can simple people like us convert the world? That brings us back to Mary, and to the apostles at Pentecost. They changed the world by letting God change them and work through them. We don't need to be afraid. We need to be confident in the promise made by Christ Himself: "I am with you always, to the close of the age."

Don't be afraid of the world. The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley once sneered that "I could believe in Christ if He did not drag along behind Him that leprous bride of His, the Church." Yet Shelley is long dead, and the Church is still here, still alive and young, still bringing life to the world. Don't be afraid of the world. The Holy Spirit is on your side. Charles Spurgeon once said, "The way you defend the Bible is the same way you defend a lion. You just let it loose." (from Living the Catholic Faith by Archbishop Chaput)

December:

I'll probably have to re-read this book before I can give what I would consider an adequate review.

...his first reaction was always gratitude. He accustomed himself, in everything that happened in his life, always first and foremost to praise and to give thanks, even before he knows what it is, in fact, that he has received, even before he accepts what he receives, looks at it, and gives it shape. (from Book of All Saints by Adrienne Von Speyr - chapter on St. Francis of Assisi)

Monday, December 22, 2008

Thankful Mondays: Cold Weather Edition

DSC_1451, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Today I'm feeling grateful for:

New back tires on the van.

Anti-lock brakes.

Thinsulate.

Scarves and hats and gloves.

Hot tea and hot cocoa.

Four-kid-powered snow shoveling (with some help from the adults too).

House insulation and central heat.

The Department of Public Works.

Weather's been alternating here between zeroish with heavy winds and quite a bit warmer (20s and 30s) with snow. We're expecting snow to fall starting tomorrow morning at 5 am and not stop until sometime the night of Christmas Eve. Ah, arouind here we're not *dreaming* of a white Christmas!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A Few Last Minute Additions that Didn't Make it into the Picture Below:

Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders (DIY Science) by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments (DIY Science) by Robert Bruce Thompson

It's that Library Tree Time of Year Again

The biggest news this year is that we have another local library taking on our project (a friend of mine helped make the connection) and so now we are starting to put great family reading into TWO libraries at once! :)

You can read about our previous efforts in this area by looking at our library topic tab.

I finished up the ornaments last night, with some much appreciated help from John and from Gus. The work went a little quicker this year as I have quite a few leftovers from last year to fill in. I can also add more over the next few weeks if it's needed.

Here are the books pictured (plus one that's not). Most of the leftovers from last year are DVDs as they sold a lot more slowly. Since we still have the ornaments, I thought I'd keep trying and see if we can get a few more each time. I imagine that, though most of the buyers seem more interested in books, there are probably a few for whom DVDs will be more appealing.

Ordered from left to right, starting at the top (if you can figure that out!):

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Soule

The Grunt Padre

Beatrice's Goat

Jesse Owens: Fastest Man Alive

Buildings that Changed the World (I found this at a different local library while working on an Architecture Unit Study for Heart and Mind Magazine a few years ago - and really liked it!)

101 Things You Gotta Do Before You're 12

Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth is a Planet

Sholom's Treasure: How Sholom Aleichem Became a Writer

Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

Penguins by Seymour Simon

Mom and Dad are Palindromes

Dolley Madison Saves George Washington

Mary Cassatt: Impressionist Painter

One Grain of Rice by Demi

In Flanders' Field: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference

How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Annushka's Voyage

How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning

First Farm in the Valley

Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression

The Best Beekeeper of Lalibella: A Tale from Africa

My Heart Lies South: The Story of My Mexican Marriage

Hero on Horseback: The Story of Casimir Pulaski

Taj Mahal by Caroline Arnold

Brave Harriet

Everybody Bakes Bread

Bessie Smith and the Night Riders (this one may not make it in as I just realized that I accidentally printed it up with the wrong description - not much time to fix it today, so I may put it aside for next year)

The Swamp Fox of the Revolution (not pictured)

How I Find the Books:

This is not an exact science. I don't get to read very many of the books ahead of time - they're just not available to me for purchase (and I obviously can't find them yet in my local library!). Here are some of my methods for finding good stuff:

First, I take at least one "research" trip to a big local bookstore. I always find some nice goodies and get to take a close look at these. My favorites from this year's trip were Planting the Trees of Kenya (which our library already owns) and 101 Things You Gotta Do Before You're 12. Good stuff! These books don't require further research since I get to look at them myself. Just have to check them against the library's online catalog.

Certain authors and series can be reliable enough for me to add new selections to our tree without seeing them ahead of time. We've done a lot of books from the Sterling Point Biographies and from Lets Read-and-Find-Out Science. Filling in the library's collection of certain favorite authors and illustrators can also be a good idea. For example, last year Tomie de Paola's book on St. Patrick was added to the library through this project.

Next, I find online or in-print book lists to filter through some helpful recommendations. Last year, I made substantial use of Maureen Wittman's For the Love of Literature. This year, Cay Gibson's Picture Perfect Childhood was extremely helpful. I make up lists of books that look interesting and then research them on Amazon.com to make sure they're in print and to check out the reviews. Since I don't get to see these books ahead of time, I'm very fussy at this stage - I look to see that the reviewers are happy and that there are no major flaws. Book descriptions and reviews will often give clues about bias and tone.

I also pick up book titles here and there from the blogosphere and whatnot. For example, the Creative Family is a title I've seen a number of homeschool moms blog about. Sounds good!

Overall, I've noticed that picture books tend to sell better than chapter books and DVDs sell very slowly. It's likely that I'll be turning to Cay Gibson's book again next year as there are plenty of suggestions left to check out.

What I'm Trying to Accomplish:

It seems to me that picture books are a great way to encourage good education today. Not only are they appealing and in the midst of a sort of Renaissance right now (lots of true, good and beautiful stuff out there!) but they also tend to be less agenda-based than the textbooks that children are using in schools. (Read Language Police by Diane Ravitch if you're not familiar with these problems). I'm not out to promote a specific agenda or sneak something in under the librarians' noses. Instead, I'm focusing on the true, the good and the beautiful - often in the form of natural virtues and good things that everyone can appreciate, but won't necessarily encounter without this sort of nudge. Good things that seem to abound in books like these include concepts like: charity and kindness, hope, perseverance, beauty in nature, appreciation of the dignity of the person, cultural connectedness, historical perspective and the sense that one person really can make a difference.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Vale of Tears

The Internet is a funny thing and it certainly has its ups and downs. At the same time that it's a beautiful thing to connect with others and share the burdens of sadness with others through prayer, it can also be overwhelming at the same time. We've been in a spell of many heart-breaking prayer requests lately and I finally decided to do something about it. I've been wanting to set up a prayer board of some sort for awhile with photographic reminders of those in need of prayer. I finally realized that the mirror we have hanging behind our statue of Our Lady of Fatima would be just the thing.

I printed out pictures for each of the prayer intentions (and hope to add a written list somewhere as well as we don't always have a picture).

Here are links to info about those included here (list in progress) so that you can keep them in your prayers too:

Marie Breda (who's really having a tough time right now - please keep her in your prayers, especially through the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta).

Tom Vander Woude and his family

My cousin Cyndie's daughter Sara

Elanor and the Olson Family

Bruno de Solenni (Bruno, the brother of a fellow TACer, was killed in Afghanistan a few weeks ago)

Annika

John Stromberg

Ana's Mother

Michelle

And of course each of these stories (and more) bring to mind other families that are suffering. A somber reminder that this life isn't what it's all supposed to be about in the end.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Teen Catechism Discussion Plans

Our local teen catechism discussion group is starting up again and I'm excited about the upcoming year. We'll be doing a lot of Bible study on two different tracks - 1. a study of some of St. Paul's epistles in honor of the year of St. Paul and 2. uncovering the differences between the Protestant and Catholic Bibles (with some background reading on the Reformation). Tonight we're kicking off in a celebratory way and watching Steve Ray's Footprints of God "Paul: Contending for the Faith".

Here's my list of what we hope to read this year:

How the Reformation Happened by Hilaire Belloc

Books of the Bible:

Tobit
Judith
Wisdom
Sirach
Baruch
Maccabees
Esther
Daniel
James

Romans
Hebrew
Corinthians 1
Ephesians
Galatians
Philippians
Philemon

I picked up several volumes of the Navarre Bible commentaries to assist with preparation for and discussion of these books.

Some other things we may or may not get to:

The Ball and the Cross by G.K. Chesterton
Lepanto by G.K. Chesterton
A Man for All Seasons (movie)

On the side, I'll be introducing one of the Fathers of the Church each week with the help of Pope Benedict's Wednesday audiences (as recently published by OSV in the book: The Fathers by Pope Benedict XVI). The students have a timeline notebook from last year (which we hardly used at all!) that I hope to use regularly this year.