Monday, September 22, 2014

Ideas for Classically Catholic Memory: Delta Year: Week 2

Classically Catholic Memory: Delta Year: Week 2
I'm blogging my way through our four year curriculum program so I don't forget everything that worked for us! Please feel free to use what works for your family and share in the comments anything you would add. For more on Classically Catholic Memory go here.

Religion
This week the kids memorized the seven Sacraments. While working on adding Penance and The Anointing of the Sick to their Sacrament books (see below), they listened to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from Angel Food.

Lesson 1: Penance
*We skipped Holy Eucharist for now because there will be several weeks of memory work on the Eucharist in the coming weeks. I had the kids skip two pages in their books so we could fill them in later.

This week we studied the Sacraments of Healing, beginning with Penance.



All three of the printouts that we used were free!

The Steps to a Good Confession booklet comes from Catholic Icing. You have to subscribe to the email list to get it, so make sure to do this a few days in advanced to the lesson. I scaled the images down so they would fit in their books.

The Act of Contrition comes from Raising Little Saints (scale that one too), and in the pocket is a 10 Commandments memory game from St. Brigid's Academy.

They also made a Sacrament of Penance Treasure Box from 4 Real Forums.


While the kids worked I read them the section on Penance from A Child's Guide to the Seven Sacraments and we skimmed Lessons 29-32 (pgs 139-158) in The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (No 1).

Finally, they watched Br. Francis' The Blessing of Confession.

Lesson 2:
Next, we covered the Anointing of the Sick.


First the kids created a Prayers for the Dying booklet from St. Anne's Helper to put in their book. Then I had this kids make a spiritual doctor's bag from Look to Him and be Radiant. I was so thrilled to find this cleaver idea! 


The other quotes that are on the pages come from the spiritual doctor's bag printout as well.

And while they worked, I taught the kids about the Anoiniting of the Sick from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism (No.1) - Lesson 34 (pgs 163-166).

Latin
Over the next few weeks we will be memorizing O Salutaris Hostia. The kids will be learning it from the Delta year CD and this youtube... because mama can't sing.

History

Lesson 1:
Over the past two weeks we did another American Girl Unit study on Kirsten! These are so much work, but also very worth it.


Lesson 2:
The Monroe Doctrine was also coved in this weeks history sentence, so Kevin read the kids Getting to Know the U.S. Presidents: James Monroe.


Finally, you can check out this quick youtube on the topic. Oh and, here are 164 other youtubes on the Monroe Doctrine, so you can pick your personal favorite.

Science

Lesson 1:
Leaves (period) That's what we studied this week. The supply list was short for our first lesson, but you'll need an ipad/tablet.


First I read the kids Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! and we talked about how leaves can be classified. Then we gathered leaves from our backyard and used the free leaf snap app to instantly classify them. It was a... snap. And a lot of fun.

Lesson 2:


For our second lesson on leaves I read the kids Leaf Jumpers and we added several booklets to our Botany Books.


Pal wanted to fit everything on one page. Bean wanted to use two.

Below are the links to the booklets that we used. You'll have to add the text yourself, which can easily be done in their PDF format. Or you can just write everything in by hand. All of the links come from homeschoolshare.com.

Also, you'll need to printout pages 2-5 from York CCD for filling in the pages of your booklets.

Ways to Classify Leaves: Page 9


Leaf Shapes: Page 3


Leaf Veins: Page 1


Leaf Arrangements: Page 6


Leaf Margins: Page 12


And I had the kids do some leaf rubbings in their botany books, but I forgot to take a picture of that and I really don't fell like pulling out the camera again :).

Math 
I didn't come up with anything new for learning the multiples of 3 this week, so check out my post on 20+ games for teaching the multiples for some inspiration!


Timeline

Lesson 1:
You can also pick your favorite timeline game from my archives!


Lesson 2:
We pulled out our Timeline Book from last year and I had the kids find this weeks cards in the book.


Geography
I found two fun activities for teaching the circles of latitude this week. And I found time to do one of them :).

What we didn't do is this free printable activity from The Wise Nest. However we did use this free world map printable from Layers of Learning.


Great Words I
We began memorizing The Turtle by Vachel Lindsay this week. It's a pretty simple poem and I think the kids already memorized the whole thing. Check out youtube 1 and youtube 2 to watch it and you can find it in Playtime Rhymes (with cute hand motions!) and A Children's Treasury of Poems.


Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa


Monday, September 1, 2014

Ideas for Classically Catholic Memory: Delta Year: Week 1

Classically Catholic Memory: Delta Year: Week 1
I'm blogging my way through our four year curriculum program so I don't forget everything that worked for us! Please feel free to use what works for your family and share in the comments anything you would add. For more on Classically Catholic Memory go here.

Here we go again! Delta year, let's do this!

Religion
For the first three weeks of the year our Catechism memorization focuses on the Sacraments. We will be making a Sacraments book during this time by studying two sacraments each week for three weeks. During the subsequent weeks there are several questions that focus on the Eucharist, so we will add Holy Communion in then.


In addition to making our Sacraments book we will be reading a Child's Guide to the Seven Sacraments and excerpts from The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism No 1.



Lesson 1:
First we did a quick introduction to the sacraments by reading Lesson 23 (pg 111-115) of The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism No 1. The kids colored this awesome worksheet from Look to Him and Be Radiant for the inside cover of their sacrament books. To the right of the worksheet they will be writing out the weekly memory work on the sacraments.


As the kids colored they listened to a free sermon for children on sacramental grace called The Penny Man from Angel Food for Jack and Jill. 

The sermons are old school, so sometimes you get old language. In this sermon the phrase "buy your way into heaven" is used, so you'll have to explain that clearly to your kiddos so they don't get confused.

Lesson 2:
The first Sacrament we studied was baptism. We read the section on baptism from Child's Guide to the Seven Sacraments and did Lesson 24 (pgs 116-119) in The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism No 1. Then the kids added two pages to their books using this free printout from Sadlier Religion and this free printout from Teachers Pay Teachers.


Finally, they watched Born into the Kingdom from the Brother Francis series.

Lesson 3:
The next sacrament we studied was Confirmation. (Baptism and Confirmation are the Sacraments of Initiation, so we kept them together.)

To learn about Confirmation we read the section on Confirmation from Child's Guide to the Seven Sacraments and did Lesson 25 (pgs 120-123) in The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism No 1. Then we added two more pages to our Sacrament books.

On the left I had the kids cut out flames and write down the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit on them. Bean said "Wait, we memorized these!" She was right. Beta Year, Week 8, Religion asks "Which are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit." Look friends, CCM works!!

On the right the kids sealed a letter with the phrase "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit" and colored and cut out a picture of Pentecost.


For the sealed envelope we took a standard white candle and dripped a thin amount of wax onto the paper. Once the wax was almost hard again we pressed a rubber stamp of a bird (dove) into it. I sprayed the stamp with cooking spray before we used it so it wouldn't stick to the wax. It turned out pretty well!


Latin
Over the next few weeks we will be memorizing O Salutaris Hostia. The kids will be learning it from the Delta year CD and this youtube... because mama can't sing.

History

Lesson 1:
Per the suggestion of a reader (I LOVE getting lesson ideas from readers, please email me your ideas!! catholicmissionaryfamily(at)gmail(dot)com) I picked up A Child's History of the World from the Library and read to them chapter 78 on Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. So far I really like the approach the author takes and I think we be reading from it again for future lessons!

Lesson 2:
Next, Kevin read the kids A Picture Book of Simon Bolivar to learn about the George Washington of South America. And we watched this Brain Pop video on him as well.


Science
The first 10 weeks of science, Delta Year focuses on botany. There are several good overview books and movies you can use throughout these 10 weeks, so pick your favorites!

Books
Movies
Also, during these 10 weeks we will be creating botany books that we will use as a sketch book and that will be filled with lapbook items. The CCM Teacher Text suggests getting a subscription to enchantedlearning.com for printouts for making a lapbook, but I'm going to see if I can pull it off without one... which means you will be able to also!

Lesson 1:
Here are the supplies we used for our first science lesson of the year.


First I read the kids Seed to Plant and introduced them to the world of botany.

Then we talked about the differences between vascular and non-vascular plants and made this mini-book for our botany books. Use page 4 from homeschool share's Lapbook Templates: Flap Books to print off your own.



We also did the "paper towel absorbing water like a non-vascular plant" demonstration that we suggested in the Teacher Text.


Next we talked about the 3 major parts of a vascular plant. As we discussed each part, the kids filled them in on a free diagram printout from Wikispaces. I reduced the image to 50% when I printed it so that it would fit into their botany books better.

Leaves: We gathered various leaves from the backyard and discussed what makes them important for a plant. We'll study leaves more in depth next week.


Stems and Roots: We read Plants Stems and Roots and then discussed what makes them important for a plant.


We also divided up our plants into taproots or fibrous roots. Next the kids made a mini-book on these two types of roots using page 2 from homeschool share's Lapbook Templates You Can Type On!.



Here are our completed botany book pages!


Lesson 2:
For our next lesson we took our botany books and went on a nature hunt.


Specifically, I had the kids sketch several of the interesting plants that they found, and then label them as vascular or non-vascular. Pal was much more interested in throwing rocks and sticks into the creek, but hey, he's a 5 year old boy.


Math 

Lesson 1:
To review the multiples of 2 The kids created these freebies from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits (scroll to the very bottom). You can also print them for 1s, 5s, and 10s. She has a few other ideas at the post as well!


Lesson 2:
The kids grabbed 12 pairs of stray shoes from around the house. Then we skip counted them and I had Pal skip count and tell me how many shoes were mom's, dad's, etc. Finally the kids put all the shoes back to where they belonged. School and cleaning up... so great!


For more skip counting ideas check out my post on 20+ games for teaching the multiples.

Timeline

Lesson 1:
Pick your favorite timeline game from my archives!


Lesson 2:
We pulled out our Timeline Book from last year and I had the kids find this weeks cards in the book.


Geography

Lesson 1
To review the continents we read Where is my Continent? and looked through the Beginner's World Atlas. And here's a simple online game from Soft Schools.


Lesson 2
My Discovery Kid's World Map came in handy again this year! The kids labeled the continents...


and then we placed several landmarks on the map. You can buy the toobs of landmarks at Michael's with a 40% off coupon!


Great Words I
This week we memorized "Happy Thought" by Robert Louis Stevenson.


The poem can be found in A Child's Garden of Verses. It's only two lines, which is a nice way to feel like you already accomplished something!

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Friday, August 29, 2014

Ideas for September Feast Days

Here are some of our favorite traditions for the month of September. This is by no means an exhaustive list, rather it's my way of creating a resource that I plan to revisit each year for myself! I hope you can find it beneficial as well!

Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Other Ideas
September 5th: Bl. Mother Teresa

Other Ideas
*I'm thinking about doing a 5 finger gospel craft (listen to the glory story if you don't know what I'm talking about). Trace the kids' hands and write "You did it to me" the fingers? Shouldn't be hard. I'll post a pic later.

Other Ideas
  • Prayer: Hail Mary, Memorare, Hail Holy Queen, the rosary...
  • Craft: Make a rosary
  • Food: Make a birthday cake for Mary!
  • Decorations: Blue balloons, streamer, etc. 
  • Radio Show: CAT Chat: Mary Leads me Closer to Jesus
September 14th: Exaltation of the Holy Cross


Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (2010) (My 2nd post ever! Wow, I've come a long way :)

Just to clarify:
The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 320 under the temple of Venus in Jerusalem, and the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion.

However the feast, more than anything else, is a celebration and commemoration of God's greatest work: his salvific death on the Cross and His Resurrection, through which death was defeated and the doors to Heaven opened. Excerpt taken from CNA

Other Ideas
September 15th: Our Lady of Sorrows

See ideas at the beginning of this post.
September 29th: Feast of the Archangels



Other Ideas
  • Prayer: St. Michael the Archangel
  • Crafts: 
    • Draw and Tell Saints (Click on the "Look Inside" feature. How to draw an Archangel is the free preview :)
  • Coloring Pages: Waltzing Matilda
  • Activity Book: The Great Battle for Heaven
  • Food: (um, the amount of food traditions for this feast is a bit out of control)
    • Angel food cake
    • Devil food cake - with St. Michael defeating it (see above)
    • Deviled eggs
    • Gnocchi (traditional in Italy): Catholic Cuisine
    • Blackberries (tradition holds that they are no good after this feast day because the devil spat on them on his way from heaven to hell)
    • Roast Goose (Polish tradition)
    • Gaufres (St. Michael's Waffles - French tradition)
    • St. Michael Bannok: Catholic Culture
  • Radio Show: CAT Chat: Amazing Angels and Saints
Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Assumption 2014

I've always enjoyed the Solemnity of the Assumption. The event itself must have been so peaceful. I've always imagined Mother Mary, surrounded by those who love her Son, laying peacefully in her bed and then, much to everyones wonder, rising into heaven. What an incredibly joyous celebration must have followed there. There might have been balloons, but I can't say for sure. 

A ballon launch for Mary's Assumption. More on that later.
I decided that it was about time for Baby Peanut to get more involved in liturgical events, seeing as she is 9 months and has been slacking in this department with her lack of fine motor skills. So we made her a cloud to play with for the Assumption.


It was love at first squish.



Later in the kitchen we made more clouds for the Assumption party were headed to that evening. Ours aren't nearly as pretty as the ones at Catholic Cuisine, but they were made with 8 year old love!


I also snuck in a favorite tradition of incorporating fruit and herbs on this Solemnity because it's a traditional day for blessing your fruit and herb harvest. Having no homegrown fruit or herbs to claim as my own, I bought raspberry lemonade and threw some mint into it.


That evening we headed to some friends' house for an Assumption party! I am extremely thankful for our liturgical nerd friends. Without them our children would know we are odd. (Thank you to 39 week pregnant Sarah for hosting! I can't wait to light my birth blessing candle for you!)


The pentacle of the party was the Assumption balloon launch, which reminded us of Mary's rising into heaven.


At first there were oohs and ahhs as they watched the balloons drift off.



Then there were tears from the little ones when they realized that their balloons weren't coming back.


I imagine it was the same way for Jesus' disciples. They probably marveled at Mary being assumed and then cried tears as they realized that their time with her on earth had come to and end.

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa