Friday, February 28, 2014

Stations of the Cross Candles

For a few years now I have been wanting to make Stations of the Cross candles, but I never got around to buying the supplies. This week I've been working on a mega Lent ideas post and as I was adding them to the "other ideas" section I realized that I currently had the supplies for this project on hand! In about 5 minutes it was done and I can't wait to use them this Lent. 


Here's how they work. When you begin to pray the stations you light one candle for each station. Then you extinguish each candle as you pray until they are all out. As you extinguish the candles the light in the room gets dimmer and dimmer until it is completely out. I imagine that as Jesus' followers watched Him, the Light of the World, fade away and leave them, they felt surrounded in darkness, like you be when the stations are complete.

Only two supplies are needed for this quick and easy project: Stations stickers and votive candles.


Wait, Autom is no longer selling these stickers on their website, boo!! In the past they have been available at The Dollar Tree (naturally), so check there. If all else fails Just Another Day in Paradise (the originator of this craft) printed hers from Way Back Machine.

The votive candles are from Michael's... with a 40% of coupon. You'll need to buy 2 cases of candles (12 in each box), but that is no big deal because you can use the extra candles when you host a Birth Blessing (which is why I had candles on hand).

Okay, here is what you do. Take the sticker off of the sticker sheet and stick it on a candle.


Wow, you are so crafty.

I numbered the bottom of the candles so I don't have to think too hard when we set these up to pray.


Now go be holy with your stations candles!


Check out these posts for more of my liturgical ideas!
Ideas for Lent
Ideas for Holy Week
Ideas for Easter Season

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Journey Across America: Vermont

This post is part of a 50 state Journey Across America. For information on the basics of this project check out this post.

The Books:
We began by reading M is for Maple Syrup and then Bean used the information she learned to make a notebook page for her United States scrapbook.


There were lots of books for Vermont week! Daisy and the Doll, Waiting for the Evening Star, and Sugaring were read for picture books, and on her own Bean read Understood Betsy, Justin Morgan had a Horse, and Bell's Star. And for a video you could watch Liberty's Kids' episode on the Green Mountain Boys on YouTube.

We also taught the kids about Vermont using the Our United States of America: Catholic Social Studies textbook.

The Food:
After reading Sugaring, which is about collecting sap from maple trees to make syrup, we enjoyed some real maple syrup with apple pancakes, because Vermont is known for its many orchards. (I can't remember what apple pancake recipe we used, sorry!)


And of course we couldn't leave out the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream! It's Vermont's finest :).


The Craft:
Vermont week lined up with the first week of fall at our house, so we made a maple leaf rubbing banner to add to our fall decorations.


And we're off to Kentucky!

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Monday, February 24, 2014

Ideas for March Feast Days and Celebrations

Here are some of our favorite traditions for the month of March. 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 St. Joseph

Our family only celebrates three days during March because the month is typically during the season of Lent. Two of these days are solemnities, which means that on these days all Lenten fasting is off, and then there is the Feast of St. Patrick, which we celebrate because we are Irish.

Ideas for how to celebrate St. Joseph this month can be found under his Solemnity on March 19th.

March 17th: St. Patrick

Our 2011 Celebration
Our 2014 Celebration


Other Ideas:
  • Wear green
  • Food
    • Shamrock potato pancakes
    • Lucky Charms :)
    • More ideas than I can list at Catholic Cuisine (Scroll halfway down for the St. Patrick food.)
  • Books
March 19th: Solemnity of St. Joseph

 Our 2011 Celebration (An altar and explanations of the traditional fare.)


Our 2014 Celebration



Other Ideas:
March 25th: Solemnity of the Annunciation

Other Ideas:
Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Thursday, February 20, 2014

The Jesus Path: Our Ornaments

Last year my family started a new Lenten tradition which we now call "The Jesus Path". Each day during Lent we read a story about the life of Christ and then add a symbol to a long ribbon which serves as our "path". It's our way of continuing the story we started in Advent, when we added symbols to our Jesse Tree, as we learned about Salvation History. It's not an original idea, but we've made it our own and incorporated it into our nightly Lenten prayer service.


I opted to make my own original set because the only alternative I could find required cutting out a TON of felt, so I figured if I was going to take the time to make a set, I might as well make it out of things I had lying around and make it a free project. You can now also buy a set of discs from Jesse Tree Treasures, and there is always the option to do an exchange!

Below are pictures of the symbols we use each week, as well as the stories we read from the Catholic Picture Bible (CPB) and where to find the original story in the Bible.

Week 1



Ash Wednesday - Jesus is Found in the Temple - Scroll (CPB 108-109, Luke 2:41-50)
Thursday - The Hidden Life of Jesus - Saw (CPB 110-111, Luke 2:51-52)
Friday - The Baptism of Jesus- Baptism Shell (CPB 112-113, Mark 1:6-11)
Saturday - The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert- Desert (CPB 114-115, Luke 4:1-13)

Week 2



Sunday - The Marriage at Cana - Water Jug (CPB 116-117, John 2:1-11)
Monday - The Sellers the Temple - Whip (CPB 118-119, John 2:13-17)
Tuesday - Nicodemus Comes to Jesus - Dove on Water Drop (CPB 120-121, John 3:1-5)
Wednesday - The Samaritan Woman - Well (CPB 122-123, John 4:4-42)
Thursday - The Great Catch of Fish - Fish (CPB 124-125, Luke 5:1-11)
Friday - The Ten Lepers - Paper Doll Ring (CPB 126-127, Luke 17:12-19)
Saturday - The Cripple at the Pool - Mat (CPB 128-129, John 5:1-15)

Week 3



Sunday - Sermon on the Mount - Mountain (CPB 130-133, Matthew 5:1-16)
Monday - The Centurion’s Servant - Roman Helmet (CPB 134-135, Matthew 8:5-13)
Tuesday - The Call of Matthew - Money Bag (CPB 136-137, Luke 5:27-32)
Wednesday - The Rich Man and Lazarus - Angel (CPB 138-139, Luke 16:19-31)
Thursday - The Penitent Woman- Foot (CPB 140-141, Luke 7:36-50)
Friday - The Widow's Son - Sad Face (CPB 142, Luke 7:11-17)
Saturday - The Man with a Withered Hand - Hand (CPB 144-145 - Luke 6:6-10)

Week 4



Sunday - Jesus Calms a Storm - Clouds with Lightening (CPB 146-147, Mark 4:35-40)
Monday - The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes - Loaf of Bread (CPB 152-153, John 6:1-15)
Tuesday - Jesus Walks on Water - Footprints on Water (CPB 154, Matthew 14:22-33)
Wednesday - Promise of the Holy Eucharist - Grapes and Grain (CPB 156-157, John 6:22-59
Thursday - Peter, the Head of the Church - Two Keys (CPB 158-159, Matthew 16:13-20)
Friday - The Transfiguration - Picture of the Transfiguration (CPB 160-161, Matthew 17:1-8)
Saturday - The Temple Dues- Coin (CPB 162-163, Matthew 22:15-22)

Week 5



Sunday - Jesus and the Little Children - Children (CPB 164-165, Mark 10:13-16)
Monday - The Mission of the Apostles - Walking Stick - (CPB 168-169, Matthew 9:27-10:15)
Tuesday -The Good Samaritan - Horse (CPB 170-171, Luke 10:25-37)
Wednesday - Jesus with Martha and Mary - Footstool (CPB 172-173, Luke 10:38-42)
Thursday - The Prodigal Son - Ring (CPB 176-177, Luke 15:11-32)
Friday - Lazarus Raised From the Dead- Mummy Head (CPB 178-179, John 11:1-44)
Saturday - The Blind Man - Eye (CPB 181, John 9:1-41)

Week 6



Sunday - The Rich Young Man - Gate to Heaven (CPB 182, Matthew 19:16-26)
Monday - The Good Shepherd - Sheep (CPB 183, Luke 15:1-7)
Tuesday - The Mother of James and John - Throne (CPB 184-185, Mark 10:35-45)
Wednesday - Zacchaeus the Publican - Tree (CPB 186-187, Luke 19:1-10)
Thursday - Entry into Jerusalem - Palm (CPB 188-189, Matthew 21:1-16)
Friday - Washing of the Feet at the Last Supper - Washbasin with Pitcher (CPB 190-191, John 13:1-20)
Saturday - The Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper - Chalice (CPB 192-195, Matthew 26:19-29)

Week 7



Sunday - The Agony in the Garden - Flower (CPB 196, Matthew 26:36-46)
Monday - Judas Betrays Jesus - Bag with 30 Coins (CPB 197, Matthew 26:14-16)
Jesus Before Caiaphas - Cloud with Jesus (CPB 198, Matthew 26:57-68)
Wednesday - Tuesday - Peter Denies Jesus - Roster (CPB 199, Matthew 26:69-75)
Thursday - Jesus Before Pilot - Picture from the Stations (CPB 200-203, Matthew 27:24-25)
Friday - On the Road to Calvary/Jesus Dies on the Cross - Crucifix (CPB 204-209, Matthew 27:33-56)
Saturday - The Burial - Draped Cross (CPB 210-211, Matthew 27:57-66)

Easter Sunday


The Resurrection of Jesus - Rock (CPB 212-213, Luke 24:1-12)

Check out these posts for more of my liturgical ideas!
Ideas for Lent
Ideas for Holy Week
Ideas for Easter Season

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Monday, February 17, 2014

Ideas for Classically Catholic Memory: Gamma Year: Week 11

Classically Catholic Memory: Gamma Year: Week 11
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

Lesson 1
This week's bible verse is The Great Commission. I had the kids make stop lights to go with their copy work to highlight the command to "go". Head to Worksheet Works to make you own printing worksheet.



Latin
We are learning the Anima Christi by listening to a few different versions on youtube.

History

Lesson 1:
This week we learned about the various acts that where imposed on colonists by the British. To start we watched two Liberty's Kids episodes: Boston Tea Party and Intolerable Acts. Watch them in that order.

We also read a few books. Boston Tea Party, which is a "House that Jack Built" type of book, was Bean's favorite. Our American Story's The Boston Tea Party is great for younger kids and The Boston Tea Party is the suitable for older kids.


Lesson 2:
Additionally, we began our American Girl, Felicity Unit. Because weeks 11 and 12 cover the Colonial period we haven't finished it yet, but I'll link to it when we do.

UPDATE: Here is the Felicity Unit!

Science
This week begins the first of two weeks that focus on electricity. There are a ton of resources on electricity for kiddos, so during these two weeks we have several books and movies we will be watching. Here's our list:

Books
Movies

Lesson 1
In addition to books and movies, we did a few hands on lessons. For the first lesson you'll need:


We started by reading All Charged Up and then used a hair blowdryer and flash light to discuss how electric energy can come from different sources. The rest of the lesson was spent looking at the differences between static and current electricity.

To demonstrate static electricity we used a charged comb (by combing hair) to attract bits of foil. We also blew up a balloon and rubbed it on our head to make hair stand up and stuck the balloon to the wall.


To demonstrate current electricity we made a simple circuit with foil, batteries, and a lightbulb. I did not have a 1.5 volt bulb on hand, so we used a higher bulb, but the batteries weren't strong enough to get it to light. However, the foil did warm up when we completed the circuit, so we knew energy was flowing. Full instructions are in your Teacher Text.


What really drove home the question of what makes a circuit was lesson 2...

Lesson 2
Potato clock time! Totally worth the $10.00. We did this in place of activity 3 which requires a galvanometer. We tried the clock with potatoes, lemons, cuties, water, soda, and even hotdogs. It worked every time.


Math

Lesson 1
Multiples of 12 Memory finished off our study of the multiples. I had the 7s, Bean had the 12s. You had to find your set in order. So, Bean started by looking for 12 and I looked for 7. Once she found 12 she began searching for 24 during her turn and so on.


Lesson 2
I had planned on getting a carton of one dozen eggs and writing the multiples of 12 on them to make a multiples of 12 caterpillar, similar to the one Handmade Beginnings made with the multiples of 2, but alas, that never happened. But you should do it.

Timeline

Lesson 1
Time for another classic Timeline game, Card Hop. Place the cards around the room and have the kids hop on them, in order, over and over again.


Lesson 2
Finally, 8 more pictures went into our timeline book.

Geography
Since May we have been studying one state per week to go along with our study of North American geography. Here are the states I've blogged about so far (none yet). You could pick one thing from each lesson or just do something fun about a few states each week. I'll keep linking to the state studies as we move through our Journey Across America!

New Mexico
Arizona
Nevada
California
Oregon
Washington
Alaska
Hawaii

Great Words I
We continued memorizing "Pocahontas" by Rosemary Carr Benet this week.

I don't know of any picture books of the actual poem, but as you memorize it you could do several things to learn about Pocahontas. Check out a book on her, watch the Disney movie (maybe, I don't know if it's any good, I've never seen it), or check out this Pinterest board for snack and craft ideas.

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Ideas for Classically Catholic Memory: Gamma Year: Week 10

Classically Catholic Memory: Gamma Year: Week 10
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 we transition from Catechism memory work to Scripture memory work. Each week I plan on creating a worksheet for my kids to copy the verse to help with memory and handwriting. You can easily create your own at Worksheet Works.


Size 12 font worked for this worksheet.
Latin
We are learning the Anima Christi by listening to a few different versions on youtube.  I couldn't find a simple song version I liked with lyrics. Do you know of one?


History

Lesson 1:
Kevin read the kids Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars. It's fairly long for a picture book, so they spent two nights reading it. Fortunately it is full of colorful pictures and great information, which kept the kids engaged!

Lesson 2:
My latest "Do we really have time for this?" project is the addition of American Girl Doll Unit Studies. As we begin to study American history I can't think of a better way to make it come alive than reading and studying history through fiction. This is a Bean only project however, Pal is too young... and I don't think I could convince him to get into a series about a bunch of girls. Anybody know of a similar series for boys?


For the last two weeks we studied Kaya with a lapbook, craft, food, games, and tons of books. Although her tribe, the Nez Perce, would not have fought in the French and Indian War, I thought it was still a fitting time to learn about Native Americans. You can check out the entire unit here.

Science

Lesson 1
Supplies needed:


However... the lesson was another utter fail in the science department.

We were supposed to begin our study of thermal energy by observing how a chunk of clay can change the temperature of water. To start you put the clay in hot water then, move it to cold water and see how it raises the temperature of the cold water. Well, my clay just turned to goop in the hot water and thus was untransferable to the cold water.


It did go back to a malleable clay once it cooled down to room temperature, but at that point I was already out a travel mug (which probably hadn't been used in 4 years) and patience. The clay we used is the kind that never dries out, so maybe try using clay that can dry out?

Before the clay mishap, I did pull off a complicated demonstration of the difference between ice melting at room temperature vs in a cup of warm water.


And I was impressed when I asked if anyone had any guesses about what thermal energy might mean, and Bean responded "Does it have anything to do with a thermometer?"

Finally we tried watching a Magic School bus on energy, but I realized that the DVD is for next week on electricity. Oops. Homeschool mishap.

Lesson 2
You'll need:



And fail again. It was a rough week in science. We were supposed to do a demonstration that is basically the same as a week 8 demonstration that uses hot water and dyed cold water. The convection demonstration happened so fast that the kids couldn't really see it. So it kind of worked, but not really.


And then we attempted another go at demonstrating convection using fire and a paper spiral. The paper should have started to spiral while being held over the heat. No dice. I tried cutting the spiral bigger and smaller, still no dice. I think I needed a bigger flame, or maybe doing it over the toaster or space heater would have been better?



We did pull off the complicated foot-on-foil-foot-on-carpet demonstration to show conduction! Make sure your kids wear socks to warm their feet up first. Then have them take the socks off and stand on the foil and carpet right away. If they already have cold feet they won't feel much of a difference.


Well, my one redeeming factor is the Ted Ed video we watched to finish up this lesson. Sometimes you find the perfect video for your topic, and this is it. Basically it said everything I was trying to show!

Math

Lesson 1
This week we played a drawing-out-of-a-bag game. I had Bean write out the multiples of 8, 9, 10, and 11 on little squares for four players. Then we put the squares into a bag and each player was assigned a set of multiples to be searching for. We took turns drawing out one number at a time, hoping to get a number that belonged in our set. If the number belonged in our set, we kept it, if it didn't, we put it back. The bag went around the circle until someone found all of their multiples. We played with four players. It took forever. Play with two.



Lesson 2
We played Pumpkin Multiples online with the multiples of 11. I'll remember to play this one next year around Halloween. 

Timeline

Lesson 1
For timeline this week we had a little Scrabble challenge. The kids recited for me the first card for the week, then we picked one word from the phrase and built it with scrabble tiles. Then they told me the next card and we picked one word from the phrase to add to the first word. We continued until one word from all eight cards has been added to the board. Yes, I helped with spelling.


It also happened that it was St. Thomas Aquinas' Feast Day during the week we added him to the timeline. So we had a special star lunch in honor of him.

Lesson 2
More pictures went into our timeline book this week.

Geography
Since May we have been studying one state per week to go along with our study of North American geography. Here are the states I've blogged about so far (none yet!). You could pick one thing from each lesson or just do something fun about a few states each week. I'll keep linking to the state studies as we move through our Journey Across America!

Pierre, South Dakota
Bismarck, North Carolina
Helena, Montana
Boise, Idaho
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Denver, Colorado
Salt Lake City, Utah

Great Words I
We continued memorizing "Pocahontas" by Rosemary Carr Benet this week.

I don't know of any picture books of the actual poem, but as you memorize it you could do several things to learn about Pocahontas. Check out a book on her, watch the Disney movie (maybe, I don't know if it's any good, I've never seen it), or check out this Pinterest board for snack and craft ideas.

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa

Monday, February 3, 2014

American Girl Unit Studies: Kaya

American Girl Historical Characters have been a part of my life for over twenty years. I can remember reading their stories as a child and getting Samantha for my 9th birthday. I was thrilled when Bean took to them as well. Now that our CCM history sentences are covering American history over the next year and a half, we are incorporating 9 of the AG Historical Characters into our studies. Allow me to present our...

Kaya Unit Study
Fiction Books


Six Book Boxed Set
The Silent Stranger
Short Stories Collection

*Coming in August 2014: Beforever Journey Series
Non-Fiction Books
To supplement our fiction stories we also read...


Welcome to Kaya's World
The Nez Perce: A First Americans Book
The Nez Perce

Lapbook
We used mini books from Homeschool Share's free download and Currclick's $5.00 download to create a Kaya lapbook. I'm not sure if I'll buy the $5.00 one for each girl, but for now time is short and having everything prepackaged is worth the $5.00!



Bean's desire to do make AG lapbooks is how this whole project got started. Oh, and American Girl sticker embellishments are a must! (You can get the stickers at Michael's with a 40% off coupon.)

Timeline and Map
I put together a map and timeline poster for us to keep track of the time and location of each girl using the same American Girl stickers that we used in the lapbook.



Foods
Salmon was a staple in the Nez Perce diet. For dinner one night I made Baked Salmon with Garlic and Dijon. Authentic, no. Did my kids try it, yes. But that was the extent of their salmon adventures.


The Nez Perce often ate root vegetables. The only way I could get my kids to do the same was to buy them in the form of chips. Authentic, no, but it's better than trying to pretend like fry bread is authentically Indian.


Craft


Bean did this craft mostly on her own, although it was a bit of a challenge to keep all the strings straight. She's proud of her work and that's what crafts are for!


Online Games
A clear favorite in our unit study were online Kaya games at AmericanGirl.com.

We are now gearing up for Colonial Times with Felicity!

Be saints, it's worth it!
Lisa