Happy Easter!

It was a beautiful sunny morning here, although a bit chilly in the thirties. But that didn't keep the Easter Bunny from stopping at our house, or us from braving the cold to attend 9:00 mass. We were so glad we did, with the sun shining on the altar and everyone dressed up in their Easter clothes.














St. Francis of Assisi, Fitchburg, MA


I can't believe how grown up the kids look!


I was so proud of the kids. They didn't fuss at all to have to leave their Easter candy to go to church. They felt so good about getting dressed up.

And they knew when they got home there was a HUGE chocolate bunny waiting for them!

Time for the good stuff! Happy Easter everyone!

Story of the World

I decided a while back that I wanted to add to our curriculum. I am very interested in history and wanted to make it fun but also keep it age-appropriate. I don't think 6 year olds have much of sense of time, especially C., who usually doesn't know what day of the week it is, let alone the concept of thousands of years. But I think it is still fun to think about the way the world "used to be" and try to learn about it.

One of my biggest hang-ups about teaching history is the question "Who's history?" In other words, from whose point of view do we teach our children about history, and of course, there's also "her-story" that needs to be told and is left out of about 99% of curriculum materials. So rather than overthink it to death, I decided just to start out with the basics, skip what didn't work for us, and add whatever needs to be added. I bought some materials called The Story of the World and started with "The Ancient World."

The first chapter starts with a story about the nomads in the area of the Fertile Crescent. It presents very basic information with ideas for a few crafts. C. LOVED it! She actually created her version of nomadic clothes and insisted on pretending to be a nomad for a few days, much to G.'s chagrin, who would have been much happier to be a superhero or puppy. We made cave paintings on crumpled up shopping bags, created a little cave and pretended to eat berries and lizards.
Carmella in her nomadic clothes doing a nomadic dance.
Carmella with one of her cave paintings. (Notice G. being quite bored and put-out by it all on the chair. I intentionally cropped his p.o.'ed facial expression.)


We have now started with Ancient Eygypt, which C. seems to be excited about. She is especially looking forward to the big activity from the book - making a real mummified chicken. Feel free to let me know if you want to help out with this one...

books, books, books...

I have been trying to think of where we can put our books. We have bins and bins of books all over the house, which is fine except that we never seem to have a place for library books and "theme" books.

Luckily, some very smart homeschooling moms on MDC told me about the clever idea of using rain gutters! Off to Home Depot we went, and Handy Ronnie got to work, cutting the gutters and hanging them in the closet area of our classroom which is now a somewhat cozy reading area! We just need some fluffy pillows and maybe beanbags to make it more comfortable. Right now we are using big stuffed horses but they aren't quite as cozy as we would like.

I'm so happy to have a place specifically for library books, C.'s reading books, and theme books! We also put some up in their bedroom, because it always seems to be overrun with books.

C. seems to be enjoying it too. She especially has enjoyed reading the books about ancient nomads. More on that in my next post. Happy reading!

Science Monday

We had fun learning about properties of water and oil today. C. decided to take things into her own hands and come up with her own experiments, as she is quite sure she will be a scientist when she grows up.
We started out using some experiments from the Pop Science kit she received for Christmas. It's very cute, you use the bottle it comes with to do all sorts of simple experiments with basic household items.

This morning G. had preschool so we got back in the swing of things with some reading and writing, math, and Faith & Life. C. was feeling quite tired and uninspired for some reason, so every 10 - 15 minutes we had to go around the house with a different exercise/stretching activity. First we did the silliest walk we had ever seen, then we jumped like frogs, and the next one (C.'s favorite) was sideways crabwalking. I'm glad the curtains were drawn for that one, I'm not sure my neighbors are ready to see me struggling across the living room with my head back and belly up - and I am quite certain I may have permanently damaged my hamstrings when I got back up. But the important thing is that the math lesson was complete!

Nobody can ever truly appreciate the sacrifices I make to homeschool - walking like a crab, waddling like a duck, slithering like a snake - I don't remember ever having to do that as a public school teacher. But, at least I can have coffee whenever I want and take snack breaks, although I'm not sure that is such a good thing...

Carmelo Frazetti February 9, 1912 - February 15, 2008

This is from something I wrote for Mal's wake. I am feeling a bit better today, it has been very emotional and I have been crying a lot since last Friday. 

Dear Mal,

 

How can it possibly be that 96 years just wasn’t enough? How can it be that we feel so heartbroken and empty upon losing you? I would give anything to have had you for just awhile longer…a few days maybe…a few weeks even. We thought you would be here for a bit longer, and we could have your love guiding us and keeping us whole like only you could.

Everyone has been telling stories about you, and inevitably the stories end with laughter, everyone laughing at your wit and charm. I know there were many sides to you, that you were a complex man. But not all the stories are about my Mal. If you ever uttered an unkind word, I never heard it. If you were rude or sarcastic, I never knew it. When you saw me, your smile enveloped me and I felt truly loved. I knew you were always thinking of me. You were affectionate and kind, so happy to see me.

Your house, so important to you, was important to all of us. When we would sleep over the cereal bowls were always ready on the kitchen table in the morning, the Captain Crunch and milk ready to be poured. You’d greet us with kisses and smiles, and ask if we had washed our face and hands. And we’d always answer yes, even if we hadn’t – we didn’t want to disappoint you.

We’d play cards with Grammy and you’d accuse her of “stealing all the picture cards.” You’d throw your cards down in mock disgust when she won and accuse her of cheating. She’d smile, knowing you were teasing her. And of course, when it was time to go home, there was a dollar for our pocket and the words “go easy.”

Mal, Mary tucked a few pieces of Bazooka gum into your pocket. I’d forgotten all about the boxes of Bazooka in the pantry. It was such a treat for us, and you weren’t happy until our mouths were stuffed full and the wrappers with comic strips had been read and laughed over. When Mary told us of this, we sobbed, startled by a memory that suddenly seemed so raw.

When I became a mother, you were one of the first people to see Carmella. When you held her in your arms, you both fell instantly in love. The kids talked about you all the time and loved to come visit you. I wish we could have even just one more visit,  just to see your smile.

Nobody will ever have your grace, dignity and love. Nobody will ever be loved as you were loved. And we, your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, can only hope to make you proud and be worthy of your love.  When the time comes that we can truly accept that you are gone,  maybe I  can laugh at the stories without a lump in my throat and the desire to sob out loud, but for now,

 

Go easy Mal,

 

We love you and miss you.

A St. Valentine's Day Super Heroine morning!

I can't resist posting these photos. This was Carmella 5 minutes after she woke up this morning. 

Super heroes to the rescue!

Thank goodness for Superheroes! Who better than to help us pass a day of freezing rain and subzero temperatures! Without them, I don't know how we would have made it through the day!

Of course, they can fly at the speed of sound and rescue lost, kidnapped, and otherwise needy stuffed animals.

WonderWoman saved the day with her amazing abilities of flying, deflecting, supersonic-ing, invisibility, and let's not forget the ability to speak to animals!

Should I jump??? Can I really fly?

Sometimes a superhero has to be serious.