Countdown to Christmas with picture books Tuesday, Nov 25 2008

This year I'm using Cheryl's idea to count down the Advent days until Christmas. There are 25 days in Advent this year, so instead of purchasing an Advent calendar, I'm the girls are wrapping up 25 Christmas books in purple wrap to read to the kids every day. I have been collecting a lot of these books through the years and this year I got a few from our library, most of which, Cay Gibson has in her Christmas Mosaic, An Illustrated Book Study for Advent and Christmas. The kids will take turns picking out a book and unwrapping it and as the pile of books goes down, Christmas will get closer. I have marked a few books to be read on appropriate days, otherwise, the kids will randomly pick the book of the day. Here is a list of the 25 books we will be reading starting on the first Sunday of Advent:

The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale  - December 6th, feast of St. Nicholas

Saint Nicholas – December 6th, feast of St. Nicholas

The Lady of Guadalupe  - December 12th, feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Legend of the Poinsettia  December 19th, the 3rd O Antiphon "Radix Jesse"

The Night of Las Posadas  - December 24th, Christmas Eve

These books are featured in Christmas Mosaic:

Week 1

Cobweb Christmas: The Tradition of Tinsel  

The cobweb curtain : a Christmas story

Week 2

A Small Miracle  

The Christmas Candle  

Week 3

An Orange for Frankie  

Night Tree  

Week 4

Father and Son: A Nativity Story 

The Christmas Donkey  

Mortimer's Christmas Manger  

And here are more wonderful books to be enjoyed this Advent.

Country Angel Christmas   

Danny and the Kings 

The Gift of the Magi 

Country Angel Christmas  

The Clown of God  

Merry Christmas, Strega Nona

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey 

The Donkey's Dream  

The Legend of the Christmas Rose  

The Legend of the Candy Cane 

All for the Newborn Baby   

Who Is Coming to Our House?

 

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Fall Picture books with kid-friendly recipes Monday, Nov 10 2008

I love Cay Gibson’s A Picture Perfect Childhood book. This is where I found a list of picture books to read in the month of November. This fall I have had a lot of fun reading lots of great books to the kids which were suggested by Cay. My favorite part about these picture books is that there are some very easy recipes included in them to make with the kids. I’ve only made one meal from the books and it came out great. I love pumpkins and I hope to make some pumpkin soup sometime before Fall is over. Here is a list of the books we read with recipes inside. Have fun cooking with your kids this Fall.

The Giant Carrot

Pumpkin Day

Pumpkin Soup

Halloween Pie

The Bakeshop Ghost

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

The Popcorn Book

Two Old Potatoes and Me

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Saint Margaret Mary discussion questions Thursday, Oct 16 2008

1. When was St. Margaret Mary born?  July 22, 1647

2. Where was she born? Burgundy, France

3. How old was she when her father died? She was 8 years old.

4. What happened when her father died?  An aunt moved in to their home.

5. How were Margaret Mary and her mother treated by her aunt?  They were made to suffer very much.

6. How did Margaret Mary handle the suffering?  She would hide in her garden to cry and pray.

7. What else did St. Margaret Mary do in her garden?  She would bring beggar children into the garden to try to teach them

8. What happened when she was 11?  She became very sick.

9. How long did her illness last?  Her illness lasted 4 years.

10. What happened while she was ill? She developed a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and decided to enter a convent.

11. What order did she join? The Order of the Visitation.

12. What happened while she lived in the convent? Our Lord began appearing to her.

13. What revelations did she receive? She received revelations of the Sacred Heart.

14. When did she die? October 17, 1690

15. Of what is she the patron saint? She is the patron saint against polio, devotees of the Sacred Heart, loss of parents, and polio patients.

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St. Teresa of Avila discussion questions Wednesday, Oct 15 2008

St. Teresa of Avila is one our favorite saints. This morning after reading to the kids from Saints for Young Readers for Every Day, I came up with a few questions to help us remember a few important details about her life.

1. Where was St. Teresa born? Avila, Spain

2. When was she born? March 28, 1515

3. What did Teresa and her brother Rodrigo love to read when they were young? The lives of the saints and martyrs.

4. What did the two children secretly set out to do? To go to the land of the Moors.

5. What else did they decide to do? They decided to become hermits in their garden.

6. Were they able to do this? No. They could not get enough stones together to build their huts.

7. What happened to Teresa when she became a teenager? She changed and became worldy.

8. Why did this happen? She read many novels and foolish romances and she lost her love of prayer.

9. What did she think about then? She began to think about dressing up to look pretty.

10. What happened after she recovered from a bad illness? She read a book about the great St. Gerome and made up her mind to become a bride of Christ.

11. How old was she when she entered the Carmelite convent? 19

12. What did she do with the help of St. John of the Cross and Peter of Alcantara? She reformed most of the Carmelite convents in Spain and founded a few new ones.

13. What spiritual books did she write? The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila: The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, The Way of Perfection, and Interior Castle.

14. When did St. Teresa die? October 4, 1582

15. What was she declared in the church? The first woman Doctor of the Church.

16. Of what is she the patron saint? Headaches, loss of parents, Spain.

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Wordless Wednesday Wednesday, Sep 17 2008

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Updated Sidebars Tuesday, Jun 24 2008

I’ve added all the books we are reading this year on the sidebars. We are having so much learning about many topics, especially the weather. The boys are fascinated with tornadoes and clouds. I have learned so much from them this year. I see clouds in a whole new way now. They are also enjoying all the books on germs. The kids thought You Wouldn’t Want to Be Sick in the 16th Century! was hysterical. A little gross, but very funny and they enjoyed it a lot! Adrianna, Marygrace and Cecilia are reading about the Holocaust. Those books are on the left sidebar, right under the 4th of July books. I had some of those books from our Revolutionary War unit study last fall.

I find that I’m constantly putting more and more books on hold from the library. This past Spring we read all the gardening books and two of my favorite books were Katie and the Sunflowers by James Mayhew and Camille and the Sunflowers by Laurence Anholt. Camille and the Sunflowers is about a boy meeting Vincent Van Gogh, so now we are going to do an Art appreciation study this summer as well. The art books are listed on the sidebar right under the Thunderstorms and Tornadoes. It’s amazing how you can learn about one subject and that leads to something else. I am looking forward to learning about so many incredible artists. After reading Katie Meets The Impressionists to Angela yesterday, she asked me if we could go to the Art museum sometime. I’m hoping to take the kids to the National Gallery of Art this summer.

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Beverly Cleary- The boys’ favorite author Sunday, May 25 2008

 

Right now Joseph is reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Kolbe is reading Henry and the Paper Route. As soon as they are finished reading these two books they are going to read Henry and the Clubhouse and Emily’s Runaway Imagination. So far this year they have read Runaway Ralph, Ralph S. Mouse, Otis Spofford, and Ellen Tebbits, which they couldn’t wait to read after reading about her in Otis Spofford. They also read the Ramona series. They are really enjoying these books. They go to bed with their books and read them first thing in the morning. Eventually, I might have to buy the books instead of getting them from the library. I’m sure our little girls will love them just as much.

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Beverly Cleary- The boys’ favorite author Sunday, May 25 2008

 

Right now Joseph is reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Kolbe is reading Henry and the Paper Route. So far this year they have read Runaway Ralph, Ralph S. Mouse, Otis Spofford, and Ellen Tebbits, which they couldn’t wait to read after reading about her in Otis Spofford. As soon as they are finished reading these two books they are going to read Henry and the Clubhouse and Emily’s Runaway Imagination. They go to bed with their books and read them first thing in the morning.

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Beverly Cleary- The boys’ favorite author Sunday, May 25 2008

 

Right now Joseph is reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Kolbe is reading Henry and the Paper Route. As soon as they are finished reading these two books they are going to read Henry and the Clubhouse and Emily’s Runaway Imagination. So far this year they have read Runaway Ralph, Ralph S. Mouse, Otis Spofford, and Ellen Tebbits, which they couldn’t wait to read after reading about her in Otis Spofford. They also read the Ramona series. They are really enjoying these books. They go to bed with their books and read them first thing in the morning. Eventually, I might have to buy the books instead of getting them from the library. I’m sure our little girls will love them just as much.

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Beverly Cleary- The boys’ favorite author Sunday, May 25 2008

 

Right now Joseph is reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Kolbe is reading Henry and the Paper Route. So far this year they have read Runaway Ralph, Ralph S. Mouse, Otis Spofford, and Ellen Tebbits, which they couldn’t wait to read after reading about her in Otis Spofford. As soon as they are finished reading these two books they are going to read Henry and the Clubhouse and Emily’s Runaway Imagination. They go to bed with their books and read them first thing in the morning.

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