6 years have passed...

and the ache of this world's loss on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001 is still there for me.

May all the victims and their families PLUS the families of all those who defend our freedoms with their lives rest in peace...

AMEN

Oh boy - BIG BROTHER

Well, it seems as if Big Brother is on our back... I just received a letter from our school district. They claim we are out of compliance because I didn't give them a copy of my diploma or send them the children's health records.

Oi vey! First of all, my legally notarized affidavit attests that I indeed have a high school diploma (I didn't mention all the education that occurred after that - LOL) and that I am claiming a medical ethical/religious exemption. (Ethically, they have no business knowing about our personal health! It is my responsibility to see to/protect their health and welfare AND THEIR PRIVACY!).

You'd think that school districts have enough to worry about with all the children that attend their schools. They have to nitpick our little home schools, especially over such redundancy?
I called the Dept of Education and verified that my document was enough to satisfy the state law. IT IS!!

I just finished a nice polite "Sorry-but-you-have-all-the-info-that-I-am-required-to-give-you-by-law" letter and am sitting here trying not to fume, but to let it go...

4 weeks down

Has it been two weeks already? Wow!

We are finishing the end of our 4th week of school and all is going fairly well. I offer things up to Heaven daily, but I can't complain...

Fratello Maggiore does not have the concept of the timing of his subjects yet. Although, to me it does seem that he is slowly making progress. Micro baby steps are STILL baby steps...

Fratello Piccolo seems to really love learning, no matter the subject! Hallelujah!!! He is constantly asking to do more and I am happy to let him :-)

Half Pint is happy doing dry-erase writing skills and art projects. We read a lot of books to her and she still enjoys "reading" to her tank full of fire belly toads.

We are currently hosting a Flat Traveller named Ladybug. We hope to take her someplace cool this weekend.

School has started

Oh my goodness! I can hardly believe it has been that long since my last post. Time flies and every time I sit down to post, life's events seem to turn me away. God's Will be done, I say!

School has begun here at St. Francis. Fratello Maggiore has started his middle school years. His work load is heavier that last year, but is still perfectly reasonable. If you ask him though, I have now enslaved him :-)
His work is as follows: followed by the time it should take to complete each day

• Singapore Math 5 30 minutes
• CHC Grammar 15 minutes and Spellers level D 20 minutes
• Handwriting 5 minutes
• Reading comprehension Stories of the Saints 1 15 minutes
• US history (Sea to Shining Sea) 15 minutes
• Geography (Cath Geo Bee and Map Skills 5) 15 minutes
• Science (Universe in My Hands) 15 minutes
• Catechism: Faith and Life 5 and Exploring the Mass 20 minutes
• Latin: Latina Christiana 1 15 minutes

I give him twice as much time per subject to complete his work. Anything not done by the end of his time is homework and he must do it before dinner in order to participate in any extra evening activities. You'd think I just chained him to the floor or something the way he has been carrying on about this the past two weeks. I am trying to be patient and teach him that it can be done if he stays on task. He'll have a ton of free time again once he gets this concept...

Fratello Piccolo has been doing a super job with schooling so far. A few moans and groans, of course, but he stays on task and he does not mind working ahead to finish early. His school work looks like this:

• Singapore Math 3
• CHC Grammar and Speller, level B
• Reading comp. Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls
• Handwriting
• Georaphy of Continents and Countries (Cath Geo Bee and Map Skills 3)
• Behold and See 3 Science
• Catechism: Faith and Life 3 and Called to Serve
• Latin: Prima Latina

Half-Pint just told me that she wants to do school now! I asked her the other day what she wants to learn and she said excitedly, "Maf!" I said "Math? OK then, we'll start with your numbers and letters. OK?" She nodded quickly and went dancing away to play with her animal figures. So I have been giving her things to count and things to match and pre-writing skills worksheets.

One of my favorite homeschool tips: to honor the copyright, but to make a consumable into a non-consumable, I simply cover the workbook page with a clear plastic report cover and have the student write with low-odor dry erase markers. I quickly check the work and remove plastic and erase!!

St. Francis Cafe is now open

Well, we tried to switch to a feeding system for the outdoor cat. (Mom's idea in the first place... I thought making the responsible boy do his daily deed was working pretty well.)
I didn't think about the food outdoors until we suddenly became the St. Francis Cafe and our first (noticeable) client was a SKUNK!! It sure was a good thing we didn't happen upon Pepe Le Pew whilst he was still upon our porch, or someone would still be sitting in a tub full of V8 tonight!
I'm thinking that said boy in charge of feeding cat will now have to set food out each a.m. and take it inside each p.m. Hmmm...

Well, at least I don't have killer roses (check out Sister Mary Martha's blog).

WARNING - Adult content!

An IM from a friend who lives in the same school district I do. It leaves my scratching my head and wondering about the state of the world. My prayers are with my friend on this one! Please pray for her children on this matter. On condition of anonymity, I got her permission to post this:
_____________________
my friend: you still there?
me: yup
my friend: you aren't gonna believe this
my friend: ds#1 just handed me a paper he had in school...... a test
my friend: on contraceptives
my friend: wt (expletive deleted)??
my friend: he had to write a paper on whether or not he wants to have s** [word for marital act] then he had a contraceptive match-up test.....can you believe it???
me: Oh my goodness! that is exactly why these guys are home with me!
me: that is ridiculous!
my friend: yes it is
my friend: they also discussed with them s** [word for marital act] toys!
me: what grade is ds#1 in?!
my friend: what do s** [word for marital act] toys have to do with anything?????? He is in 8th grade!
me: talking about such things is PORNOGRAPHY!
my friend: yep
me: what can you say [to the school] about that?
my friend: i really don't know, i'm (expletive deleted)
me: I'll pray for ya on this one - this is totally uncalled for! 8th grade?! I wasn't introduced to such topics until college and then I had to get special permission to take a course that "talked a little more explicitly about personal matters of sexuality" Students had to be 21 or older! Oh, and my college course talked about diseases and rape - not toys and related stuff!
my friend: i can't believe they did not get my permission to do this
me: you'd better check this out - but I believe that the schools have taken the position that they no longer have to bother getting permission from the parents on any "health education" matters
my friend: s** [word for marital act] toys? health education?? lmao
my friend: the kid can't spell but he knows how to use a d****??
me: <---- shaking my head -- exactly the sad state of things, yes?
my friend: i need to get him alone and find out exactly what was said
me: oh goodness - how sad! it still blows my mind what kids are 'taught'... mercy!
___________________

Sts Margaret of Cortona, Agatha, Dymphna, Maria Goretti
Pray for us...
Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us...

The End of the school year

Well, the 2006-2007 school year is now in its final death throes... LOL A little spelling to finish is all we require now. I have the lesson plans for 5th and 3rd grades ready for next school year. All of next year's school books are already on the shelf so that I can now relax and enjoy the summer. I won't have to do any work until the night before we begin the 2007-2008 school year.

Fratello Maggiore gets his portfolio and evaluator's letter turned into the school district tomorrow morning. I am happy his 4th grade is now finished. He starts middle school work next year already! He is now starting to earn time for the local library's reading program.

Fratello Piccolo is finished with 2nd grade and is already working on his summer math workbook. He is well into earning time for the local library's reading program, also, and is happily enjoying "summer break."

Half-Pint is busy playing with her backpack full of animals and reads the book Froggy Gets Dressed to her tankful of fire-belly toads each night after she gets her own bedtime story. She loves helping Mama and Daddy with yard and garden work.

The past month has brought us many blessings:

I just heard that a friend of ours had her 4th child! I am so happy for her family!

Another friend is awaiting her 6th child - she is in my prayers daily.

Mom and I were inducted into the Sisters of Mary Immaculate Collaborators. We now pray with and for the Sisters daily. It was a blessing to attend the 3rd annual meeting yesterday!

The boys attended another karate competition over the Memorial Day Weekend. They only competed in sparring and Fratello Maggiore placed second in his division. Fratello Piccolo was eliminated in the first round, but his spirits quickly picked up when he decided to learn to be quicker.

We had another homeschooling family over one Sunday afternoon. We had such a great time! All the kids seemed to get along and we parents only had to referee once. LOL - you'll have that though - personalities and/or wills clash even in the best of circumstances... I pray that my family and Carmela's can get together again soon! We love being the "country mice" with all the space and peaceful neighborhood where my "city mice" friends can come and escape the hustle and bustle. All the adults had an equally great time talking and getting to know each other better. I think nest trip is for us to go to the city so I hope we can do that soon :-)

The kids and I attended the latest Byzantine Mass and picnic that followed. This time was not as well-attended as the previous gathering, so we missed seeing some of our friends. Fr. Paul gave a great talk about Pentacost and had the kids compare two icons he brought. We mothers decided to pray about starting a Catholic Co-op nearby. The boys had a blast playing Jedi Knights so much that I had to make them sit and eat lunch!

My grandmother seems to be doing well. I have been praying for healing for her and also for her sister who had some surgery. I know my grandmother has missed her terribly.



Now our summer can bring some warm weather joys: camping, hiking, gardening, summer reading, and BARE FEET!

Yearly wrap-up

Well, our year is nearly over. Our 180 days (PA state law) have been completed for nearly 3 weeks now, but we all know what a joke that is since homeschooling never stops...
The boys are nearly finished. This is what they had to complete this year:

Fratello Maggiore
God's Little Angels - summer reading
My Catholic Speller, C - still has 8 lessons
Language of God, C - still has couple weeks of work left to do
Faith and Life 4 - what is left will be summer reading
Writing Can Help - finished
Called to Serve - finished
Singapore Math 4 - still has a couple weeks of work left to do
Ancient History, Greece - finished
Mythology - finished and tested
Latin - finished and tested

Fratello Piccolo
Devotional Stories for Little Folks - summer reading
My Catholic Speller, A - still has 9 lessons
Language of God, A - has a week of work left
Faith and Life 2 - what is left will be summer reading
Little Acts of Grace - summer reading
Writing Can Help - finished
Singapore Math 2 - finished
Ancient History, Greece - finished
Latin - finished

This is it. Except for wrapping up things, the kids are done. All I ask of them during the summer is reading and math review. They have joined the library's summer reading program so the things we put off for summer reading will count toward their hours :-) I also have some math workbooks that will keep their minds from straying too far all summer. I figure about 15 minutes of math twice a week should to it.
I am already planning next school year so that I don't have to do it over the summer. Fratello Maggiore's lesson plans are done. Fratello Piccolo's are next. Once they are finished, I can sit back and relax with gardening and camping all summer ;-)

Camp is open!

Well, since all 7 of us were available today (no one had to work - YIPPEE), we were able to take a day trip up to camp. Our camp is only a little over an hour from here and easily accessible 24/7/365. The kids love it - camping, hiking, biking, playgrounds, pool, lake and minutes from a state park and big lake where we can fish, ride the bike trail, swim, sail, etc.
Every year, we avoid sleeping at camp until we have had a chance to clean the lots (i.e. rake and dispose of leaves) and camper. It took the 4 adults about 5 hours to clean up all leaves and scrub the camper. It was a blessing that we were able to do this all in a few hours (as opposed to days) and have it ready for any overnight any of us decide to make.
This week the kids and I may drive up on Thursday and stay through Saturday, but that is dependent on the weather forecast. No use sitting indoors in a cold rain up there if we could do it at home (and I could still get laundry, etc. handled). I just checked the weather and it seems to be a good time to go -- sunny and mid- to upper-70's!

A different experience

I just had to share a wonderfully different experience for us. We attended a Byzantine Rite Mass on the Feast of Saint George this past Monday. We met a lot of homeschoolers that I have been dying to meet for months (but circumstances had dictated otherwise since I found out about this great group). We experienced the Byzantine Rite Mass and then had a picnic at a local park. Fr. Paul gave a wonderful talk on St George and explained the major features of St George's icon. Then we spent a while letting the kids play. Some wanted to play baseball and others, like my boys, decided being Jedi Knights was the best way to expend their energy.
I really enjoyed our day and I look forward to the next scheduled BR Mass.
Carmela, it was FABULOUS to finally meet you in person! I can't wait to talk again!

Our second child's First Holy Communion

Well, Praise God for His many blessings! Fratello Piccolo made his First Holy Communion and Confirmation on Sunday. He, and 33 others, received Christ at a special 2 pm Mass. Our pew was packed with family and it was beautiful to witness another of the children God put in our home receive Him.
He was so handsome and happy. He was careful to sit straight and kneel quietly at the proper times. It was a longer Mass and the church was a bit stuffy on such a warm spring day, but he was so great about any little bit of discomfort he experienced. His godmother was in attendance and his Nana was his Confirmation Sponsor.
Of course, I was teary-eyed. I observe none of my children's milestones with a dry eye. It seems I was made to be "leaky" like in the little story Why God Made Mothers.

Proud Member of Catholic Mothers Online

I just added this blog to the CMO blogroll. I am priveledged to see my blog in such wonderful company. May I continue to meet expectations.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!!

We can celebrate and bask in the Glory of His Resurrection! Alleluiah

Now that the Lenten season is over and the Easter Season is well underway, I am done fasting from both chocolate and blogging as much. Since this return to either activity (habit, vice??) has the potential to have a deleterious effect on my gluteus maximus, I will have to help this body overcome the doom (of doing both activities) by spending many hours on the elliptical trainer at the foot of our bed. SIGH - one more thing to offer up to Him...

On to good things, not only did I survive Lent, I really did a lot of reading. I read a lot more about Our Blessed Mother, many of the Saints, and completed two novenas (a first for me). This year was the first that I watched The Passion of the Christ. I watched it Good Friday, which felt like the most appropriate time to me. To see it graphically portrayed really gave me a better perspective of what He went through for me, a sinner.

More posts are on their way this week. I have some catching up to do, now that major projects, etc. are over...

Lent is marching on...

If I have to say "That's enough! Get your work done!" one more time... (see previous posts)
Yet another thing that I am offering it up to Heaven!

I was disappointed to hear that there seems to be no second annual Catholic homeschooling Conference in our area. It seems(to me) that this particular blessing left with the former Bishop... I hope I am proven wrong about this.

Now that most of the running around for tests is over, let me recap. Fratello Maggiore took the National Mythology Exam in February and took the National Exploratory Latin Exam last week. He seems to have done well. At least that is what he tells me, I completely stayed out of the process, except for purchasing the materials and reminding him to read and study. It was, if nothing else, a good opportunity to practice taking standardized tests...

Fratello Maggiore tells me he really enjoys mythology. Both boys love ancient Greece and Rome, since they get to practice being Spartans and Gladiators. (LOL - it is a good thing they are not learning about the unmentionable aspects of those civilizations or I'd be in constant fear for their eternal souls already!) So I sigh to myself, look Heavenward, but allow the sparring to continue. I DID manage to ban it to the great outdoors, however. Score one for the Mom team!

Fratello Piccolo chose Benedict as his Confirmation name! He had it narrowed down to St. George or St. Benedict at first. One month until his First Holy Communion/Confirmation!

Half-Pint seems to enjoy everything and even did a crayon resist of our solar system today. She sure is quite a bit of sunshine every day here at St. Francis of Assisi Independent Learning Academy!

I cannot even count the days without chocolate so far, but no other sweets can even compare, so I am at least keeping the sugar ingestion low... Although it seems that the more stressed I get, the more I miss it :-(

I know, I know. Another thing to offer up to Heaven...

Lent is underway

The season of Lent is underway here. No more chocolate for me. (Offering it up many times a day right now since the only things that sound appetizing have chocolate in them. Ole Sparky must be working some OT on this)

Fratello Maggiore took the National Mythology Exam last Thursday. He said he did really well. When we reviewed the questions, he seemed to only miss one! We'll see when we get the official results, but nonetheless, I am so proud of my boy! He takes the National Latin Exam in mid-March, so we are now reviewing for that...

Fratello Piccolo is busy preparing for his First Holy Communion. We are reviewing the Holy Mass in preparation for that.

Half-Pint has taken a new interest in the alphabet, shapes, and numbers! It seems she is ready for more "preschool."

DH started his new job yesterday. He tells me he likes it, but it is noisy. So between jobs, he was spotted at the store buying ear protection. I guess that is a swell idea as I would like him to hear me sometimes :-)

More snow and ice

It seems I have done nothing but shovel a large driveway and de-ice two minivans for the last two days! I have sore muscles galore - and that is even with all the karate I do! It sure is cold out there, but it is a wonderful treat to come in and grab something HOT to drink when I am finished.
The boys are getting their work done. Fratello Maggiore is cramming in the last of his mythology prep so that he can study what he has learned all next week. His test is on Thursday. He is also very busy with fractions. Fratello Piccolo is doing a great job with calculating money and he has just aced this week's spelling test!
We are doing no school work tomorrow since we have eye exams and an overnight at a local hotel with friends. I will be scrapping with T and the guys and kids will be swimming and hanging out! It is a special treat for us in the middle of winter. I'll even treat them to doughnuts and juice. That is something we don't ever eat here since I insist on healthy breakfasts -- much to the dismay of my children! LOL

I am chatting with R, my "sister to another mother", who is gearing up for surgery tomorrow. We will be her prayer warriors and are going to storm heaven with get well prayers. I hope she can plan a trip here this year after she has recuperated - I'd love to be her host again!

Snow, snow, snow

I sit here watching the snow fall. I love that I do not have to leave the house and I can just enjoy the beautiful sight. I can wrap my hands around a hot cuppa joe and watch my yard transform into a fluffy blanket of pristine white. Then, when lessons are finished, I will witness that perfection invaded by children's boots and colorful sleds. Hot cocoa and hugs follow when everyone is once again inside and warming up after thrilling snow-play.

Our lessons will be short today. I want the kids to enjoy the snowfall and expend some of their energy. We love the snow here! We have to remember to make snowballs today and store them in the freezer until summer. Our science center allows free admission on summer solstice if each person brings in a snowball. :-)

Lesson plans for this week

Today marks our 133rd day of school this year. We should be done ("officially") in late April at this rate.

Religion
remains Faith and Life at home and CCD at church; getting ready for Lent to begin next week.

Math
Fratello Maggiore - Singapore Math 4: semester assessment + Key to Fractions Book 2: Multiplying and Dividing
Fratello Piccolo - Singapore Math 2: review of multiplication tables of 0,1,2,3,4,5, and 10. Adding and subtracting money

Spelling
Fratello Maggiore - My Catholic Speller Level C - Lesson 15
Fratello Piccolo - My Catholic Speller Level A - Lesson 14

Grammar
English for the Thoughtful Child
Fratello Maggiore - Language of God Level C - compound subjects and predicates + subject-verb agreement
Fratello Piccolo - Language of God Level A - Building sentences and parts of a story

Latin
Prima Latina and Exploratory Latin Review from American Classical League (Fratello Maggiore is preparing to take the National Latin Exam in March)

History
various sources on Ancient Greece and D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths; finish Old Testament history before beginning Ancient Rome

Reading
Fratello Maggiore - Greek Myths (in prep for the national mythology exam)
Fratello Piccolo - My Path To Heaven (in prep for his First Holy Communion)

Phys Ed
karate class - they are currently trying to earn their yellow belt in Shotokan

soccer in the kitchen?!

Yikes! I just caught all three of them playing a pick-up game of soccer in my kitchen. Sometimes I just wonder what gets into their minds...
And I am now curious as to who is on the opposing team -- the penne or the box of rolled oats?

Outside with them! Snow play seems like a great cure for this cabin fever.

ABCs of Housekeeping Meme

Aprons – Y/N? No
Baking – Favorite thing to bake: bread
Clothesline – Y/N? Yes
Donuts – Have you ever made them? No
Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day: Cook
Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze? Yes, in the basement. It never seems big enough. *sigh*
Garbage Disposal – Y/N? No
Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource? Recipe books
Ironing – Love it or hate it? Hate it. Fortunately, I don't have to do much of it.
Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it? Yes, in my desk
Kitchen: Design & Decorating?white cupboards, laminate countertop. butcher block island. White appliances.
Love: What is your favorite part of homemaking? Not having to work outside the house.
Mop - Y/N? Yes
Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine? washing machine, but I hardly wear them
Oven - Do you use the window, or open the door to check? Open the door.
Pizza - What do you put on yours? Homemade sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, pepperoni and onions!
Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? What is a quiet moment?!
Recipe card box - Y/N? No.
Style of house - Country ranch
Tablecloths and napkins - Y/N? Yes to tablecloth, no to napkins.
Under the kitchen sink - Organized or toxic wasteland? How about an organized toxic wasteland?
Vacuum - How many times per week? two or three
Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do a week? At least eight.
X’s - Do you keep a daily list of things to do and cross them off? No.
Yard - Who does what? I tend the gardens, and dh does the rest.
Zzz’s - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? try to make sure kitchen is clean and meat is thawing

a title for everyone

LOL - these just tickle my funny bone!

More Titles:
My dh: Imperial Majesty Jeffery the Sentient of Pigotts Sty
Half-Pint: Milady the Most Honourable MacKenzie the Charming of Bow under Bumpstead
Fratello Maggiore : His Grace Lord Anthony the Intractable of Much Madness upon Avon
Fratello Piccolo: His Most Noble Lord Adam the Euphonious of Fiddlehope in the Marsh

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Milady the Most Honourable Michaela the Incomplete of Giggleswick on the Naze Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I really like blogging

I just have to mention that I love blogging!
To me, it seems easier than a journal.

Organization?!?!?!

OK - so I sit here sniffling and feeling like my head will just explode :-P (Listening to EWTN's Open Line and trying to decide which herbal tea to make)

After lunch, I decided to let the boys go get that gladiator kit for their ancient roman history unit. Well...
Apparently I was being "smart" and put the gladiator away for safekeeping. It is SO safe that I cannot find it! In fact, its safety is so assured that I cannot find any of the science kits that I put away with him!

Me? Organized?!?!

Well, at least I have my sanity ;-)

(or do I? LOL)

sick

Well, I am now under the weather. I think it is from Half-Pint coughing in my face the last few days. She is trying really hard to remember to 'cover her cough', but she is only 3.

Fratello Maggiore complains of a sore throat, too. I didn't give them a day off, but I did give them a light workload today of only spelling and math. If they feel up to it, they will work on that gladiator kit that is downstairs waiting for them. (I think they will - after all, that is not work to them but fun!) Education disguised as fun works every time!!!

Struggle of the day: me feeling human (instead of an incubator of microbes!)

Prayer of the day: St Francis' prayer

St. Francis of Assisi prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Our daily schedule

This is our daily scheduled during the school week:

7:30 AM - alarms go off! Rise and shine! Boys get chore list done by 8-ish.
Chore list has the following items:
make bed
get dressed
dirty laundry in hamper
toys picked up
desktop clean
feed their pets
eat breakfast
brush teeth
8:00 - 9:00 AM - free play for boys (unless we are going somewhere that morning)
9:00 AM - morning prayers, saint of day, and start seatwork
IF they are not goofing off, they are done with most work by lunch
12:00 PM - lunch time
1:00 - 2:30 PM - finish up school day with Latin, ancient history, etc.

The kids are now free to play the rest of the day. However, on days when my mantra happens to be "Fratello Maggiore... get to work," free play doesn't start until dinner time!

I end up having to stay in the library with them or they stop working. I do bring the laundry, etc. in here to do and I listen to a lot of EWTN online since I have to stay put.

Exhaustion

Here I sit for a few minutes. The kids are out with Nana getting some much-needed exercise at an indoor playplace. I am getting some much-needed SILENCE and rest. It is funny -- I already have dinner in the slow cooker, am getting the house clean/laundry done and I have to run a puppy outside every hour, BUT I do not have to speak to anyone or referee any disagreements (or wars - LOL). Believe me, ladies, I am thanking Him for this little blessing! I think that if I had a nice deep tub, I'd make time for a long soak with a hot cup of herbal tea...

Half-Pint kept me awake from 3 am on today. She had an accident and soaked her bed, so she ended up between Mama and Daddy for most of the night. The problem was that she decided she needed to dig her little body into my back every 10 minutes or so (I guess she wouldn't get cozy enough?!). I chugged a couple cups of java down (too bad I couldn't add it directly to my blood stream *G*) and got myself moving at a snail's pace. But at least I am moving, yes?

I looked at the entries from our first days of homeschooling and I smiled. I was so nervous! I see how far we have come in the last three years...

Flashback! Our first year of homeschooling

My first entry - Wed June 2, 2004
Well, the 2003-2004 school year comes to a close this week. All that is necessary next week is to pick up Fratello Maggiore's report card on Monday morning. He is not going back to school next year. There are a number of issues that brought me to this decision: bus behaviours, bias of government schools, the fact that I want my children to learn to their potential, etc.
It is an anxious time for me. Am I making the right decision? Will I be able to provide my children with what they need to reach their potentials? Will I go crazy with the kids around all the time and no time to myself unless I schedule it? Will Jeff TRULY support this decision, or is he just placating me? Will Mom throw a wrench in my plans by pushing her weight around on this issue? Will Fratello Maggiore and I be able to work together day in and day out? How will I juggle everything??
I have been researching this change like a madwoman for the past 6 weeks. I have been mulling it over for years. It is now time to jump in the deep end or walk away from the pool...


Fratello Maggiore's last day of public school/To the teaching store - June 3, 2004
Well, today is Fratello Maggiore's last day of school. As soon as he is on the bus, the rest of us will get ready and run some errands. One place I am determined to go is Holcomb's KnowPlace - the teacher store in our area. I want to browse the store with different eyes this time - eyes of a homeschooler. I gleaned a bunch of tips over the last few weeks and want to see how this store can help our little home school.
Oh, another thing - I think we need a name for our little school. "Country Lane", GC Country Creek...???
Fratello Maggiore's last day of school... I wonder how he is feeling today...

A busy summer - Friday, July 30, 2004
We have had such a busy summer with getting the "school mentality" out of the boys. We have been doing a lot of unscheduling and living in the moment since school was dismissed for the year.
I have been observing the children's natural sleep patterns. It seems that the boys like to get to sleep between 9-9:30 pm and wake up at 8:00 (Fratello Piccolo) and 9:00 (Fratello Maggiore). This will be useful in that I can start Fratello Piccolo before breakfast with something and can give Fratello Maggiore my full attention during Fratello Piccolo's free-play or other time after breakfast.
The last of the school supplies arrived today. Now school is ready to start on Monday, August 2. I am yet to feel "ready", but I suppose that would be a long wait, so we are just going to start...

The morning of day 1 - Monday, August 2, 2004
Well, the day has arrived!
I have done morning devotions while the children sleep.
I have already bookmarked the Reptile section of the Discovery Channel's Website for Fratello Maggiore's science lesson.
I am about to wake the boys up and get them dressed and ready for learning.
Please God, guide me in this eternally-important journey. Amen

First week of school is almost over - Thursday August 5, 2004
We are almost through with our first week of homeschooling. Things are going well. Only occasionally do I have to threaten Fratello Maggiore (i honestly feared he would act worse than he has) and that is with an assigned reading and/or some math. Fratello Piccolo has taken to this like a duck to water and keeps asking for MORE! We have already learned about komodo dragons, cobras, crocs and gators by learning about the reptile family this week in science. I have started us at 80% of the work and will up to 100% right after Labor Day. Our first field trip will be to the Renaissance Faire and we will start on Medieval/Renaissance studies on Monday. We get dressed, eat breakfast, room chores and brush teeth to start our school day at 9:00. We are completely FINISHED by noon! The kids have lunch and then the rest of the day to play or read or color.

Start of week 5 - Monday August 30, 2004
We just started week 5. I think it was three weeks ago, I read about the process of "notebooking" - learning your subject while filling a binder full of things that were learned each day/week. We started notebooks for language arts, science, and geography.
We have been studying castles and knights in preparation for our day at the Renaissance Faire in September.
In science we looked at reptiles, carnivores v herbivores v omnivores, and are starting on bones.
For Geography, we have been looking at North America - landmarks, regional geography, Saints, native animals, and the major countries' flags.
During the Olympics, we took a trip to a local Greek festival and looked up different flags during events and located some of those countries on the map.

End of week 5 Saturday September 4, 2004
Week 5 has gone well. I have done some adjusting for Fratello Maggiore. The Singapore math seems to be good enough, but he seems to balk at some of the more difficult concepts yet (adding three digit numbers)- so I am adding in days of practice worksheets of many simpler math problems. I realized that THOSE have to be stronger if he is going to do well in math. We will just take Singapore math at a slower pace and see how that works. He has assigned reading two days a week and the other days he can chose whatever he wants to read. Here's the rub - he has been chosing books all along and not reading them, so we tried a different approach this week. Nana brought home some Seymore Simon books on planes and cars (these are only about 30 pages long - pic to text ratio is high) and he HAS to read and finish them. It seems the second he got something from his Nana, he wanted to read it. Go figure. Fratello Piccolo begs for more and more to do. I have purchased three additional workbooks of math and pre-reading skills. After we do what is necessary for the day, I just hand him the workbooks and he works until he gets tired of them. I am also more casual with science and social studies now with Fratello Maggiore - we notebook these and I am going to let him get to it when he wants. I'll also see how that works... We took a trip to the local art museum on Wednesday. We looked at paintings and sculptures and made our own artwork in the kids' room. We also read three storybooks about art.

Our week 6 - Wednesday September 8, 2004
Well, this is week six and I have made this our "Recharging Week". This type of week will occur every 6 weeks or so. This week, we have no formal lessons, but I am writing down every thing they read or watch or do. Already we have been to the library twice and Fratello Maggiore has read two books. They have already watched some educational programs on tv, also. Since home education is a work in progress, it is nice to be able to back off or charge forward as the opportunities present themselves.

Letter to friends about my week - October 2004
My Week
Sunday - church, big family dinner, bike riding with the kids, clean-up and "school prep" Monday - wake, Magic School Bus on TLC, breakfast and dress, Magic School Bus again, official school time starts at 10:00 with language arts. Break for lunch, finish school time by 1:30. Dentist with both boys (good healthy teeth and mouths!). Home to eat dinner before Fratello Maggiore has CCD from 6:30-8. Home and bed prep for boys. I have clean-up and "school prep" for next day.
Tuesday - wake, Magic School Bus on TLC, breakfast and dress, Magic School Bus again, official school time starts at 10:00 with math. Break for lunch and finish school time by 2:00. Free play until dinner. Soccer practices from 5:30-7:00. Home and baths for kids. Boys in bed by 9. I have clean-up and school prep for next day.
Wednesday - wake, Magic School Bus on TLC, breakfast and dress, official school time starts at 9:30 with Geography. To library for 11:15 story time and more books. Lunch out and home to finish by 4 p.m. This was by far, our longest day of hsing so far. Although we were gone from the house from 11 - 2:30. Boys had free play and were in bed by 9. Clean-up and school prep for me.
Thursday - wake, Magic School Bus on TLC, breakfast and dress, Magic School Bus again, start school with math. School finished by 1:00 and free play until dinner. Soccer game after dinner. Home and baths for kids. Boys in bed by 9. I have clean-up and pack for next day's field trip. oh yeah - and laundry this morning
Friday - FREE TOUR OF PNC PARK - home of the Pittsburgh Pirates! Tour took 1 1/2 hrs. We saw the private clubs, the press box, the batting cages, and the dugout! Then we were off to Carnegie Science Center. Free admission and one picnic lunch later, we did hands-on science activities all afternoon and even watched a demonstration on electricity (both static and current). Nana was with us all day and we ended the afternoon with ice cream treats. The boys ate their weight in ice cream sundae, I think :-) We ended the day sitting around our patio fireplace!
Saturday - Two soccer games in the morning - Jeff goes to Boy Scout leader training - free play all afternoon - church in the evening... oh and all this with no sleep Wed, Thurs, and Fri nights - Half-Pint fiercely teething or something...
Peace,
Michaela-who-thinks-she-is-tired-but-not-yet-in-a-coma

The Divine Mercy Chaplet

Start with the Sign of the Cross
1x - Our Father
1x - Hail Mary
1x - Apostles Creed

Repeat the following 5 times:
1x - Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
10x - For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Conclude with:
3x - Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

plans change

Well, since my mantra "Fratello Maggiore ... get to work" seems to continue, we have to forgo the gladiators today and instead I get to do the "great mathematics battle" with my eldest! Yippee for me (STILL offering it up)!


Anyway, my thoughts now turn to a wonderful weekend planned for us soon. We will be going to a local hotel with a friend and her family. We are so excited! The men and kids will hang out together and go swimming, etc. My friend, T, and I will spend the evening and next day scrapbooking (my one and only hobby these days) in a nearby conference room. I look forward to this brief respite from our daily winter schedule! More importantly, I look forward the fellowship with our family's good friends!!!

Are we frozen yet?

I am waiting for someone to officially declare us freezer pops. We are still in that arctic blast and the (non wind-chill) temperature is 2F. It feels like -12F out there. The poor dogs have to go out there occasionally! BRRRRRR

CCD was canceled last night. That is good since Fratello Maggiore complained of sore throat and Fratello Piccolo seems to be congested. This way they didn't miss anything by staying home.

Today our plans are to stay warm and cozy in the house and to catch up on extra school stuff that seems to fall by the wayside in a normal week. We will work on Cub Scout advancements and I think I will help the boys complete their Religious Pins: Fratello Piccolo has Light of Christ and Fratello Maggiore has Parvuli Dei. Their Blue and Gold Banquet is in two weeks and they are very eager to have their awards nearly completed by then.

The boys have gone on a rabbit trail with gladiators, so we continue to pursue that subject. They are begging me to let them have the Roman Gladiator action figure kit that I picked up at Scholastic last year...

Struggle of the day: compound subjects. Why on earth do I have a child who seems to think he can write down ONE noun and call that a compound subject?! (Yes, I am offering it up!) I can't wait until he gets to compound predicates! LOL

Prayer of the day (once again): Domine Iesu Christe, Filius Dei, miserere me peccatorem! (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!)

My mantra today seems to be: "Fratello Maggiore ... get to work." "Fratello Maggiore ... get to work."

I just added blogs from fellow Catholic homeschoolers. I get such inspiration from these ladies. I laugh with them and cry with them.

The weather outside is 5F with wind chills near -20F. We are trying to survive our deep freeze. I am about to go stir crazy. The kids are out in the snow nearly every day, but not yesterday and today. Just knowing that they cannot go out and play (in wind chills of -20F!) is creating cabin fever in the boys. This, in turn, creates friction between the two and soon I am witness to short tempers and less-than-charitable actions in all 3 children. I am looking forward to later this week when I can let them get out there and play. I am praying for good warm weather by Wednesday... 20F would be a nice balmy day after today.

Today we are working on Latin and Ancient Rome. We just learned about the Colosseum (gladiators), Circus Maximus (chariot races) , the Roman Theatre (plays) , and the Thermae (baths). The boys are, of course, enamored with the gladiators and are now making gladiator paper dolls (no doubt ready for mortal combat).

Half-Pint has decided that she alone gets to touch her Polly Pockets. SIGH - I guess that lessons in sharing are in order there.

Struggle of the day: Fratello maggiore and his math. He seems to 'forget' how to work fractions when he is asked to add or subtract them.

With each struggle of the day comes my offering of suffering...

Prayer of the day: Domine Iesu Christe, Filius Dei, miserere me peccatorem! (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!)

This may be the same every day for quite a while - LOL

My first entry here

I have been reading a number of Catholic homeschool blogs now and thought it was time to join in the fun!

First, let me explain the name. We are a household full of animals. Most of them happen to be birds, fish, and dogs. We figured that we could not find a more appropriate name for our homeschool than one named after St Francis.

This is our third year of homeschooling and we are now feeling more comfortable with it. We have been in and out of a few support groups and have now settled on two (during the day): CHEER and Family Learning Opportunities. Each gives to us something different and I look forward to being able to be active in SouthPittCatholicHomeschoolers, too!

We have a number of students in this home. I must count myself one of them ;-) We are all learning the CCC, Latin, and Ancient History (including mythology).

Fratello Maggiore is a 4th grader who is a Webelo Cub Scout. This is his curriculum program this year:
Singapore Math 4 (plus Key to ____ workbooks when working in decimals, fractions, and geometry)
CHC's My Catholic Speller, Level C
CHC's Language of God for Little Folks, Level C
Faith and Life grade 4
Prima Latina + Exploratory Latin (to prepare for the American Classical League's - Exploratory Latin Exam)
Reading Your Way Through History
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths + mythology review from American Classical League (to prepare for the National Mythology Exam)
Extras: English for the Thoughtful Child, Analogies, Teaching with Aesop's Fables, and Basic Level Perplexors (logic puzzles)

**You probably noticed that I left out science. I did not add this to their curriculum because they are Cub Scouts and, as such, do a lot of civics and science throughout the year.

Fratello Piccolo is a 2nd grader who is a Wolf Cub Scout. This is his curriculum program this year:
Singapore Math 2
CHC's My Catholic Speller, Level A
CHC's Language of God for Little Folks, Level A
Faith and Life grade 2
Prima Latina + Exploratory Latin
Reading Your Way Through History
Extras: English for the Thoughtful Child, Analogies, Teaching with Aesop's Fables, and Basic Level Perplexors (logic puzzles)

Half-Pint is 3. She is our little animal doctor most of the time. She already knows most of the basic pre-school stuff. She can also count to 10 in both Latin and Japanese. She is currently learning colors in Latin, too!

Things I grab to supplement our learning: The Holy Bible, CCC, Our Catholic Faith, Understanding the Scriptures, Comprehensive Curriculum workbooks (they are thick and full of extras when I feel the boys need more practice at something.), Diagramming Sentences, and Wordly Wise books.

We find learning everywhere. Field trips, daily living, and friends really do a lot to aid this process for us. Everyday is a new adventure in discovery and, most times, my patience ;-)

Ora