Classically Catholic

Behold two wide-eyed brothers as they listen to the hero's tale of Beowulf . I do not believe they ever sat so still for a story before. Once the master story teller closed the book and uttered those dreaded words, " the end, " the younger two wrestled for the book to pour over the illustrations. With a surprised and curious look on his face, my 4 year old exclaimed, "What?! You mean Beowulf's a guy? Where's the wolf?" You'd think dragons and ogres would be enough. It is a story for a man cub, is it not? The girls were not so easily impressed.

History Lapbooking was a new experience for us. It was an interesting way to catalogue the maps, reports and art projects for the unit. Here are some sample pics. The red page on the left is a sideways page illustrating St. Jerome (Bible and Skull- I know it looks a bit like a chocolate chip cookie from this angle). Our budding artist does a better job with maps and pencil drawings than paint . You can catch a glimpse of his comic knights in colored pencil and a charcoal sketch of Thomas Aquinas above the report. The paper dolls that came with the history cards activity book were a hit with my youngest daughter . Hers never made it into the lapbook because she had too much fun playing with them in her spare time. Dear son decided if he absolutely had to make a paper " ahemmm " doll he could at least attach his with thread to make it an interactive part of the display. I thought it was a clever solution to his dilemma . Chemistry: Here is one of...

Hat tip to Wanda!

Our family is experimenting with homemade lap books to organize and showcase projects this school year. We have used resources such as History Pockets in the past, but there wasn't an edition available for our current unit on Medieval history. While searching the Internet for a substitute, I came across some interesting lap book ideas. For instance, Mrs. Darling designed a Multiplication Lap book that makes math drills both visually appealing and more exciting to review. Here is another example of a Earth Science Lap book from Peakmore Academy: There are also some great ideas in The Big Book of Books. The kids love crafting homemade displays to highlight special studies done throughout the year, then showing off their creativity when grandparents visit. We may even return to the idea of hosting an annual open house to display their handiwork for family and friends. It provides a forum for my students to make oral presentations, recite memorized poetry, and displa...

Dear Mom and Dad, Payton here. Wow, I just found out that I weigh 13 ounces, I am growing into such a big boy already, and there's so much more of me to come. I hope you are as excited as I am about this journey we are on together, Get ready! By the way, I had a talk with my Grandma last night and she told me you were very worried about me. I told her there may be a lot to think about, but there is nothing to worry about, because I am part of God's great plan! I am holding Jesus in a special spot in my heart, and it is just as bright as His light is to remind us that I am His gift to you. I don't really want to worry you already, being that I am not even old enough to get into trouble yet. Just give me time to get there so I can act like my Daddy when he was a small boy (my other Grandma told me that part), then I promise that I will earn all the worries that you could possibly imagine. Grandma said you guys should "Let God's peace guard your heart against anx...

Gustav turned out to be a great excuse for a family reunion at my sister's farm in rural Texas. As the storm raged on the Gulf Coast, we were feeding cows, chasing chickens, dirt bike riding, swimming, and hosting our first annual Family Wii Tournament. Giordan Shooting Target s "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!," cries mom in vain. Sure Shootin Shellie Dominator Takes the BB Gun Even Antonio Gets In On The Action KT on a Biking Lesson She's Off! BJ Turning Over the Reins Motorcycle Mamma AnnaBannanna Country-Style Chicken Fighting Nene's Chicks Visitin till the Cows Come Home We went to mass at St. Matthew's Church and ran into a family of 14 (at least we saw 11 of the gang) that we knew from home, who also evacuated to Texas. The priest and parishioners of St. Matthew's were very welcoming and offered to open their homes and Fami...

Summer time! Yessss!!! The formal "text" books will be shelved and my desk will be decluttered. Does this mean "school's out" for the next three months? Of course not. My children will tell you that it never ends around here. Our school is not confined by a building, a schedule, or even a routine. Like our faith, it is ingrained in our lifestyle. Certainly we will vacation when we can, swim as often as possible, and attend the fun summer events. But we will also make some music, finger paint, sketch the beauty of creation, bird watch, and take leisurely walks to the river and swampy areas to collect specimens for identification. Perhaps we will perform another play under the oaks and read every worthwhile book in the library- that wasn't assigned by Mom. Maybe we will crank out some old fashioned ice cream. Who knows? Journaling Fun Everyone has picked out a special notebook for journaling this summer, and Mom is no exception. I will sp...