St. Francis Academy

Planning time begins!

This time of year is invigorating, if only because I look forward to planning for the next school year.  Much of my time and energy has been spent on considering a plan for next year's history.  We're still following a 4-year chronological rotation--Ancients, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern--and will be entering into and exciting time period which includes the founding of our nation.  Fortunately, there are lots of great resources on the internet, from free curricula to shared lesson plans.  These things have been most helpful to me in beginning my plans for several different levels of learning.

For grades K-8:

• The Artner’s Reader’s Guide to American History ($)
  
• Beyond the Pilgrims: A Catholic Supplement to American History Studies ($)
• Along the American History Trail (free literature-based, multi-level approach)
• American History Schedule (free schedule using Our Pioneers and Patriots as a spine)
• Literature-based American History plans (free)
• American History Curriculum (free, daily plans, excellent resource)

For high school:

• Ambleside Online Year 8 (terms 2-3)-free OR
• Ambleside Online Year 8 Lite (free)
• Ambleside Online Year 9 (free) OR
• Ambleside Online Year 9 Lite  (free)
• The Great Books (Reformation/Enlightenment, starting around week 14, free)
• The Great Books (Modern, weeks 3-12, free)
• The Great Books Program (starting at Year 3, week 14 through Year 4, week 15, free)

So, these websites provide lots of great booklists and plans to help you chart your course.  I've been wrestling between doing a complete course in American history or following a dual-track of world and American history.  Right now I'm thinking that for our high school student, I will have her follow that dual-track, with a heavy emphasis on American history.  However, I think the younger kids will benefit from doing just American history, perhaps having me read aloud from a "living" book to fill in the world history tidbits (Genevieve Foster books come to mind here).  This is what I'll be working on the next few months, plus developing a course in earth science for our rising high schooler.  Fun, fun, fun! :-)

Medieval Architecture Field Trips

 This post is about two weeks in the making, since we went to two separate field trips to enhance our study of medieval architecture.  Our first stop was Chateau LeRoche in Loveland, OH.  The castle is usually closed to the public during the month of October, but they opened up just for our local homeschool group.  Sadly, I forgot to bring the digital camera with me, so I had to resort to snapping pics on my cell phone.  That explains the poor quality of this photo that I took into the sun.

Anyway, our tour guide was dressed in a pirate costume since it was Halloween day and did a good job of informing us about the castle.  We had been to tour the castle once before, during the early years of our homeschooling journey, so we knew that it had been built by one man, Harry Andrews.  What we didn't know was that this castle is a fairly authentic model of a Norman castle that a baron would've lived in.

We also learned that many features of the castle which seemed odd to us were constructed for the purpose of protection.  For instance, the heavy front door was built in pieces, in a sort of patchwork design, and had hundreds of nails driven into it.  This was apparently to keep the door from being split down the middle by a battle axe when the castle was under attack (this is in theory, of couse).  It also opened in several different ways, as it was constructed as a dutch door, and had a smaller door through which one could enter and exit once the larger door had been bolted shut.

 The narrow spiral staircases built out of stone had steps of varying heights to make it more difficult for an attacker to quickly access the higher floors (should said attacker use a battering ram to knock down the front door).  Our pirate guide made it all very exciting and interesting.  We skipped out about ten minutes into the "ghost" stories as the little kids were getting fussy and we were all kind of hungry.

 

Our second stop was today, when we went to visit  St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, KY.  The exterior facade in the front of the cathedral is based on Notre Dame de Paris.  I wasn't able to get my own photo, as I would've had to cross the street, something I didn't think was worth doing with seven kids in tow.  If you check out both websites, you will see the similarities.  Features of the exterior that I pointed out to the kids that they learned about were flying buttresses and gargoyles. 

Julia was responsible for taking photos, since I'm not able to be very still while holding the baby.  She also tends to have a better eye for interesting photos, so below is some of her work.

    

Flying buttresses as seen from the north parking lot. 

 

Gargoyles flank the two towers to the west, which are at the front of the cathedral.

The interior of the cathedral was modeled after the Abbey Church of St. Denis.  Both St. Denis and Notre Dame were constructed during the time period of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine (who later married Henry II of England and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart).  It all fit in nicely with the unit we're studying in history right now: Henry II, Eleanor and sons.  Here are some more photos from the interior:

 

The Rose Window

 

One of the largest stained glass windows in the world.

Multi-Level Learning, part 2

In which we sail through history, from the Barbarian Invasions to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England...

After flip-flopping back and forth over deciding about using Tapestry of Grace for Medieval/Renaissance History this year, I finally went back to the plan I began working on last year.  To refresh your memory, we are studying History chronologically as a family.  Last year we studied Ancient History using Connecting With History, Volume 1 and Units 1-5 of Volume 2, ending around the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.  Although Unit 6 (500-800 AD) is now available and Unit 7 (800-1054 AD) is likely in the works, that is currently where this great Catholic multi-level curriculum ends.  Fortunately, though, Sonya has provided an excellent framework from which to work in her Middle Ages Literature-Based Unit.  With some extra help from the History Odyssey eBooks and some other curricula I already owned, I finally developed a course of study:

• Unit One: "Light In the Darkness" (500-800 AD)--this is CWH 2's Unit 6, studies the Fall of Rome, the Byzantine Empire and the rise of Monasticism
• Unit Two: " Great Kings" (500-1066 AD)--studies Charlemagne, the Vikings, and the Norman Invasion of England
• Unit Three: "Feudalism"--studies feudalism, knights, and castles
• Unit Four: "High Middle Ages"--studies Henry II of England and his sons, rise of towns/guilds, Robin Hood
• Unit Five: "Islam and the Crusades" (1071-1291 AD)--studies the rise of Islam, the Turks, and the Crusades
• Unit Six: "Missionaries and Travelers: Trade in the Middle Ages"--studies Marco Polo, medieval explorers, China and the Mongols
• Unit Seven: "The Hundred Years’ War" (1337-1453 AD)--studies the Black Death, Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc, Henry V
• Unit Eight: "New Interest in Old Ideas: The Renaissance"--studies Gutenberg, Italian Renaissance, Wars of the Roses, the Hapsburgs
• Unit Nine: "Spain, Portugal, and the New World"--studies the Incas/Aztecs, conquistadors, Isabella and Ferdinand, Columbus
• Unit Ten: Reformation and Counter-Reformation--studies Luther, Henry VIII of England, Ignatius of Loyola, Thomas More
• Unit 11: Elizabethan England (1558-1603 AD)--studies Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish Armada
• Unit 12: Age of Exploration--studies Diaz, da Gama, Vespucci, Magellan, Cartier, Drake

If you're interested in how I aligned the lessons for levels 1 and 2 of History Odyssey, the document below will help.  It's not the sequence I eventually settled on for the above units, but it's pretty close.  Also, I'm really only using HO for lesson ideas, so I don't feel tied to the curriculum very much at all.

Download revised_lesson_sequence.doc

For background information, I went to this great free resource:

Student's Friend: Unit 5 Early Middle Ages

Student's Friend: Unit 6 Late Middle Ages

Student's Friend: Unit 7 Early Modern World

I need to get going on our day, so I will try to post more on this later, especially in regards to how to go about doing a multi-level study.  I will also have a post that details art and music study as it relates to the time periods in the above units.  Stay tuned!

Random Musing

I hate resorting to blogging about once a week.  I know, as a blog reader myself, that the less frequently you post, the more likely you are to have your readers lose interest.  I read on a daily basis, and I think about posting just about as frequently, but life gets in the way, or I forget, or, or, or...you know how it is.

Anyway, my mom is in the hospital today to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).  Fortunately, she was a candidate for repairing the aneurysm with a stent, meaning that she will avoid open surgery and intensive care.  Still, any surgery has its risks, and she will need to remain in the hospital for three days.  My worry over her is compacted by the fact that my husband is away on business for the rest of the week and I can't be in NY to be with her.  Not that I'd be able to do much anyway.  ::sigh::

With hubby away and the weather being humid and overcast, it seems the perfect time to immerse myself in some enjoyable reading, departing for the time being from The Aeneid.  I have chosen to plunge into Little Women.  It has been a thoroughly enjoyable read thus far.

Of course, there are a ton of other things I could or should be doing beside sitting with my feet up,a book in my hand.  First, there are the daily household chores, which I usually force myself to complete before the reward of reading.  Decluttering, though, is a completely other matter.  Next, there is the making of homeschool plans for the upcoming year.  I think about them a lot, though I've not gotten around to jotting down much of anything, let alone make any sort of purchases.  Then, there is the making of certain items for the younger set.  I have been intrigued by the idea of creating geography boxes for each continent, which are along the lines of the Montessori geography folders.  Boxes just seem much more practical than folders.  Teresa at Lapaz Farm Home Learning introduces the idea in this post.  The Wildflowers and Marbles blog has done something similar.  I have a good start with the books and little puzzles from the Top Secret Adventures Club and should be able to round it out with my stack of National Geographic mags.  Lastly, I need to consider our calendar for the next month or so.  Baseball is nearly over (five games left), but football and soccer are just around the corner.  The schedule for football (with conditioning five days a week) is leaving me feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I try not to think about it...much.  If I don't think about it, it will go away, right?  RIGHT???

I'm officially out of the first trimester and seem to have more energy to show for it.  I'm at 13 weeks and have an OB visit at 14 weeks.  I think I have felt the baby move, about 95% sure it wasn't gas, at least, but suppose it could've been some odd muscle twinges.  DH started a new job, which means new insurance down the road, but for the time being we are covered by COBRA.  I'm trying not to think about the cost of that in the coming month, either, and try to shove the thoughts of miscarriage to the very, very back of my mind.  I feel very Scarlett O'Hara-ish about it all.  ::sigh::

So, I distract myself a little with a good book, doing some chores here or there (I can do anything for 15 minutes), and working a bit on organizing the homeschool things (like sorting my Catholic Mosaic books and noting which ones are available through our local library).  It's a start...

The Loveliness of St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is Saturday, March 17.  It's not too late!  You have plenty of time to plan some activities and we're here to help. :-)

MaryEllen over at the Tales From the Bonny Blue House is our gracious hostess for the Loveliness of St. Patrick's Day fair.  Please drop by and see what others are planning to do in honor of St. Patrick's Day.

More St. Patrick's Day Stuff

When I did my post on Thinking About St. Patrick's Day, I wasn't able to find coloring pages to print out for the little ones.  Thanks to the ladies at the 4RealLearning Forums, I have a few links to share!

• St. Patrick from Coloring Saints (also St. Joseph, whose feast falls on March 19th)
• St. Patrick from Catholic Heritage Curricula (pdf file)
• St. Patrick's Day lapbook sample from In the Hands of a Child
• Celtic Design Coloring Book (I forgot this was sitting on our shelf...images to color from the Book of Kells)

And if you can find a recording of traditional Irish tales told by Eddie Lenihan, you will be most pleased.  He's a very engaging storyteller.  Take a listen!  We listened to The Good People several years ago and were entranced.  Oh, and I just found a short story Lenihan tells of St. Patrick that is on NPR.  Click on the top "Listen" icon, wait through a short piece on Lenihan by Michelle Mercer, and the short tale is at the end.  Folks, there is nothing like listening to a good Irish storyteller.  I have fond memories of my grandfather telling tales of the Banshee and growing up in County Kerry.

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And in case you were looking for an update on our lives, here it is in brief: my friend's (and her baby's) funeral was on Monday 3/5 and it was incredibly sad; the kids have been in different stages of illness since last week and now I've succumbed to it as well (a bad cold); I'm hoping we all have the enrgy and inclination to do some of the things I've outlined (above and below) in honor of St. Patrick's Day; and 8 more days 'til the boys go to Nashville. :-)

Thinking About St. Patrick's Day

  OK, I think I have figured out that when I go ahead and publish my plans a couple of weeks ahead of time, I am more likely to follow through with them.  Since St. Patrick's Day is but two weeks away, I am gathering resources now so that we can have a great time learning about this fantastic saint.

It helps that I received a little jump-start last week, a link in an e-mail newsletter to a unit study for St. Patrick's Day.  I don't think I'll follow this plan, since it is really quite basic and our family already has a head start on the study of Ireland by virtue of researching our family roots.  I do like the printable maps and the timeline idea.  What I'd really like to incorporate are some new traditions to help our family celebrate the communion of saints throughout the liturgical year.

Movies

My first stop today was looking at Netflix to see what movies I could find to watch during the weeks leading up to St. Patrick's Day.  My grandfather emigrated from Ireland to the US in 1923 following the Irish Civil War,  and I have developed an interest in movies about the Irish struggles (both then and now).  Here are some movies on our Netflix queue.  Movies that have an asterisk beside them might not be appropriate for young viewers.

• The Field*
• Michael Collins*
• St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
• The Chieftains - Live Over Ireland: Water From the Well

Some other movies that are enjoyable and more or less kid-friendly include The Secret of Roan Inish, Waking Ned Divine, and Nature: Ireland. 

Music

I'm really looking forward to the Chieftains DVD.  I have seen this wonderful group of traditional Irish musicians perform live a couple of times.  The first time was at a small venue at a local Celtic festival while I still lived in NY.  The small venue size was great because you were able to meet and talk to the guys individually.  The other time was a few years ago here in Cincinnati, at a much larger venue.  Still great, but I kind of missed that up close, cozy, almost pub-like feel of the Celtic festival.  Anyway, I'm digressing...if you're going to  study Irish culture in honor of St. Patrick's Day, do not miss the music of the Chieftains.

Books

I have two books for the younger ones: St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting (I have the book and cassette tape set) and St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons.  I think I might order a copy of Tomie de Paola's Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.  De Paola has written many picture books; however, his stories on the saints are really very good and appropriate reading for older elementary/middle school students.  Don't ask why I don't already have this one in my home library!  I might also look into a little reading for myself, especially since DH and our oldest son will be away for the weekend for a pre-season baseball tournament.  Perhaps The Confession of Saint Patrick?  As a good Irish-Catholic you'd think I had already read this, but...nope!

Activities

To round things out, there are activities to enhance learning.  For instance, it would be great to fix some Irish Soda Bread (grandma used to put raisins and caraway seeds in hers).  We could also learn certain phrases in Irish-Gaelic, like ''Caed mille failte'' (100,00 Welcomes) and the Sign of the Cross (In-ainm an athar, agus an mhic, agus an sprid naoimh, áiméin...I'll need to phone my mom for correct pronunciation since I can't find an audio file for that online).  There's also no limit to the crafts one could do for St. Patrick's Day.  The festivities wouldn't be complete without viewing a St. Patrick's Day Parade.