To our favorite grandpa!

We love you and miss you so very much!

God's many blessings to you today and everyday.

Author Fiesta: May with Patricia Polacco

We have had such fun over the past week or so. With school winding down -- and all our things being packed, tossed or given away in preparation for the big move -- we spent the last couple of weeks on fiesta, author fiesta that is with our good internet friend, Cay!

Each month, Cay posts links and information about a different author ... and May was Patricia Polacco month!

Here are all the books we read (we saved her five Christmas books to read during Advent and to give us a chance to re-live our Author Fiesta!) and a short summary to whet your appetite:

Wednesday May 7, 2008:
The Keeping Quilt – the true family history of a quilt
My Ol’ Man – lovingly retold story of the author’s dad and the magic they discover
Thank You, Mr. Falker – finally, Trisha gets a teacher who understands her
When Lightning Comes in a Jar – a family’s reunion and memory-making
Babushka’s Doll – when a demanding girl is allowed to play with her grandmother’s doll, she finally learns the meaning of patience!
Babushka Baba Yaga – is Baba Yaga really a grandma at heart?

Thursday, May 08, 2008:
Something About Hensley’s – true story of the local general store (and its owner) where townspeople always find everything they need.
Mommies Say SHHHHH! – the sounds on a farm where the only quiet animals are the bunnies. A Polacco book for the little ones.
The Butterfly – the true story of Polacco’s great aunt who helped save Jews in Nazi-occupied France; beautiful!
Thunder Cake – Tricia gets over being afraid of storms with a little help from her babushka (wonderful recipe at the end of the book!)
Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom – an ordinary summer day gets a bit more eventful for William and his sister when Lillian Two Blossom offers some answers to some questions
The Lemonade Club – when Traci’s best friend gets sick, only their teacher and the other students can make lemonade out of life’s lemons; excellent book about cancer and surviving and living life to the fullest.
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare – sibling rivalry turns the corner when Richie and his sister “walk a bit in the other’s shoes”; very funny events occur!
The Bee Tree – when Mary Ellen gets tired of reading, her grandpa takes her on a hunt for a bee tree; wonderful story – when we first read this book a few years back, we went off on a whole study of bees and honey!

Monday, May 12, 2008:
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, sung in the year 1888 – a version of the famous poem with Polacco’s signature illustrations.
Mr. Lincoln’s Way – a great principal and a tough kid work together to help the birds.
Oh, Look! – a clever version of the old “can’t go over, can’t go over it” story. VERY cute illustrations!
Picnic at Mudsock Meadow – At the annual Harvest Festival, a boy who can’t do anything right finally solves an age-old mystery.
Some Birthday! – Patricia thinks everyone has forgotten her birthday, but her dad and family pull through with an unforgettable outing.
The Graves Family – an “Addams Family” like family moves across the street in the dead of night. Seth and Sara befriend the family and have amazing adventures!
The Graves Family Goes Camping – a sequel, this time the family takes Seth and Sara camping to a disused spot and bring home something they never imagined!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008:
Appelemando’s Dreams – how one little boys dreams can color a drab little town that’s forgotten how to dream.
Rechenka’s Eggs – a babuska’s beautiful eggs are accidentally ruined but the solution is even better than imagined.
Ginger and Petunia – Ginger and her pet Petunia are more alike than they ever imagined.
I Can Hear the Sun – a story about the homeless that has an uplifting ending
Pink and Say – two young Union soldiers find friendship and then are separated at Andersonville Prison.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008:
Meteor – when a meteor lands on the Gaw’s family farm, everyone in town comes out and learns how special they are.
Chicken Sunday – the kids sell pysanky eggs to earn enough to get EulaMae her Easter bonnet, but the hatmaker has something else in mind.
John Philip Duck – this is the fictionalized account of how the Peabody Hotel’s famous ducks first started swimming in the hotel fountain.
Luba and the Wren – here’s a fabulous retelling (and the pictures are glorious) of the Russian folk tale of the “Fisherman and His Wife”.
Tikvah Means Hope – a story of the famous Oakland (California) hills fire that devastated lives, but some stayed and hope returns.
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother – Tricia finds out that sometimes older brothers are useful.

Thursday, May 15, 2008:
In Enzo’s Splendid Gardens – an outdoor restaurant is enlivened with this “house that Jack built” type story about a bee that lands on a tree.
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair – books aren’t used properly once a town gets too used to television; a great book about the joy of reading.
G is for Goat -- an alphabet book of goat-life; one of Polacco’s books for younger children.
Just Plain Fancy – an Amish girl finds a fancy egg after complaining that their life is too plain.
Mrs. Katz and Tush – Larnel gives Mrs. Katz a kitten and all their lives are enriched.
Betty Doll – Polacco’s mother tells Patricia the whole story of her doll, Betty Doll.
Mrs. Mack – when Patricia spends her 10-year-old summer in Michigan, she meets Mrs. Mack and learns about horses.
Emma Kate – a story from Polacco’s childhood of her imaginary elephant friend, Emma Kate; one of Polacco’s books for younger children (and the drawings are wonderful!).

Friday, May 16, 2008:
Babushka’s Mother Goose – is much more than a retelling of Mother Goose! This is a tribute to Polacco’s Babushka and has a wonderful Ukranian/Eastern Europe feel to the poems and stories. This is wonderful.
Firetalking – an autobiography, this ended our unit on Patricia Polacco. She lovingly explains how she came to write and illustrate so many wonderful books for children and the great influence her family (and extended family) have had on all her work.

Books to save for Christmas:
Uncle Vova’s Tree
Christmas Tapestry
The Trees of the Dancing Goats
Welcome Comfort
An Orange for Frankie

Books coming out in 2008:
For the Love of Autumn (August)
Someone for Mr. Sussmann (November)

As you can see, Mrs. Polacco is quite prolific -- 47 books written plus two new ones coming out this year. She has such a gift of story-telling -- primarily because she comes from a family of storytellers (or "fire talkers") and because so many of her stories are based on ones that happened to herself or family members. The love of family shines through all her stories!

We can't wait for June to see who our next author will be!

THANKS Cay for such a wonderful way to make sure we read all the best picture book authors before we turn 100!

Mother's Day

As the kids get older, the Mother's Day celebrations become more meaningful and delightful.

Yesterday, Kotch (almost 17) took String Bean and I out for "grown-up girl bonding time" at a wonderful restaurant for brunch. It was the first time one of my children has taken me to a really nice meal and they paid. It was so wonderful sitting outside in our 70+ weather (don't worry, it's supposed to SNOW on Tuesday/Wednesday) with my lovely daughters, all of us dressed up and enjoying the time spent together.

While the girls were busy, dh had the two boys getting treats at the grocery to make a feast fit for a Spring evening -- barbequed hamburgers (dh even let them flip them and take them off the barbie!), homemade baked beans, coleslaw and this beautiful cookie cake that is PERFECT for the younger set:

Just as we were finishing dinner, Brikhead called from Baton Rouge (on break from his pizza job) just to "tell you I love you, Mom" .... from an almost 19-year-old man, that did my heart proud!

We have so much to be thankful of with our families -- dh called his mom and we'd seen my mom on Saturday, we have wonderful kids who know how to "treat mama right" and we had beautiful weather ....

Prayers that your mom's day was as wonderful ....

Clothes and Littles

Here's how Bam-bam came down this morning :

I think we need to re-name this little man, Dapper Dan!

Books: A Recipe for Hospitality!

Yesterday, we invited 5 families (moms and their kids - a total of over 20 guests) to our house for a tea of gratitude for all their many gifts of friendship to us.

But what to serve? We pulled out Alice Cantrell's book, Tea and Cake with the Saints, sat down on Sunday and planned the whole menu (after reading about the importance of hospitality, making your home beautiful and being good hosts -- all covered very nicely in Alice's book).
We chose and made many recipes from the book for a variety of taste sensations. From Alice's book we made:

1. Cheddar Muffins
2. Sparkling Berry Punch
3. Cucumber Sandwiches
4. Flavored Cream Cheese (raspberry and herbed)

We also made a few other favorites from our recipe-books -- fresh artisan bread, cranberry soda bread, chocolate brownies, butterscotch/coconut brownies, sweet and unsweet iced teas (after all, it was in the 70s here yesterday!) -- as well as the ubiquitous chips and carrots and celery.

The food and drinks were all well-liked, if empty plates and empty pitchers were any indication [;)] !

The boys and Maggie really took the hospitality aspect of hosting a party to heart -- they pitched in to make the house look nice, to ensure the food was out and appetizing, and to ensure that all the little guests had a great time while the moms chatted!

If you haven't gotten Alice's book yet, please look into it as it really is a great one for helping the kids (BOYS and girls) understand the importance of making a house a home! The book is spiral bound for laying flat, well-written with wonderful overviews of why we do the things that make a home welcoming.

Good job, Alice!

Weekend: Fun-filled and exciting

This past weekend was one of those we'll remember for a long time ...

1. We've been doing a PGWodehouse/Jeeves & Wooster unit for the last month or so -- reading marvelous stories, watching fabulous Jeeves and Wooster videos. On Friday night -- yep, St. Athanasius' feast day -- we started watching "Wodehouse Playhouse" which are hilarious 30 minute shows done in the 70s by BBC actors John Alderton and Pauline Collins (who are married in real life) and introduced by a 95-year-old Wodehouse. You have got to see these shows!


2. We went to the Rockies game on Saturday night; it was the pitcher's debut and the poor guy didn't do too well and we had to go to the Bull-pen quite a bit that night -- as did the Dodgers, so the game seemed to go on forever (but then, we'd gotten there 2 hours early to watch batting practice).

We were able to see the beautiful home-runs hit by Holliday and Hawpe! Since it was Catholic Schools night, the good Archbishop Chaput threw out the first pitch -- and he looked pretty good! Even better, Kotch and her high school chorus group sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. I'm thinking this is the closest any of mine will come to actually doing something on a major league baseball field!

3. On Sunday, we were able to attend Confirmation Mass at our Parish with our most excellent Archbishop Chaput -- he gave a phenomenal sermon and did a great job with the 8th graders who received this sacrament. Our Church also placed a large "10 Commandments" memorial that the Archbishop blessed (after having chatted with the confirmandi for almost an hour).

4. We didn't stay for the reception after Mass but instead headed out for a picnic! Yep, we actually had weather yesterday that was sunny and in the 70s! We're hoping we don't see anymore snow ... but then, this is Denver and you just never know....

Hope your weekend was as nice as ours.

Poetry Friday -- a new love?

Today, for the first time since I ever started homeschooling with a CM-feel, we did a "poetry Friday" day. Many of my fellow home-educators do these weekly -- we finally did yesterday. I found some fabulous books to help us:

• Corbett, Pie – Start Writing Poetry: Stuff and Nonsense – Ideas and tips for creating all kinds of poems. Smart Apple Media (North Mankato, MN) 2006. This is a wonderful book that helps kids play with poetry and practice writing their own. The author has included shape poems, descriptive poems, alliteration poems, rhyming pairs poems, chants and action rhymes, magic poems, riddle-writing poems, nonsense poems, counting rhyme poems, making up words poems, and performance poems. Corbett gives an original poem (or more) to illustrate the poem type and then suggestions for how to write your own. We had fun with this one!
• Driscoll, Michael (illustrated by Meredith Hamilton) – A Child’s Introduction to Poetry: Listen while you learn about the magic words that have moved mountains, won battles and made us laugh and cry. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers (New York) 2003. I love these kind of books – not only does it help kids learn about all the different kinds of poems (with a “Professor Driscoll” who helps explain things along the way) but it includes a cd of poems read by actors that’s really fun to play either with the book or even in the van!
• Kennedy, Caroline – A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children. Hyperion Books for Children (New York) 2005. This a wonderful poetry collection for reading to the kids. There are some fantastic classics in here and ones I’d never seen. She has also included some from scripture which makes it a really nice collection.
• Prelutsky, Jack – Read a Rhyme Write a Rhyme. Alfred A. Knopf (New York) 2005. Prelutsky chose many fun poems for children, sorting them by theme or style. Then, and this is the really fun part, he included some “poemstarts” so children (and adults) can have fun writing their own poems.

The kids had some much fun going through these silly, clever, classic poems that they wanted to write their own.

Lego Maniac (9) wrote two riddles:

A Riddle for You:
I am as round as the sun or the moon
But you think I have five corners.
But you are wrong, I shine at night.
And help to keep the black sky bright. What am I?

Another Riddle for You:
JRR Tolkein made me
I corrupt and devour souls
I was melted in Mount Doom
I’m as round as your rolls. What am I?

(see answers below if you're stumped!)

String Bean (8) tried a riddle and then a surprise-ending descriptive poem:

What am I?

I look like a rainbow on the ground.
I can be up in a tree or down on the ground.
I can not walk, but a breeze makes me fly.
I drink water, but won’t spit in your eye!

My Dolls

Yesterday, I played with my dolls
And had the bestest time.
I played with the one with a pretty curl
I played with the one that I named Myrtle.
I played with the one with the pretty dress.
I played with the one that’s always a mess
I played with the one with lots of brown hair
I played with the one that fell down the stairs.
I played with the one that got stung by a bee
I played with the one that talked back to me!
I had to spank that one!

Pretty good eh?

We had so much fun with this. We're going to do poetry every Friday for the month of May and see how the kiddoes progress. Bam-Bam thought it was too hard, but when he heard the warm reception the others' poems got from older sister, Kotch, and dad, well now he wants to write some too!

One of the books I mention above, A Child’s Introduction to Poetry: Listen while you learn about the magic words that have moved mountains, won battles and made us laugh and cry, will be wonderful for building a whole poetry unit and delve deeper into this new found "love".

BTW, the answers to the riddles (in order above):

1. a star
2. the Ring
3. flowers

Feast: St. Athanasius

Yipppppeeee, it's the Feast Day of our Patron Saint (and it's a Friday, what could be better)! Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria. Due to his opposition to the Arian heresy, he spent much of his life in exile. He was a champion of belief in the Divinity of Christ and wrote extensively on Christ's dual-nature both from exile and in Alexandra. He was named a Doctor of the Church.

By the way, he's our patron because dh had to write a paper on one of his treatises for acceptance to the Austrian program which is what pushed us to embark on our home-learning adventure with our then 5th and 7th graders (who had been in parochial schools before we went).

Here's a quote from the great man:

The corruption of death no longer holds any power over mankind, thanks to the Word, who has come to dwell among us through his one
body.

– St. Athanasius

Now, off to figure out what we can have for dinner to celebrate!

St. Athanasius of Alexandria, please pray for us!

Denver: EUREKA!

I FINALLY have the answer for all those who want to know how we can leave beautiful, dry, sunny Denver:
These pictures were taken this morning -- that is, May 1st at 10:00 a.m.! Yep, that would be snow on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker: "May Day" has long been dedicated to labor and the working man. It falls on the first day of the month that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII expressed the hope that this feast would accentuate the dignity of labor and would bring a spiritual dimension to labor unions. It is eminently fitting that St. Joseph, a working man who became the foster-father of Christ and patron of the universal Church, should be honored on this day.!

St. Joseph, the Worker and Foster Father of Jesus, please pray for us --

particularly for a timely sale for a fair and honest price!