Feast Day: JP2's anniversary

Today is the fourth anniversary of Pope John Paul the Great's death ... four years ago today I was pregnant with my 6th child (and miscarried on the day Pope Benedict was elected). I can still remember listening and crying as I heard the stories about the Pope dying as he's always been such a large part of my life. It was Fall of my Senior year of high school when he was elected ... we are of Polish descent and this was a BIG deal to have a Polish pope!

I can remember in 1981, walking back from lunch in college and hearing the report that the Pope was shot ... we cried and headed to the campus chapel.

I can remember in 2000, going to Rome for the first time and seeing St. Peter's. LegoManiac was just over a year and String Bean was in the stroller -- you should have seen us going thru security! Oy vey! But then being right there when the Popemobile came thru and JP2 was steps away from us ... the long wait in the hot sun was well worth it!

I can remember in 2003, months before we left Austria with dh and his masters, we got to go see the Pope and a surprise "private audience" with all but Brikhead getting a personal blessing. Our own Bam-Bam, all of 4 months old, got a blessing that I'll never forget -- thank goodness for professional photographers taking pictures as there's no way I was calm enough to take pictures!

And I remember the Saturday afternoon when we heard the Pope died.....

Today, we celebrate that JPtheGreat is most probably up in Heaven helping us out and playing soccer with my dad. We had a Polish day: books, movies and food. Tonight, I made Pierogi for the first time ever (recipe below) and Babka (Polish Easter Cake) ... both were well-received by the family and the Babka will definitely become a staple for celebrating JP2 as his anniversary will always occur during Lent or Easter!

Here are the resources we used for our JP2 Day:
Books –
For the Children: Words of Love and Inspiration from His Holiness Pope John Paul II – great book for copywork quotes that JP2 spoke or wrote specifically to children throughout his pontificate. Great photos of the Pope with children from all over the world.

Karol from Poland: The Life of Pope John Paul II for Children (M. Leonora Wilson, FSP) – written just at the change of the millennium, this book walks children through the Pope’s life from birth up to his 22nd year as Holy Father. The illustrations are a bit simpy, but the text is readable and quite good.

Life Commemorative: Pope John Paul II – a wonderful “photo album” to the Pontiff’s life from birth to death. Wonderful to see formal and informal pictures of the man who led the Catholic Church out of some pretty tough times.

Pope John Paul II (Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv) – a small picture book that leads the reader gently through the Pope’s amazing life right up until his death in 2005. The emphasis in this short book is the love JP held for all children, as well as his devotion to serving God.

Pope John Paul II: Comic Book – although this is labeled a comic book, the details and information covered in this book are wonderful! The books covers his life from Wadowice to Krakow and on to Rome. The original has been revised to include his death in 2005.

Videos –
The Jeweller’s Shop – a video dramatization of JP2’s play that seems to be semi-autobiographical as a young priest helps his young friends through engagement to marriage and through marital problems to fully experiencing the sacramental bond of a true marriage. Wonderful cast including Ben Cross and Olivia Hussey.

Pope John Paul II – a movie about the Pontiff’s amazing life. This is my kids’ favorite movie (and we have to limit viewing to only once or twice a year!). Cary Elwes (Wesley from Princess Bride ) plays a wonderful younger Karol while Jon Voight does a phenomenal job as the aging and Parkinson-ridden pope. Ben Gazzara, Christopher Lee and James Cromwell (Hoggett in Babe) round out the cast in this wonderful movie.

Witness to Hope – a movie summarizing George Weigel’s ground-breaking work about the Holy Father and his life. Excellent summary, especially if you don’t have time to read the rather heavy tome.

We also did some Math real living books -- after all, JP2 was a very learned man (so much so that Polish jokes even ceased once he gave his first audience!) -- and had a lot of fun reading Cindy Neuschwander's Sir Cumference books:
Neuschwander, Cindy – Sir Cumference and the First Round Table: A Math Adventure – tells the tale of how to create other regular shapes from a rectangle as well as a description of diameter, radius and circumference.
Neuschwander, Cindy – Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: A Math Adventure – tells the tale of Pi and proves the measurement is always 3.14159…...
Neuschwander, Cindy – Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland: A Math Adventure – tells the tale of how to measure angles and describes acute, right, obtuse and straight angles.
Neuschwander, Cindy – Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone: A Math Adventure – tells the tale of how to create other regular shapes from a rectangle as well as a description of diameter, radius and Euler’s Law that says that any straight-sided, solid shape that, if the numbers of faces on a solid is added to the number of points (or vertices), then subtracted from the number of its edges, the answer will ALWAYS be two – works for every polyhedron.
Neuschwander, Cindy – Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter: A Math Adventure – tells the tale of Per and her cousin Radius and their discovery that an area of a circle equals half the circumference times the radius (also, area = pi x radius-squared).

What a great day!
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Recipes:

Pierogis
Dough:
3 cups flour
2 egg yolks
1 tbs oil
1 cup water
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and begin to knead/mix it together. When you've gotten it all to stick together in a ball you can remove it from the bowl and begin to knead it on a clean surface. It may still seem to stick to your hands and the counter but don't worry. After ten minutes or so of kneading it the dough should be smooth and only a little tacky. Put it back in the bowl and cover with a damp (not wet) towel until your ready to use the dough.

Cut your dough in half. Place half back in the bowl and recover. Roll pieces into flat circles (altho there is no great art to this!). Fill with a filling (see below for the potato mix) -- about a tbls or so -- and then fold them over and pinch them together. Make sure that they are completely sealed all the way around. Boil these in a pot of water with a little oil added to it. I recommend only boiling about five or six at a time so they don't end up sticking together. It will only take about 5min before they float to the top. Remove them from the water and place on a baking rack to cool and dry. You can go ahead and eat them at this stage. Or you can fry them
in a pan with butter or even bake them at 325 for about 30 minutes or till "toasted".

Filling: Potato and Cheese
4-5 potatoes
1 onion
1 8 oz package of “cream cheese”
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 pound of bacon
Peel cut and boil your potatoes until done and drain. In a separate frying pan fry bacon till crispy. Drain bacon slices, reserving grease to fry onions. Add your onions and bacon fat to the potatoes and begin to mash them. Slowly add the cream-cheese, cheddar to the mixture. Add bacon pieces (broken to small pieces) and then set aside to cool. Place a tbls or so in each Pierogi. If extra potatoes, add a bit of milk and maybe a bit more butter and whip together -- serve mashed potatoes with the pierogi or save for another day.

BABKA (Polish Easter Cake – babka = grandmother)

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbls baking powder
1 tbls grated orange peel
1 tbls cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (1 cup)
1-3/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tbsl finely ground bread crumbs (for dusting pan)

Glaze: 1/8 cup warm orange juice + 1 cup powdered sugar

Combine flour, baking powder, orange peel, cornstarch and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Gradually add flour mixture, vanilla, 1/4 cup of oj. Mix thoroughly. Stir in raisins.

Lightly grease a 10-inch bundt pan and dust with bread crumbs. Pour in batter. Bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan and than place on a rack. Make glaze by combining ingredients. Poke holes in top of slightly cooled cake and spoon glaze over top. Cool completely on a wire rack.

From: Kathy Cutler’s Holiday Dessert Book

Remember the words of John Paul the GREAT: BE NOT AFRAID!

GREAT Read-aloud: Patricia Maclachlan's series

We are soooo enjoying our current read-aloud series: Patricia MacLachlan's Sarah, Plain and Tall. Ms. Maclachlan wrote five books for this series about rural life on the Plains at the end of the 19th Century.

1. Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of mail-order bride Sarah's trip from Maine to Kansas to marry widower Jacob and help raise his two children, Anna and Caleb. Narrated by Anna, this is a wonderful story of love and family.


2. Skylark tells the story of drought-ridden Kansas and Sarah's trip back to Maine with Anna and Caleb to meet the "aunts". Narrated by Anna, this is a wonderful story of loyalty and staying together through any calamity.


3. Caleb's Story tells the story the expansion of the Witting family with the arrival of a long-lost relative. Told through the eyes of Caleb, this is the longest of the books and has the most depth (I think, anyway!).


4. More Perfect than the Moon tells the story of a new arrival, "more perfect than the moon" and Cassie's fear of the whole event! Told through the eyes of eight-year-old Cassie, this is a wonderful story about fear (from a child's viewpoint) of adding a baby to a family that is perfectly happy without the "terrible baby".


5. Grandfather's Dance tells the story of family reunions and life and death as the Wittings celebrate Anna's wedding and Grandfather's dying. Again, told through Cassie's eyes, this is a beautiful story of life going on, of the importance of family and of the naturalness of death.

These are great stories ... not overly long ... but with a depth and an emotional level that make them classics. We also love the Glenn Close/Christopher Walken movies of the first three books; they are very close to the original and keep the same actors/actresses throughout the years (suitably aged of course).

These books would also make great first chapter books, at least my kids think so!

Unit Study: Mesopotamia

We've been doing ancient civilizations for our history segment. We finished up Ancient Egypt (and thoroughly enjoyed that one!) and have since moved on to Mesopotamia -- a Greek word which means "land between rivers". Mesopotamia is a fascinating land which included the Babylonians, Assyrians and other cultures (with lots of Biblical threads running back and forth).

Here are the resources we've used so far:

• Gilgamesh the King
• The Revenge of Ishtar
• The Last Quest of Gilgamesh

These three books are the Gilgamesh epic retold and illustrated by Ludmila Zeman. They are fabulous retellings of this oldest epic ever told. Gilgamesh is half-god, half-man but learns to love humans through his friends, Enkidu and Shamat. Ishtar, a goddess who loves (but is thwarted by) Gilgamesh is the villain in these stories. The illustrations in this series are wonderful – funny, detailed and historically accurate. Great reading!

Eyewitness Books: Mesopotamia by Philip Steele this wonderful DK book includes a CD-rom of various images (including unlabeled maps) from the book. This is a great overview book and the CD was lots of fun to investigate! A wall-chart gives a quickie overview of the highlights of Mesopotamian history.

Ancient Mesopotamia (vhs) – led by “Arizona Smith”, the viewer is taken on a tour of Mesopotamia. This is a great video not only about the ancient culture, history and tales of Mesopotamian societies, but is also a great introduction to archaeology.

Hercule Poirot: Murder in Mesopotamia (dvd) – we are big Agatha Christie fans around here and I couldn’t resist adding this to our unit. Christie herself was a hobbyist-archaeologist (accompanying her husband on digs) and so the information contained in this story is very well done.

Books: Ancient Egypt

In the midst of everything else, we've been squeaking in a unit on Ancient Egypt -- the culture, history, mythology, etc of this longest-lived empire (some 3000 years!). Here are some of the resources we've used so far ...

VIDEOS/DVDs:
Ancient Civilizations for Children: Ancient Egypt (from Schlessinger Media) – part of a series with “Arizona Smith” and his investigators in training; covers all aspects of this ancient culture.

Ancient Egyptian and Greek Art – Treasures of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Tombs and Temples, Greek Art and Architecture. This dvd can be borrowed free from the NGA, number DV333.

Egypt: Beyond the Pyramids (from The History Channel) – volume 1 is about the temples of the ancients (how, why and where), volume 2 is about the Great Pharaoh Rameses II and his lost children (and their possible final resting place), volume 3 discusses the daily life of the ancients and volume 4 gives a wonderful overview of death and the journey to immortality from the earliest to the mummification process up to 5 B.C.

The Fall of Great Empires: The Egyptian Empire (from Schlessinger Media) – excellent video about the 3000+ years of the Egyptian empire and how/why it collapsed to Rome.

Hands-on Crafts for Kids: Ancient Egypt: 3000 bc – 300 bc (from Chip Taylor Communications) – thirty-minute show describing six different crafts that kids can make to help with their understanding of Ancient Egypt.

Mysteries of Egypt (from Kultur Videos) – WONDERFUL overview of many of the mysteries from ancient Egypt. Caution, there is a long (about 5 minutes) belly-dancing sequence (why????); otherwise, this video is a great overview!

Pyramid (from PBS Home Video) – narrated by author David Macaulay, this is a great live action video that shows today’s views of Egypt and current understanding of how pyramids are built (led by David Macaulay) while the animated portions bring to life Macaulay’s book, Pyramid.

Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh’s Obelisk (from NOVA) – reconstruction of how the Ancient Egyptians were able to move the 400+ton- one-hundred-feet high obelisks into place.

Tutankhamun (from Diamond Entertainment) – a wonderful 30 minute video showing many of the treasures unearthed by Carter. The narrator does a wonderful job of explaining what and why these things were placed in the young pharaoh’s tomb.

BOOKS:

You Wouldn’t Want to be an Egyptian Mummy: Disgusting Things You’d Rather Not Know By David Stewart – wonderfully fun for kids (especially boys) to explain how and why the Egyptians embalmed their dead. Really great information (if a bit gross) for all ages.

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Pyramid Builder: A Hazardous Job You’d Rather Not Have by Jacqueline Morley – great information about everyday life in Ancient Egypt and the work that went into building pyramids (as well as everyday living in this ancient, agrarian culture).

Egyptology by Emily Sands – a “journal” of archaeologist Emily Sands with lots of cool things for the kids to look at, touch and read. This is one of those scrapbook-style books that pack a lot of information into a small space.

The Egyptology Handbook by Emily Sands – is a sequel or companion to Egyptology. This one is written for Ms. Sands’ niece and nephew and is 30 lessons exploring the history and culture of Ancient Egypt. This would make a great "spine" for the overal unit study.

The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs by Tamara Bower – is based on a real sotry deciped from an early hieroglyph. This picture book incorporates hieroglyphs and Egyptian symbols to really make the story come alive. This is a wonderful introduction to hieroglyphics with lots of interesting information woven throughout the story. The notes at the end are a wealth of information also.