Teaching from a State of Rest

Last night the Moms Night Out at Rosa's elevated to a Skype level! We "met" Sarah MacKensie of Amongst Lovely Things. 

Rosa's living room was so perfect. We all sat on the couch while Sarah zoomed in from Washington State via the amazing technology, Skype. I loved the moment we saw her when my suspicions were confirmed - she was as lovely and smiley as her online writing and photos exude. 

We all instantly began piping questions to this new expert in all things Rest. 

We heard her share that she humbly wrote this ebook as a way to help herself find a way to avoid typical homeschool mom anxiety and teach from a state of Rest. She describes that we simply imitate Him, look at our kids as His image and not check boxes to check. 

1. Rest - Schole 

I love how she said you shouldn't be writing this book. I think it's so brave to write a book that inspires the author even before the author might be an expert; the Holy Spirit is working through her! How did writing the book teach her more about your own family and her desire for rest?  It helped her to slow down, schedule less, and multitask less (as hard as that might seem as I'm sure you are already interrupted in reading this to fill a sippy cup or change a diaper.). She describes these "interruptions" as Our Lord's plan for our day. We are his instruments. We were made for this. 

Her book is going to be published in print this fall! Great news!

2. Mary, Martha and Me

I love this - Don't just do something, sit there. I don't know if this is hard for anyone else but it isn't easy for me to see another mom scurrying about preparing for an event while I sit there at Christ's feet and pray. I have a hard time not wanting to remove her burden even to my and my family's detriment. How do you make this a reality?  Sarah says she tries to remember her season of life is one with small children. 

3. You were made for this

I love that title. I remind myself often. I struggled for the first few years of my conversion - and still do - about what I was made for. I appreciate hearing the reminder!  Do you ever struggle with the time you take for your blog and your writing v your family v your husband?  (I wanted to ask her that question but I didn't get a chance!)

4. Andrew Kern from Circ - rest: "enter into God's rest and serve him wholeheartedly - not out of anxiety - but out of love and trust." I was such an anxious mother from the start. It ebbs and flows when I'm post-partum or very pregnant. Sarah described avoiding the homeschool comparisons and joked that her kids get nervous when she is about to meet with people from Classical Press as that means more books for them!

5. Why your daily grind is holy ground

- look at a pile of dishes and see the makings of a cathedral - my favorite, for sure. 

My good Froend H says that the nightly dishes are here nightly examination of conscience. 

How did you do the chores and homeschool before your older kids could help with chores? I love her chore chart / it's so pretty and it's so well done. Just reading it makes me feel more orderly. 

6. The daily tasks of a monotonous Monday are holy because they are where we meet our maker. 

Read the book to get the rest. It's awesome. 

Lisa

Roman Catholic Center for Mental Health and Spiritual Direction

Last night, we attended a dinner for the Roman Catholic Center for Mental Health and Spiritual Direction. 
www.rccmhsd.com

Father Audette from The Basilica of St. John's in Stamford founded this incredible organization.

The mission is to provide psychiatric care and mental health services and emotional well being to individuals and families unable to afford these services. The Center also provides spiritual direction to those seeking a closer relationship with God. The  professional staff is trained to offer the highest quality psychiatric care that is culturally sensitive.

 

The vision is to detect early traits in children and young adults that would lead to violence and isolation, that would lead them to perpetrate the most evil of crimes such as in the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut. Collaterally, to teach the families of this children and/or young adults to property care and nurture them.

 

The organization consists of practicing developmental psychiatrists, developmental psychologists and psychotherapist.  The purpose is to provide mental health psychotherapeutic services, as well as to evaluate guidance and strategy for those seeking to maximize their personal mental health.

 

I wanted to share with you about this venture in case you get invited to a future dinner or event or if you or your husband or family might benefit from using Father Audette's spiritual direction or mental health services or life coaching.  He has an incredible story, from a career as a fighter pilot, marrying the mother of his four children and having a very long and happy marriage, working for the CIA, losing his beautiful wife to cancer, then becoming a priest, then a Catholic psychologist.  What wonderful things he is doing for couples, individuals, and physically, spiritually, or mentally ill patients who can not afford care.

 

Please keep this organization in your prayers.

 

Thank you,

Lisa Kotasek

The Odyssey

As we head into our studies of Ancient Greece I have been pulling out some of our favorite books and looking for more, and I thought I'd share a few links.  Schola Rosa recommends D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, which is excellent.  Mary Pope Osborne also has a nice collection called Favorite Greek Myths, and wrote a fun two-book version of the Odyssey, called Tales from the Odyssey, which is a good for younger readers.  Rosemary Sutcliff's versions of the Iliad and Odyssey are a little more challenging and also very well done.

Schola Rosa bases many of the 4-6th grade writing assignments over the next couple of months on Andrew Lang's Tales of Greece and Troy.   I took advantage of the free kindle version. Miss A says she is having a hard time keeping track of the story, which I think is mostly because of all the long Greek names.  (For context, she read the first of the Pope Osborne series in an afternoon.)  I thought the recorded version might be helpful with the names, but Grandma Rolling seems to be having as much trouble as we are!  If you are looking for a more polished version, it is available on Audible.


We have also enjoyed the very engaging and dramatic Barefoot Books recorded version of the Adventures of Odysseus.

If you really want to experience the Odyssey, you can catch a live performance this Saturday at Westchester Community College.

What resources do you love for studying Ancient Greece?

Have Yourself a Musical Little Christmas

It’s that time of year. :) If you haven’t quite finished your Christmas shopping yet and would like to consider some musical instruments as gifts, I have a few recommendations for you. 

In general, you’ll find that instruments sold in a kit marketed towards young children are not going to hold up well, and, generally speaking, don’t make the beautiful musical sounds. Quality instruments made by makers such as Nino, Hohner, and Remo tend to make much better music and hold up better to use throughout the years. 

I’ve compiled a list of instruments that have held up well in our home for the past few years, as well as a couple recent discoveries. Next week, I’ll do another post with resources for learning about composers and music history. 

First Note Melody Harp

approx. $45

M received this for Christmas when he was almost 5. I would say it’s best for ages 4 and up. You’ll need a reference for keeping it in tune - a piano or even a smartphone with a tuning app. 

Woodstock Pipedream

approx. $50

Little Miss A received this last Christmas at 19 months old. It was an instant hit. Because it is based on the pentatonic scale it is not possible to play dissonant notes. They can, however, still play loudly :) This is an instrument we keep out at all times in our living room and is played by adults and kids alike as they pass. 

Remo Floor Tom

approx. $30

Remo makes great drums for kids. They sound just as nice played with a mallet as they do played with hands - a great, mellow sound. They make them in several sizes and price points. 

Nino Wood Frog Guiro

approx. $25

Who doesn’t want to play a wooden frog? Actually makes a ribbit sound! 

Nino Egg Shakers

approx. $8 for 4 eggs

We’ve had these for a number of years in our home. They’ve been great for pleasant music making….and held up to being chucked across the room :) 

LP Santana Chick-itas Shakers

approx. $4 for a pair

For the youngest musicians, these are basically shaky eggs with a handle. They come in several colors. We have red ones that are used in the preschool music class. 

Movement Scarves

approx. $20 (can get them for less at Oriental Trading)

These are similar to what we use in the preschool class. They also double as great ninja headbands :)  We do have some of these at home, but have actually gotten more use out of play silks I dyed with Kool-aid a while back. 

Hohner Wooden Calves

approx. $6 for pair

A simple, clear sounding instrument. 

Nino Caxixi

approx. $9 - many price points available

We actually don’t have one of these at home, but I just added a couple to our co-op collection recently. There are many styles and types available on Amazon. I think they’re a great sounding instrument that looks interesting and will fit in nicely in a home environment. 

Rhythm Band Handbells/Deskbells

approx. $50 for 8 bell set, approx. $135 for 20 bell set

This is a link to the 8 bell set. We’ve had a set of handbells for a few years, but they always make me so nervous that someone is going to get clocked in the head as the kids swing them. These are great because they can be used as either desk bells or handbells. Right now, all 3 kids, ages 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 are VERY interested in them, and I don’t see that interest fading soon. I actually ended up ordering the 20 note set because they were trying to play songs they knew and needed a wider range of notes to play the full melodies. You can also start with the 8 note set and add the expansion sets separately as the kids get older. 

Do you have any winning instruments around your house that you can share with us? 

Books and Resources

As autumn comes to a close, I thought I'd return to this space and share a few things that have been working around here.  Last week several moms gathered and shared ideas and suggestions for working with the curriculum and homeschooling in general.  It was such a fruitful evening, and I was reminded of my hope that this space might be a place to share those ideas, albeit without the wine and chocolate!

With labels by year (this is Year One of our 3-year cycle) and subject, the resources we share now can continue to bless moms who join us down the road.  The blog is not password-protected, but it is unsearchable. 

We have enjoyed some fun supplementary reading this fall in addition to The Heroes of Israel in the Schola Rosa suite. 

My kids really loved the Gilgamesh Trilogy by Ludmila Zeman as we studied the Ancient Sumerians.  The story is well written and the artwork is beautiful.  The borders of the pages show cuneiform design and characters.

As we studied Ancient Egypt the kids really enjoyed Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs.  It is a fun book, and although its busy, cartoon-strip style isn't my favorite to read aloud, the kids loved it.  It covers all of the Pharaohs mentioned in the timeline, as well as some basic Egyptian mythology.

We also read Casting the Gods Adrift by Geraldine McCaughrean, a short novel about a young boy working for Pharaoh Akhenaten.  It provides a very good picture of Egyptian life and beliefs, and uses the tension between the traditional Egyptian polytheism and Akhenaten's monotheism as the dramatic focus of the story. 

We are also reading A Child's History of the World by V. M. Hillyer.  We are a little behind the history memory-work, and I find that his concise, simply-worded summaries are a great way to remind us of what we have been studying.

We use the timeline figures from www.homeschoolinthewoods.com to create a wall timeline, and I have been using some of them with my 4th-5th grade class at co-op as well.  They can be printed in a variety of sizes, including a full-page coloring sheet.



My girls love completing the Latin Root word searches that Sandy shared with us last week.
 
I have always used Start Write software to create handwriting worksheets for my kids.  Since I didn't love the sheets provided by Schola Rosa, I have continued making my own, and I think this has really helped our poetry memorization.  Basically, on Sunday night I print out four copies for the week, and they copy the week's poetry memorization every day.

I also like the geography quizzes at www.lizardpoint.com.  They don't include everything on the CCMemory lists (deserts, for example!) but are a great quick and independent way for the kids to review countries and hydrography.

I supplement our math with the fact drills at www.xtramath.org, and on Ursula's recommendation just ordered the first book from the Life of Fred series.


So, what's been working for you?  I have already enlisted Sandy to do a post sharing all of her great music history and listening resources.  Share in the comments or send me an email and I can add you as an author to the blog.

Timeline Units 7 through 12

I uploaded a video of the timeline units 7-12 (all that we covered before Christmas) at youtube because it was too big to load here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIK_efQ8ZOo&feature=youtu.be

Timeline Unit 17

World War I

The Treaty of Versailles

The Russian Revolution

Our Lady of Fatima

The Great Depression

Pearl Harbor

World War II

Israel Becomes a State