Month of Thanks Day 9: Thanks be to God for Flexibility in Homeschool Scheduling

One of the great benefits to schooling at home is the adaptability of our schedule to new choices ... exciting events ... or just plain letting life flow around us and sweep us up into the whirlwind. 

Today was just such an example:  Lego Maniac was able to spend the morning participating in a class, "Shakin' up Shakespeare", led by a some folks who are in the Richmond (VA) Shakespeare Company.  Not only did he learn about Shakespeare's plays (by acting out, miming and interpreting the Bard's works), he also came home an enthusiastic witness to this classical author!  How many kids in 6th grade have learned to LOVE Shakespeare ... he loved it ... and now String Bean (5th grade) and BamBam (2nd grade) WANT to learn more about these plays ... so we'll tweak the schedule a bit and dive into Shakespeare!

Love, love, love the homeschooling gig!  Thank you, God, for the ability to homeschool my little cherubs and turn them onto loving, living and learning ....

 

Where should we go today? Parish Pilgrimage June 2010

Well, Tuesday actually.

Our new pastor (we got him in January) likes to make small local pilgrimages as a way to get to know his "flock". We were fortunate to be able to participate in his first for our Parish ... a drive to Maryland and the site of the very first Carmel in the new world at Port Tobacco, Maryland.

Boy, was it hot! 

Poor LegoManiac was wearing slacks so he could serve Mass.

Our Lady of Consolation -- painted by one of the Carmelites -- in the "new" (built in the 1937) chapel.  You can see the gate that separates the cloistered sisters from the public.  For a short time (when the sisters were forced to move to Baltimore -- from 1830 to 1852), the sisters were asked to leave the cloister and help teach in the new United States.  In 1852, they were allowed to go back into the cloister and do what Carmelites do ... pray and meditate for all of us.

The original house (built when the original four sisters -- three were native Marylanders -- came in 1750).  This Carmel convent spawned all the other Carmels throughout the United States, sending cloistered nuns throughout the country in the past 260 years of their existence!

After saying the rosary in the chapel and taking the group picture, above, we headed to Chapel Point and the Jesuit church, St. Ignatius.

"The oldest continuously active parish in the United States, founded 1641 by Father Andrew White, SJ"

And boy do they now how to pick a spot!  This is from the side of the church, looking out onto the cemetery with Port Tobacco River and the Potomac (and the Virginia side) in the distance.  The cemetery is filled with gravestones dating from after the Civil War ... seems the Union soldiers camped here never had to fight a battle so spent their time taking potshots at the gravestones in this cemetery -- there are NO stones left from the pre-Civil War era.

In side the church, this is the main altar, where our pastor celebrated Mass.  At the end of Mass, we were able to venerate a relic of the true Cross brought from England when Fr. Andrew White came to establish this Jesuit mission -- VERY COOL!

After Mass, we had a picnic lunch in the cool, air-conditioned Church Hall.  After eating Father and another priest from our parish, serendaded us with guitar/harmonica music and gospel songs ...

A wonderful day and a new-found place to explore (it's only about 1-1/2 hour from here) when visitors come calling ... 

Field Trip: Williamsburg June 2010!

One of the nice things about educating our kids in the heart of our home is that we can take advantage of off-times for field trips and other activities.  Often there is a community group that will set-up "homeschool days" at some of the choicer sites.  One such group ... REACH of Virginia ... specializes in organizing fantastic field trips and awesome activities for homeschooled kids in our area. 

Case in point:  We just got back from 2 days in Williamsburg, thanks to REACH.  A mini-homeschool expo at the Great Wolf Lodge was the "excuse" for spending an overnight -- the amazing waterpark at the Lodge had nothing to do with our enthusiasm, of course! 

The expo was small, but we were able to actually talk face-to-face with vendors about area attractions and potential field trips, finding out about special programs and activities geared to maximize our ability to come during "off season".  Later Monday afternoon, we spent 4+ hours of swimming, sliding, floating and generally having a wonderful time in water.  Tuesday we got even more exercise walking around the entire Colonial area of Williamsburg and shopping at the Yankee Candle Factory (where it snows every 4 minutes). 

Since Williamsburg is just two hours from home ... seems like we'll be heading down to that area alot, especially now that we have a handle on what's available for homeschoolers at the Virginia Living History Museum, Yorktown-Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and other area hotspots!

Gotta love homeschooling!

Field Trip: James Madison's Montpelier

Today is James Madison's 259th birthday.  We know that because they celebrate at his home (and later retirement spot) with a special wreath-laying ceremony by representatives of the US Marine Corps (who knew that the USMC considers Madison their "father") at his grave and allow free admission to his home and gardens.  Which is great for us as it would cost $40 for the kids and I to go see this wonderful spot of American History!

Not only was James Madison our 4th president, he was the one who wrote the United States Constitution.  But he didn't just slap words on paper -- Mr. Madison spent the year before the conference, studying other past republics and non-monarchies to figure out WHY they failed and thus prevent our "great experiment" from failing .... and some two hundred twenty-three years later, we're still going strong!

It was a glorious Spring day down in Orange County, VA ... a strong breeze was slowly blowing the clouds away and you could see the Blue Ridge from the front porch of Montpelier ...

The original house (where the Madisons moved to when James was 13 or so) was smaller than what you'll see today.  Here, you can see the extensions that James Madison put onto Montpelier while he was President -- he and Dolley MUCH preferred entertaining down here than up in stuffy Washington at the new White House -- their guests concurred and there were always anywhere from 25-200 people "visiting".

The kids had a blast getting to know the Madisons ....

exploring the grounds ... including "Mr. Madison's Temple" -- 30 feet below this structure was the Madison "refrigerator" where ice from the nearby river kept food cold all summer long ...

we were also able to see the Archaeology Lab, where the kids could look at artifacts already tagged, bits and pieces still being identified and even practice at a "real" dig.  VERY cool!

We were sorry to end our tour ... although the kids were pretty hungry by then so willingly allowed mom one last look at the Kitchens before heading for lunch!

BTW, James Madison's mother, always called "Mother Madison" or "the old lady" .... always had by her side: her Bible, her prayer book, and her KNITTING!  (On top of that, she had 12 kids and homeschooled them all through what we would call middle school, if not beyond.)  I need to find out more about this woman!

On our way home (Montpelier is only 30 minutes from home ... pretty darn cool!), we stopped at our public library to drop off/pick up books and guess what -- I won a coffee/tea lovers basket for an adult reading program .... the end to a perfect outing!

Where should we go today?

Christopher Columbus discovers the New World!

Dh was off ... so we were too!  What to do on a cloudy, cold (never getting much above 50 today) kind of day?

How's about a hayride and pumpkin hunting with a bunch of homeschoolers at a fellow homeschooler's family farm?  Sounds good to us ...

And, before (starting around 7:00 a.m.) and during (on the ride to and from, really helps to have dh home!) and after, I worked on my talk for 7th graders tomorrow on my fave topic: knitting.  Here's the project I made for them to try:

Easy Knitted Backpack

(shown in Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes Bulky --

I still want to felt it and then post the pattern here, but I won't have time before the class tomorrow.)

How was YOUR Columbus Day?

Where should we go today?

The Beffi Triptych (early 15th century)

Well ... the PLAN was to go to the Diocesan Pilgrimage up at the National Shrine -- in honor of Our Lady Cause of Our Joy, getting there in plenty of time at attend Mass with our good Bishop Loverde.  We love going to the Shrine and Mass with the Bishop is always a delight.

However ... we didn't count on Saturday traffic on I95 -- it took over two hours for us to get into D.C. which would make us miss at least half of Mass!  Bummer. 

But, famous for making lemonade out of lemons, my dh suggested we make our own pilgrimage to the National Gallery of Art ... visiting the amazing (and quite varied) Marian art from the 14th to the 18th century.  We're talking Fra Lippi, Della Robbia ... gorgeous stuff.  We prayed the Rosary in the van, coming and going, and prayed especially for the intentions of Bishop Loverde.

In addition, there is a traveling exhibit, here until November 1st, that the boys have been wanting to see:  The Art of Power.  This exhibit has armor from 1500-1675 from Imperial Spain.  But more than just armor, the exhibit includes tapestries and paintings that link the real armor to other pieces of art.  It's hard to imagine the glorious art and craftsmanship in the armor, the skill of the metal-craftsman that could make the armor look like cloth!  Wow!

We were also able to get inches away from the Beffi Triptych on loan from Italy to the United States as a thank you for our helping when they had the horrible earthquakes in the Abruzzo region in April 2009. 

A quick trip to the Cascade Cafe in the basement (between the East and West Buildings) and our absolute FAVORITE lunch spot on the Mall ... and we were home in time to catch most of the Alabama/Ole Miss game ... and prep for the BIG game tonight Florida at LSU!

Life is good!