Unit Study: Dickensian Christmas! and so we finish:

Well, since we are pretty much finished with Christmas break (we'll start back up on Wednesday ....), I thought I would post an update on our Dickensian unit:
1.  books read:  we read four of the five books in our collection ...

• A Christmas Carol; and watched a couple of different versions:  Alistair Sims as Scrooge (excellent as only he can be!), George C. Scott as Scrooge (pretty darn good althought Scott is a bit too healthy), Disney's animated take (with the voice of Jim Carrey and surprisingly good if a bit scary -- too spooky for little ones?).  The writing in this one is marvelous to read-aloud and the story is classic!  We thought the best film version (that is, closest to Dickens' words) would have to be, surprisingly, the Disney version!
• The Chimes; and watched a claymation version (only 28 minutes) that was fabulous!  Actually kept to the story and especially the message of the book.  This is a great story that is often overlooked in Dickens' collections -- well worth reading ... and reading aloud to the kids makes the story come alive for them.
• The Cricket on the Hearth ; we watched an animated version of this done in the 70s that only kept the title and a few characters' names but otherwise was NOTHING like the original story, which was GREAT!  This was a bit rough -- had to plow our way thru the first section ... than Dickens had us and we were hooked!
• The Battle of Life; maybe, since this was our fourth Dickens book and Christmas was waning, the kids (and I) didn't like this as much as the other three.  It's a good story, just a bit yawn-inducing ... obviously Dickens was getting paid by the quantity and not necessarily the quality of his writing on this one.

The kids balked at reading yet another meaningful Dickens novel, The Haunted Man, and since it was just after Christmas, I decided to wait on that one ... maybe spring it on them next year?  We also ate VERY British Christmas delicacies including roasted chesnuts, sherried fruit cake (which I loved but the kids could take or leave), and other delicacies.  We also read "Pickwick's Christmas" (chapter 28 of the Pickwick Papers)  and watched BBC's Pickwick Papers; this is a marvelous version of the book and we really came to love Pickwick and his cohorts.  And no Christmas would be complete without watching the Christmas show from BBC's All Creatures Great and Small (season 2, episode 14)... Sigfried decides to have a real old-fashioned Christmas with holly and mistletoe and all the trimmings and is able to slip in a prank on Tristan; classic!

We hope you enjoyed your Advent and Christmas units ... any suggestions for a theme for next year?
 

Post Christmas review ....

... just how did we do?

Dh:  relaxed and watched football (both college bowl and NFL) games ... enjoying the family and food (and even Max, who was his constant companion).  He also got a beautiful hand-knit cap from me for which he got lots of use since, altho we didn't get but a dusting of snow, it was COOOOOOLLLLLLDDDD (the winds were about 45mph coming off the Lake) around here.

While dh and Max watched football (and the kids came in and out), I relaxed by doing a 500-piece jigsaw all by myself.  Isn't this a lovely puzzle .... I rec'd it from a lovely friend!  It was so relaxing working away while the football games were playing in the background ... altho I kept getting confused on when it was a good thing or a bad thing since they kept switching from game to game!  I even put aside knitting to do the puzzle -- which took a few football-games' worth of time but is so very pretty.

The kids, too, had a wonderful Christmas ... all getting what they wanted and having lots of time to play and enjoy and share with each other.  [And only one calamity:  a toy BamBam rec'd from St. Nick was "kaput" an hour after he opened it ... it is being sent back today and dh took JP to get a "real one" after morning Mass!] We're also re-thinking the whole idea of giving a digital camera to LegoManiac -- granted St. Nick brought it but WE'RE the ones of whom he keeps taking less-than-attractive candids! But StringBean loves her dollhouse kits (she got two) so much she even cleaned off her desk in her room so she can start to work today on building the smaller of the two:  the Primrose and then move on to the Laurel!

We wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS SEASON .... which we'll celebrate till January 9, the Baptism of the Lord.  So .... off to party!

 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours ....

check out all my knitting designs at:  By Hand, With Heart ... hand-knit designs

Unit Study: Dickens and Weeks 2 and 3

Last week we read the second Christmas novel penned by Dickens:  The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New One In.  This is a beautiful ghost story, with echoes of his A Christmas Carol, with the themes of love and family and charity.  It's a particularly interesting read for those of us who don't see government programs for the poor as the solution -- Dickens would definitely be in our camp.  This is really a good read and the enjoyed it and understood the point!  Dickens' writing is so fun to read aloud.

We also learned more about the history of Christmas, with a particular emphasis on the Victorian/Dickensian celebrations.  We watched Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas , which is an interesting DVD that describes the history of Christmas since pre-Christian days through to today.  This video includes descriptions of the major influences on current practices (especially important for our study:  Prince Albert's bringing the tree from Germany, Christmas Cards in Britain and Dickens' influence on "traditional" celebrations.) Note: this is a very secular look with only a nodding reference to Christ!

Another resource we used was the book, The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standiford. I read the book for background information but then read-aloud the end of Chapter 14 and all of Chapter 15 which describes Dickens' influence on Victorian Christmas from food to decorations and activities.  The book quickly points out that Dickens was anti-organized religion so his books and writings don't include any reference to the theological side of Christmas but rather the spirit of the holidays -- charity and love for all.

The 28th chapter of Dickens' Pickwick Papers gives a wonderful description of the reveling of a wealthy folks over a Christmas weekend.  Pickwick and his friends jump right into the revelries with dancing and eating and drinking Christmas wishes at midnight!

This week we read the third Charles Dickens Christmas novel: The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home.  The Dickens version is NOT to be confused with "the original TV classic" done in 1967 and using the voices of Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas and Roddy McDowall.  The video (which we borrowed from the library and wasted an hour watching) is also called "Cricket on the Hearth" but has very little to do with the original story.  If you can, get the book!

One thing we've been doing while I read these books to the children is having them working on Christmas crafts:  individual nativity sets (started on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, with our baby Jesus figures blessed at Mass on the 3rd Sunday of Advent -- I'll post pictures of the finished sets), ornaments and Christmas gifts for family and friends.  The crafting element has been a wonderfully fulfilling time for the kids this year -- I think  they're just the right ages to really enjoy the hand-work and their items are beautiful.

Next week we'll be reading The Battle of Life: A Love Story and finish Dickens' Christmas novels during Christmas week by reading The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain: A Fancy for Christmas Time.

Enjoy your last week of Advent!  We sure are having a wonderfully creative and active Advent ...

 

Feast Day: Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This is a BIG feast around here: the feast when we honor the fact that the Blessed Mother was conceived without the stain of original sin ... was pure from her conception ... so filled with grace that God chose her to be the mother of His son!

This is such a big feast that even dh "parties" -- on his way to work he stopped to get a sausage biscuit and coffee at McD's.  For those of you who KNOW my husband, this is really kickin' back for him.

Unfortunately my littles are sick!  String Bean has been down with a horrific cold since Friday -- she's getting better but her voice sounds like a bad impression of Lauren Bacall.  BamBam is sneezling and generally icky while poor LegoManiac has been feeling the pangs of a horrific cold that has his stomach so upset that he's been in the bathroom off and on for about 2 hours now (it's 6:00 a.m.) and generally unable to sleep.  The poor kids ... we don't even know if we'll make it to Mass today, that's how pitiful all are.

But, as the kids awaken and feel like it they'll be joining me in a new tradition: on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we will each make our own Nativity sets as well as put up and decorate our family one.  My plan is that each year, as the children's skills improve, the Nativity sets become more and more elaborate -- something that will become an heirloom collection that they can take with them as they grow into adults. 

This year, String Bean and LegoManiac have opted to make theirs with felt, making sewn 3-d shapes and stuffing them.  BamBam wants to make his from wood -- painting a simple, thin-wood set.  I'm going to make a "bread dough" set.  We will at least finish the Baby Jesus figures today as our Pastor will bless Jesus at Sunday's Mass (which is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) -- so those kids better get better!  Although, somehow when we have a school day that includes crafting, miraculous cures take effect.

Prayers that your day is blessed with the intercessions of Our Lady and that you continue to experience a holy, healthy and happy Advent season.
 

Feast Day: St. Nicholas and a big step on our Advent journey to Christmas

We love St. Nicholas' Feast Day!  This is a big step on our Advent journey toward Christmas.  This is the day that the good Saint fills children's shoes and hearts with the love and spirit of giving of the Christmas Season!

Now, this is how we do things around here [and please understand that this is what works for us and altho I enjoy your suggestions, please don't "dis" my way of doing things]:

On St. Nick's Eve (that would be last night) the family each put out a shoe (the bigger the better the younger you are) and a note to St. Nick.  The note details what the wishes are for Christmas ... and the older ones do a bit of an examination of conscience since only the good Saint will see the letter.  This is a good chance for all of us to think about how we can empty ourselves of the bad and re-fill with the good before the coming of the Christ Child. 
The next morning (that would be today) the letters are gone and the shoes are filled with some gold-covered chocolate coins (in rememberance of St. Nick's helping of the dowerless girls), a candy cane (to represent the Bishop Nicholas' crook), and a book -- either a push-the-limits reading book, an activity book, or a religious book.  This year the good Saint included:

• Pope Benedict's Church Fathers: From Clement of Rose to Augustine (for dh)
• A Japanese knitting stitch-pattern book (for me) -- yes, Japanese ... but the patterns are graphically shown so it doesn't matter that I don't read a word of Japanese!
• the first in a new excellent "boy reading" series --
  Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione (for Lego Maniac) -- I am anxiously waiting for him to finish Sir Quinlan (which is the 5th book and that's how we stumbled on this wonderful Christian lit for boys) so I can read it!
• a wonderful paper doll "primer" for String Bean -- The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer:Activities and Amusements for the Curious Paper Artist is a brand new book that includes lots of activities, great ideas, and absolutely gorgeous paper dolls!  String Bean loves crafting with paper and still has a great affinity for dolls -- so this is perfect.  The text is also a reading stretch for my struggling reader so this is all good.
• the 2010 Guiness Book of World Records for BamBam who loves all that trivia and statistics and facts.  This will also help him with his reading skills!

St. Nicholas is WELL-LOVED around here.  He is also our Santa ... yes, we do still believe in Santa around here and would hope that all well-meaning adults and precocious children who think they know "the truth" would be sure and not tell our kids otherwise. 

See, we believe in the magic of the season ... that St. Nicholas is a model of goodness and charity and self-giving ... that St. Nicholas is the one who fulfilled the needs of the dowerless girls, the almost-lost-at-sea sailors, the nearly killed boys in the barrel ... and that he continues to bring goodness and charity at this time of year.  So yes, the family writes letters asking for Wiis or dolls or cameras or whatever ... and yes, on Christmas morning there will be surprises that engender comments like "no way, Mom and Dad got us that!"   This is all part of the Christmas Magic that I've always believed in ... and will continue to encourage in my own children. 

Now, obviously, as the kids get older, they "know" ... but they get into the spirit of the season and don't ruin it for their younger siblings.  And it truly is amazing to see the surprises that often end up under the tree ... or come during the season .... things that "no way we could afford" but would REALLY like ...

So, believe in the magic and celebrate St. Nicholas and his spirit with us from now thru the Christmas season!

BTW, we'll be making St. Nicholas Soup for dinner (thanks to Twelve Months of Monastery Soups), homemade crusty bread, and finishing off with St. Nicholas Purse Cookies and tea.  What more could you want on a blustery, early Winter evening?