And Now for Something Completely Different

Because today's portfolio review got cancelled (I sent in the portfolio, but don't have the meeting), our school year is DONE!

HT to Zorg for finding this gem...

3rd Grade Religious Ed: Pentecost Party

 The last class was on Pentecost, and we had a party!

I had set up these paper helicopters with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  You fold down the "wings" and toss it in the air and it comes fluttering down.

I made them in flame colors with enough for each kid to do several.  The gift is written in silver, and a simple explanation is written in pen.

• Wisdom: Seeing things as God sees them.
• Knowledge: Knowing your faith.
• Understanding: Knowing what to do.
• Counsel: Helping others to choose the right thing.
• Piety: Loving God.
• Fortitude: Courage to do what is right.
• Awe: Being amazed at what God is doing.

 I brought back the fishing game with each fish being something I wanted them to remember from  this year's class.

We did the saint matching game, and the "Find the Treasure" card games.

And, of course, we had to bring back the St. George and the Dragon air cannon game!

I think we also did the Resist the Temptation board game.

And we had snacks!  What a great year, and a great group of kids!

Poem of the Week: Knee Deep in June

Knee-Deep In June  

by James Whitcomb Riley

Tell you what I like the best --
'Long about knee-deep in June,
'Bout the time strawberries melts
On the vine, -- some afternoon
Like to jes' git out and rest,
And not work at nothin' else!

Orchard's where I'd ruther be --
Needn't fence it in fer me! --
Jes' the whole sky overhead,
And the whole airth underneath --
Sort o' so's a man kin breathe
Like he ort, and kind o' has
Elbow-room to keerlessly
Sprawl out len'thways on the grass
Where the shadders thick and soft
As the kivvers on the bed
Mother fixes in the loft
Allus, when they's company!

Jes' a-sort o' lazin there -
S'lazy, 'at you peek and peer
Through the wavin' leaves above,

Like a feller 'ats in love
And don't know it, ner don't keer!
Ever'thing you hear and see
Got some sort o' interest -
Maybe find a bluebird's nest
Tucked up there conveenently
Fer the boy 'at's ap' to be
Up some other apple tree!
Watch the swallers skootin' past
Bout as peert as you could ast;
Er the Bob-white raise and whiz
Where some other's whistle is.

HT, and the rest of the poem at Poem Hunter

Masters of Disasters: Rocks, Crystals, and Fossils

 We started with the rock cycle.  This is easy to demonstrate with odds and ends of crayons.  You can crunch up the crayons (in a bag!) with a hammer, which simulates weathering and erosion.

You can pinch the bits of crayon together to form a crumbly sedimentary rock.

You can hammer the bits together (in foil) to form a stronger metamorphic rock.

And you can melt them (in foil, over a candle) to form an igneous rock.

 We spent some time looking at these kinds of rock from our rock collection.  Pretty fascinating, especially the crystals!

We did a several crystal growing experiments.

We did slow growing rock candy (sugar crystals) which I had shown them but not explained last week.

 Medium fast silicon crystals (from a "crystal garden" kit).  These formed over the course of the class.

Super fast, heat generating sodium acetate crystals in reusable hand warmers.

Seeing the three kinds showed how the speed of formation affects crystal size: slow crystals grow very large, fast crystals are tiny!

Then we looked at fossils.


At this point, we own a lot of fossils that we have found, been given, or bought!

To show the fossilization process, I had cut two "bones" out of spponges.  One I let dry, the other I soaked in brine, then let dry.  The dry sponge was still flexible, but the brined sponge was hard and filled with salt crystals, much like the soil minerals fill the microscopic spaces in bones and shells.

I pointed out the difference between direct fossils (like the whale vertebrae, petrified wood,and shark teeth), and impressions and casts, (like the shells and crinoids you can see in the light rock on the right and the dark rock on the left).

I allowed the kids to make casts of their favorite fossil by making an impression with sculpey (polymer clay) and then filling the impression with plaster.

It was a nice "last class" thing to let them take home their favorite fossil!

 Lastly, my favorite fossil experience has to be set up a few days before, but it is well worth it!

I collect bones from chickens, ribs, hams, and roasts.  I actuallyput them through the dishwasher to clean them up, then let them air dry.  I suppose you could also bleach them (something I do when I add wild found bones to our museum).

I mix up a big batch of plaster of paris, and hide the bones in bundles of plaster - about three bones per bundle.  I try to give each one a variety of bones, but the kids will love it even if all you have are drumstick bones!

After a few days, the plaster is dry and hard, and I let the kids chip out the bones with hammers.

Older kids like to use hammers with screwdrivers and paintbrushes to get the whole paleontologist experience!

3rd Grade Religious Ed: Confession and the Mass

 This covers two classes for which I have lost my notes!

The first was the first Sunday of May, so we had a May crowning and sang Immaculate Mary.  Ever since we looked up the Mass in Japanese (when Mxyl was going to Japan) and discovered Japanese Catholics singing Immaculate Mary, I have felt this is the song every Catholic should know!

We also said a decade of the Rosary with the kids putting a flower in for each prayer.  I love that idea of the Rosary as making a bouquet for Mary!


In the last class we had discussed sins, temptations, accidents and mistakes, so this week we  went into Confession.  I found a lovely craft about the treasures of Confession from Catholic Icing which I modified to make faster and easier.

I brought a bunch of little treasure chests ($1.50 each),  jewel stickers, markers, and a print out of the list of "treasures" from Catholic Icing, cut into strips.

I had the kids color the treasure chests with the markers while I discussed the "how to" part of Confession.  I think I had Klenda help me act out a good Confession.

Then we reviewed each "treasure."  I handed them out one at a time and let the kids decorate the strips with the jewels.

They decorated the strips and then packed each one into the chest before we went on to the next.

This went really well, and the kids loved the little treasure chests! 

The following week was Mother's Day and the Ascencion.  We talked a lot about gifts, the gifts we give our moms because we love them, and our moms being reminded of us by our gifts.

Then we talked about the Mass being God's gift to us, particularly Jesus' gift of Himself, and our gift of self when we participate in the Mass.

We did this little coloring sheet and stapled glittery gold lace ribbon to show the graces (God's life) flowing to us from the Mass.

While they were coloring, I read the book,  The Weight of a Mass.

When they were done with that, we made gifts for their moms.

We did tissue paper flowers, and made bath salts, both of which the kids really liked, but the bath salts were the best!

I took a large container of epsom salts, some wide mouth canning jars, and my collection of essential oils.  I let the kids smell each oil, and allowed them to add 3 drops of two fragrances (plus some coloring) to a cup of epsom salts. 

This way each child made a special fragrance and color that was specific for their Mom, and, by limiting it to a combination of two, every batch came out smelling wonderful!

Next time I would take a selection instead of the whole collection, though.  There were really too

Klenda and Oob each made one for me!

many for the kids to smell before their noses wore out!

I also have to say, watching the moms pick up the kids after class, they loved the bath salts, particularly that the child had designed a unique fragrance for them!

There is a core lesson there about God's unique love for each of us, and our gift of self to Him, and to each other.

Awesome History: Conquistadors to Renaissance

 This was a super fun class, which was great because it turned out to be our last class of the year!

We did chapters 64-66, covering the Conquistadors, West Africa and the beginning of the Renaissance.

I have to admit that when reading the Renaissance chapter, the kids noticed a certain connection between Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael, and, I am embarrassed to admit that I remembered that the fourth turtle was Donatello.

Actual mask

But the actual class was fantastic!  Shelli, who happens to be part Aztec as well as a professional artist, set up this cool Aztec death mask craft!

She had drawn a basic mask and had cut up lots of paper squares to make the mosaic (we also used glue sticks).  The kids got really into it, and ended up with some masks that were quite realistic as well as some that were fantastically creative!

For our active activity, we played a Renaissance children's game called "All Hid."  Which is actually Hide and Seek, so: easy + fun + no set up required = perfect year end activity!

For our snack I made chocolate (from the New World) pudding from scratch and added just a touch of cinnamon...mmmmm!

Well, we had planned on a few more classes, but they got cancelled due to illness, travel, and dentists, so we decided to leave well enough alone.  The Renaissance is a fine place to finish up the Middle Ages, and I think it leaves us enough chapters to do a third set of Awesome History next semester!

This was chapters 64-66 of A Child's History of the World.

Masters of Disasters: Earthquakes and Tsunamis

Dip-slip!

We started out reviewing kinds of faults by demonstrating with notebooks:

• dip-slip (one tectonic plate slips down)
• strike-slip (the plates slip sideways)
• oblique-slip (one plate slips down and sideways)

All these faults release energy when they move, of course, so we needed to talk about the Richter scale. 

I really liked this graphic because it gets across the idea that each number up the scale is 10 times higher than the previous number.

Since the tectonic energy (like all energy) moves in waves, I wanted the kids to see and feel the waves. 

We used a large pan of water that we tapped to show the waves.  I added a jar in the center to show how the solid core of the earth disrupts the wave pattern- incidentally, that's how they discovered the core was solid, as well as how they measured it's size.

To feel the waves, I had them sit on the floor with their eyes closed while I jumped.  I then had them move further and closer so they could feel the effects of distance on the strengths of the waves.

I also set up a seismograph using a shoe box and a weighted pen (those are washers taped to the top of a felt pen). I drew the paper through manually while the kids pounded on the table.

Then we looked at a process known as soil liquefaction. This happens during earthquakes when the water table is high.

We filled a plastic box with dry sand. I put my "building," a glass bottle of water deep into the sand. First they shook the dry sand, and the bottle fell over.

Then we moistened the sand and the bottle was locked in place (no amount of shaking dislodged it). Then we added more water. To the kids' surprise, the bottle fell over with only slight shaking! The waterlogged sand acted as a fluid when it was moved.

We moved outside to look at tsunamis.  We used a tub of water and some wooden blocks to look at how the shape of the wave mirrors the shape and movement of the plate underwater.

I had also set up a tsunami model wave pool. It's just an under bed box filled with water and with sand on one side (and sticks representing buildings) and a flat board under the water.

And then...

 How fun is that?!

Then it was back inside for the grand finale.

I had made a very large and fairly deep tray of jello. I put a layer of plastic wrap over it and let the kids pat it to make "earthquakes." The thing about jello is that you can actually see the lines of force, the energy waves, as they move through.

I handed out 4 sugar cubes to each kid and they all built "houses" on the jello. They counted down and... I patted the jello vigorously! Earthquake!!!

And then we peeled off the plastic and ate the jello, of course! 

Happy Birthday, Choclo!

Choclo is 11!

He had a great birthday!

We had been thinking of doing a beach trip, but what he wanted to do was feed the peacocks and chickens at Watkins Park.

That was super fun!  We got there at a quiet time and had very attentive animals all to ourselves.

There were llamas and rabbits, pigs and ducks (including a sitting duck, squatting in the middle of the path).

We even got to pet the pony.


As an added bonus, they had the carousel open!

This is the first time in ages that it's been open on a weekday.

Fantastic!

11 Fantastic Things About Choclo!
1. He's always up for an adventure.
2. He loves silly jokes.
2. He's training to be an altar server.
3. He gives great hugs.
4. He's a master of Minecraft!
4. He's a Webelo scout.
5. He knows a lot about sharks.
6. He is a loving brother.
6. He has an enormous penguin collection.
7. He came up with his own proof that ther are larger and smaller infinities (it involved Legos).
8. He's a Lego master builder.
8. He's a pup lover, who likes cats, too.
9. He likes doing experiments.
10. He has his own magic show.
10. He likes to cook.
11. He loves GARLIC!!

Happy Memorial Day!

 We did our Memorial Day observances on Saturday to avoid Rolling Thunder and the President.

It turned out we also avoided the rain from the tropical storm coming up the coast on Sunday and Monday!


The one thing we did not avoid was the humid 90 degree temperature. I know that Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer, but, really, with a high of 58 degrees earlier that week, 90 felt hot!

  This year we had loads of flowers, and I really enjoyed making up the bouquets for each grave.

Special flowers for special people: billowy peonies and foxgloves for Mom, Dad's beloved roses and irises for him. Old fashioned pansies and bleeding hearts for Moi (grandma).

Lots of family stories and happy memories!

Lots of prayers for our loved ones and their neighbors.

The Emperor's dad and grandparents are buried in the World War I section of Arlington (he was in WWII, Grandpa Frank was in WWI), so there aren't many graves still visited there, but we pray for them all.

 And then back home for a cookout, where Oob posted this helpful sign.

We did have a great time! 

The kids put on a play for us, the grown ups soaked in the air conditioning, and enough ribs, corn, and watermelon were eaten that everyone was ready for a nap!

Poem of the Week: Recessional

Recessional

By Rudyard Kipling

1897

God of our fathers, known of old,

   Lord of our far-flung battle-line,

Beneath whose awful Hand we hold

   Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;

   The Captains and the Kings depart:

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

   An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;

   On dune and headland sinks the fire:

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

   Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!

Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose

   Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,

Such boastings as the Gentiles use,

   Or lesser breeds without the Law—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust

   In reeking tube and iron shard,

All valiant dust that builds on dust,

   And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,

For frantic boast and foolish word—

Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord!

HT: Poetry Foundation