Sacramental Preparation

This is a very important year for Primrose because she's preparing to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation & First Communion. The ever-creative ladies over at 4Real have shared their ideas for creating a First Communion Notebook (see here, here, and here) and I've tweaked those plans to my own liking.

Based on that tweaking, I've created a list of lessons that are serving as Primrose's faith formation for this year. You'll find those lessons below- feel free to borrow any or all of it. We are really enjoying them so far! They are separated into three main parts: My Faith, Reconciliation, and Eucharist. All of her written work is being collected into a binder that is divided into these three sections.

Resources we're using

The Bible
First Communion Catechism by Lawrence G. Lovasik
Communion & Confession Coloring Book
Catholic Treasure Box #17 (on the Holy Trinity)
The Weight of a Mass by Josephine Nobisso

The Lesson Plans

~Part One: My Faith~

1. What My Name Means- use this website to read about the saints associated with her first and middle names, and do illustrated narrations of both.

2. My Baptism- make a scrapbook page of photos from her baptism day. Include the following handwritten copywork: Baptism is a new birth as a child of God, the beginning of a new life of God's grace in us.

3. Read chapter 3 of the Catechism: The Holy Trinity. Read Treasure Box book #17 on the Holy Trinity. Sing "Father, I Adore You. Jesus, I Adore You. Spirit, I Adore You..."

4. The Nicene Creed copywork (this may take several days).

5. Guardian Angel- discuss guardian angels, draw a picture of a guardian angel and include the Guardian Angel Prayer as copywork: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this night be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

6. Eucharistic Adoration- discuss the importance of the True Presence. Visit the True Presence at the Adoration Chapel.

7. The Lord is My Shepherd- illustrate and copywork Psalm 23.

8. Read chapter 14 of the Catechism: Mary the Mother of God. Narrate and illustrate, or choose a favorite coloring page of Mary.

9. Prayer Copywork: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.

~Part Two: Reconciliation~

1. Read chapter 8 of the Catechism: The Sacrament of Penance, and do page 4 of the coloring book.

2. Read chapter 13 of the Catechism: The Ten Commandments. Write the commandments as copywork (this may take several days) and color page 6 in the coloring book.

3. Read Luke 15: 11-24, The Prodigal Son. Color page 2 of the coloring book.

4. Read Luke 19:1-10, Zaccheus. Do an illustrated narration of the story.

5. Read John 15: 1, 4, 5, The Vine and the Branches. Watercolor a picture and write the verse as copywork.

6. Read Luke 15: 1-7, The Lost Sheep. Do an illustrated narration of the story.

7. Read chapters 10 & 11 of the Catechism: The First Sin & Our Own Sins. Color pages 8-9 in the coloring book.

8. Do the "Order of Reconciliation" work provided by the parish to learn the sequence of the sacrament.

9. Review the order of the sacrament, and write the Act of Contrition as copywork. Begin committing it to memory.

10. Cut and past an Examination of Conscience.

11. Do coloring pages 15 & 17 and practice reciting the Act of Contrition.

~Part Three: Eucharist~

1. Read the story of The Last Supper from the Bible. Color page 18 of the coloring book. Write Luke 22:19 as copywork: "Do this in memory of me."

2. Read chapter 9 from the Catechism: The Holy Eucharist. Color page 21 from the coloring book, and write John 6:35 as copywork: "I am the bread of life."

3. Read the story of the Resurrection from the Bible. Discuss God's power over his own body, and color page 19 of the coloring book.

4. Tell the story of the Wedding at Cana from John 2. Discuss how God showed his power over material elements, and do an illustrated narration.

5. Tell the story of the Storm on the Sea from the Bible. Discuss how when Jesus speaks, it becomes a reality. Do an illustrated narration.

6. Tell the story of the Road to Emmaus from the Bible and discuss how the disciples did not recognize Our Lord until the breaking of the bread. We might not recognize Him either, but he is really present in the bread anyway. Do an illustrated narration.

7. Color pages 22 & 28 and discuss proper reception of the Eucharist.

8. Color pages 29 & 30 and review proper reception of the Eucharist.

9. Write Luke 7:7 as copywork: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

10. Have the first communicant write a letter to Jesus asking to receive communion.

11. Read the letter written by Andy & I with our prayer for her.

12. Read The Weight of a Mass. Do an illustrated narration.

13. Do this how-to-draw activity of the Blood of Christ.

We're Well Again! Daybook

Outside my window...
It's blustery, cold, and rainy. November!

I am thankful...
that we are less than three weeks away from another visit from Andy. I had no idea it was going to be this hard. Do me a favor and kiss your husband today.

I am thinking...
about how easy and satisfying homeschooling has become since I've embraced a Ruth Beechick approach to education. I'd think it was too easy if it wasn't so enjoyable and we weren't making so much progress.

Learning all the time...
Learning notes for week 7 are up.

From the kitchen...

Don't ask- it's pathetic. That should be fixed tomorrow after a visit to my very favorite gluten free store in the whole wide world. :) We'll stock up and happiness will happen in my kitchen once again.

I am creating...

photo albums. Okay, here's a confession: I hate scrapbooking (Oh Pam, I'm sorry- please don't hate me). I scrapbooked faithfully for the first few years of marriage and parenthood, however, because that's what good moms do, right? So I made a wedding book and a first year baby book for each of my children, and then I revolted. Will. Not. Scrapbook. Ever. Again. So now I print off pictures and happily slide them into a photo album and that's that. BUT. I haven't updated my photo album in a year (may have something to do with the new blog-- ahem), so I'm a bit behind. I ordered a big stack of pictures from Costco, and will be spending the next week putting them in order and sticking them into the photo album with perhaps a blurb written beside them. Or perhaps not. That's what blogs are for, right? Speaking of blogs (and if you are still following me, WOW), do you back yours up? Or print it off? What do you do to make sure that your labor of love is not lost one day in the mysterious blogosphere? I ask because I'm thinkin' that I need to do one of those things, and I'd be happy to take any recommendations you may have for me.

I am going...
to the Seattle Children's Theater with my children to see Peter Pan. Try not to be too jealous of me. ;)

I am reading...
The Count of Monte Cristo -- I'm on page 389, so I've only got, oh, like 1,100 pages left. It's such a good story, though- I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. I don't usually think of classics as page-turners, but I am indeed having a hard time putting this one down.

I am hoping...
that we'll stay healthy for a while now.

I am praying...
for so many private intentions. Hail Mary...

I am hearing...
Nothing. It's late and I should be in bed. Oh, how I love the late-night quiet.

Around the house...

is very clean. I went nuts on it the other day and I think I got to everything- feels great. Now I need to get back to that house project list that I let fall by the wayside sometime between Andy's last visit and our rendezvous with the swine flu.

Heard this week...

Primrose: Mom, every time you get a text from Daddy it's like you're going to burst with joy.

What can I say? He sends good love notes.

One of my favorite things...
Stories written by my children. I'll post a few more if I have time later this week.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

~Mass

~A trip to GF Joe's

~Ballet for Primrose

~A trip to Seattle to see Peter Pan

~An afternoon to myself while the babysitter comes to my rescue plays with the kids

~Atrium

~A quick trip north to visit my family

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:Little ones who did get to don Halloween costumes, after all.

That's St. Therese, Felicity Merriman, and a spooooky ghost!

Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman for more daybook entries.

Spammers, Please Go Away

Sorry, folks-due to an influx of spam, I'm going to be enabling word verification in the comment box for a while. I'll also be moderating them for a time, just to keep things on the up and up. Keep the comments coming, though- I love them. :)

Hugs to you this weekend!
Sarah

Learning Notes :: Week 7

School was obviously not our main priority this week, but we did find ourselves with a few snippets of time when fevers ran mild and boredom ran high-- and so out would come the workbooks and read-alouds until the swine flu re-instated its prominent place in our attentions. I am happy with the amount of schoolish work we were able to touch on, even while ill.

Read-Alouds

• Read the entirety of The Adventures of Old Mistah Buzzard by Thornton Burgess.
• Began reading Old Mother West Wind by Thornton Burgess.
• Read various picture books.

Language Arts

• Primrose worked a little on her spelling of words 1-40 from this list of high frequency words.
• Primrose began working on Explode the Code book 3.
• Both girls played on PBS Kids.
• Primrose did a few pages in her Handwriting Without Tears workbook.

Math

Games from Mathwire-- these were excellent to pass the time!

• Pumpkin Jumble Game
• Pumpkin Farm Game
• Face Off!

Everything Else

• Loom weaving
• A Bill Nye science video
• Scrabble, Jr.
  

Advent Evening Reflections

Here's a bit more about our Advent Evening Reflections, which I briefly discussed in the Advent/Christmas Notebook post. Every evening during Advent, my little family gathers around the Holy Table just before bedtime. During this reverent time, we take a few moments to prepare ourselves for the birth of the Christ Child on Christmas morn. This is what we do:

The Order of Advent Evening Reflections
~Gather while singing Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
~Light appropriate candle(s) on the the Advent Wreath
~Sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (the first verse & refrain)
~Recite this week's verse (see below)
~Add an ornament to the Jesse Tree
~Choose a piece of chocolate from the Advent Calendar
~Closing Prayer & snuff the wreath candles

Verses, Week by Week:
(I chose these verses based on what Jennifer shared in this post at O Night Divine.)
Week 1: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. ~Isaiah 9:2
Week 2: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. ~Matthew 3:3
Week 3: When Joseph woke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. ~Matthew 1:24
Week 4: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ~Luke 1:42

The Jesse Tree:
The Jesse Tree walks us through the story of salvation from the Fall to the Incarnation with scriptural meditations and picture images. I participated in a Jesse Tree ornament exchange last year, so now we have a beautiful set of ornaments to use for many years to come. You can make your own ornaments or buy a set. Here's a good place to get started if you are new to the idea of a Jesse Tree.

Closing Prayer:
O God,
as light comes from this candle,
may the blessing of Jesus Christ come to us,
warming our hearts and
brightening our way.
May Christ our Savior bring life
into the darkness of this world,
and to us, as we wait for his coming.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
(snuff candles)

I hope this is helpful to some of you as you prepare for the coming Advent season!

The Advent/Christmas Notebook

I have received some inquiries about the Advent/Christmas notebook that I referred to in another post, and since I'm feeling considerably better today, I thought I'd get back into the bloggin' groove by sharing a bit about it.

(And I wish I could take credit for stamping the darling card that serves as the binder's centerpiece, but I can't-- my longtime friend Karla made it). :)

My notebook's really nothing groundbreaking- just another binder (and oh, how I do love my binders!) that serves to store ideas and notes and such. Here's how I've organized it:

5 dividers, labeled thus:

• Reflections: Each evening during Advent, we gather for an Evening Reflection. During this time, we light our Advent wreath, sing a hymn, recite the week's verse, add an ornament to the Jesse Tree, and choose a piece of chocolate from the Advent calendar. In this section of my binder, I keep the scriptural references needed for these evening reflections, as well as a list of the order of Jesse Tree ornaments.
  
  
• Crafts & Activities: At the front of this section are three handwritten lists: one for crafts/activities, one for outings, and one is simply a list of books. I don't like to schedule these out to specific days (shocking, I know), so I just use these lists as a springboard and draw from it as we go along. We do not get to everything- this is more of a brainstorm than a to-do list. I also print out craft ideas that I've found online (or clip them from a magazine) and store them here.
  
  
• Coloring, etc: All those lovely printable activities that are perfect to pull out on a rainy December afternoon? They go here.
  
  
• Teatime: I've simplified teatimes a lot this year, and we seem to be enjoying them more now that they are few and far between. During Advent and Christmas, however, we'll celebrate three teas: December 8th for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 12 for Our Lady of Guadalupe, and January 1st for Mary, Mother of God. I've stored our teatime plans/printouts/recipes here in this section.
  
  
• Integrated Unit: This will be our third year drawing inspiration from Elizabeth Foss's Tomie dePaola Advent & Christmas unit. I've printed out the whole kit-and-caboodle, and I keep it in this section for easy reference. I do so enjoy picking and choosing from this rich supply of ideas.

Also stored in the binder are gift idea lists (hidden so as not to provoke young readers' attention) and a few other odds and ends, like this Gingerbread Baby board game from Jan Brett's website, and a collection of old Christmas cards that can be used for making artwork. In the front of the binder I keep a calendar where I note special days like St. Nicholas Day, and keep track of outings like the local Santa Parade, historical Christmas re-enactments, etc.

I'm not nearly as organized as I'm usually credited for, and this notebook is no exception. It simply serves as a catch-all. I do find that it helps me keep holiday happenings simple and relaxed, and I would rather create a few lovely peaceful holiday memories for my children than a plethora of frenzied, hurried ones. So the notebook helps me do that.

Oh, and one more admission: we always get our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We sort of jumble Advent and Christmas all into one and there isn't much of a distinction between the fast and the feast (as there is during Lent/Easter, for example). Other Catholics are better at separating the two, but- well... I fight the urge to play Christmas music in October, so by Thanksgiving, all bets are off. ;)

Here's to hoping you are all healthy and well as we get ever closer to Advent and Christmas!

Swine Flu Daybook

Outside my window...
I have no idea. It's been eight days since the symptoms first started, and we're still running fevers, coughing, congested, and throwing up. We will all be happy to venture out of doors again after we are well. Soon, I hope.

I hope.

I am thankful for...
swine flu immunities we are earning the hard way.

I am thinking...
about the swine flu vaccine. Obviously, we don't need it. But I keep getting questions in my inbox about whether or not I'd recommend it, given our current swine flu experience. I can't speak to the safety or quality of the vaccine, so I won't even try. I will say that prior to last week I was opposed to getting the vaccine. But this bug is a nasty one- and it's knocking us flat for a good long while. If I knew then what I know now, and if the swine flu vaccine had been available... I'd probably get it, and I'd get one for each of my kids, too.

Learning all the time...
Learning notes for week 6 are up.

From the kitchen...

Smoothies. Soup. Lots and lots of juice and water and 7-up. Popsicles.

I am creating...

immunities. See above.

I am going...
to keep hunkering down with my children. Until.

I am reading...

The Count of Monte Cristo -- and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I'm not cruising through it like Katherine did, but I'm enjoying a couple of chapters each day, while snuggling with a fellow sicky on the couch.

I am hoping...
that we'll be better in time for a few highlights on November's calendar-- especially for the production of Peter Pan at the Seattle Children's Theater next week.

I am praying...
for Andy's Grandma Rosie. Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord...

I am hearing...
Coughing. PBS Kids.

Around the house...

well, it looks like we recently hosted a war within these walls. Once this illness subsides, I'll sanitize the entire house.

Heard this week...

Snapdragon, upon climbing into bed with me: "We're like the sick team!"

Yes. Yes, we are. Go team.

One of my favorite things...

Daddies. My own came and saved the day for four days. Without a thought for his own health, he tended to me and my little flock, and I am ever so grateful. We miss you already, Papa!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

~ get. better.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:

got nothin'. Sorry. You don't want to see what's goin' on around here, anyway. ;)

Visit Peggy at The Simple Woman for more daybook entries.