Crashed

What

Vacation
Bible
School

does
to
my
children.

Poetry Friday : An informal survey involving Emily Dickinson, a niece and a phone call

Quick!

When I say the following name, what do you think of?

Emily Dickinson.

What was the first thing that popped into your head?

If you're me, it was "poet."

If you're my niece, it was "recluse."

If you're my sister-in-law, you'd call me up and ask me to answer your impromptu survey, and then you'd have far too much tact to use my answer against your own daughter. You'd never say something like, "Aha! See? Most people are going to think of her as a poet before they think of her as a recluse." Instead, you'd go about your business and let your daughter write her literature night presentation any way she wanted. Because you are a tactful and kind mother. But, you also are a curious sort and thus the informal survey. Because it's just nice to know.

And, getting back to me, being a curious sort myself, I had to ask others, too.

Ramona's answer: A poet

Betsy: A book (as in "There is no frigate like a ....")

Anne-with-an-e: A robin's nest (as in "If I can help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.")

Atticus: Tapioca.

Okay, so he was kidding. His real first thought was: Poet.

And, one other sister-in-law (I've got plenty of 'em) was asked to weigh in by the original mom in question. Her answer? Bees.

So.

My informal analysis of the survey results is that if one is a fan of a particular Dickinson poem, or a particularly Dickinsonian theme, one will answer accordingly with the poem or theme. If one has too many favorites to name (or, if one is five years old), one will respond "poet" and will be shocked -- shocked, I tell you -- should anyone respond differently at the mention of our dear Emily's name. If one is wanting the rest of us to mind our own business, write our own presentations, thank-you-very-much, and stop bothering her, one is my niece.

Which one are you?

In closing, I'll include a Dickinson selection that seems fitting to all of the above, and especially to my niece, who was admirably unmoved by her mother's plea to reconsider and present Emily as poet first, recluse second. (My niece closed the valves of her attention on that one.) And now, my only wish is that I'd been able to see the presentation, which, alas, was far away in another state (literally, not figuratively.)

The Soul Selects Her Own Society

The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.

Unmoved, she notes the chariot's pausing
At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.

I've known her from an ample nation
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.

Poetry Friday is being hosted today at Wild Rose Reader.

Why I Love Our Read-Alouds, Part 937

Ramona asked me if I would read Anne of Green Gables to her. We started a couple of days ago, and when we reached the passage in which Anne describes herself as being in the "depths of despair" Ramona asked me what the "depths of despair" were.

"Well," I said, "'despair' means being terribly, terribly sad, so the 'depths of despair' would be the saddest a person could possibly be. Have you ever been in the depths of despair?"

"I," replied Ramona, "am in the depths of despair whenever you have to go out and I can't be with you. That's how much I love you."

She gazed up at me in a very Anne Shirley way.

And I?

I felt as if I'd just seen the White Way of Delight, the Lake of Shining Waters and had been told by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert that they were going to keep me.

My latest Anne-with-an-e fan (Ramona, not the cat.)

What to Do this Summer

A reader recently wrote, saying she was looking for ideas to keep her daughter learning over the summer. She said she was interested in academics, but more specifically in faith studies.

I replied (after thanking her for the vote of confidence in assuming I would have good ideas) :

Here's my best advice: have fun with your daughter this summer!

It sounds like she's doing great academically, so if it were me (and actually, it is, because Ramona is the same age) I would be inclined to use the summer for whatever fun projects you've been putting off. Do you find yourself saying, "We'll do that when we have more time"? Now's the time! Craft projects, nature walks, the pool or the lake (or ocean, if you're that lucky), museums and art exhibits, games in the backyard -- big doses of being together and having fun. Library trips and lots of reading together is always great, too.

A couple of great websites for ideas:

Alice's craft page at Cottage Blessings is one of my favorites. She has gorgeous ideas that incorporate the faith into crafts.

First Heralds has some fun and neat ideas that are faith-related, too.

While at that website, click on her "Links of Interest" to visit Catholic Cuisine and Catholic Mosaic for cooking and reading ideas as they relate to the liturgical year.

Catholic Mom has a lot of great stuff, too.

Ann Ball's Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classrooms has some wonderful projects. Some of them are beyond my gang and me ... when she starts writing about anything that requires too many tools, I skip on to the next project.

I find that my kids absorb "religion" best when it's woven into the fabric of our daily lives. As you play and explore through the summer, just watch for little teaching opportunities. Being on a walk together, for example, gives you a chance to talk about creation, beauty, God's perfect design, etc. It becomes a science/faith lesson, but your kids think you just took a walk.

For a specific Mother/Daughter Bible time, I did enjoy doing a book called Little Girls Bible Story Book for Mothers and Daughters with my older girls when they were about 5 and 8. I plan to go through it again with Ramona. It's not Catholic, but it lays the foundation for a lot of Bible stories, and my girls loved that it involved me talking about examples from my faith and life.

I also like using the Faith and Life series of books from Ignatius Press as read-alouds, because I can tailor it to the child, and get great discussion going. Their first-grade book, which incorporates beautiful artwork as illustrations, would be at your daughter's level.

Is this the kind of thing you were looking for? I hope it helps! Have a wonderful, blessed summer!

Karen

Science with Ramona

Ramona was eating a hard boiled egg for lunch today.

"What exactly is the egg yolk, anyway?" she asked me while examining her lunch.

"Well," I said, "it's ... it's a sort of a food. I mean, well, let me see. How to explain so you'll understand it ... it's, um, well, if there were a chicken growing in that egg -- there isn't, because it's not ... well, let's say it's not that kind of egg, but if there were one -- well, the baby chick would need food, and so ..."

"Oh!" she said. "So it's kind of like an umbilical cord." Satisfied, she went back to eating.

I looked at Atticus, stunned. "I ... " I said, half to Ramona, half to him. I looked back at Ramona. "I, um ... well, yeah, sweetie. Yeah. You could say that. That's pretty close."

Atticus looked at me, smiling. Not stunned. Just pleased. "You're doing a good job," he whispered to me, which was what I needed to hear today (a day on which I was feeling that I often do a decidedly not-so-good job.)

Sometimes God sends the quickest, sweetest little gifts.

Memorial Day

I'm the daughter of an Air Force pilot.
I'm the wife of a former Marine.
I'm the daughter-in-law of another former Marine.
I'm the sister-in-law of an Air Force veteran and of a man currently overseas.

Thank you, to all of them. And prayers for all fallen veterans on this day.

Links to visit:

from the Cabbage Patch

from As Cozy as Spring last year on this day

Prince Caspian

We saw the movie.

Good movie. Good for popcorn-munching, eye-popping special effects, and saying, "Wow!" and "Aslan does look gorgeous."

Full of action, full of adventure.

Full of battles.

Full of people who go by the same names as those in the book. My friend, Jack, summed it up best for me right after we saw it, but he doesn't have a blog, so I can't link you to him.

Good reviews that sum it up (more articulately than I'm taking time for) here, at Decent Films (and another good article from Steven Greydanus, here) and here, at MacBeth's Opinion.

Good comments here, at Love2Learn at the Movies.

And, it looks like Maureen Wittmann felt the same way, too.

Sigh.

You're a flower person, said Atticus

We haven't yet found the right (i.e., very cheap and very reliable) Putty Replacement, but we do have these:


so life can't be all bad.

Poetry Friday: Repeating Myself

As I said in January, I seem to gravitate back to Richard Wilbur's The Writer about every four months.

So. It's time.

Read the poem and find a link to Richard Wilbur reading it, too, in the above-linked post.

The entire Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Becky's Book Reviews.

Update:

Just fixed the above link to the January post. Sigh. It was that kind of morning. I know I've had blog visitors today ... people, people, please feel free to give me the proverbial cyber smack and tell me that my so-called link is non-existent!

Anyway, now it exists.

Beauty is truth and truth beauty

"Faith is love, and therefore, it creates poetry and music. Faith is joy, so it creates beauty." -- Pope Benedict XVI

Read the whole address here, at The Way of the Fathers.

Ramona's Breakfast Promise

"Mommy, I'm hungry. Give me something! Even if I don't like it, I won't spit it out."

I guess that's better than just making noise

Betsy had a friend over yesterday. At one point, the noise level from the living room was suddenly cranked up. Stomping, or banging or ... something.

Me (calling from the kitchen): What are you guys doing out there?

[Sudden, guilty silence.]

Betsy (quietly): Ummm ... We're making impact tremors.

Me: Oh. Okay. Carry on.

Bored? Already?

We're off car shopping again, so in the meantime, I'm leaving you and your children with two great, old lists from Semicolon:

100 Things to Do When You're Bored

and

100 More Things to Do When You're Bored

Divine Fire and Car Shopping

We're back from a busy weekend. It ranged from the sublime to the purgatorial.

The Sublime:

We went to a beautiful Confirmation Mass for our friends' daughter, "Martha" (a blog-and-Confirmation name in one. How handy.) It was fun to whisper to Ramona during the Mass, "Look! Watch! The Holy Spirit is descending on Martha ri-i-i-ight ... now! See? The bishop's hands are on her! The Holy Spirit is here!" Ramona nodded as if, yes, she could really see this Holy Spirit Person of which I spoke; however, she pointed out to me quite matter-of-factly, she could not actually see Martha's head at that moment, nor could she see the bishop's hands on it.

But, she trusted me when I said the Holy Spirit was present, in much the same way as I trust the Holy Spirit Himself when He says He's present. I know that something supernatural, magical, and powerful is happening, and that a divine fire is being lit. When Martha's sister, our goddaughter, was confirmed, I had the same feeling of exhilaration.

Sacraments. I'm in awe of them.

Who woulda thought that a little bit of oil and the laying on of some hands could do that? Only God could think these things up.

And only humans could think up car lots, which brings us to

The purgatorial:

Honestly, I think that spending as much time at car dealerships as we spent on Saturday should shave about 13 katrillion years off my time in purgatory. Someone should tell that guy in Council Bluffs, Iowa that sprinkling pennies ("It's your lucky day!") all over the car lot is just about the cheesiest thing I've ever encountered. Ramona came away with a fistful of change but Atticus and I couldn't walk away fast enough from the guy who wouldn't hear the words "reliable" and "used" but instead insisted on phrases such as "buy new" and "finance it."

We made a break under fire and got back to the van just as we saw some other poor, elderly man (he'd actually been inside their sales office, which just might qualify him to skip purgatory and go straight to heaven) walking quickly away from a salesman who was still hounding him, following him out of the office and down the steps.

I'm pleased to report that both the nice, elderly man and the Edmisten family escaped from that dealership unscathed.

You see?

The Holy Spirit is here.

The Loveliness of Rosaries

Wow.

Sarah at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering has outdone herself. She has put together a beautiful blog fair of Rosary posts. All I can say is "Amen."

Thank you, Sarah!

Fair trade, good coffee

I've written a little bit in the past about our efforts to switch over to more fair trade products and Michele's recent posts on the subject got me thinking that it's time for an update from here.

I've succeeded in switching us over to fair trade coffee and yes, it's a bit more expensive. And, no, we don't like "a bit more expensive" any more than anyone else does.

But ...

disliking the price has tremendous value to me: it reminds me of how much work goes into creating my daily cups of coffee. And all that work should cost me something. It costs the people who grow and produce it, and therefore, it should cost me. When I moan and groan about having to take on another car payment to replace poor, old Putty, I need to be reminded that, in reality, globally, universally, spiritually speaking, I am a rich American.

And, really, it's not that it's that expensive. It's just more than the stuff I've been buying at the grocery store.

My current favorite is from Dean's Beans (I'm particularly fond of Mud Pie and French Vanilla Kiss) though I've also enjoyed the coffees from A Greater Gift.

I believe that finding out more about where the things I consume come from (and under what conditions they are produced) is integral to my faith and to the commitment of the Catholic Church to social justice.

And, thanks to my friend, Jean, I have a couple bars of fair trade chocolate waiting for me, too (I know you gave me at least five or six bars, Jean ... what can I say? Good stuff goes fast around here ....)

mater et magistra

There's a new magazine for Catholic homeschoolers:

mater et magistra, formerly Heart and Mind magazine.

The new name (which is Latin for "mother and teacher") is explained here and a preview of the July, 2008 issue can be found here.

A treasure of a list -- free articles and unit studies -- can be found here.

I'm looking forward to this rebirth!

Maureen Wittmann doesn't want to move those books

But, she hopes to move some books before she moves.

Following me?

No?

Then follow this link to see what I mean.

Maureen has some inventory at her house -- the one that will soon be her old house, because she's moving to a new house -- and she'd rather not pack and haul the inventory. So, she's offering bulk discounts on For the Love of Literature and The Catholic Homeschool Companion.

Worth following, eh?

Update:
You now have until Saturday, May 17, to get your entries in!

Grab your Rosary and run over to Sarah's place -- it's time to contribute to the Loveliness of Rosaries Fair.


(Photo courtesy of Stock.xchng)

Hey, there ...

... have a Happy Mother's Day!

Poetry Friday: Putty, R.I.P.

I'm too sad to come up with a new, original post.

Our beloved Putty, 16 years old, Pontiac of our dreams, has died a sad death.

Though we knew he was elderly, we held on to hope. He was fine yesterday. When I took the girls out to lunch to celebrate the end of our school year, he was great. More than great. He zipped into town, whipped into a parking spot and waited patiently for us as we sipped Italian soda, spiced chai tea and mango smoothies. He then happily transported us to the library and again waited ever so patiently as we perused the book sale and spent too much money on books because "They're only fifty cents!"

But, when we left the library, we knew immediately that something was amiss. Betsy was the first to voice concern:

"What is wrong with this car?! He's bouncing or something!"

"Ummm," I said, "yeah ... but maybe no more than usual. Putty's just kind of bouncy." But I knew. Deep down, I knew.

We started home.

We started home six times. He faded into unconsciousness six times. We were able to revive him each time, but I knew the prognosis was dismal. I feared the worst.

And today, the news came.

"I think it's time to call the mortician," said our mechanic, Jeff (of course, you know you're already in trouble, don't you, when you're on a first-name basis with your mechanic and he's on your speed dial.)

My heart sank, but I tried to be brave. There were children in the room, after all.

"Okay, Jeff. Thank you. I'll tell Atticus .... " My breath caught in my throat. "We'll get back to you."

"Okay," said Jeff, with such sincere sympathy in his voice. He knows. Oh, how he knows the love one can have for a car named Putty. All 227,000 miles of him.

And so, tonight, I can only rerun my ode to Putty, composed about six months ago, after a near-miss. Little did we know then just how short with him was our time. Oh, what I would give to have him sent home untreated again.

But, he will not come home. Alas, poor Putty. May he rest in peace. And may our new car payment be a small one.

Putty

Putty is fifteen
and he is tired.
He flashes frightening lights at me
randomly
in an effort to get my attention.
I drop him at the local clinic
only to have him sent home,
untreated,
the equivalent of taking
my sick child to the doctor
and being told
she needs only some rest.
I want him medicated
and well.
I want him for another fifteen years
(I love him so)
but know that I may
(one day soon?)
have to let him go.

Alas, poor Putty ...
a car of most infinite jest
most excellent fancy.
He has borne me on his back
a thousand times.

May it be a thousand more.
His flashing light may not
be the end?
For where there is light
there is hope.

The entire Poetry Friday round-up is at Findings.

(Updated at 8:44 a.m.: Despite my sad, self-pitying post, I know that Poetry Friday will lift my spirits. Do visit Findings at the above link for Writer2b's lovely post about mothers who read aloud.)

Library Sales

Don't you love them?

On the one hand, I'm sad for the public when a treasure is relegated to the library bargain bin. How many others will be deprived of this book?

On the other hand, I'm delighted when a treasure is relegated to the library bargain bin, as the public's loss is my gain.

Here are a few favorites that we scored this week at our library's sale:


Loaves of Fun is an aptly named fun, cool history of bread.

Full of recipes, too.






I've blogged before about Mistakes that Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions and How They Came to Be. It was a regular check-out for the kids.
Now, fifty cents later, we own it.






Another great, fun, and informative reference is What a Great Idea: Inventions that Changed the World by Stephen "The Dirtmeister" Tomecek.

Read more about him here.






I love to have books like Breaking into Print: Before and After the Invention of the Printing Press just sitting around for the kids to pick up. In unschooling, we call it "strewing."
Aternatively, we just call it "life" and "interesting stuff."



Cooking a Meal from the Everyday History series is similarly strewable (as are all of the above.)





That's all I have time for now, but will be back later with more worthwhile finds.

Ramona the Blogger

Ramona: Mommy, can I have a blog?

Me: A blog? What do you want with a blog?

Ramona: Everyone else has a blog ....

Me: Well, not everyone ... Hmmm ... Let me think. What would you name your blog? Reflections from Ramona? Ramona's, uh, Ruminations? No ... Reading with Ramona!

Ramona, (beaming): Queeeeeen Ramona.

Ramona's latest reads

Ramona loves to go on a hunt at the library.

She plops down at the library computer and types in a favorite word: Zoo. Penguins. Puppies. Kittens. (Detecting a theme? Yes, the "Mommy" search phase appears to be on hiatus.)

In her latest library hunt, we discovered a writer we've never read. A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann is a real delight. It's a sweetly simple story, but the illustrations are what really captivated me. They, too, are simple, but gorgeous.

I wouldn't have known it, if not for the notes on the jacket, but they are monotype prints. And they are so vivid, so lovely and so enchanting ~~

And now, I'm off to Google a bit more about monotype prints (and file the info away for my next planning frenzy, which will inevitably hit sometime this summer) and to jot down "Eric Rohmann" in my library notebook.

May is Mary's Month

And there are so many good ideas out there!

Here's a handful of good stuff:

The Mary Page, from the University of Dayton. All kinds of nuggets here. Ramona will like the online coloring/activity book, and here is their page for May.

The Bookworm's series on Mary Around the World and her Mary doll.

Women for Faith and Family links are here and here. They also have a great page here about Mary's flowers.

Catholic Culture ideas.

(Painting: Song of the Angels, Bouguereau)

The Fruits of Poetry Friday

I've always had a gentle approach to poetry when it comes to homeschooling. I don't really do formal "poetry units" because I've seen kids turn their poetry switches off forever after such things and I didn't want that to happen with my own children.

My way has been the subtle way. Read some poetry at breakfast. Share something I love. Take them to a reading.

At first, Poetry Friday was just for me. I enjoyed making the rounds to see what others were sharing, and I enjoyed sharing some of my favorite poetry, too.

Then, I gently invited the children in. Every Friday in our homeschool became Poetry Friday. I read something to them and we laughed about it, or pondered it or made a connection to something else. I didn't require anything of them -- they didn't have to recite, memorize or dissect. Just listen. They could write poetry if they wanted to, if they felt called to, but no one had to. Not everyone, after all, is a poet.

The kids have shown me before that Poetry Friday and other gentle approaches are working if by "working" I mean that they have developed an interest in and a love for poetry. They like to write their own poems, when inspiration strikes (and they've felt a poet's anguish when the words won't flow.)

The latest sign that Poetry Friday is a full-fledged part of our gentle approach to poetry came from Ramona. She came to me last week, latest issue of Your Big Backyard in hand, and said, "Mommy! They have poems about fish in here this month! We can read these poems for Poetry Friday! And we can read them right now!"

And we did. And we will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kelly at Big A little a is hosting this week and kicks it off with a charming, sniffly, but realistic ode to her graduating seniors.