Sunday School! Post #13

I really need to get better with posting on Sundays for my Sunday School post on the Catholic things we did in our classroom that week, but the weekends have just been insane lately! I still want to share these things and if I waited on them, the one Sunday post would end up being far too picture heavy! So here it is, Sunday School...on a Tuesday! All the other posts in Sunday School can be found HERE! In the photo above you will see a cross that we made out of metal clips. I love crosses as wall décor because they not only speak of our Faith, but seeing them everywhere is like a reminder that the Lord is always with us. I picked up these clips at Michael's with a 50% off coupon and really had no clue what we would do with them, I just loved them. When I figured that we should try and make something with them, my youngest thought a cross would be fun! After a lot of trial and error we came up with this and I love it. As we were working together, we discussed what we loved about being Catholic and what we still wanted to learn more about. This is a GREAT discussion to have on a regular basis, to see just what changes in and with your kids!

Why have we been so busy? My kids work (volunteer) their time at our local history museum and this past weekend was World War I days. My children dress as village children from that time period and perform different tasks as interpreters from that time. In this photo from my INSTAGRAM account, they are selling ice cream. They don't always work together, but I love when they do, because it makes for some great photos! I try to post daily over there, so feel free to follow me on INSTAGRAM and I will follow you back too!

One of my favorite things that we did this past week was make pendants out of cork from wine bottles! This was so much fun and we got to use up papers that would normally see the recycle bin! We use SETON as our curriculum and I absolutely love it, but one thing I don't like? Seeing all their gorgeous pictures hit the recycle bin as we finish a workbook. I try so hard to cut out the photos, but then my scrap bin begins to overflow and I have to think of what to do with them all...this was the perfect solution! I am even gathering enough supplies to do this with my Little Flowers Catholic Girls group! The full instructions are HERE!

With Divine Mercy Sunday being the Sunday after Easter, we had a lot going on in school but one thing that I absolutely loved doing was making a small chaplet for the kids to keep on their person at all times. It's small and portable, not only to serve as a reminder that the Lord is all around you, but to use in times of nervousness and stress. I like reaching in and praying along with it or even just feeling the cross if I get anxious over something. The beads move as you pray and I have also told the children to use them for keeping track of all the good you do in the day. Make it a point to do 11 good things a day and slide the bead as you go starting at the top (the Our Father bead) and working your way to the cross, which I likened to "working your way closer to God". I really enjoy hands on things like this, which allow us to chat as we work and then to also give them a visual aid once we are through with them.

One thing I speak about often is the need to visit church, even when we are on vacation. I turn this into a fun part of our touring plans as we are seeing a new place that is full of history and going to mass too! This church was in Mexico at the top of a LARGE mountain that had a VERY rough terrain to hike up as well as many wild dogs. This road is very rough on cars and shoes but in the end so worth the breathtaking views and vistas. They are remodeling the inside but what we saw was still amazing and the best part is that mass still goes on, even with the scaffolds and drop cloths everywhere.

Enjoy every minute my friends!

 

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Sun...Sand and WINTER?!?!

Hi there! I am here and doing more than well but I know that we have pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth! Let me explain and share what we have been up to. Last year, we decided to spend the Winter in Mexico and come back in time for the snow to begin melting and the temperatures to be warmer. We plan on coming home in March. Unfortunately it began to snow and get chilly RIGHT before we left and I even worried that our flight would not get out...wait WHAT?! Yes...we flew...we had planned on making it a grand adventure by taking a bus cross country to Dallas, Texas. This was going to be a 48 hour adventure with many stops along the way to do a quick explore and learn. THEN...the weather went sour and my husband began to worry about busses on icy roads and the like...so we bought plane tickets...at the last minute...OUCH! That bit into our vacation budget but oh well, we were not going to get stressed out. Why are they smiling on this snow mound? Ohhh because we are off to the sandy beaches of Mexico and the shining sun of Texas!

Our plane ended up being delayed a bit, but not by much at all...the staff at Southwest was so awesome, even though we were last to board due to not checking in on time...they had saved a row of seats for at least my children to all sit together! That is always my biggest worry about open seating plans on planes but this was fantastic.

Believe it or not, they actually agreed on an order as to who gets to sit by the window seat and I did not have to encounter any arguments!

Dallas became our home for a week before we headed off to the warm weather and delicious food of Mexico. My kids found it quite humorous that at 60 degrees, they still had their heat on in the cars and were bundled up as we were in t-shirts and sometimes even shorts!

I will be updating this blog on a regular basis but the lack of internet and the plethora of exploring have us doing so much more than blogging. The main point of today's post is to share how we will be keeping a travel journal!

One thing we love to do is color and write, so instead of buying a premade journal, I decided to buy a large package of postcard sized thick cardstock. I placed the paper in a box with markers, pens, pencils, scissors, glue sticks, decorative tape, a hole punch and binder rings. This kept everything in one place and made it easy to travel with. This is a NECESSITY as we would be in and out of over 8 hotels and 4 different rental homes as well as staying with family members.

The reason for the tape is so that we can decorate the plain paper and turn them into postcards to send to friends and family about our adventure! Each hotel front desk sells stamps and offers a mailing service, postcards and cheaper than letters and it is a great way to get our art in too! The hole punch and binder rings are for our journal! Each night before bed and before we begin to read, each child takes a card and on one side begins to write about their favorite part of the day and then on the opposite side they can either draw a picture or glue a picture we print out or glue maps, receipts...anything they have as a memento from that day! These make for spectacular mini scrapbooks to remember trips by!

Enjoy every minute my friends! We are off to the pool!

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Where Are YOU?!

I'm here, I'm here, I promise! Sorry for the disappearance and delay, but we have been on the road with our lessons lately. Valentine's Day weekend had us in Chicago taking in sites, good food and also scoping out suburban eateries and shops. I truly love living within a spitting distance of busses, trains and planes to big cities and exotic destinations. 

Heart shaped foods abound all day and it was so fun to celebrate with the children. My parents took the kids Friday night, so we could celebrate with friends in the evening and then spend the morning together, the rest of the weekend was with them!

Sushi doesn't quite have that romantic sound to it, but it was an awesome lunch and the kids love ordering things that just sound wierd.

Monday brought us home to a fossil lesson set up in our home. Our homeschool group borrows trunks from the natural history museum, all with different themes, and I put together a coordinating lesson and activities. These work out so fun and have gotten a pretty good turn out so far!

We took off minutes after the last person left our home and headed up north for some fun in the waterpark capital of the world! We are having an absolute blast getting together as a family and just BEING! 

We had to mapquest a local church for our vacation spot but we found it and it was gorgeous and so welcoming. It's Ash wednesday, so we got some funny looks and comments at MagiQuest after breakfast when we went to go play! 

Waterparks abound and the kids do them from open til close and could probably continue to do them if they were 24-7! My goodness, where do they get their energy from? 

My level 7 Magis absolutely love Magiquest and it is worth every dollar spent. Okay, I admit, we love it too...we all have wands and love to play with them. Now THIS is a workout. They have locations all over the US, get to one ASAP! We are hitting up the one in Ohio next month! So this is where I have disappeared to, heading home tomorrow evening or sooo....maybe....record cold temps reaching -30* when we get back...so maybe the balmy 87* of the waterpark could sway me to stay! I will have some tips and reviews coming up this week along with adding links to everything, but this was just a break and it's time to do the Howlin' Tornado!

Enjoy every single minute my friends!

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