Miller Again

Four Doyle Dames

I love this photo, crane and all

Today was a perfectly gorgeous day--blue skies, fluffy clouds and a balmy 91+ degrees (that part wasn't so beautiful). My four younger students and I spent a good part of the day downtown at the Miller Theatre. We saw a dance revue put on by the Metropolitan Dance Co. I was sorry that Madeleine had to miss the trip for her Geometry lesson because she would have loved it. The dancers were all in their early twenties and I kept thinking that Madeleine would enjoy being a part of it all. She's a terrific dancer. I am always in awe watching her, wishing the dance fairy had given me some of those moves :)

The show was a journey from the twenties to the present in both music and dance and the theatre was packed with school kids which meant we had to find seats toward the back. That's unusual but it was fine for this show because we were able to see the whole stage and get the full effect.

Afterward, we had a picnic lunch and worked on a bit of schoolwork. The girls enjoyed running up and down the hill and rolling around and I played around with the camera and got some good photos.

Good posture

Sophie tries

Ella wonders what Grace is doing

I took a series of photos of Ella and Sophie running up and down the hill

They remind me of the intro to Little House on the Prairie--except of course for

the crane and high rise

I really like this one

Sophie ran the hill so many times that she was beet red

when we got back to the van.

And one last one:

Mia's latest work of art

When I asked her the title, she told me "Spotty". I encouraged her to think of a longer title that orients the viewer a bit better. Together, we arrived at "Spotty Watches"--more positive than other possibilities like "Spotty Chained" or "Behind Bars". According to Mia, he is behind a window watching squirrels but it looks more like a chain link fence to me.

In any case, "Spotty Watches" may be my favorite so far. I especially like the bottom--they look like rainbow colored piano keys, perfectly fitting for Mia's world.

Pumpkins, Pan and Pocahontas

Ella is going as Minnie this year

In a recent post, I mentioned looking forward to a restful weekend. I wouldn't call our weekend restful but it was definitely a lot of fun. Chris and I went out both nights--an unusual luxury. Friday, we met with our TOOLS group and Saturday, we met another couple for dinner at a wonderful restaurant, new to us. Below, a few photos of Sunday's events. Maybe I'll get around to that rest sometime this week!

photo from the pumpkin patch down the road

lots of fun

Jack took me, Mia and Grace to see Peter Pan

It was very well done but I think the girls still prefer the movie.

Grandpa's girls

A big thank you to Jack for arranging such a fun evening.

Future Starlet strikes a pose on the red carpet

Moses?

No, Pocahontas--promoting reading

and apple balancing

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Flashback to Fancy

So, back in August, I mentioned that on our way back to Texas, we stopped at St. Bernard Abbey to visit the Ave María Grotto. "The Grotto consists of a landscaped hillside of 125 small stone and cement structures, the handiwork of the creative genius, Brother Joseph Zoetl O.S.B., a monk of the Abbey for almost 70 years." (from the brochure for the self-guided tour)

We walked a two block pathway where we saw replicas of some of the most famous places in the world including of course, many religious sites. The best word I can think of to describe what we saw is "delightful". Toward the beginning of our tour, one of the Abbey volunteers told us that Brother Joseph had experienced chronic pain and was unable to sleep. He dealt with his suffering in part by creating his miniatures. People from all over the world donated materials like broken plates, costume jewelry, ceramic tile, beads, marbles and seashells. You'll see some of those materials in the pictures.

After enjoying our tour, we spent a good bit of time in their extensive Catholic bookstore where I found some excellent materials for home schooling. It was a worthwhile detour, memorable enough to make us take the road less traveled a bit more often.

Our tour began at Bethlehem

The Tower of Thanks

Brother Joseph made it in gratitude to all of those who sent materials for his works. The green glass balls at the top are from Ireland where they were used as floats for fishing nets.

I thought this was interesting

I think this is part of the Temple of the Fairies

Good thing the dragon was chained up!

St. Mary Magdalene

Carmel in Lisieux, France

convent of St. Therese

Mia has a special affection for St. Therese

The catacombs

St. Peter's square in Rome

The Holy Land took up the whole hillside

Alleluia

Calvary

This reminded me of a place near Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Jacob's Well, near Shechem, where Jesus spoke

to the Samaritan woman of "Living Water"

Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration

I love that cheesy grin

Even sillier

Sister hug

Fatima replica

Replica of the shrine in Lourdes, France

Where the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bernadette, age 14, in 1858

Brother Joseph built this replica when he was 80 years old.

The Agony in the Garden dedicated to the St. Bernard's students killed in WWII

The last of the Grotto shrines

Our Lady of Guadalupe

When the girls heard about the chipmunk crossing, they hoped to see some chipmunks

Instead, they had to be the chipmunks.

That's it. If you made it through the whole post, congratulations!

See you back here next time.

Un Viaje por España

So as I may have mentioned before, this fall, I finally started to teach the girls Spanish. To help keep me motivated and accountable, I put together two Spanish classes that meet at our house every Thursday. Mia and Grace take both classes and Sophie and Ella are in the first class. Two other homeschool moms help out with the teaching and things have gone very well.

Part of almost every class has involved Spain and its geography. All of the kids can find Spain on the globe now and we've talked about the fact the Spain is on the Iberian Peninsula and is a part of Europe. Today, we finished our study of Spain with a culture day-- "Un Viaje por España". We began with lunch. Everyone brought a typical Spanish food and I did a demonstration on how to make a "tortilla española". Miracle of miracles, I managed to flip it without spilling egg and potato all over the stove and cabinets (unheard of for me). Everything was delicious.

After lunch, we began our journey in Sevilla where we listened to flamenco music and enjoyed a short demonstration. The kids practiced the hand motions and clapping and then moved on to Madrid. In Madrid, we visited El Prado and learned about Goya and Picasso. We talked about the palace in Madrid and the Spanish monarchy. I had ordered small Spanish flags for each family so I showed them those and pointed out the coat of arms of Spain which dates back to Los Reyes Católicos, Ferdinand and Isabella. Our little students left Madrid with coloring pages of works of Goya and Picasso and another stamp on their passports.

Our next stop was Pamplona where we ran with the bulls--or pretended to be bulls--or a little of both. So much fun. We had asked the moms to dress the kids in white and Becca had made red scarves and belts for everyone so the kids looked like they would fit right in at San Fermines.

Our final stop was Barcelona. I was worried that we would have lost the kids' attention by then but they were all very interested in learning about Antonio Gaudí and seeing pictures of La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera and Parc Guell. After seeing all of the colorful mosaics in Parc Guell, they each made a simple one of their own and did a truly fantastic job.

In the end, none of the kids wanted to leave. The highest of compliments I think. After all of that, I am looking forward to a restful weekend!! Ciao.

My helper

Mia helped with the signs welcoming the travelers to each city.

¡Bienvenidos a España!

Sophie and Ella helped with this poster

Learning about flamenco

Practicing the moves

Becca made fans from popsicle sticks and coffee filters.

They were a hit and will be a perfect project when we paint and decorate them

with glitter and sequins.

Ella's ready to run with the bulls.

(Looking nervous ¿no?)

She did up end getting knocked over twice by over-enthusiastic bulls.

mosaic by Grace

And here, a few photos from an excursion to a nearby park. I like it because it's wooded and has lake access. Perfect for a hot day. We're having a lot of those.

Madeleine, Sophie and Ella were at G & G Doyle's so it was just me, Mia, Grace and a friend

Bathing suits in October. Gotta' love Texas.