flynn057

Last week I started a new blog series, Image & Imagination , to  explore how to stimulate our children's curiosity with pictures .  I like to integrate fine art and Biblical themes when I teach, whether it is in my own home or in our home school co-op English or history classes. Our 5th and 6th graders have been studying the early church in history class and reading through the book of Acts in English class.  In class this week, I showed them several pieces from the huge volume of  Great Bible Stories and Master Paintings by Owen S. Rachleff, which was a gift from my late father-in-law in our early home schooling years.  I wish we had more time to take a long look at them!  Maybe next week...  You can look up these paintings on-line, keeping in mind that there are variations in titles.  I have linked some of them here: “ The Pentecost” by El Greco (Spanish, 1541-1614) “ The Stoning of St. Stephen” by Fra Angelico (Italian, c. 1400-1455) “...

The Apostles' Creed I believe in God the  Father , Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ, his only  begotten   Son , our Lord: Who was conceived by the  Holy Ghost , born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He  descended  into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He  ascended  into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From  thence  he shall come to judge the  quick  and the dead: I believe in the  Holy Ghost : I believe in the holy  catholic  church: the  communion  of  saints : The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life  everlasting . Amen. Vocabulary: begotten  - born descended  – went down ascended  – went up thence  – there quick  – living Holy Ghost  – Holy Spirit catholic  – universal or whole (not the same thing as the Roman ...

Friends,   In our home school co-op, the 5th-6th English class that I teach is reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis.  We do about two chapters per week, and I am creating the study questions, writing assignments and activities as I go.  There are 17 chapters in the book, and so far I have finished up through chapter 8.  I'll post the other 9 chapters later on! (Edit to add - many years later, I never did!) The study questions are a mix of simple recall and deeper reflection.  Occasionally, I refer to vocabulary words, grammar, punctuation, or literary devices.  Some of the writing assignments are geared for practical real life application, while others stimulate imagination and creativity.  If you have study questions or writing assignments to suggest, please add them in a comment! At the bottom of this post, I have included several links to other on-line study guides for this book.  Som...

It's a rip stick, right? Left by a child on the  concrete patio at the play ground,  it's ready to roll. Or is it El Raton,  the ominous rat  with beady eyes and a furled brow? In coming posts, lets talk about Image and Imagination .  Let's explore how to stimulate our children's curiosity with pictures, whether it is photos like the one above, or masterpiece art, or advertisements, or even random doodles. I think we can get some good writing prompts going!  I'd love to hear your ideas!   P52 Photo Project    this week's  theme  " Hobbies" Yes, I confess!  I posted two pictures for P52 this week!  You can find the other at on my www.comewearymoms.blogspot.com at  On Clouds, Hands, Oysters and Messy Humanity .