Home

by Jessica | Dec 29, 2022

The Civil War Unit Study and Lap Book

Jul 18, 2013 | , , | 13 Comments

The boys have been creating Lap Books as we make our way through American History!  I think, for some children including my own, Lap Books can be an excellent tool for teaching.  Not only do they encourage creativity, they are a great way to reinforce and record the information that is being studied.  Yes, Lap Books do take extra work for both the kids and (especially) mom, but I think that it is time well spent, and it is a sacrifice I am willing to make.  That said, I am usually very selective on which Lap Books I decide to create, choosing only quality materials, and topics my children love, to make it worth the extra time.

The next on our list of Lap Books is the boys’ Civil War Lap Book which they made while the girl’s created one based on the Addy American Girl series.   I have been very pleased with the high quality mini-books from the Time Travelers series – though I do make some modifications to incorporate our Catholic Faith.   

You can find my additional mini books below.

B is for Battle Cry and Safari Toobs: Union Soldiers & Confederate Soldiers

.:  Resources and Book Lists for Unit Five – The Civil War :.

Core Text
From Sea to Shining Sea (Chapters 16-17 – The Civil War Part 1 and Part 2)
From Sea to Shining Sea Worksheets

Additional Books read by the Boys: 

Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad
Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3)
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (Dell Picture Yearling Special)
Just a few words, Mr. Lincoln: The story of the Gettysburg Address
Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers
Abe Lincoln and the Muddy Pig
Abe Lincoln Remembers
Abraham Lincoln: Lawyer, Leader, Legend
A Picture Book of Robert E. Lee
Civil War On Sunday (Magic Tree House #21)
B is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet
Cassie’s Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War Story
Thomas Finds a Treasure: A St. John Neumann Story
Willy Finds Victory: A Blessed Francis Seelos Story

The boys took turns reading various picture books, including Cassie’s Sweet Berry Pie: A Civil War Story, to the little ones… 

. . . If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad
Go Free or Die: A Story About Harriet Tubman
Brady
Young Abe Lincoln: The Frontier Days: 1809-1837
Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House
Meet Abraham Lincoln (Landmark Books)
Stonewall
The Long Road to Gettysburg or Gettysburg (Civil War Times Illustrated Special Edition)
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale (Tale of Young Americans)
My America: My Brother’s Keeper: Virginia’s Civil War Diary, Book One
Robert E. Lee: Young Confederate (Childhood of Famous Americans)
Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier’s Life in the Civil War (Young Reader’s Hist- Civil War)
Ghosts of the Civil War
If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War
Classic Starts: The Red Badge of Courage
Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America – Jim Weiss Audio

Coloring Books:

Activities and Games:  (A list of ideas… We don’t own all of these.) 

 
.: Timeline Entries :.

  • 1807-1870 Robert E. Lee
  • 1811-1860 St. John Newmann
  • 1820-1913 Harriet Tubman
  • 1824-1863 “Stonewall Jackson”
  • 1861-1865 Lincoln – 16th President of the United States 
  • 1861-1865 Civil War 
  • July 1-3, 1863 Battle at Gettysburg
  • 1863 Emancipation Proclamation
  • April 9, 1866 Civil Rights Act

I asked the boys to choose a few people or events from the list above to add to their History Through the Ages Record of Time timeline book during this unit. The listings in bold are the ones that they choose to include this year. Here are a couple pictures:

.: CIVIL WAR LAP BOOK :.

.: THE FRONT COVER :.

.: INSIDE VIEW #1 :.

Left Flap:

  • The Christian Commission
  • Carpetbaggers
Blue Center Page:
  • The Liberator
  • The North Star
  • Accoutrements, Accessories & Possibles of the Civil War Soldier
Right Flap:
  • Antietam: The Bloodiest Day
  • The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Closeup Pictures of the mini-books:

The Liberator
Accoutrements, Accessories & Possibles – with descriptions on the back of each and stored in the Pocket/Pouch
Antietam – “The Bloodiest Day”
.: INSIDE VIEW #2 :.

Back of Left Flap:
  • Fort Sumter: The First Conflict
  • Federal & Confederate Weaponry
  • Battle of the Ironclads
Center of Folder: 
  • Causes for Conflict
  • Gettysburg: The Turning Point
  • Women of the Civil War
Battle of the Ironclads
Federal & Confederate Weaponry
Gettysburg: The Turning Point
Women of the Civil War
Rose’s favorite in Pink-uh!!!!
.:  Bonus Flap :.

The boys and I decided to include the contributions made by Catholics during the Civil War!

Additional Catholic Mini-Books:

Of course we listened to The Fighting 69th while assembling the Lap Books! 🙂

.: Fully Opened View :. 

The boys completed this Unit Study during our 4th quarter and then moved on to Unit Six – The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression, which I’ll (hopefully) be sharing with you all soon.  We are also currently studying World War II and the 20th Century over the summer, squeezing it in before we return to Ancient History in the fall!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 18, 2013 | , , , | 15 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
The weekend before last the three oldest went hiking with their Dad!  It was the first time that Twinkle Toes had hiked this particular peak and she enjoyed it so very much.  

Late that night I discovered this beautiful vase of flowers on my dresser which she had picked! 
She is always so sweet and thoughtful…

{happy}

During the girls sewing class last week I took the rest of the children bowling!  The boys had won four free games during golf camp this year and the nice gentleman behind the counter let Rose bowl for free as well!  
Trying to imitate her older brother, as usual, she was hilarious to watch and actually ended up with the highest score of all!

In the meantime, Bud had a blast watching the “BALL!!!”

Oh!  And guess who tried eating lettuce for the very first time on Wednesday night?!?!  This picky picky eater of ours (who literally starved himself as an infant rather than eat foods he didn’t like) noticed that his little sister was enjoying her salad and decided to give it a try.  He was pleasantly surprise that it “tastes like nothing!”  The texture was still a challenge for him, but with the promise of a scoop of ice cream for dessert he finished a whole leaf of green lettuce.  
Hip, hip hooray! 
{funny}
Early last week (after splurging on a new bunk bed for the girls using “Bill Me Later”) I decided to have a Yard Sale!  We live a ways from town on a dead end road and I wasn’t sure if it would be much of a success, but I figured it was worth a shot… As I was working on decluttering our home, our older children were busy with their own preparations!

From Instagram on Friday afternoon:  I sell something for 75 cents and they wait for their 25 cents in change…. The kids sell a large bottle of water and 2 fudge brownies for $2.50, the customer gives them a $5 and says keep the change! Whatever. 😉

{real}
I tend to make a huge mess when I “organize.”  This is what my living room/entry looked like early last week as I started piling up everything to sell.

The kids started to get a little nervous, especially when I decided that I wanted to sell the entertainment center and TV too!  (I purchased the entertainment center for my apartment when I was single.  The television was from a neighbor and the only one we have ever purchased.)  We don’t have any television reception where we live, and have never had cable, but we do have a Wii and a DVD/VHS player.  I was just getting so tired of answering the constant “can we watch…” questions! 
I decided to have a two day sale and set up everything out front on Thursday.   Sean had to work both Friday and Saturday but was able to put up (and take down) the signs all along our road on his way to and from work.  
The boys helped me put little price tags on everything and we made a large “FREE” pile as well.  (It seemed that everyone who found something in the Free pile would then try to also find something to purchase as well!)  We had the same about of traffic (45 cars according to our tally marks) each day but Friday was the most successful with $305.50 in sales!  Saturday I sold another $209.25. Then on Sunday a woman from Mass gave me $100 for the remaining entertainment center, TV, Bookshelf with glass doors, track light, and blue recliner, for an over all total of $614.75!!! The children also made $15.50 in sales from some of their own toys plus another $46.00 in baked goods and water!

Overall I’d say it was a huge success and definitely worth the work!  Between the yard sale and what I already have saved in my Paypal account I have almost enough to pay for the bunk bed!!!   I still have a basket of skirts (though I did pull them out for a couple ladies to look through) to list on ebay and am also planning to host another Online Curriculum Sale Blog Hop here August 1-7th for all who are interested.  
It will probably be replaced at some point, but so far we haven’t missed the TV and the new question I keep hearing is “Can we listen to…” which I don’t mind at all!  The boys have already finished the first four books of The Ranger’s Apprentice series and the girls are currently listening to Anne of Green Gables!  
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Headtime Story :: Kids’ Sewing 101

Jul 10, 2013 | | 19 Comments

Today our oldest two girls had their very first sewing class!  Twinkle Toes has been wanting to learn to sew for awhile now.  I had actually signed them up to take this “Headtime Story” class at JoAnn’s back in June (inspired by Charlotte’s girls), but had to reschedule it when we decided to go to Catholic Family Camp since it fell on the same weekend.   The class normally costs $35 for each child, but Joann’s often runs specials on their classes and I was able to sign them up during a 50% off sale so both the girls were able to take class for the price of one.  They also had to bring their own fabric, pins, scissors, etc, but our local store also provided us with some 40% off coupons which we could use in addition to the regular weekly coupons which really helped make it a little more affordable for us.  We had so much fun searching for fabric and the patterns the girls decided on are just dreamy, don’t you think?!

Chiquita fell in love with this Matryoshka Fabric the minute she first saw it last month, the day we signed up for the classes.  We found some soft pink polka dot fabric to coordinate and she was set. 

Finding fabric for Twinkle Toes was a little more challenging.  At first she was drawn to a variety of fabrics (Hello Kitty, kitty cats, owls, flowers, and more) but wasn’t able to make a decision. (The poor girl gets her inability to make quick decisions and procrastination tendencies from me…)  Anyways, we arrived at the store early today to continue our search and were so happy to find this lovely owl fabric with pretty pink flowers.  Perfect!

  

Peggy was an excellent instructor and the girls learned so much during the three hour class!

  

I completely forgot to tell the instructor, or Chiquita, that the reason I purchased extra fabric was so that the matryoshka dolls could be vertical on the finished pillowcase instead of horizontal… Oh well.  Chiquita doesn’t seem to mind and said “the dolls are sleeping on their sides, just like I sleep!”  🙂

I was so impressed with how great the pillowcases turned out and the girls couldn’t wait to try them out just as soon as we arrived home.   I am looking forward to signing them up for another class soon!  In fact, JoAnn’s is having a “Buy 1 Class, Get 1 Free!” sale July 19-21.  I’m jotting it down on my calendar now!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Jul 5, 2013 | | 9 Comments

Here are Seven Quick Takes from our 4th of July Celebration!  
For additional quick takes visit Conversion Diary.

.: American Flag Cupcakes :.
We have been reading about Our Flag this week, from the sweet Little Golden Book, and the girls were very excited to help create this year’s Flag Cupcakes.  Since we were using all the berries on the cake and brownies the girls decorated the cupcakes with white frosting with white and red sprinkles and blue frosting with white stars!  I thought it turned out great, even if we were short on stars…  Just think of it as the Flag of 1822! 😉 
.: Red, White & Blue Berry Brownie Torte :.
This was inspired by Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Brownie ‘n Berries Dessert Pizza.   I baked a batch of Fudge Brownies in my Pampered Chef Torte Pans.  After they had cooled I combined 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla to divide and spread over the top of both tortes, topping it with blueberries and chopped strawberries.  Yummmmm!!! 
  
.: Flag Fruit & Marshmallow Kabobs :. 


Directions: Thread 4 blueberries, 2 mini-marshmallows and 2 raspberries on each of five 10-inch wooden sticks. On the remaining seven sticks, thread 4 raspberries and 3 marshmallows to create this all-American treat.


.: Star Spangled Berry Cake :. 
.: All Ready to Go :. 
.: At the Party :. 
Don’t you just love those red boots?!  I was able to combine an extra coupon with a great sale at Gymboree and get boots for a couple of the girls for less than $10 a pair!   Unfortunately they were already sold out in Chiquita’s size, but I was able to find her a festive 4th of July skirt instead. 
I think Bud was having fun reenacting the Flag Raising at Iwo Jima which we had read about earlier!  😉
And Snuggles t-shirt?  I had been looking for a Texas Flag Tee for Bud (which had already sold out) when I ran across this “Awesome Sauce” t-shirt.  The day before we had been at my brother’s house and my SIL asked this picky eater of ours if he wanted a hot dog.  He said “Only if it is a good one!” (The little stinker!) She went on to ask him what a “good” hot dog is and he said “one with ketchup!”  The t-shirt was perfect for him and he is wearing it again today… I’m going to have to sneak it out of his room tonight to wash! 
.: Fireworks :. 
The fireworks were beautiful!  Bud especially loved them this year and was so cute as he tried to blow them out!  
Happy Independence Day! 

Star Spangled Berry Cake

Jul 5, 2013 | , | 6 Comments

A couple days ago I still wasn’t sure what I was going to take to the annual 4th of July party we attend each year. The sweet hostess, who had just arrived home after spending the school year on the opposite side of the country, asked me to just bring “one of your FABULOUS dessert items.”   I somehow missed reading the “one,” looked back at what we brought last year, and had a panic attack.  Yes, my archives stress me out sometimes and I occasionally think “How does she do it?”  I can’t compete with THAT!!! 😉  

Thankfully my husband was able to pick up some berries at Costco on his way home from choir practice Wednesday night and after a quick google image search I had a plan.  The girls and I ended up only having enough time Thursday afternoon to make four (of the six) items I had chosen, but it ended up being a smaller party this year and was plenty.  This “Star Spangled Berry Cake” (inspired by this picture) was my favorite!  It was so easy to decorate and turned out beautifully! 
Ingredients:

Directions:
Bake and cool cakes according to directions.  Trim the tops off of each cake.  Place one cake bottom side down on cake platter.  Spread 1/2 cup frosting over cake and layer with strawberries.  Place second cake, top side down, on top of the strawberries.  Spread a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to seal in any crumbs.  Spread the remaining frosting over the cake.  Using a large star shape cookie cutter as a guide, arrange blueberries on the top of the cake in the shape of a star.  Fill in the rest of the top of the cake with raspberries.  Place blueberries in around the base of the cake. 

 

I took this last picture to post to Instagram/Facebook while I was balancing the cake on my lap during the 45 minute drive to the party,  but thankfully it arrived safely and was definitely a hit.  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!  I’ll be back with a few more pictures from our celebration soon!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 4, 2013 | , , , , , , | 3 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
Yesterday we spent the day at my parents home and Rose enjoyed picking flowers with Grandma.

{happy}

Sean had to work last Saturday, but the kids and I spent the morning with my two youngest brothers watching our hometown parade and then the afternoon swimming at my brother Brian’s house!

The kids loved watching the parade, and they were all very happy when the employees from the local building supply store handed out full size candy bars to each of them!
 
7 kids + sitting where the parade begins = enough candy to fill a piñata! 

{funny}
 

Bud was so cute playing peek-a-boo with himself at the doctor’s office on Sunday, 
 as we waited for the doctor to remove his stitches! 

{real}

Bud’s injury wasn’t to be the last of the “excitement” for the month of June…  On Friday this poor little baby deer was stumbling around our yard… We gave him water and called both the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Department of Fish & Wildlife and basically neither of them do anything to help save injured deer.   I was told that if they came to pick him up “he would just be Euthanized and his best chance for survival is to hope that the mother isn’t dead already (from trying to save her baby from whatever attacked him) and that she will try and find him during the night once it is safer and has cooled down.  Otherwise this baby will just become food for some other animal (i.e. cougar).”  Ugh!  It was really hard to tell the children that we had to just let him go… 
Right after that I was sitting on the porch and Rose was playing with Snuggles on the swings when she did a face dive resulting in yet another mouth injury.  She had torn the frenulum on the top and had put a few of her bottom teeth nearly all the way through her bottom lip. Thankfully, she didn’t have any loose or broken teeth, since it was on the inside of her mouth she didn’t need stitched, it has healed amazingly fast, and we haven’t had any injuries yet this week!   
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Happy 4th of July! 

A Virtual Baby Shower for Sarah and her TWINS!

Jul 1, 2013 | | 0 Comments

You are invited to another Virtual Baby Shower! I’ve hosted one here before and was so happy to see that Mary is hosting a shower for Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things and her TWIN boys! 

Click on over to Better than Eden to join the fun and get a chance to win some great prizes (including one of Charlotte’s awesome quilties or one of Barbara’s beautiful handmade scapulars or tenners!) after signing up to offer prayers for Sarah and her family, donating to a diaper fund, or just by helping spread the word!

The 2014 Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner

Jun 29, 2013 | , | 4 Comments

The Saints Calendar and Planner from Tan has always been one of my favorite planning tools for Celebrating the Liturgical Year. This calendar sold out quickly last year and many of you were not able to purchase a copy.

The new 2014 Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner begins September 1st of this year, so be sure to pre-order a copy soon!

The ever-popular 2014 Saints Calendar and Daily Planner is a 16 month calendar ready to use in September. Our spiral-bound design allows plenty of space for daily appointments in a lay-flat format.

 This Calendar has become a favorite for home or office with professionals, students, and busy homeschool families.

TAN calendars contain special feasts and fascinating Catholic traditions. They are marked with days of Fasting, special Saints Days, and the Sundays of the Liturgical Year for both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Calendar.

You can see sample pages from my 2013 Saints Calendar here.

The beautiful wall calendars published by Tan for 2014 will include: The Life of Our Lord, Mary and the Saints and The Angels.

  

The planner and calendars are available to pre-order from Amazon or directly from Tan.

I hope you all have a blessed Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul! 

Tidepooling

Jun 27, 2013 | , , , | 7 Comments

Monday morning we woke up to the sound of waves crashing on the beach and the lowest tide of the year! 
It was a negative tide (-2.21 at 7:10 AM) and absolutely incredible!

(Additional pictures from our trip can be found here and here.) 

Another Trip to the Ocean

Jun 27, 2013 | | 4 Comments

After Mass on Sunday our family went on another road trip to the coast to meet up (once again) with our dear friends who moved to the midwest a couple years ago!  It has been a rainy couple weeks, and it was chilly and misty when we arrived at the beach.  All the kids were so excited to be back at the ocean and I was very thankful to breathe the salty sea air as I continue to fight this summer cold. 😉

After unpacking the car and saying hello to all our friends, Sean and the boys started a campfire on the beach with some of the wood they had squeezed into the back of our overcrowded minivan.   It was raining but we were determined to roast hot dogs and marshmallows!

One of our little guys forgot his jacket at home and looked so funny in his “homemade” rain jacket recycled by his daddy from a case of water bottles!  At least it helped keep him dry. 

Our Family

Sean & Jessica, and our kids—known here at Shower of Roses by their childhood blog nicknames: Captain, Ranger, Twinkle Toes, Chiquita, Snuggles/Scout, Rose, Bud, Grace & Joy. (Ages 26–7)

A Little About Me

Hi! I’m Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings–the beautiful “Shower of Roses” that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

Please Visit My Sponsors…

This Week’s Popular Posts

Shower of Roses Affiliate Links

All About Spelling
All About Reading
All About Reading Giveaways
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

Shower of Roses Gift Guides

Looking for Something?

looking-back

  • ▼2026 (4)
  • ►2025 (31)
  • ►2024 (41)
  • ►2023 (30)
  • ►2022 (48)
  • ►2021 (48)
  • ►2020 (57)
  • ►2019 (61)
  • ►2018 (90)
  • ►2017 (128)
  • ►2016 (148)
  • ►2015 (172)
  • ►2014 (227)
  • ►2013 (238)
  • ►2012 (308)
  • ►2011 (297)
  • ►2010 (313)
  • ►2009 (486)
  • ►2008 (564)
  • ►2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I’d love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!

0 Comments

Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, and our kids—known here at Shower of Roses by their childhood blog nicknames: Captain, Ranger, Twinkle Toes, Chiquita, Snuggles/Scout, Rose, Bud, Grace & Joy. (Ages 26–7)

A Little About Me

Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

Please Visit My Sponsors…

This Week's Popular Posts

Shower of Roses Affiliate Links

All About Spelling
All About Reading
All About Reading Giveaways
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

Shower of Roses Gift Guides

Looking for Something?

looking-back

  • ▼2026 (4)
  • ►2025 (31)
  • ►2024 (41)
  • ►2023 (30)
  • ►2022 (48)
  • ►2021 (48)
  • ►2020 (57)
  • ►2019 (61)
  • ►2018 (90)
  • ►2017 (128)
  • ►2016 (148)
  • ►2015 (172)
  • ►2014 (227)
  • ►2013 (238)
  • ►2012 (308)
  • ►2011 (297)
  • ►2010 (313)
  • ►2009 (486)
  • ►2008 (564)
  • ►2007 (148)

Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

A Papal Unit Study & Lap Book

Shower of Roses Easter Gift Guides



All Saints Party Printables

All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!