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{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 29, 2011 | , , , | 7 Comments

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life.  

{pretty}

 Our quickly growing Twinkle Toes, wearing a pretty new dress and holding the Strawberry & Peach Tea Cake we just finished baking! 


{happy}

Captain loves the new Catan: Cities and Knights Game Expansion, for with The Settlers of Catan, that he received for his birthday!


{funny}


“The Fireman” made with Stockmar Modeling Beeswax
by Rascal (age 9)


{real}

Snuggles was the only one that didn’t like the Tea Cake…  

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment!

Strawberry & Peach Tea Cake

Jul 29, 2011 | | 2 Comments

I have been wanting to bake this cake ever since first seeing it on Jennifer’s blog and then again on Kelly’s.   It was so worth the time and effort.  I am reposting the recipe here for future reference, since I plan to make it again… and again!

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, for pan

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 -1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped mixed stone fruit, fresh or frozen (I used 1 cup of fresh peaches and added 2 cups of fresh strawberries)

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (I used Maple Sugar)


1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, then stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture and stir just until smooth dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a 1-inch thick disk, and freeze for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter a shallow 10 inch round baking pan or tart pan. Divide the dough into two equal portions and pat one portion evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the fruit over the dough. Break the remainder of the dough into tablespoon-size pieces and distribute atop the fruit, then sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the dessert.

3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

It was also the perfect opportunity to pull out our iSi Cream Whipper and make some homemade whipped cream to go along with the cake.   I am still amazed at how neat this little gadget is, and it makes the BEST whipped cream!

Wrapped in plastic wrap, this tea cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the unbaked dough; if wrapped well, it will keep for up to 3 months. You can freeze a whole, unbaked cake with fruit, wrapped well for 1 month.  Serves 10 to 12.

It won’t last that long around here!  

American History :: Our Book Lists & Plans

Jul 27, 2011 | , | 36 Comments

I’ve been spending some time over the past couple weeks creating plans for our American History Study for this coming school year – using the books we have on our shelves, in addition to a few of my favorite resources for finding additional book suggestions, to create our book lists.

I’ve broken the year into 6 Units, each unit containing core reading assignments, additional picture books/literature based on the time period, coloring books, a lap book, timeline entries, additional activities, and geography (state) assignments.   I’ve broken the lists into two sections – one for my Pre-K/Kindergartner-3rd graders (mainly the girls) and the other for my 4th-5th graders (the older boys).   We will most likely spend 4-8 weeks on each unit, some units requiring more time than others, but we’ll have to see how it goes.

These plans are completely tailored towards my own family, and I didn’t intend to share them online (at least not until after completing each unit and posting our Lap Book pictures), but since so many of you asked for them, here you go. . .

I’ve uploaded our plans to Scribd, along with listing our book list for the year below:

Note:  Books in bold on these lists are ones that we already own.  The rest we will purchase throughout the year if they are not available to check out from our local libraries.   Overall it is a LOT of books, but I don’t intend to have all of my children read all of them.  They will each be assigned some of the books from the lists, and at least 2-3 from each list will be read aloud all together.  
  

.: CORE TEXTS :.

.: UNIT ONE – NEW WORLD EXPLORERS :.



Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

.: UNIT TWO – COLONIAL LIFE :.

Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

.: UNIT THREE – THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION :.

Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

.: UNIT FOUR – THE EARLY 19th CENTURY :.

Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

.: UNIT FIVE – THE CIVIL WAR :.

Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

.: UNIT SIX – THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION/THE GREAT DEPRESSION :.

Kindergarten-3rd Grade

4th-5th Grade

Coloring Books, Activities and Games

It’s a pretty full book list already, but if anyone has any additional favorites to recommend for these time periods, I’d love for you to share them in the comments!

On the Feast of St. James. . .

Jul 26, 2011 | , , | 6 Comments

Today is the feast of St. James the Greater.   It also happens to be a Nameday in our home!  I had all sorts of ideas for celebrating… However, after spending most of the day in town for car repairs, errands, and a major grocery shopping trip, I had to keep it simple.   We had Baked Chicken and salad for dinner, followed by a scoop of ice cream for the kids.   After dinner we made this simple St. James Cross and Shells Candle! 

Supplies:

1 White Pillar Candle

Sea Shells 
(including Cockle Shells, the Symbol of St. James) 

Gold Decorating Wax 
(available from Stockmar in a Variety Pack or all Gold)

First we glued the Sea Shells around the base of the candle.   This was the perfect opportunity to try out my new CoolTool Ultra Low Temp Glue Gun (I got mine with a coupon at Michaels).  I’m in love!   As always I ended up getting the glue all over my fingers, and, for the first time, I am not covered with blisters! 😉  

The Low Temp of the glue, in addition to being much safer than the hot glue, also worked out perfectly for decorating the candle, since it didn’t melt the wax.  

After we finished placing the shells I cut out a St. James Cross from Gold Candle Decorating Wax.  (The gold wax works so nicely for creating all sorts of candles – a Christ Candle for Christmas, a Paschal Candle for Easter, etc…)  First I printed out an image  (resizing it to fit our candle), and then cut it out in two pieces from our strip of wax, using an exacto knife.   We then placed the wax cross onto the candle.
  

That’s it!   It only took about 10-15 minutes to make from start to finish, and we ended up with a beautiful candle to decorate our table, in honor of St. James.

O Glorious Saint James, because of your fervor and generosity Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount and his agony in the Garden. Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life. Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen.

St. James the Greater, one of the Glorious Twelve, Ora pro nobis.

St. Christopher, Ora pro nobis.

Making Plans :: 2011-2012

Jul 22, 2011 | , , | 18 Comments

I never did get around to posting the list of curriculum that we used last year, and now, I am not even going to try… Instead I will mention (mainly for my own reference) what worked for us, or didn’t, as I share our plans for this coming school year.

This coming year our oldest boys will be going into 5th and 4th grade, the girls will be in 2nd and 1st.   Snuggles (who just turned 4) is still Pre-K.

I am not quite finished finalizing our History plans, and then I’ll still need to update our weekday schedule, but at least it is a start!  Here is what we are planning for the year:

.: Religion :.

We have been using the Baltimore Catechism to teach our children the Catholic Faith since our oldest was a toddler.  Another one of our favorite resources is My Catholic Faith.  Usually my husband is the one that does most of the formal catechism “classes” with the kids, and I focus on teaching the kids through celebrating the liturgical year in our home, leading Little Flowers for the girls, Lap Books, etc.

.: Math :. 

Towards the end of our 2009-2010 school year, I ended up switching Math programs yet again… Even though we loved Right Start Math, with so many little ones, I just wasn’t able to keep up.  At that time I switched the older boys to Teaching Textbooks, and the girls to workbooks that I already had on my shelves – still supplementing with the Math Games from Right Start.  I think we have finally found the perfect fit for our family!

.: Language Arts :.

Phonics/Reading

This past year Twinkle Toes completed Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and is reading splendidly!   She breezed through the Faith and Freedom Readers for Grade 1 and is reading all sorts of books now.   I plan to use the same for Chiquita this coming year.   For additional phonics practice my girls both really enjoy the Explode the Code books.   Last year I did the online version (I purchased our subscription at 50% through Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op), but this year we will be going back to the printed workbooks, since my girls need all the practice they can get with handwriting.

Spelling

In 2009 we also switched from using Seton’s spelling workbooks to All About Spelling.  Shortly afterwards I attended a seminar, on “Dyslexia: Symptoms and Solutions” that was given by Susan Barton, and learned that children who are dyslexic learn the best using Reading and Spelling programs which are based on the Orton-Gllighmam method of teaching.    Sure enough, it has been a perfect program for my boys!

 
 

Now that they are getting a little older, I have been searching for a program that they can complete a little more independently (freeing up more time for me to spend working with the younger children), but still includes a multi-sensory approach.   After discussing it with a friend, I think that The Phonetic Zoo from The Institute for Excellence in Writing is just what I have been looking for.   It is designed for children ages 9 years old and up, and I was very happy to see that they suggest beginning with All About Spelling.  Perfect!!

Grammar

We were also very happy with our choices for Grammar last year, and will be continuing on for this school coming year.

Writing

This will also be a continuation from last year.   The only thing I am going to do differently, is make sure the boys each have their own workbook.  Last year I tried to save a little money by photocopying the Student Pages for the boys, which is allowed within your own family.  However, it was just not worth my time, not to mention the cost of paper and ink!  🙂

Vocabulary

Last year Captain used Word Study and Rascal used Wordly Wise.   Captain hated vocabulary and it was one of Rascal’s favorite subjects.   This year they will all be using Wordly Wise.  😉   The only thing that I haven’t decided on, is whether to continue using the old editions, or try the Wordly Wise 3000 series…  (Update: After a couple emails mentioning that the new editions contain some stories with a liberal slant, I think we’ll stick with the old editions.) 

Handwriting

This is the one subject that I haven’t made a decision on yet. . . The girls will be continuing on with Handwriting Without Tears, but I am torn whether to continue using the Handwriting for Young Catholics series for the boys, or to switch to something a little less expensive.  In the meantime I have been watching for the Handwriting for Young Catholics books on Cathswap… We’ll see!

.: Science :.

Ever since switching to the Exploring Creation series, my children have really enjoyed Science.   The boys didn’t love Botany nearly as much as they loved studying Astronomy, but they still learned so much and had lots of fun in the process!

If by chance we finish early, we will move on to Zoology 2:

Chiquita always loves to just listen along whenever we are reading aloud from the Exploring Creation books, but she also enjoyed Science and Living in God’s World 1A last year, and will continue on to Science and Living in God’s World 1 this year.


.: History :.

For the past three years we have been using, and loving, Connecting with History!  We are never able to get to quite as many of the hands-on activities and other projects as we would like, but my children (the boys especially) love the book lists and reading assignments.   This past year was a little harder than usual. . . I ordered all the books on the book list, but I kept waiting to order the completed teachers guide (which was originally scheduled to be published last summer) instead of downloading the units as they were available.  (I really prefer having a hard copy and didn’t want to spend the money on the downloads, if I planned to purchase the print edition.)   Anyhow, we did the first three units and then continued with just reading assignments from the book lists for units 4-8, skipping any of the books that have to do with Early American History.

Since Volume 4 of Connecting with History has not been published yet, and since my boys have been begging, we will be revisiting American History this coming year!   It will be the perfect opportunity for the boys to focus (and hopefully complete) their State-by-State Scrapbook for Geography as well.    Over the past week I have been working on creating plans for the year,  which makes me even more thankful for the wonderful resource that the Connecting with History Books have been!

I’ve decided to use From Sea to Shining Sea as a spine for the boys, and America, My Country along with American History 1 for Young Catholics for the girls.    At this point I am looking at breaking the year into 6 Unit Studies, including: New World Explorers, Colonial Life, The American Revolution, The Early 19th Century, The Civil War, and The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression.   I’ve been working on coming up with book lists, reading assignments, lap books, various projects, and timeline dates to add to their Record of Time Timeline Notebooks for each unit.   It still needs some work, but so far the plans are coming together nicely!

UPDATE:  I’ve posted our unit plans and booklists here. 

.: Geography :.
.: Music :.

Music is something that has been put off for way too long (at least formally), and so this year the kids will hopefully begin piano lessons, in addition to starting a study on composers which will include creating a “Composers” lap book.  Here are some of the resources we will be using, most of which we already own:

As a few of the new school books arrive, our children are already getting excited for “school” to begin again!  

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Jul 21, 2011 | , , , | 9 Comments

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. 

I’ll be back soon with more pictures from Captain’s Medieval Knights, Dragons and Castles birthday party, but here are a few in the meantime…  Now back to cleaning up the house after all the fun! 

{pretty}

Pretty Princesses attending the Party
{happy}

Very excited to wake up and find his brother’s Castle Cake 
{funny}

Attempting to “Slay the Dragon”
{real}

Snuggles stared at the cake forever, keeping his little fingers safely tucked under his chin… 

… that is, until I left the room! I came back to find him with a mouth full of milk chocolate rocks, and some finger prints all over the left tower.  I was able to somewhat smooth it out before the older kids got home, but since I was out of black spray, you could still tell.  The little stinker! 
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment!

Exploring Creation with Botany Lap Book :: Part 2

Jul 19, 2011 | , , | 6 Comments

THE FRONT COVER
by Captain (Blue Folder),  Rascal (Green), Twinkle Toes (Yellow)

This past school year, for Science, my children studied Botany using Exploring Creation with Botany along with the Exploring Creation with Botany Lapbook Lessons 1-5 and Exploring Creation with Botany Lapbook Lessons 6-13.   They completed up the study early last month, , finishing the text book along with their 2nd Lap Book for the year, but I am just now getting around to posting.   You can see pictures from their first Botany Lap Book here.

~ INSIDE FOLDER #1 ~
 
Leaves; Leaf Details; Leaf Anatomy; Root Systems; Geotropism; Roots
~ INSIDE FOLDER #2 ~
Cactus; Geophytes; Woody & Herbaceous Stems; Stem Vocabulary; Oak Trees & Acorns; Why Did God Create Trees?; Layers of a Tree Trunk
~ INSIDE FOLDER #3 ~
 
Twig; Lichen; Bees; Phototropism; Seedless Vascular Plants; Bristlecone Pine; Types of Gymnosperm Leaves
~ INSIDE FOLDER #4 ~
 
Cones; Nature Journal; Life Cycle of Moss; Ginkgo Biloba; Famous People; Lichens as Pollution Monitors
~ COMPLETED LAP BOOKS ~

by Captain (4th grade, age 10)

by Rascal (3rd Grade, age 9)

by Twinkle Toes (1st Grade, age 7)

They all enjoyed this course, even if they didn’t love it quite as much as studying Astronomy. They are all very excited to move on to Zoology this coming year!

My Daybook :: July 18, 2011

Jul 18, 2011 | | 14 Comments

Outside my window… It has been rainy lately, and we keep hoping that summer will return.  In the meantime we have been enjoying the baby deer that have been visiting each day.  They are so cute!!

I am thinking… about our curriculum for next year.   So many decisions… However, I think I have it almost finalized.  I spent most of the weekend working on creating plans and book lists for an American History course next year.   It’s all starting to come together and looks like it will be a fun year!

I am thankful… that God always provides, even through the most random places!  Thank you to all of you that ordered books from my recent used book sale.   I still have two more packages to mail tomorrow morning, and then I will be caught up.   I’ve been slowly filling another box with books we are no longer using and thought, if anyone else is interested,  I’d host a “Book Sale Blog Hop” link-up here at Shower of Roses.   I’m thinking the 1st of August might work out well, giving us all about 2 weeks to go through our bookshelves and put the posts together. . . Is anyone interested?

From the kitchen… The smell of homemade Spaghetti Sauce is starting to take over the house as it simmers on the stove.  I also have some Rolls ready to go in the over and a Green Salad in the fridge.   Dinner will be ready soon!

Learning all the time… Last night I heard my husband tell the big kids to all get a book and sit down and read for a little while.   They weren’t the only ones that listened to their Daddy!

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… We celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel this past weekend, and this week my children are attending VBS each day, for the first time locally.   I am looking forward to using the few hours each morning to organize and finish planning for the upcoming school year – that is, if I can get use to having just the babies at home! 😉

I am creating… a plan for Captain’s 11th birthday this Wednesday!  Between Vacation Bible School, followed immediately by a funeral at which the boys will be serving, it is going to be a very busy day!  I am hoping to be able to get most of the preparations done by tomorrow, which means I had better get started!

I am wearing… some black knit fold over maternity pants and a long sleeve Reebok Maternity T Shirt.   I’m hoping to find a little time to exercise this evening. Once again it has been way too long…

I am reading… The Brides of Montclair…  Again.   I remember saving up to purchase these books (along with the Love Comes Softly Series) from a Christian bookstore, one at a time, as a teenager and I still enjoy reading them.

Pondering these words… written by Louisa May Alcott:

“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”

Noticing that… I have once again fallen dreadfully behind with answering emails.

Towards personal care… It’s hard to believe that I am already 16 weeks pregnant!   I’ve just recently started feeling the little one moving around, and I am not feeling nearly as sick as I was.  Heartburn seems to have replaced the morning sickness, but at least it is a little easier to control.  🙂

Around the house… I came home today with a box filled with beautiful treasures from a dear friend from Church.  I am enjoying finding places to display them in our home!  Here are pictures of a few of them:

Aren’t they just gorgeous?

This lovely statue of St. Agnes was hand cast from a Classic Catholic Mould and hand painted in the Italian Renaissance style by a local artist!  

I am hoping… that I have a chance to spend a little more time with my sister JoAnn while she is in town.  The summer is going by way too quickly, and pretty soon she will be flying off to Rome for the next semester!

I am praying… for the soul of my Great Uncle Philip (my Dad’s uncle) who passed away on Friday.  May he rest in peace!

One of my favorite things… My iSi Easy Whip, 1-Pint, White, Cream Whipper!  How did I live so long without knowing this amazing little gadget exists?!?  My friend Jamie (our contractor’s wife) introduced me to it, and I knew I just had to have one.   All you do is fill it with a pint of heavy whipping cream, add some sweetener (we have been having fun trying out some of the flavored Stevia drops – my kids LOVED the chocolate!), attach a cream charger for a minute, and then shake 4-5 times.   It’s so quick and easy, and you just can’t beat the wonderful fresh whip cream it makes!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

  • Vacation Bible School Every Mon-Fri
  • Funeral Mass on Wednesday
  • Celebrate Captain’s 11th Birthday
  • Continue sorting through clothing and bookshelves/organizing bedrooms

A Picture thought I am sharing:

A precious moment with my baby babies!  
*just ignore Rose’s mouthful of food! 😉 

The Junior World Golf Championships

Jul 15, 2011 | , | 5 Comments

My little brother Kevin has been competing against other 15-17 year old boys from all over the world this week, at the 2011 Callaway Junior World Golf Championships!

We are so excited for him and have been watching the Leaderboard for updates.  Yesterday afternoon, following Round 3, cuts were made allowing only the top 50 players to continue on to the final round.    (At that time Kevin was tied for 13th place!)  It looks like he struggled a little bit today, but still finished with a tie for 21st place out of all 211 boys!

Congratulations Kevin! 

Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

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

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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, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

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

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Posts About:

Shower of Roses Alphabet of Saints

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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!