The Daily Board

Today: February 28, 2011 - Monday

Feast Day: St. Hilary, Pope

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach 17:19-27; Mark 10:17-27

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1861 - Congress establishes Colorado Territory

February 28 - March 6, 2011

What we're working on this week:
Monday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 11: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case g)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 11: recognizing numerals (1), visual perception
• Pinocchio, pages 7 & 8: visual perception (three items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Wednesday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 12: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case h)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 12: recognizing numerals (2), visual perception
• Pinocchio, pages 9 & 10: visual perception (four items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Friday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 13: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case i)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 13: recognizing numerals (3), visual perception
• Pinocchio, pages 11 & 12: visual perception (four items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Saturday

• Science Play! - Air Spinners:  Creating paper spinners that catch the air and hover.

Sunday
Who Am I? lesson 12 - Miracles of Jesus

• Concepts of Faith: Jesus is God the Son.
• Do something nice for another member of the family and talk about how Jesus helped others.
• Story Time: selection from Everyday Graces

The Daily Board

Today: February 26, 2011 - Saturday

Feast Day: St. Isabel of France

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach 17:1-15; Mark 10:13-16

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1929 - Coolidge establishes Grand Teton National Park

The Daily Board

Today: February 25, 2011 - Friday

Feast Day: St. Tarasius

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach 6:5-17; Mark 10:1-12

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1862 - Legal Tender Act passed

The Daily Board

Today: February 24, 2011 - Thursday

Feast Day: St. John Theristus

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach 5:1-8; Mark 9:41-50

Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries

History: 1836 - Alamo defenders call for help

The Daily Board

Today: February 23, 2011 - Wednesday

Feast Day: St. Polycarp

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach: 4:11-19; Mark 9:38-40

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: 1945 - U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima

Field Trip: Olustee Battlefield

You might recall that Sunday's history tidbit was the Battle of Olustee.  My husband and I found this to be pretty fascinating because we live close enough to this historical site to make a daytrip.  So, daytrip we did!

A few interesting nuggets about the site:

• The Battle of Olustee was the largest battle fought in Florida during the Civil War.
• More than 10,000 troops struggled for over five hours on the site.
• The field became Florida's first historic site in 1912.
• The famous Civil War Colored Troop, the 54th Massachusetts fought in the battle.  You may remember them from the movie Glory.  In fact, parts of the movie (along with several other Civil War films) were filmed during the annual reenactments that occur in Olustee.

We all had a wonderful time exploring the site, speaking to the staff member on duty, and walking the mile-long trail.  And we took plenty of pictures!

Oliver literally ran up to every tree in the field and hugged it.  I think he needs to spend more time outside.

Henry and Oliver exploring the cannons.  Thank goodness they're reproductions.

Checking for approval before running off.

If you look closely, you can see the park ranger making his way down the stairs of the observation tower, lunchbox in tow.  The gates were getting ready to close, but the staff member said we could stay until sundown.

The monument was completed and dedicated in 1912.

Henry felt that the split rail fence needed some additional wood.  I convinced him otherwise.

Jane was very happy to be rumbling around in the stroller.

The trail head.  Whenever I think of Florida scenery, it's always pine trees and palmetto bushes and not beaches and palm trees.

It was about this point that visions of panthers and black bears began flitting through my mind.

However, the extent of our wildlife encounters was this little guy sitting on the trail and taking advantage of the last rays of sunshine.  That's pollen all over his shell.  Allergy season is upon us.

This was as close as Henry would get.

As the sun began to set behind the trees, we realized we needed to book it out of the park.  Also, the mosquitoes were beginning to come out in earnest.

A great day had by all!

The Daily Board

Today: February 22, 2011 - Tuesday - The Chair of St. Peter, Apostle

Feast Day: St. Margaret of Cortona

Readings: 1 Pt 5:1-4; Matthew 16:13-19

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1819 - The U.S. acquires Spanish Florida

The Daily Board

Today: February 21, 2011 - Monday

Feast Day: St. Severian

Readings: Ecclesiasticus, Sirach 1:1-10; Mark 9:14-29

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1885 - Washington Monument dedicated

February 21 - February 27, 2011

What we're working on this week:
Monday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 8: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case d)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 8: recognizing numerals (8), prewriting skills
• Pinocchio, pages 1 & 2: visual perception (one item, two items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Wednesday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 9: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case e)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 9: recognizing numerals (9), prewriting skills
• Pinocchio, pages 5 & 6: visual perception (two items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Friday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 10: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case f)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 10: recognizing numerals (10), prewriting skills
• Pinocchio, pages 3 & 4: visual perception (three items)
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Saturday

• Science Play! - Fan and Roll:  We will use paper fans to roll paper tubes across the floor.

Sunday
Who Am I? lesson 11 - Jesus is God the Son

• Concepts of Faith: Jesus is God the Son.
• Show Henry our family Bible and our study Bible
• Story Time: selection from Everyday Graces 

The Daily Board

Today: February 20, 2011 - Sunday - Septuagesima

Feast Day: St. Wulfric

Readings: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: 1864 - Battle of Olustee

Air, Air, Everywhere!

Our air unit is going very well!  It's pretty hard to explain what air is to a three-year-old, but I think Henry is starting to catch on.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to, science-wise:

We were able to visit the Tulsa Air and Space Museum recently.  Each of these tubes is blowing a jet of air and keeping the plastic balls aloft.  The middle tube was maneuverable and the ball would follow the jet of air around if you moved it slowly and steadily.

Henry was pretty amazed by this little exhibit.

There was a weather area at the museum and one of the neatest parts was this tornado-maker!

Henry, Oliver, and me in the midst of 78.7 mph winds.  Oliver wasn't too impressed.

Henry is blowing tissue paper confetti around inside the baggie.

Here, we've smushed up a paper towel and crammed it in to the bottom of a glass.  The bowl is full of water.  We placed the glass into the water, straight down, and the air trapped inside kept the paper towel pressed against the glass, high and dry.

Henry, running to create enough air pressure to keep the paper towel from falling off of his body.

Scattering tissue paper confetti all over the floor.  Henry thought this was pretty funny

Using a straw to make a toy car move.

Trying to blow over a toy without the straw.

The Daily Board

Today: February 19 2011 - Saturday

Feast Day: St. Alvarez of Corova

Readings: Hebrews 11:1-7; Mark 9:2-13

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1473 - Copernicus born

The Daily Board

Today: February 18, 2011 - Friday

Feast Day: St. Simon

Readings: Genesis 11:1-9; Mark 8:34 - 9:1

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1930 - Pluto discovered

The Daily Board

Today: February 17, 2011 - Thursday

Feast Day: St. Alexis Falconieri

Readings: Genesis 9:1-13; Mark 8:27-33

Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries

History: 1801 - Thomas Jefferson elected president

The Daily Board

Today: February 16, 2011 - Wednesday

Feast Day: St. Daniel

Readings: Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22; Mark 8:22-26

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: 1923 - Archaeologist opens the tomb of King Tut

The Daily Board

Today: February 15, 2011 - Tuesday

Feast Day: St. Walfrid

Readings: Genesis 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10; Mark 8:14-21

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1898 - The Maine explodes

February 14 - February 20, 2011

What we're working on this week:
Monday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 5: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case a)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 5: recognizing numerals (5), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Wednesday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 6: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case b)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 6: recognizing numerals (6), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Friday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 7: prewriting skills, identifying letters (lower case c)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 7: recognizing numerals (7), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Saturday

• Science Play! - I'll Huff and Puff:  We will use straws and the power of our lungs to move small things around.  This could get messy!

Sunday
Who Am I? lesson 10 - Prayer

• Concepts of Faith: Prayer is talking to God quietly or loudly, alone or with others.  We can say "thank you," ask for help, say "I'm sorry," and sing God's praises.
• Review the "Our Father" with Henry.
• Story Time: selection from Everyday Graces 

The Daily Board

Yesterday was skipped because we had company come in from out of town!

Today: February 14, 2011 - Monday - Valentine's Day!

Feast Day: Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Readings: Genesis 4:1-15, 25; Mark 8:11-13

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1929 - Penicillin discovered

The Daily Board

Today: February 12, 2011 - Saturday

Feast Day: St. Buonfiglio Monaldo

Readings: Genesis 3:9-24; Mark 8:1-10

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1809 - Abraham Lincoln is born

The Daily Board

Today: February 11, 2011 - Friday - Our Lady of Lourdes

Feast Day: St. Paschal

Readings: Genesis 3:1-8; Mark 7:31-37

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1858 - Virgin Mary appears to St. Bernadette of Lourdes

We will be watching The Song Of Bernadette today, courtesy of Amazon Video on Demand. 

The Daily Board

Today: February 10, 2011 - Thursday

Feast Day: St. Scholastica

Readings: Genesis 2:18-25; Mark 7:24-30

Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries

History: Not much for a three-year-old,  yet again.  February is a most un-friendly month for kids' history.

The Daily Board

Today: February 9, 2011 - Wednesday

Feast Day: St. Apollonia

Readings: Genesis 2:4b-9, 15-17; Mark 7:14-23

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: Not much for a three-year-old, again!

Digestion

Learning can take place anywhere and at any time.  Sometimes, it seems like most of it takes place at the breakfast table.  This is one of the reasons why I keep my laptop in the kitchen.

This morning, Henry had a lot of questions about food and eating.  To aid in explaining digestion, I pulled up this video.

Now Henry is running around saying "saliva makes the bolus slippery!" The video did entice him to finish his breakfast, though.

The Daily Board

Today: February 8, 2011 - Tuesday

Feast Day: St. Jerome Emiliani

Readings: Genesis 1:20-2:4a, Mark 7:1-13

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: Not much for a three-year-old!

The Daily Board

Today: February 7, 2011 - Monday

Feast Day: St. Moses

Readings: Genesis 1:1-19, Mark 6:53-56

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: 1984 - First human satellite!

February 7 - February 13, 2011

What we're working on this week:
Monday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 2: prewriting skills (strokes for h, i, l, m, n, r, t, u)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 2: recognizing numerals (2), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Wednesday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 3: prewriting skills (strokes for a, b, c, d, e, p, q, s)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 3: recognizing numerals (3), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Friday

• Town and Country Mouse, page 4: prewriting skills (strokes for f, g, j, o)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 4: recognizing numerals (4), prewriting skills
• Story Time: Henry's choice from the Good Books list

Saturday

• Science Play!: We're done with water and moving on to air! Our new unit is Air, Air Everywhere and it looks like a lot of fun.  Activities for this week are Puffy Pillow (a Ziploc bag, straw, and tissue paper confetti), a neat experiment involving a paper towel, glass, and a tub of water, Press on Power (making a piece of paper "stick" to your stomach by running), Book Drop (scattering small pieces of paper by, you guessed it, dropping a book on them), filling a plastic bag with air, and playing with a parachute. 

Sunday
Who Am I? lesson 9 - Forgiveness is an Act of Love

• Concepts of Faith: When we do something wrong, we ask God and the person we have hurt or disobeyed to forgive us.  We should forgive others as God forgives us.
• Help your child say "I'm sorry" and ask forgiveness from someone who has been offended.
• Story Time: selection from Everyday Graces 

The Daily Board

Today: February 6, 2011 - Sunday

Feast Day: St. Paul Miki

Readings: Isaiah 58: 7-10; First Corinthians 2: 1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: 1911 - Ronald Reagan is born.

The Daily Board

Today: February 5, 2011 - Saturday

Feast Day: St. Agatha

Readings: Hebrews 13:15-17, 20-21; Mark 6: 30-34

Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

History: Not really much today that would interest a three-year old!

The Daily Board

Today: February 4, 2011 - Friday

Feast Day: St. Joan of Valois

Readings: Hebrews 13:1-8; Mark 6: 14-29

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1789 - First U.S. president elected

Back to work!

Since we began our break mid-week, we're picking back up on Friday instead of waiting until Monday.  Both Henry and I are excited to get into some new workbooks.  Here's what we'll be doing tomorrow:

• Town and Country Mouse, page 1: prewriting skills (strokes for k, v, w, x, y, z)
• The Shoemaker and the Elves, page 1: recognizing numerals (1)

We'll only be working from these two books for the next two weeks.  Henry does pretty well recognizing lowercase letters and numbers already, but I think he could use the extra time to conceptualize the difference between uppercase and lowercase and between letters and numbers in general.

After the next two weeks, we'll add in our last workbook for the preschool level, Pinocchio.  This is a "hidden pictures" book and I know Henry will have a great time with that one.

The Daily Board

Today: February 3, 2011 - Thursday

Feast Day: St. Blaise

Readings: Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24; Mark 6: 7-13

Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries

History: 1966 - Lunik 9 soft-lands on the lunar surface.

The Daily Board

Today: February 2, 2011 - Wednesday - Candlemas Day!

Feast Day: The Presentation of the Lord

Readings: Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40

Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries

History: 1887 - The first Groundhog Day was celebrated.

Interestingly enough, Groundhog Day has its roots in Candlemas Day and Candlemas Day began in the 8th century in celebration of the Presentation of the Lord!  Today's the day to get out all the candles around the house and bless them.  The prayer we'll use is from The Catholic Home:

Lord Jesus Christ,

pour forth your blessing on these candles and

sanctify them by the light of your grace.

May our hearts be illuminated by your light,

may our actions be guided by your light, 

so that when our lives are finished,

we may come into the eternal presence of your redeeming light.

We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

What's on the board?

While school hasn't officially started back up, we're still covering some material each day from the whiteboard.  Since we do this daily, I'll start posting the information we're covering daily.

Today: February 1, 2011 - Tuesday - 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Feast Day: St. Brigid of Ireland

Readings: Hebrews 12: 1-4; Mark 5: 21-43

Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries

History: 1861 - Texas secedes from the Union