7 Quick Takes Friday

At the end of this 7 Quick Takes is what we at our house have all been waiting for . . . video showing Thomas walking!

1.

We're enjoying getting into a routine of taking the kids swimming on Saturday mornings when the pool opens and we basically have it to ourselves. If I'm busy (which is usually), Chris will take the girls together (so he can help Margaret swim) and then take the boys together (so he can help Joseph swim), while I hold down the fort at home.

2.

Family Books of the Week (in progress or completed)

I felt our family reading experienced a real 'shot in the arm' this week: The children (and I!) were mad to read "Rabbit Hill," as evidenced by early morning pitter patter of feet bringing me the book while I drank coffee, "Maybe we could read another chapter right now?" Meanwhile, I have been deeply enjoying "The Yearling" and sneaking chapters every chance I get. The development of characters is truly superb. John finished "Lad, a Dog" (which he loved) and we walked about, perusing the bookshelves, where I recommended he try "Simon Brute." He came to me one chapter later and said, "Oh Mama, you were right! I am totally engrossed by this book!" And Mary is mad for "Mad Scientists" this week, such that she's sneaking off and reading when she isn't supposed to.

It's a good week for books around here.

• Read-alouds
• "Baltimore Catechism No. 2" (originally published 1885)
• "Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints" (Loreto Publications, originally published 1894)
• "Under Angel Wings: The Autobiography of Sr. Maria Antonia" (originally published 1949)
• "Animals of God"
• Many picture books to the younger children
• Mama
• "The Upside of Downtime: Why Boredom is Good" by Sandi Mann
• "Guidance to Heaven" by Cardinal Giovanna Bona (written in the 1600s)
• "St. Francis of Assissi" by Michael de la Bedoyere (2011)
• "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1938)
• John
• "Blessed James Alberione: Media Apostle"
• "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (1950)
• "Lad, a Dog" (original published 1919)--finished, really excellent animal literature
• Various from Usbourne's "Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare"--I am cautious about avoiding traditional stories that are Bowldlerized, and this one just made the cut. This is written for the youngest, so it works well around here if a child reads this version first, then I read aloud the Nesbit version (with its much better language).
• "Simon Brute and the Western Adventure"--
• Mary
• "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1905)
• "The Mad Scientist's Club" by Bertrand Brinley--started and finished the first of four books in the volume
• "The Curse of the Coins" by Dianne Ahern (2008)--read in one day

Margaret's bed

The boys have built-in shelves by their beds, but the girls do not, so I've taught the girls to store any books they're currently reading on the foot of their beds. I love checking in on them after they're asleep and seeing their piles of stories.

Mary's bed

3.

Scholastic Scenes

Making Father's Day cards a week early to mail

In a spare moment this week, Mary (7) discovered my old French books from the years I studied the language, and she has developed a momentary passion for learning French. She is walking around the house with her nose buried in my Easy Reader, Berlitz, and the slim phrase book that carried me all over Europe.

4.

On Sunday, I got to wear a new outfit to Mass (good to take myself shopping every few years or so!) . . . 

. . . Joseph insisted on wearing a suit coat in 90-degree weather . . .

"Joseph for President"

. . . and we met a lovely family and invited them over spontaneously for lunch. Fun!

5.

Meals of the Week 

. . . shared to show that "My career is homeschool mother, not gourmet chef!"

• Saturday
• bacon-wrapped beef or chicken medallions (frozen from Costco)
• Sunday
• Sandwich spread, potato and green salads, chips, etc., when friends joined us after Mass
• Monday
• spaghetti and meatballs
• Tuesday (arriving home from four hours' afternoon absence)
• "The Napolean Dynamite Special": Frozen pizza and chicken nuggets
• Wednesday
• Calzones (right? pizza right after pizza? that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.)
• Thursday
• Taco Night
• Friday
• ???

6.

Bonus Reading

"How to Overcome Sins and Faults of the Tongue"--This is an excellent article for adults, especially women (sorry, ladies!), and it is an added encouragement for yet another reason why I think mandatory afternoon Quiet Time for children of all ages is salutary.

7.

Thomas has taken off walking!

He began taking steps at 10 months 2 weeks, and then it took about a week and a half of him practicing two to four steps at a time when . . . he launched! It was, in fact, at Mass on Sunday when he decided he was simply ready to start walking across the cry room, walking across the narthex, and walking across the open plaza where I had to take him outside because he was so loud and excited to be walking. That day, he stayed awake for 13 hours, except for a 20-minute nap on the drive to Mass, despite six attempts of mine to nurse him down to sleep: I think he was making such a huge developmental leap that he was overstimulated!

For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.