annunciation

(Sara:) Hi, all! Anyone else feeling the hours ticking away too quickly?! Just a note to check in before I head out of town for the holidays. The Annunciation presentation went over fine here, and then yesterday I let the boys set up the Nativity set and I talked to my oldest child about the Visitation - didn't present it, but of course he wanted to cut out the small image and paste it on his Advent wreath. We always travel for Christmas (unless I'm 9 months pregnant, which has happened twice!) so I either have to take Catechesis on the road with me, or do it ahead of time.

We also plan on baking Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas Eve, something we did the past 2 years. All things considered, it has been a good Advent. My prayers are with you and your families as you finish your preparations for this joyous celebration. Also asking for prayers for our parish priest back home, who has been hospitalized - past 2 weeks couldn't keep any food down - they are suspecting cancer. He's a young, humble, devout man. I am trying to offer up my own discomforts for him...

Introducing myself

Hello everyone!

I have enjoyed reading some of your posts and think that this is a great idea for sharing what Montessori, and other, activities we are doing in our homes/schools. My name is Ashleigh, a friend of Sara. I am a stay at home mom of a daughter, age 5, a son, age 3 and a baby due in March. I homeschool my 5 year old, and am doing a fairly traditional Montessori curriculum (if you can call it that) with her. We don't really do CGS at home right now. My daughter participates in an Atrium, in which I help. However, after this year I will probably do more of it at home. Thanks, Sara, for including me in the group!

Micah...

(Sara:) Here are some of the materials for Advent, Week 2, the reading of Micah 5. (I also set out our large bible on a beautiful wooden bible stand.) Micah 5, by the way, is one of the most amazing passages in the OT, if you ask me. When I first "discovered" it a few years ago, it blew me away, and I had to read it over & over... So, although it will be many years before it begins to sink into our children in much depth, I was very happy to proclaim it's words this past week! It just so happened to work out to bake petit breads the same day. (I didn't really plan that!) But just to note, the meaning of Bethlehem "house of bread" is just one of many possible readings of that name. It is a very beautiful meaning that I love, but I'm quick to acknowledge that it isn't definitive by any means...

comments

Many blogs list the most recent "comments" in the sidebar for easy viewing. I would like to do this too, but haven't figured out how. This way, if someone comments on an older post, you won't miss it. If you want to try to figure it out, or have a hubby/friend who could do it, go ahead! My dh could do it but he's swamped at the moment...

Isaiah prophecy

(Sara:) I was asked which verses of Isaiah 9 I read to the children when introducing Week 1 of our Advent voyage. I read several of the verses of the whole chapter, as it's one of my favorite prophecies in the entire OT! I think it's a careful balance to not give the children too many words, but enough to get a "flavor" for the particular Scripture passage. I read maybe 8 verses total - the ones I thought were most understandable.

In "real" atrium presentations I have seen, the children were read surprisingly lengthy passages of Scripture; however, they are first introduced in a general way, so the children know what basic message to listen for, and then summarized again afterwards. I picked the "main passage" of Isaiah 9 to print on cardstock, along with a visual picture. (I'm going to use Anne's clip art instead of Moira's!) C. wants to use tracing paper to trace the calligraphy. Also, we have been reciting this verse together every night after we say our usual meal prayer. C. loves doing things like that! (If he couldn't read, maybe I wouldn't do it.)

Finally, as a way to prepare C. for this particular passage, we spent about 10 minutes in complete darkness before beginning the presentation!! We called it "experiencing living in darkness." We were waiting for daddy to come home from work, and the boys thought it was pretty neat. It's hard to see where you're going! You might bump into something and get hurt! It's lonely! What a perfectly sad symbol for the life that so many people are living today!

post worth sharing...

The first atrium I visited was in the home of my friend who first got me interested in Montessori. There's a post here on her blog with photos from her classroom and the Advent presentation in their current atrium, which is no longer in her home.

Advent, Week 1

Except for the figure of Isaiah, which is baking, here are my materials for reflection during week 1 of Advent. The meditation is Isaiah's prophecy of a great light to come to those who live in darkness.