Yes, it is YOUR Homework, Too

I have a great religion class this year!  There are 6 students in my 4th grade; each is a very interesting person, and each is interested in the class.  Today we discussed posture at Mass (and viewed the very fun That Catholic Show video Sit, Stand, and Kneel).  The students know what posture is appropriate for each part of the Mass, so that was an easy part of the class.  We discussed what happens during each part of the Mass, and even touched on the Real Presence.  A discussion of sin and forgiveness followed, providing the first entry on our Old Testament timeline.

Each week, in addition to the main lesson, we begin the class by writing the psalm verse for the upcoming Sunday.  This gives the students who arrive early something to do while waiting for the latecomers, and gives them all the answer to one question on the homework.

Ah...the homework.  For the past few years I have been using the Mass worksheets from CatholicMom.com.  For the mostly 9-year-olds in the class, I use the worksheets for the 7-10 year old level.

Those of you who know me, STOP laughing...it's true that I hate worksheets, but they work for this classroom format.  And the worksheets are easier to complete if the children go to Mass.  The worksheets are very easy, and the kids enjoy them.

And no parent has ever complained.  Until today.

She caught me in the parking lot, this Disgruntled Mother (she told me on the first day that she pulled her kids out of the last CCD program because the people were "snooty" so I guess I have to be non-snooty if I want to keep her kids in the program).  The conversation went something like this:

Disgruntled mom:  Do they still have to do those worksheets with the stuff from Mass?
Me:  Yes.  That is the format of the homework every week.  The answers are all found at Mass...
DM:  Well, we missed Mass this week (I stopped listening there...the kids had told me the reason).  So I had to look up the answers.
What snooty-me wanted to say:  There are 5 Catholic churches within a mile of ours.  Our own parish offers 8 Masses every weekend.  You could not make any of them?
What I actually said:  The answers are also online on the USCCB website, in case you miss Mass.
DM:  Well this is becoming MY homework, not theirs.
What snooty-me wanted to say:  Yes, and so it should be, if you need a refresher!
What I actually said (laughing in the nicest way):   Yeah, but it's not that hard for the kids once they get in the habit of...
DM:  Is it OK if I take a missal home from Mass?  The priest won't mind?
Me:  I'm sure he'd be happy to know you were taking a second look at the readings!  So, have a good week!

Ack.

Steve Jobs and One Christmas Eve

No, this isn't a post about the cool Apple products I own.  In fact, I do not own any Apple products, though my daughter has an old iPod that she loves.  But I have always admired Apple products.  Instead, this is a blatant pro-life post.

By now, most people have read his story, along with his birth mother's story, and the story of his adoption as well as his path to success.  If you haven't, do so here; it's beautiful.  And it reminds me of a Christmas eve back in the 80s...

I was working at a medical laboratory, a BIG one, in the accessioning department.  In case you have not heard of such an occupation, accessioners are the first folks who sort the specimens when they arrive from doctors' offices.  Basically, the doctors leave the specimens in a lock box (you've seen them outside closed offices), and drivers from the various labs collect the specimens and bring them to the lab where accessioners send tubes of blood, bottles of urine, and specimens of other sorts to the appropriate departments for testing.

I worked evenings with some fun people.  There was always music.  We took breaks in the garage and laughed and joked with the drivers.  Most of the drivers were men, and many had interesting pasts.  Some were divorced dads working nights so they could spend days with their kids.  Some were recently paroled prisoners.  Many were immigrants.  They were always quick with a joke, or a story of traffic, life, or family stuff.

Those of us who were young and without children worked with a small skeleton crew on holidays so our coworkers could be with their families.  One Christmas eve, I volunteered to work with a few of the twenty-somethings until midnight.  Work was light, and we played Christmas carols, and shared our plans for the next day.  We were surprised when one of our favorite drivers, "Louie," came in crying.  Louie was an immigrant, right "off the boat" as they say, from Italy.  He did not speak much English, and we were never really sure he knew what was going on, or what we were all gabbing about.  On that Christmas eve though, he figured something out.  He brought in boxes of large bottled "specimens" that night, and through his tears we heard names as he gestured towards them.  "Einstein!" he cried in his thick Italian accent, adding vowels as needed to the end of each phrase. "Edison!  Galileo!  Tesla!  The babies!!  On Christmas!!"  He broke down; we suddenly understood every word.

The "specimens" he had brought in on Christmas Eve, were called "POC" on the forms we filled out--Product of Conception.  Louie had just had an epiphany that night (and so did I, and several friends):  As a driver for that lab, he was collecting aborted fetuses from "clinics" and delivering them for examination, so the lab could assure doctors they had gotten it all.  He was crying for the lost geniuses. He was crying for souls. He was crying for the mothers who would do such a thing. He was crying for the love and mercy of God on Christmas eve.

I imagine that Louie might add "Jobs!" to his cries if he were driving tonight.  But Jobs, Einstein, Galileo, and Tesla all lived to enhance our knowledge, change the world, and make our lives better.  The babies aborted that Christmas Eve were not so lucky.  Maybe a Steve Jobs was aborted that day.  Or, maybe just a Louie.  Either way, our world lost someone wonderful that Christmas Eve; may they all rest in peace.

High School Astronomy Books (because a friend asked)

Originally from MacBeth's Opinion website. 
 (Most links are to Amazon...you know the drill.  Links are for convenience.  Most books are available in the library.  Some are available on Kindle!  If you buy a book, Amazon gives me a tiny bit of dough towards books for my homeschool--no pressure, ever).

"And behold, the star that they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over the place where the child was.  And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly." (Matthew 2:9)

"At the dead of night, two noble planets, Tarva and Alambil, will pass within one degree of each other.  Such a conjunction has not occurred for two hundred years." --Dr. Cornelius in Prince Caspian

"Dear old leopard." --Lucy in Prince Caspian, admiring the Narnian constellations

As a spine:  Astronomy:  A Self-teaching Guide

365 Starry Nights : An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year by Chet Raymo (astronomy lessons night by night) .

For the more advanced astronomy student:

With a good back yard telescope, and not too much effort, this is one fun book: The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide : With Complete Maps, Charts and Tips to Guide You to Enjoying the Most Famous List of Deep-Sky Objects by H. C. Pennington (whew!) The Messier objects (about 100 of them) were catalogued in the 1700's by Charles Messier, a comet hunter who was annoyed by "fuzzy objects" that were not comets in the sky. He catalogued them to get them out of the way! His list includes star clusters and galaxies, all fairly easy to find (even with 1700's technology).

Need information about tonight's sky??

Online, Sky and Telescope   magazine is the best source for finding out what planets can be seen from your location and when they rise and set. It also includes meteor showers, comets, etc.

And some good theory books for high school and beyond?

• Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist by Guy Consolmagno  This is such a great book!  Find out just why the Vatican keeps an astronomer in this Jesuit's biography.  Journey with him to Antarctica to hunt for meteorites.  Enlightening!  Also by Brother Consolmagno:  Turn Left at Orion will help the back-yard astronomer find 100 objects in the night sky through the year 2006.
• Seeing in the Dark The truth is out!  Most great astronomical discoveries are made by amateur astronomers!  Be inspired to join their ranks!
  
  
  Diversions for discussion:
• God and the Astronomers by Robert Jastrow delves into the design of the universe.
• The Creator and the Cosmos : How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God
  by Hugh Ross
• The Sun in the Church : Cathedrals As Solar Observatories by J. L. Heilbron
• Star Names Their Lore and Their Meaning by Richard Allen
  
  
  Check out NASA's Photo of the Day!

Clucking in Church

We walked into the chapel at TAC for a look and a prayer.  There was one student kneeling in a pew, and the three of us, T, L and I, instinctively sat on the other side so as not to disturb her.  We chose a pew in the Catholic way...not too close, but not too far, and knelt for our own silent prayers....

I think I heard the other person leave.

Suddenly, in the quiet of that place, I got an urge.  Oh, I tried to suppress it, I really did, but the desire grew in my mind.  In that very silent space, hearing nothing but the sound of my silly mind, I had the urge to make a clucking sound with my tongue...you know,  just to test the acoustics.  I am sure you will all be happy to hear...

I resisted.

Suddenly, next to me (and I won't say which of my offspring it was who did it), I heard a "cluck."

The chapel has great acoustics.

Angelic guardians of the acoustics.

I hope the confessionals are soundproofed.

A Quake!

So I dropped T in California on Thursday, and sent Libby to San Francisco this morning, and both miss the very strong quake that just hit the northeast.

Hey, speaking of quake, remember Quake Cereal?  Yeah, Quisp was better.
I guess it's a good day to break out the Earthquake books.

And here's a research project for your older kids today...why is Seismology (the study of earthquakes) often called the Jesuit Science?  Map the quake from its epicenter.  Check for tsunami warnings.  What kind of waves propagate from the epicenter?  Record the impact it had on your area.  Compare with the large destructive quakes which have hit New Zealand, Japan, Chile and Haiti over this past year.  Keep an eye on the USGS website.  Download the earthquake app for android!  It's free (but it will drive you crazy; earthquakes are happening all around us).

Yeah, But Look What they Did to MY God!

I was sitting in the car in the fire zone at the supermarket waiting for one of the kids to come out with a few groceries, when a car pulled in front of us.  It was a minivan equipped with one of those rear seat "entertainment" packages.  I could clearly see a child's cartoon through the windshield, and tried to figure out what was on.  An Indian man got out of the driver's seat, and I suddenly realized that the show was an episode from Hindu mythology.

Most of us are familiar to some extent with the Greek and Norse gods, but the stories of the Hindu gods are often unfamiliar to westerners.  Like the western myths, these are stories of love and wonders, wars and atrocities.  The gods themselves are often beautiful, gentle, fierce and hideous at the same time.  Many of us think of blue skinned four armed Kali, goddess of destruction, when we think of Hindu gods.  Her image, often decked with the heads or skulls of those she has killed, is enough to frighten anyone.  Even comical and good-natured Ganesh, the god with the elephant head, has a horror story behind his creation, though it is also a story of love and sacrifice.

So as I am watching this cartoon, wherein some great battle occurs, and multi-armed deities wield weapons to defeat hoards of mighty foes, I wonder who could possible think this was an appropriate story for little children.

Then I thought of the crucifixion.

I am no expert on Hindu culture, and I do not know if modern practitioners of that religion believe that these stories are true.  But I do know that Christ, God, was crucified, here, on earth, by humans not too long ago.  Really.  Is there any horror in any mythology that can match that?  And no mythology, anywhere, any time, can beat this truth for love and sacrifice.

And we tell this true story to our children, again and again.

Last week I enjoyed listening to a lecture series on C. S. Lewis by Professor Timothy Shutt.  This secular account of the works of Lewis was quite good, and worth a listen (it is available via Audible).  During the discussion of The Last Battle, Shutt wonders, since he did not read it as a child, just how children react to this story of the destruction of a beloved world.  I was thrown back to my own childhood; I read the book as an 8 year old, and I must say, that though it was sad, I never lost hope that Everything Was Going to Be Fine.  As we head into the Triduum, I think the same thing.  The horrible truth will resolve into glory, and all things shall be made new.

Updated:  Be sure to read:  Should I let my Children Watch the Passion?

If you Ad-Lib the Mass...

Open memo to guest celebrant:

If you make up your own words, you might distract the organist.  He will forget to play the music for the Agnus Dei.  The cantor will lean over and remind him...but he is deaf in one ear, and he will not understand.  She will have to tell him in a louder voice.  The organist will become flustered, stumble onto the bench, and begin to play in an odd key.  The cantor, in her turn, will be distracted, and sing the wrong line...the choir will hold its collective breaths.  Then, suddenly, everyone will fall back into the normal setting, and the Mass goes on as it should.

God bless your next mission, Father!

Slàinte mhòr, and St. John!

A took a turn at shoveling

T gets power for the electric shovel. Note Jayne Cobb hat.

The lights come on in our village.

In the bleak midwinter...or, not so bleak. It was pretty, but we all needed to work to get the snow out of the way. We got well over a foot, though the drifts are deceptive. It was not too heavy, but it was not too light, either. Poor snow for a snowball fight, yet it stayed put when shoveled. And the young ones reminded me last night to put the car nearer to the street than to the garage, for to minimize the clearing of the driveway.

They got the job done, and T drove the car into the street. He had never driven in snow before that moment, and getting the car back into the driveway proved too much, so Don took care of it, demonstrating his greatest skill--driving uphill in reverse. T's Jayne Cobb hat, made by his mother (who rarely knits) kept the cold off the head wound T acquired at school (which is quite nicely healed). More on T soon. Big changes to his plans are in the works.

Meanwhile, I was inside fixing a beef stew for the shovelers' dinner. And since today is St. John's I opened a bottle of wine--a glass for the stew, and a glass for the cook. Tonight we drink slàinte mhòr and St. John!

Last night, a friend came over from his house, three blocks in the direction in the photo, during the snowfall. Somewhere between there and here, he dropped his iPhone. We have yet to find it. St. Anthony?

So, Christmas is lovely here in NY, just outside the City, and all the kids are home, at least for now.

Smart Stuff on Imagination, plus Books for Parents and Others

First, whet your appetite with a few lectures of interest, and a discussion of the fate of the picture book.

And now...
Finally, released for your reading pleasure!

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child.

Anthony Esolen's new book describes the ways in which society and schooling are harming our children.  Yes, I know you have heard that before.  So have I, and I have seen it both as a student and a teacher.  But of the many, many books, magazine articles and lectures on the matter with which I have become familiar, this book sums up my thoughts most completely, and rather more eloquently (he even shares my distaste for the term "play date").  It's one of those books that I fill with scrappy bookmarks and quickly scribbled margin comments.  Professor Esolen's playful reversal--like Lewis' Screwtape, the author expounds upon the worst of  imagination-killers as though they were the most worthy methods--reminds us of our own complacency, of how the unnatural has become the norm and the natural the enemy, unnoticed.   Read this and see if you agree. (I suspect I have much more to say about this, and  I may discuss this in depth here at a later date.  Stay tuned!)

Even if you have no children, don't miss Professor Esolen's wonderful Ironies of Faith.  I think it would be an excellent guide for a small book club reading group.  Ah, to have the time and company!

Also, fans, new and old, of Professor Esolen's work may also enjoy the quite wonderful Touchstone magazine, and the companion blog, Mere Comments.

More published anecdotal thoughts on raising children:

Saving Childhood by movie critic Michael Medved

Weapons of Mass Instruction by education critic John Taylor Gatto

Why Gender Matters by Dr. Sacks (I don't agree with everything here, especially his ideas on giving "mature" teens birth control, but overall his observations on gender differences are sound).

And for the young man, grown and introspective:  The Compleat Gentleman by The Catholic Thing (website) editor Brad Miner.

Life on the Rock - with Libby

Libby's interview begins at 37:30.  The last song is a bit too didactic for me, but I like the way the girls sound together.  

Mom's Summer Reading, Updated

Just got Anthony Esolen's Ironies of Faith. Books about books are often my favorite books.

Altered Service?

When our boys were training for altar service, they would routinely show up at Mass and ask Father if they should serve. After a bit, Father told them not to ask, but to tell him that they were ready to serve. Since our parish does not have many servers (and no sign-up sheets), and there are 8 Masses from Saturday to Sunday, this works well.

As homeschoolers, or during the summer, the boys sometimes serve at funerals at our parish, or at the parishes of friends. Recently, at a funeral for the father of a family friend, the boys arrived with cassocks and surplices in hand in case they were needed, but were told that there were already servers; this was unusual, but not unheard of. Assuming that there were other servers at the parish who had volunteered, the boys put everything back in the car, came back in, and sat with the congregation. In came the priest and the pall-bearers, and a woman with a plastic name badge holding the holy water and aspergillum for the priest. She proceeded to take on all the tasks usually reserved for the servers. In fact, there were no other altar servers. The boys were a bit stunned.

Is this typical at some parishes these days?

Church Music, or Not

I have been following the Choir Notes from Erin Manning's blog, and putting off my own post about church music. I'd like to write a post like this one, comparing hymns for the quality of music and appropriateness of the lyrics, but, alas, there are so many other issues in the way that any music is welcome. Almost. Our parish has several big problems:

1. Our organist (God bless him) is just an amateur, and needs some real guidance in choosing music. Unfortunately, our parish priests are usually from Poland, and do not really "get" the essence of the music. We try, but when we are not around, he reverts to whatever he is capable of playing (not much).
2. Our organist does not play very well. Not much we can do about it. Our parish is small, poor, and he needs the money.
3. No one in our parish sings, even in the congregation. There are, of course, a few exceptions. When Libby was in high school, she taught the children's choir, but with college and commuting and all, she simply no longer has time. The choir has dissolved without her.
4. (This is a big one) The gentleman who does the readings at one of the Masses sings into the microphone and he CANNOT carry a tune. He apparently does not know this. It is so bad that a visiting priest began to laugh during the offertory one Sunday. Everyone always stares in stunned silence, and those who do sing seem to let their mouths hang open, and the notes fade and drift away into the air. The altar servers (who are often my sons) turn and stare, or, after I suggested this was bad form, shift from foot to foot uncomfortably.

1, 2, and 3 cannot be fixed at the moment. But we are desperate to solve problem #4, without hurting the gentleman's feelings, of course. Ideas welcome.

A Tale of Two Veils

These two articles got me thinking about the difference between Catholic or Jewish head-coverings, and Muslim burkas.

Your Thoughts on Headcoverings

The Politics of the Veil

All Things Considered--The C. S. Lewis Seminar

Last Saturday I was blessed to be able to attend a seminar presented by the NY C. S. Lewis Society. I have known of the society for several years, but have never been able to attend the meetings, or any other events sponsored by the group. But things came together this weekend, and not only did I have Saturday free, but the seminar was only two miles away. I would not miss this one!

The website said that walk-ins were welcome on Saturday, so walk in I did, and I was graciously welcomed. The folks in the society are delightful. The morning began with a choice of several open fora...those in the room were all active in the discussion. It was difficult to choose which of the fora to attend. In the end, I chose a packed room with a lively discussion of The Screwtape Letters, and another group session on the Space Trilogy. Just being in a room full of folks who had read and enjoyed the Space Trilogy was electrifying. I laughed (and so did everyone) when I told the group I had attempted a reading of Out of the Silent Planet right after I had finished the Chronicles of Narnia--when I was 8 years old. No, I did not get far; but I do recall that the first sentence stuck with me--The last drops of the thundershower had hardly ceased falling when the Pedestrian stuffed his map into his pocket..., so that when I picked up the long-forgotten books again at 22, I melted into the first sentence, and immersed myself into yet another world from Lewis' imagination. I have reread them several times, and have the set via Audible...the kids claim these are the creepiest books we have ever enjoyed together. And we have enjoyed them!

One of the participants in the Screwtape discussion described a lesson he does with students after they have read the book (or a bit of it, as he readily admits): Have the students each write a letter as Screwtape...what advice would a devil give his modern "patient?" Again, thinking back on my eight-year-old self, I also recalled asking my father if he had ever heard of C. S. Lewis. "Oh, yes," replied my father, "He wrote The Screwtape Letters." I wondered out loud what that could be about. "It's a set of letters from one fiend to another," my father explained. Well, that surely did not appeal to a second grader. Nor would the college-level assignment. But it would appeal to my older students now.

I attended two other sessions before the main talk in the evening. The first was on The Abolition of Man, with Dr. Christopher Mitchell, Wade Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College (IL). Dr. Mitchell spoke about the work of many Lewis scholars with whom I am not familiar, so I have some reading to do! The other session was on illustrations for the book At the Back of the North Wind, by George MacDonald. I found this particularly engaging, as several weeks ago I gave a talk on nature imagery in children's literature, and cited that very work...but my edition is unillustrated! The speaker, Robert Trexler, had a Powerpoint presentation of the history and social circles of the illustrators, starting with Arthur Hughes and the pre-Raphaelites, and continuing through illustrations from various editions. I shall certainly endeavor to find some older editions just for the sake of the art.

The last speaker, Prof. Pearce, writer-in-residence at Ave Maria University, was a delight. Trip took a summer class with him last year and "liked" it (high praise from out-of-the-silent-teen), but he did not tell us what a charming and fun speaker Prof. Pearce is. His topic, "Narnia and Middle-Earth: When Two Worlds Collude," included some familiar tales of the relationship between Lewis and Tolkien, but he told them is such an engaging way as to make them seem more real.

One more note on Pearce: He told us of some personal--er--matters in his past, and credited Lewis with turning him around (I think that's what he was saying). I have also said that Lewis kept me Catholic. That's the kind of influence Lewis has had on people.

Did I mention that I bought books? I purchased Narnia and Beyond, Remembering C. S. Lewis, and a third book which I seem to have misplaced and the title of which I cannot recall at the moment. Some would say, "too many books!" Ha! And I picked up an issue of Touchstone and the St. Austin Review, both wonderful periodicals.

(Clicking "Publish" though I know there are typos...I'll correct them soon!)

Homeschool Connections Offers Online Classes

Just a few days left to register for these most excellent online classes. Do it now.

Topics covered (for high school students): Beowulf, Shakespeare, Lewis...and lots more--the most fun bits of education--taught by real professors.

Update: Beowulf is closed; the other classes still have a few spots.

An Amazing Weekend!

Yeah, I was a bit busy...Trip's high school string orchestra played Friday night. They opened with the Largo movement from Dvořák's New World Symphony. Catholics might recognize this as the tune to "Jesus Christ, Bread of Life." The violas had the melody for most of it, so Trip, as the leader of his section, was easily heard. They played a few other pieces, all emphasizing the lower strings, which is the strength of the orchestra.

Saturday morning was the SAT exam. How did he do? Who knows? We'll see in a few weeks.

The exam was followed by YME rehearsal. After his rehearsal, we went to see Prof. Kreeft speak on modernism. Wonderful. Shortly after that, I went into Juilliard to see a composer's recital (pre-college). I was so impressed with the students. Libby had coached one of the groups, and they were really amazing, and the piece was lovely.

But there was no time for dinner after the recital...we were off to Carnegie to see the Chicago Symphony play Bruchner 8. 5 full minutes of standing ovation--well-deserved. We were going to see my brother performing with his band on the east side, but we were exhausted. At home, we needed some sleep, since...

The next morning we went to the Catholic League communion breakfast, which featured keynote speaker...Prof. Kreeft. That was great, since Libby is a fan, and had not heard his talk on Saturday.

Later, after Libby taught for a few hours, we went to the evening Mass at our local parish and sang. Then I drove her back to school. When I got home, she had left a message that her ID and keys were in the car. Yup. I'll have to buzz in there in the morning.

Time for bed!

Taking Bets on Notre Dame (Re: Laetare)

So...now that Mary Ann Glendon has graciously declined the Laetare Medal, to whom will Fr. Jenkins turn? NRO 's guess is Biden; The Curt Jester reluctantly mentions Kmiec, with tongue firmly in cheek, I imagine. Well, either of those would show us...right?

Anyone else care to speculate?

A Boy and His Bike

Trip traveled 70.13 miles today. And found Mass around the halfway point:

Amazing Lamb Recipes

From the Carnegie Mellon University. Scroll through to the Wakayama Lamb recipie, and follow the instructions carefully. That's what's for dinner at our house.

Happy Easter from the Derhams!