Dec. 9, 2009 - December 9, 2009 ~ Catching Up

Oh, My!  LIfe has been very busy around here. Our family was able to attend the meeting this afternoon, and I have time to record here a bit of what happened. Magistra Beth hosted our meeting, and her family was the only other family able to attend. We pray that the sickies in Magistra Jo's and Magistra Amy's family get well soon.

We started the meeting with a prayer of thanksgiving, as usual. Because of the cold weather we've been experiencing in this neck of the woods, I decided to set Elgar aside until after the holidays and instead have fun with a folk song favorite from last year: "One Cold and Frosty Morning" from the Ruth Seeger CD folk song CD. The song book says this song was sung in Civil War times, and at least one person recorded that he used it as a wake up song for his young son. I love the songs on that CD; it is a wonderful collection of Americana.

Magistra Beth taught the children the second verse of "Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart," and I facilitated some review of our memory verse Phil 4: 4-8.

Four kids gave their state presentations. I love how the kids are becoming more and more comfortable presenting to their peers and teachers. What a valuable life skill!

Magistra Beth gave a brief presentation on states from the North Central region of the United States. I love how she hits a few interesting facts from each state and shows beautiful pictures. I have found our geography study to be very worthwhile.

For art, the kids watched a 5-minute video on warm and cool colors and then created their own drawings with warm and/or cool colors.

My favorite part of our meeting was that Magistra Beth and I had the opportunity to have some extended conversation after our teaching responsibilities were complete. Like the children, we mother teachers enjoy the opportunity to fellowship at our meetings. I am grateful for the chance to get to know Magistra Beth a little better. I'm glad she's part of our group. She's a neat lady!

Nov. 18, 2009 - November 18, 2009 ~ Week 11 ~ Thanksgiving Celebration

This week all of our families were able to attend, and we gave thanks for our good health and sweet fellowship.

I started the meeting with a prayer, and I read a beautiful illustrated book of the peom "Over the River and Throiugh the Woods." The book features beautiful colored woodcut drawings. Then Magistra Beth played accompaniment on the piano while we sang the song.

Then we ate some goodies: finger sandwiches, chips, and olives.

Next, Magistra Beth continued her geography presentation of the regions of the Unites States. This week we looked at states in the Northwest. I love how Magistra Beth brings in library books of the states with gorgeous photographs.

Magistra Jo provided three fun crafts: a Thanksgiving Tree that prompted all the children to count their blessings; a beaded corn stalk with a magnet that can be put on the refrigerator; and a fall leaf to decorate with gemstones. She also sent us home with some white construction paper and lots of fun Thanksgiving stickers. Thank you, friend, for your generosity.

Then we ate some more- warm mulled apple cider and delicious cookies. Yum!

The kids had some fun playing outside for a bit, but nothing says Thanksgiving quite like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It was great fun to see all our precious children giggling and enjoying each other's company and the humor of that old classic. The extra Mayflower/Pilgrims episode is fun, too.

This season we are mindful of challenges within our own families, among our larger church family, and all around us. We remain steadfast and grateful to our Lord, who is always in control and always provides.

Blessings to all of you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov. 18, 2009 - November 11, 2009 ~ Week 10

Nov. 18, 2009 - November 4, 2009 ~ Week 9

Nov. 1, 2009 - October 28 ~ Week 8

Oct. 21, 2009 - October 21, 2009 ~ Week 7

Our meeting was fabulous today. It was one of those days where the moms and the kids all worked hard, but our time together was satisfying and enjoyable. I think we’ve hit our groove!

Circle Time

Today we began our time together with a rousing 5 verses of “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain.”  Singing a folk song is a great way to begin a meeting.  We all enjoy it. Then, of course, we thanked God for our time together.

Hymn: We are finishing up Holy, Holy, Holy. Magistra Beth has done a wonderful job teaching the song and the spirit of the lyrics and pacing the instruction. Next week, we will be singing it from memory. It is so edifying to spend time each week contemplating God’s character this way. Indeed, He is merciful and mighty.

Art: Magistra Jo reviewed all the paintings of Raphael that we have studied and introduced Sistine Madonna. We all enjoyed looking at the cherubs at the bottom of the painting and comparing those images with Biblical descriptions of angels. Not much in common there, but we appreciate Raphael as a master of painting if not a Bible scholar.

Poetry: Magistra Amy has completed her instruction of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s The Sparrow. Amy, Girl, you have done a fantastic job with this poem. Most all the kids have recited the entire poem from memory. I truly enjoyed the Biblical passages you shared today to illustrate truths that the poem express. After you left, some of the kids recited the poem on their own just for fun. That’s when you  know they have really learned something.

Music: Today we listened to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis in its entirety. It is about 15 minutes long. This piece typifies the kind of music that RVW is known for. It is a beautiful, moving piece that has been used in many movies. It has a pastoral yet bittersweet feeling to it. It’s just lovely. I am glad we were able to hear the whole thing; A Sea Symphony is so long. We were only able to listen to one movement in its entirety. A piece of music is like a story. If you can’t hear the whole thing, you miss part of the story. I wish you could have seen our 14 kids sitting or laying around quietly genuinely enjoying the music. Music is such a gift.

Geography

Today we did a review of information we learned about the North American continent. The students in pre-K to third grade gave their brief oral presentations on the countries they studied. Magistra Jo must by trying to show us up, because her kids gave outstanding presentations above and beyond what was assigned. It is amazing what children can accomplish when they are studying something in which they are interested and have parental support to encourage and guide them. We heard brief presentations on Jamaica, Cuba, Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  I can’t wait to see and hear the presentations of the older kids next week.

Art

The project today combined our study of geography and art. I gave each child a piece of white construction paper. The task was to create a continent in the shape of the child’s choosing using and to create countries using lines. They were able to name their continent and the countries in it. They came up with some neat shapes and place names!

Like I said, we all worked hard today, but we had a lot of fun. Praising God for His blessings!

Oct. 14, 2009 - October 7 and 14 ~ Weeks 5 and 6

Whew! I had forgotten how long it takes to re-group after a long vacation. There is laundry, cleaning, reorganizing clothes for the change of season, gearing up to the full school schedule...blah, blah, blah. I'll write more about that in my Aletheia Academy blog. For now, I will endeavor to explain what MM did in our last two meetings.

Circle Time

Music: We listened to the entire third movement of Ralph Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony," as it is only 8 minutes long, and about 5 minutes of the fourth movement. It is interesting to observe how the composer is able to characterize each movement so differently, yet make each one resemble some aspect of the sea. Some different adjectives we have used to describe the music are energetic, crashing, ominous, serene, serious, flowing, and slow.

Hymn: We have studied the second and third verses of Holy, Holy, Holy! I so appreciate how Magistra Beth explains key concepts and vocabulary to the children. Last week we discussed cherubim and seraphim, wert and art. This week we learned about glory. This discussion is edifying for all of us.

Poetry: We are almost finished with The Sparrow! I really had to push my two sweeties this week to make up for the time we lost on our vacation. It is always amazing to me how easy it is for little ones to memorize. We have enjoyed hearing Magistra Amy's perspectives on the author's themes in the lovely poem.

Picture Study: Raphael's paintings are just gorgeous! We could spend much more time admiring his work. They are so rich in detail and color. He truly was a master. Last week we studied Woman With a Unicorn. This painting has an interesting background. It was changed over time and discovered under another painting.  The milieu of the times affects the contemporary response to art. This week, sadly, Magistra Jo's family had to miss our meeting because one of her kids has a cough. We hope that young lady is feeling better soon and that no one else gets sick!

As of Oct 7, I took over the Geography and Art Topical Studies from Magistra Jo.

Geography: We are now studying the North American continent. We have studied a map, and each child is selecting a country for which they will prepare a brief oral report. The children in pre-k to third grade will find 3 basic facts about their chosen country. The older students will research a particular aspect of their country, e.g. government, agriculture, art. I also formed groups, so that a few of the older kids could experience facilitating a small group, and all the kids could get to know each other a bit better.

Art: Our new topic is shape. Magistra Jo has a wonderful video series on different elements of art. I am utilizing the segment on shape. Lasat week we looked at the definition of shape and various kinds of shape. Then we did a shape search: the kids worked in pairs to find shapes in the house or outside in the backyard. They drew pictures of their findings. This week, we used the video to observed shape in painting and learned about positive and negative shapes. The we used squares of contrasting colors of construction paper to create and mount positive and negative shapes. Simple and fun-my favorite kind of learning!

A special thank you to Magistra Beth for opening her home on short notice to all of us! What a blessing to be home and to re-join the group!

See you next week!

Oct. 14, 2009 - September 30, 2009 ~ Week 4

We had a wonderful co-op day; although we missed Magistra Meg and her children as they were traveling this week.

All of the Magistres led in our welcome song, “Goodbye, Miss Julie!”, although we sorely missed Magistra Megs’ usual rendition! Magistra Jo began by reviewing the previous week’s art pieces and then introduced a new Raphael painting, St George and the Dragon. She talked about the movement of the horse and the rider’s cape that is depicted in the painting. She also shared that Raphael did copy some from Da Vinci and Memling’s works and how they were incorporated into this painting.

Then I reviewed the hymn we have been working on: Holy, Holy, Holy. Today we were focusing on the first half of the second verse. I shared what a picture might look like of the saints in heaven ‘casting down their golden crowns’ from the book of Revelation. We also sang through the first and second verses.

Then Magistra Amy shared how, in the next few weeks, the children will begin taking turns reciting our poem, The Sparrow in front of the rest of the co-op. She talked about the proper way to recite, speaking loudly and not fidgeting. We discussed the third section of the poem and then one brave child did recite the entire poem for the class.

Magistra Jo wrapped up her month of teaching art instruction and geography with a big review of the globe. It was encouraging to see how much the children had learned as they identified the poles, hemispheres, longitude, latitude and other important lines on the globe. She also talked about lines not just being straight or diagonal but really being everywhere and used the Raphael piece as an example. Then the children completed their world maps by cutting out the remaining continents and labeling them.

We are looking forward to October and Magistra Meg’s art and geography instruction, an upcoming field trip and fall crafts!

Sep. 19, 2009 - September 23, 2009 ~ Week 3

Sorry for the delay in posting...after our return from vacation, my computer promptly crashed. It has taken me some time to regroup. I am now ready to move forward.

Here is Amy's post for September 23. Thanks, Amy!

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Our time together this week was a bit different than usual. Meg was away with her lovely family, and Jo was at the airport welcoming home her sweet daughters who were returning from a trip, so Beth and I met for a sort of mini Co-Op at my house. Though we missed these dear families, we had fun and productive time together.

Shortly after Beth and her crew arrived, we all sat down in the living room for Circle Time. I read The Sparrow and asked a few simple questions to see what the kids remembered from the week before, and reviewed the definitions of a few of the words such as plumage and strain. Beth’s oldest daughter recited half of the poem to us and did a wonderful job! For the hymn time, Beth reviewed the vocabulary words from the first verse of Holy, Holy, Holy, and we sung it together. Although we hadn’t planned to cover Composers or Art, Beth had the good idea of bringing along two small copies of Raphael Sanzio’s self portrait and The Knight’s Dream, and the kids recalled several details in both paintings. What fun!

Since Beth and I have had several discussions in the past about getting together for a nature study, I thought it would be a great opportunity to do just that. Getting outdoors to observe and enjoy God’s creation is something I try to have us do on a fairly regular basis (and also one of the things that is all too easily set aside when we get busy). For our nature studies this fall, I’m using the Outdoor Hour Challenges  from the blog, Handbook of Nature Study. Since we planned to begin the first challenge  this very week, it worked out well to be able to spend that time with Beth and her kids too. I spent some time talking to the kids about why we want to spend time observing God’s creation, and what we’d be looking for today (cattails). Once that was done, we closed our Circle Time with prayer and headed off (not forgetting to stop for iced coffees along the way).

If you’d like to read more about our cattail study, Beth and I both wrote blog entries about it. You can read them here and here. As an aside, there are even a few photos of our time on the Handbook of Nature Study blog; you can see them at the Outdoor Hour Challenge link above. Just scroll down some – they’re on the right hand side. Despite the searing heat, we all had a fun time!

I’m so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful Co-Op with these sweet families! The material we’re learning is capacious and delightful, and getting to spend time with these 3 great ladies is a true blessing to me.

Sep. 16, 2009 - September 16, 2009: Week 2

Thank you to God for another enjoyable day!  We were glad to have all families present for the meeting; although, two of Jo's daughters are traveling with their grandparents. They are having a fabulous time exploring the Washington, D.C. area. We miss them but look forward to hearing about their adventure when they return.

We continued our introduction and greeting song, "Goodbye, Miss Julie!" from American Folksongs for Children. One of these days, I will learn everybody's names! We prayed to dedicate our time together to God. Then we began our Circle Time.

Magistra Jo began by reviewing the biographical information on Raphael and introduced a new piece: The Knight's Dream. She led the children in a discussion of allegory and how the picture illustrates the dichotomy of virtue and pleasure. Very interesting. If you have never experienced this kind of discussion with your children, you might be surprised to see how much they can glean, even the little ones.

Magistra Beth facilitated an analysis of the first verse of the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy! She read the first verse to us. We discussed the terms almighty, merciful, and trinity. Then we sang it together with the CD. I love that the kids will not only learn to sing this hymn by memory, but they will truly understand it. This way it can become a true act of worship from their own hearts, not just an unthinking exercise.

Magistra Amy shared with us our first memorization passage: the poem The Sparrow  by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. She read the entire poem to us. Then we discussed in some detail the first 4 lines, specifically noting the definitions of plumage and strain. We even shared some general analysis of the poem. The theme of being too caught up in the mundane details of daily life to enjoy the beauty of creation was evident is apparently not too difficult for children to understand. This was Magistra Amy's first meeting with MM; we are so blessed to be joined by her family.

My contribution was to share and discuss the second movement of Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No 1, "A Sea Symphony." This movement contrasts with energetic, stormy feeling of the first movement. The lyrics of this second movement are taken from Walt Whitman's poem "All Alone on the Beach at Night." It's feeling is calm but ominous. We discussed the basic ideas of transcendentalism and human secularism and contrasted those with the world view of Christianity. One of my goals is to help the children to appreciate the beauty in art and music but be able to discern what is glorifying to God versus is man-centered. Children can understand this.

Magistra Jo took the lead for our study of geography and art again this week. She reviewed last week's lesson on the globe, the hemispheres, latitude lines, longitude lines, and lines in general. This week we began to look at the world on a map. The kids, with help as needed, cut out a few continents and glued them on their blank maps. They did some labeling and coloring. This lesson will be completed at a later meeting. I love that this unit is providing instruction in basic, concrete concepts of geography but is not overwhelming.

Our family is going on vacation for a few weeks, so there probably won't be any posts until we return. We will miss seeing our friends, but we look forward to returning with some good stories to share.

Sep. 15, 2009 - How Magistra Beth Presents the Hymns

Hi, I am Magistra Beth and I am teaching hymns this year to our sweet children during the Circle Time portion of our co-op. To begin, I chose 4 hymns from Hymns for a Kids Heart by Joni Eareckson Tada & Bobbie Wolgemuth. I am planning to spend about 2 months or a school quarter on each hymn. To introduce the hymn, I tell a bit about the author and his or her background and then we listen to a recording of the hymn (which conveniently comes with the book).

In the weeks following we go through the hymn line by line, verse by verse, talking about the meaning of the words and what the writer is saying about God. Along the way we continue to sing the song which should become very familiar to them. Each week I also pull one or two vocabulary words from the section we are studying and we talk about the meaning and context of the word. I also show them the vocabulary word on a flashcard to utilize all their senses.

Hearing the song on the CD is important, singing all together is going to help with learning the hymn and then seeing and reading the vocabulary word will solidify what has been taught. And then during the week, some of the moms might have their children write the word, either in copywork or word study to continue the learning process. Throughout the quarter we will review what has been learned and each time we meet I will be asking review questions from previous weeks.

The hymns we will be studying this year are Holy, Holy, Holy,   Rejoice Ye Pure in Heart, This is My Father’s World, and Our God, Our Help in Ages Past. I am excited to teach these little ones many wonderful truths that men of long ago wrote down for us to use in worship of God!

Sep. 10, 2009 - September 9, 2009: Week 1

What a wonderful meeting we had yesterday to begin our year! Unfortunately, one of our families was unable to attend, but we are all looking forward to seeing them next week.

Jo is the hostess for our first unit. That means her home is the meeting place, and she facilitates our geography and art skills studies.

I (Meg) began our meeting by gathering the kids together and teaching them a song from American Folk Songs for Children. I chose "Goodbye, Miss Julie," because I thought it would be a good way to learn each other's names and involve the childeren right away. I substituted each of the kids' names in the song and had them choose a place they would like to go. For example, "Where's my Abigail, uh-huh, where's my Miss Abigail, uh-huh? She's gone to....(she chose) Washington, uh, huh, (then we all sing) She's gone to Washington, uh-huh!" That was a lot of fun.

Once everyone was now focused as a group, I led a prayer. We pray at the beginning of every meeting for any special needs, but mostly we pray that our time together be edifying to us and glorifying to God. That is the purpose of our time together.

Next, we began Circle Time. Jo presented Raphael's Self Portrait and shared some background information on this High Renaissance artist.

Then the kids listened to the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy from the CD that comes with the Hymns for a Kid's Heart book, and Beth shared a little about the composer's and the song's background. In coming weeks, we will be memorizing the hymn and studying vocabulary verse-by-verse so we understand the lyrics and can sing the song well.

Finally, I shared some background information about Ralph Vaughan Williams and his Symphony No 1, A Sea Symphony and played the first 5 minutes of the first movement. Hopefully, each family will listen to the entire 20-minute movement a few times at home during the week.

When Amy's family joins us, she will be facilitating the Memorization activity.

After Circle Time, we transitioned into our topical Geography study. We are using Evan-Moor's Take it to You Seat Geography Center for Grades 3-4. Jo provided some detailed information about the globe and important lines on the globe. The kids traced the International Date Line, a longitude line (which is not a straight line) and used rulers to trace the Equator, the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Tropic of Cancer: all latitude lines.

For practice in art skills, we are using Evan-Moor's How to Teach Art to Young Children. Jo selected the unit on lines to coordinate with the globe study. The kids learned about different kinds of lines and practiced drawing different kinds of lines.

Each MM will try to coordinate the Art Skills and Geography studies when possible. It worked out very well yesterday.

We had one birthday to celebrate yesterday. As is our tradition, the mother of the birthday child brings a treat to the meeting and we sing "Happy Birthday!". In addition, each MM has contributed one edible and one non-edible treat to be put in each kid's Birthday Bag. Examples include, pencils, stickers, stamper markers, bead bracelets, molding clay,Tootsie Pops, Smarties, etc. During the summer, I filled up a white lunch sack for each child with these treats. They are now all in my closet, and all I have to do is check my list each week prior to our meeting and make sure the appropriate bag makes it to the right meeting.

Our year is off to a wonderful start. Will anyone out there join us?

N. B. The materials referenced in this posting may be found along the left side of the blog or in a topical posting listed on the right side. In addition, the commercial products can easily be found at Rainbow Resource or Amazon. If you care to, you may purchase the recommended products through my Amazon store-see the link on the upper right corner of the home page.

Sep. 3, 2009 - Evan-Moor's How to Teach Art to Children

This year Matres Magistres will be providing instruction in art skills in addition to our art appreciation program (I mean, the one we use from Ambleside Online). I, in particular, have not been diligent about teaching my children art skills. I have been convicted that buying crayons, markers, coloring books, paper, and all manner of art supplies will not magically teach my children how to use them. The resource we are using is Evan-Moor's How to Teach Art to Children.

This inexpensive, easy-to-use book teaches children the basic elements of art including: line, shape, color, texture, and more. Each MM has chosen one topic so far. The MM who facilitates the geography unit will also facilitate the art skills unit. I like that the projects can work with a broad range of students, i.e. first-thru-sixth graders, and can easily be adapted for even younger or older kids.

I *so* appreciate the opportunity to share the teaching of this worthwhile skill area; I never have been an artsy-crafty person. It's going to be a lot of fun to do it in a group setting. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Reason #137 to be part of a co-op!

Aug. 18, 2009 - Artist/Art Appreciation Schedule

Matres Magistres uses the content and general term schedule recommended by Ambleside Online (see link on right sidebar) for our art/artist  study.  The AO site is a wonderful resource for those who would like to implement a Charlotte Mason approach in their homeschools. In addition, AO has a Yahoo! group specifically for the art prints that includes files you can download. That information can also be found on the site.

Here is our MM schedule:

Raphael Sanzio

September 9 - Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) Italian Renaissance Biography and Portrait

September 16 - The Knight's Dream, 1504, National Gallery, London, UK, (more here)

September 23 – Review

September 30 - St. George and the Dragon, 1504-6, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, (more here)

 October 7 - Galatea, 1512, Villa Farnesina, Rome

October 14 - Young Woman with a Unicorn, 1506, Galleria Borghese, Rome (more here)

October 21 -  Sistine Madonna, 1512-1514, Dresden, Germany, (also here)

October 28 -  The Miraculous Draft of Fishes, 1515, The Vatican (Rome), (more about this series here)

November 4 - Ezekiel's Vision, 1518, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy

November  11 – Deliverance of Saint Peter, 1514, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, Italy

November 18 – Thanksgiving

 December 2 – Review

December 9 – Art Quiz Game

December 16 - Christmas 

If you would like to see the artist and art piece we are currently studying, visit the Aletheia Academy homepage. Scroll down a bit and look at the sidebar content on the left of the page.

Enjoy!

Aug. 17, 2009 - 2009-10 Weekly Schedule-First Semester

N.B. Updated Sep 3, 2009

***Our personal copies also include the kids' and mothers' birthdays that will be celebrated each week.***

Week 1:  Sept 9

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/Biography and Portrait

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Introduce Symphony 1 (First Movement)

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: xxx

Geography: The World: Globe, Hemispheres, Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Prime Meridian, Poles, Earth

Art Instruction: Line-define types of lines, observe lines on globe as indicated above

Week 2: Sept 16

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/The Knight’s Dream

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Symphony No 1 (Second Movement)

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: Continents of North America and South America

Art Instruction: Line: make a maze to continue the study of line art using both continents as a center

Week 3: Sept 23

Artist/Selection:  Review

Composer/Music: Review

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: xxx

Art Instruction: xxx

Week 4: Sept 30

Artist/Selection:  Raphael Sanzio/St. George and the Dragon

Composer/Music:  Review

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: Continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica

Art Instruction: Line: make a map of the entire world-cut out continents and make take-home map. Discuss lines surrounding continents.

Week 5: Oct 7

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/Galatea

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Symphony No 1 (Third Movement)

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: North America

Art Instruction: Shape: Definition and Shape Search. Brief video defining shape; work in pairs to locate and draw various shapes on provided worksheet. Bring pencils.

Week 6: Oct 14

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/Young Woman With a Unicorn

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Symphony No 1 (Fourth Movement)

Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: North America

Art Instruction: Shape: Positive and negative shapes. Students will cut shapes out of construction paper and mount positive and negative shapes on contrasting colors. Paper and glue will be provided. Bring scissors and drawing supplies, e.g. crayons, pencils.

Week 7: Oct 21

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/Sistine Madonna

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Fantasia on Greensleeves

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: The Sparrow, Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Geography: North America

Art Instruction: Shape: Create your own continent. Students will cut out a continent of their own shape design using white construction paper. Name the continent, use lines and color and shape to create regions. Paper will be provided. Bring scissors, drawing and coloring supplies.

Week 8: Oct 28

Artist/Selection: Raphael/The Miraculous Draft of Fishes

Composer/Music: Vaughan Williams/Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: North America

Art Instruction: Shape: What is it? Create larger designs out of smaller shapes that are provided. Paper and glue will be provided. Bring crayons.

Week 9: Nov 4

Artist/Selection: Raphael/Ezekiel's Vision

Composer/Music: Elgar/Serenade for String Orchestra

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: Regions of the U.S.

Art Instruction: Color

Week 10: Nov 11

Artist/Selection: Raphael Sanzio/Deliverance of St. Peter

Composer/Music: Elgar/Pomp and Circumstance

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: Regions of the U.S.

Art Instruction: Color

Week 11: Nov 18

Artist/Selection: Review

Composer/Music: Thanksgiving: Over the River and Through the Woods Song and Poem

Hymn: Rejoice,Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: none scheduled

Art Instruction: Thanksgiving-themed craft

Week 12: Dec 2

Artist/Selection: Review

Composer/Music: Elgar/Enigma Variations

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: Regions of the U.S.

Art Instruction: Color

Week 13: Dec 9

Artist/Selection: Art Quiz Game

Composer/Music: Review

Hymn: Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Memorization Passage: Philippians 4:4-8, ESV

Geography: Regions of the U.S.

Art Instruction: Color

Week 14: Dec 16

This week will include special Christmas-themed readings, music, and crafts.

Aug. 16, 2009 - Hymn Selections

These are the MM hymn selections for the 2009-10. Over the course of each term, Beth will discuss the meaning of the hymn, even including a vocabulary study of key terms (see the underlined words). We will sing it together at every meeting. By the end of the term, the kids will know the hymn and understand its message. Pretty cool.

***I will add the text of the other hymns in an update.***

 Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and Mighty!

God in three persons; blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee!

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.

Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before Thee,

Who wert, and art, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee!

Though the neye of sinful man Thy glory may not see.

Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee.

Perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All Thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!

God in three persons; blessed Trinity. (review this concept)

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

This Is My Father's World

Our God, Our Help in Ages Past

Aug. 16, 2009 - Ralph Vaughan Williams Notes

 Here are notes for our first composer. Details on the later pieces will be added as we get closer to studying them.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

1872-1958

England

English/Nationalist/Folk Music

    I.        Biographical Information

a.    Father’s family were lawyers; his father died at the age of 40.

b.    Mother related to Charles Darwin and Josiah Wedgewood (potter)

c.    He was taught piano by his Aunt Sophie.

d.    He married Adeline Fisher at age 25. She suffered from crippling arthritis later in life.

e.    He studied at the Royal College of Music with Parry, later with Gustav Holst and Ravel.

f.    He served in the Royal Army Medical Corp as a stretcher bearer during WW1 and later in the Royal Artillery-in charge of 200 horses.

g.    He never had to worry about money because of his wealthy family.

h.    Curse of the Ninth: He died in his sleep the night before he was to attend the recording performance of his Ninth Symphony. Other composers include Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Dvorak, Bruckner, and Mahler. It is a dark and enigmatic work. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

 II.        Music

a.    Focused on English folk music. He and Holst worked together to research collect, notate, and catalogue vast quantities of English folk music. He also set poems to music.

                                         i.    Music notation definition: any written system that represents music that is heard. Could be pictures, numbers, notes, etc.

b.    He was musical editor of The English Hymnal and edited The Oxford Book of Carols.

c.    He was very prolific during the last 30 years of his life.

d.    His most famous works include ‘Linden Lea’, song (1901), fist publication; Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony) (1903-09); Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910); The Lark Ascending (1914); Symphony No. 3 (A Pastoral Symphony) (1921), a mystical (spiritual) style; Job, a masque for dancing (1913), from William Blake’s Illustrations on the Book of Job; Symphony No. 4 in F minor (1931-34), known for its tension, drama, and dissonance; and Fantasia on Greensleeves (1934)

e.    Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony) (1903-09)

                                         i.    This is a choral symphony based on Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Contains metaphysical (concerning the fundamental nature of being and the world, existence) and humanist (elevating the dignity, rationalism of humankind) perspectives. It is 70 minutes long and has 4 movements.

1.     A Song for All Seas, All Ships (baritone, soprano, and chorus) 20 min; taken from Whitman’s poem of the same name and Song of the Exposition.

2.    On the Beach at Night, Alone (baritone and chorus) 11 min

3.    Scherzo: The Waves (chorus) 8 min; taken from Whitman’s After the Sea Ship.

4.    The Explorers (baritone, soprano, semi-chorus, and chorus) 30 min; taken from Whitman’s poem Passage to India.

                                        ii.    Instrumentation: large orchestra, including flutes, piccolo, oboe, English horn, bassoons, timpani, percussion…

f.    Fantasia on Greensleeves

g.    Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

                                         i.    Composed in 1910 for the Three Choirs Festival, it was an early success for RVW

                                        ii.    The original composer was Thomas Tallis (c 1505-1585; English Renaissance period) and the original lyrics are based on Psalm 2: 1-2.

                                      iii.    It is 16 min long.

                                       iv.    It is scored for an expanded string orchestra divided in 3 parts. The purpose of this configuration is to resemble the sound of an organ.

1.     A full-sized string orchestra

2.    A single instrument from each section

3.    A string quartet

                                        v.    The pleasing melodies of this music have been used for several movies.

Sources

Nichols, Jeremy. The Great Composers. The Lives and Music of 50 Great Classical Composers. Quercas. London. 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Vaughan_Williams

http://www.rvwsociety.com/biography.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_on_a_Theme_of_Thomas_Tallis

Music

A Sea Symphony ($7.99)

 http://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Williams-Symphony-John-Shirley-Quirk/dp/B000003F2G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250305270&sr=1-1

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on Greensleeves (and more) ($13.99)

http://www.amazon.com/Vaughan-Williams-Fantasies-Ascending-Variants/dp/B000004CVM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1250305380&sr=1-1

March of the Kitchen Utensils (.99)

 http://www.amazon.com/Wasps-III-March-Kitchen-Utensils/dp/B001V3XTM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250307218&sr=1-1

YouTube Music Playlist

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B32093EB4F94C597

Aug. 16, 2009 - Text of Memorization Passages

Here are the memorization passages scheduled for the coming year, in order. I will share how we introduce and practice these passages in a later post.

Aug. 15, 2009 - The MM Story

Hello, Friends!

I am so excited about sharing this site with you. One of the things I absolutely understood when I first considered homeschooling is that I would need to find or create a small support group of other families with whom to share this journey. I am not saying that this is essential for every homeschooling family, just that I knew it would be for us. Over time, I did come across other families with whom I thought it would be encouraging and fun to spend time. I met them at the park, or at a playground, through mutual acquaintances...it was all very natural and happened over time. The point is I did not put an ad in the newspaper. I just waited for God to provide, and He did.

Matres Magistres is going on its third year now, and I cannot imagine not having this group of moms and kids to learn with and from. We encourage and support each other. We share our struggles. Sometimes we admonish each other. We laugh and cry together. We have fun. We're just sharing the ride.

This year we said goodbye to a few friends and will be welcoming some new ones. Needs of families change over time. That is life. Also, in our own homeschools, we do not implement the same curriculum or necessarily the same approach, though it is fair to say we all are influenced by the classical and Charlotte Mason approaches. When we come together for a few hours each week, we share the essentials we have discussed agreed upon. This year Matres Magistres (MM) includes four wonderful families with 14 children who range in age from 4 to 14; we can't wait to get started!

If you would like to form a cooperative learning group, I hope this site will be of encouragement to you. You absolutely can do it. This site will provide you with curriculum ideas, plans, and schedules. I will share how things work in our group. I will tell stories of our meetings and share our joys and our trials. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting the most essential information to get started. Our group will begin our year the week of Labor Day. That gives you some time-all you need is one other family to join you.

I hope you will be inspired to form your own group and share your experiences. Any takers?