May 11, 2008
Veni, Sancte Spiritus! And Happy Mother's Day
Posted in Musing about our faith
Pentecost SundayCome, Holy Ghost!
Part of Scenes from the New Testament by Giotto
1290s, Fresco, Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi
COME, Holy Ghost,
send down those beams,
which sweetly flow in silent streams
from Thy bright throne above.
O come, Thou Father of the poor;
O come, Thou source of all our store,
come, fill our hearts with love.
O Thou, of comforters the best,
O Thou, the soul's delightful guest,
the pilgrim's sweet relief.
Rest art Thou in our toil, most sweet
refreshment in the noonday heat;
and solace in our grief.
O blessed Light of life Thou art;
Fill with Thy light the inmost heart
of those who hope in Thee.
Without Thy Godhead nothing can,
have any price or worth in man,
nothing can harmless be.
Lord, wash our sinful stains away,
refresh from heaven our barren clay,
our wounds and bruises heal.
To Thy sweet yoke our stiff necks bow,
warm with Thy fire our hearts of snow,
our wandering feet recall.
Grant to Thy faithful, dearest Lord,
whose only hope is Thy sure word,
the sevenfold gifts of grace.
Grant us in life Thy grace that we,
in peace may die and ever be,
in joy before Thy face.
Amen. Alleluia.
This poem, Come Holy Spirit, was likely written by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1228), and is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of sacred Latin poetry. Here is the Latin version. It is known as the Golden Sequence, used as the sequence for Mass on Pentecost Sunday.
Scenes from the Life: Pentecost of Christ by Giotto
1304-1306, Fresco, Capella Scrovegni, Padua
VENI, Sancte Spiritus,
et emitte caelitus
lucis tuae radium.
Veni, pater pauperum,
veni, dator munerumveni,
lumen cordium.
Consolator optime,
dulcis hospes animae,
dulce refrigerium.
In labore requies,
in aestu temperies
in fletu solatium.
O lux beatissima,
reple cordis intima
tuorum fidelium.
Sine tuo numine,
nihil est in homine,
nihil est innoxium.
Lava quod est sordidum,
riga quod est aridum,
sana quod est saucium.
Flecte quod est rigidum,
fove quod est frigidum,
rege quod est devium.
Da tuis fidelibus,
in te confidentibus,
sacrum septenarium.
Da virtutis meritum,
da salutis exitum,
da perenne gaudium,
Amen, Alleluia.
Oremus Hymnal has the words and midi tune to the hymn based on this poem.
Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful blogging homeschooling moms!
May God bless us.
May 10, 2008
Pentecost Sunday and a second sign of summer...
Posted in Musing about our HSing lifestyle
Day nine of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts.
Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday. We wear red, and the priest's vestments are red, to remind us of the fiery tongues of the Holy Spirit as it came upon the apostles. "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as of fire, which set upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." Acts 2:2-4a.
I just finished posting grades for the paramedic class I teach at the community college. This is my second sign of summer, with our homeschool co-op ending being the first sign. Finishing week 36 of our family schedule is the third--the official start of summer!
May 9, 2008
Getting the boys to sit while I read
Posted in Musing about our HSing core
Day eight of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
Trying to get my boys to sit while I read to them is impossible. This is so central to everything Charlotte Mason, which is what I hold dear in homeschooling, that I am trying different approaches to see what works. Of course, with my boys, what works one week may not work the next so I need to keep looking for ideas.
A few days ago, I was reading about the causes of the Civil War in Eggleston's A History of the United States. They both had a Boomwhacker in their hands (a long plastic cylinder) that they used as swords because they wanted to act out what was going on in the chapter while I read (no battles in this chapter, but I wasn't going to stop them.) They narrated fairly well afterwards, though ds#2 continues to struggle with narration.
Today, I read about Nineveh and Babylon in Hillyer's A Child's History of the World, followed by a chapter of A Door in the Wall while they each had a ball of modeling clay to fiddle with. The clay worked remarkably well to keep their fannies on the couch, their mouths quiet, and their ears open. I hope this technique works for awhile...
May 8, 2008
To MEP or not to MEP
Posted in Musing about our HSing core
Day seven of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
I have long been considering trying the free and excellent Math Enhancement Program. We use Math-U-See now; ds#1 loves it, ds#2 said, "It's too much like school." I don't know what that means to a 6 year old that has only known homeschool, but it wasn't positive.
MEP is spiral, covers a broader range of math topics, has a lot of activities, encourages mental math, and focuses on concept understanding rather than how to do a problem. At least that is what users say. I don't doubt them; we all know that our own children react differently to programs. That's another beauty of homeschooling--not everyone has to use the same book.
We have 2 more weeks of Math-U-See left, so I'm starting to look at the MEP stuff now. That's the best part of a free program--easy enough to try it.
May 7, 2008
Our first garden attempt
Posted in Musing about our HSing lifestyle
Day six of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
We are going to actually try to grow edible things in our back yard. I have long grown culinary herbs and tomatoes in pots, but I've never had a garden. Neither has dh. We're going to try, none the less, with help from my friends... 
We actually went to buy some plants today. Peppermint for the strawberry pot; leeks, red onions, shallots, and cauliflower for the garden...seeds for carrots, zucchini, beets, bush beans, and scallions.
Ds#1 really wanted to have part of the garden, so I told him he could have the whole thing. I would help him, of course. He was so excited he had to tell his friends and his father. As soon as we got home he went right to work raking it.
He is very enthusiastic, and I hope he stays interested in it--he certainly loves to consume the products!
Posted in Musing about our faith
Day five of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
Blessings!
Posted in Musing about our faith
Day four of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
Blessings!
May 4, 2008
Ds#1 and trusting in the Lord our God
Posted in Musing about life
Day three of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
I am coming to terms with the fact that ds#1 has ADHD. No, I mean he really does have it. I actually feel so much better now that I have said out loud what I always suspected. I have been thinking and blogging a lot about putting my trust in Christ regarding school, to stop being so obsessed with the schedule, to have my children learn together, to do more fun teaching. This is where He led me, and I realize all of that prepared me for this diagnosis. Ds#1 is in the best possible environment he can be in; he would have had many more academic and social issues if he had been in school. And he's the same ds#1 he's always been. Jesus, we trust in you...
May 3, 2008
Remind me not to go to the Amherst book sale next year!
Posted in Musing about life
Day two of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
We went to the Amherst book sale yesterday, and it was even worse than last year. The books were individually priced, most $1 or more even for kids' mass market paperbacks. The free room didn't have much, and the vast majority of it was text books. I did find a few gems, like some vintage Millicent Selsam science books and the Orange Fairy Book. It just isn't worth the ride out there any more.
On a much brighter note, we went to a First Communion celebration for another homeschooler friend. Ds#1 was as excited as his friend was.
Ds#2 had a 1st grade CCD graduation ceremony at our church, too. He wanted to wear his vest and tie that he wore for Easter--he looked so handsome!
May 2, 2008
Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
Posted in Musing about our faith
Today is the first day of the Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts.
“All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” Acts 1:14
After nine days of prayer, the Holy Spirit came, as Jesus promised.
This is the origin of the novena, nine consecutive time periods (days, hours, or weeks) of prayer.
Posted in Musing about our faith
Today is the Solemnity of The Ascension of Jesus.
"...why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven." Acts 1:11
The artwork is John Singleton Copley, The Ascension 1775, oil on canvas. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Today is the National Day of Prayer.
Let us pray for our country and its leaders. I pray we may become an example for religious freedom around the world.
The photograph is Joe Rosenthal, American Marines Raising American Flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima Gelatin silver print, 1945, Wide World/Associated Press
May is also devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Read about the origins of this devotion at Catholic Culture.
The artwork is Boticelli Madonna of the Magnificat, c.1485; Tempera on Panel, in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence
