Engineering Class

Kiddos 1 and 2 started the second session of their engineering class last week. This past week, they evaluated digital photography and made balloon rockets to demonstrate thrust. Next week's topic will be space suit and lunar module design. The boys are excited about it already! :-) Since the class in held in a local library, kiddos 3 and 4 have special library time with mommy. We read books and pick books and movies to check out.

Our Caterpillars Have Arrived!

To give the kids some "hands-on" science, we bought them a caterpillar/butterfly habitat. We sent away for the caterpillars and they arrived today! They are so tiny, but they are pretty active and are really starting to move around. There are about 5 of them in each sealed container. There is food, water and air holes already in each. Our job is just to watch. The instructions say that in 7-10 days, they will make their chrysalis. At that time, we will take them out and attach them in the large observation mesh that came with our original purchase. Then, within a week or so, the butterflies will emerge (at least we hope so!). We'll have the kids watch them for a few days and then celebrate by releasing them into our garden and hope that they will help pollinate our plants and flowers. :-) I will take pictures of each step along the way.

Woodworking

Home Depot (1st Saturday of the month) and Lowe's (2nd Sunday of the month) offer free woodworking workshops for kids. The kids get to make a project and when completed receive a certificate and a pin (HD) or a patch (Lowe's) for their work aprons (they receive those the first time they go). The projects are fun to do and they have made so many things. This month they made planters (which they spray painted with a pretty awesome type of "rock" paint) at Home Depot and the photographs show the ant farms they made at Lowe's. In the past, they have made banks, napkin holders, Christmas card holders, castles.... Kiddos 1 and 2 made their projects with little or no assistance from their Pop-Pop and I. They are getting really handy with their hammers!

Training Wheels are Gone!!

Yay!! Kiddo #2 rode without his training wheels yesterday! He was quite proud of himself, needless to say. I was a bit afraid that he might fall, but he did just fine--never fell once and got all the way down the street on one try. If he felt he was starting to lose his balance, he would just tap his foot down until he regained it. He was great! :-)

Springtime at last!!

Wow! It was wonderful to have such beautiful weather today! After my husband came home from work, we literally all spent almost 3 hours outside. It was a lot of fun for all of us. The little ones made up their own version of red light/green light up and down the driveway that at some point, all of the kids (and my mom and I) were playing. There was the always entertaining sidewalk chalk and the hopscotches that show up all over the driveway in a variety of shapes and sizes. The kiddos all had their motorized vehicles out and were driving around the backyard. There were games of catch and long breaks on the swings. Even dad in his wheelchair came out on the back porch and enjoyed the spring air and watched as the kids played. It is now raining and it is supposed to continue into tomorrow, so I guess it was fun while it lasted!

Italiano!

The 4 kiddos started Italian lessons this week! I was so excited to find a native speaker who was willing to come to our home to teach. She was wonderful! The kids were so enthusiastic and were very eager to participate. They have been practicing their colors since the lesson and will be ready for next week.

I am happy to be able to give the kids a taste of their heritage and culture, so much of which has been lost over the years as 3 of my 4 grandparents are now gone. My mom's parents were born in Italy and her first language naturally was Italian, but by the time my generation arrived, my grandparents spoke fluent English. I can understand far more than I can speak and of course, from my Italian classes in high school, I can conjugate verbs, but not much else! My dad's parents' first language was Italian, as well, but were born here and spoke English. I think knowledge of a foreign language is great for kids, and especially at such a young age, when they absorb it like a sponge. I think, from what I have read, that they are still in the "window" for new language acquisition.

I hope their interest and desire to learn Italian continues! I loved that they told me how much fun they had. When kids have fun, they will learn and more importantly, they will remember.

Ciao and Buona Notte!

Mom's Morning

I just had to share about a program that the Daughters of St. Paul offered through their Pauline Books and Media Store in Philadelphia.

It is called "Mom's Morning." It is a once a month mini-retreat for women. There is Eucharistic Adoration, faith sharing and even coffee and refreshments. Meanwhile, the children are shown a movie (this month's was the story of the Prodigal Son), introduced to the upcoming Sunday's Gospel, given activities and related crafts to do and they end with prayer and refreshments, as well.

It was so wonderful on Monday morning! After Adoration and reflection/discussion about next Sunday's Gospel reading, we prayed a decade of the Rosary and prayed for each other's spoken and unspoken intentions. I felt like a wave of peace and calm swept over me. I didn't want to leave the chapel! It was wonderful to be with like-minded moms and encouraged in our faith journey. It was just the reinvigoration I needed.