Lost Shakespeare Found

The only problem with great writer's of yore is that when you've read everything they've written, you've read everything they've written.  You can reread them, but it's just not the same.  I read my first novel by Flannery O'Connor in my early twenties, and I have doled out her meager catalog bit by bit.  A decade later ;), I have one collection of short stories left.

The Bible was the first adult book I read for myself.  I started at five with the story of Moses in the Bulrushes.  I went on to read all the usual Bible stories.  Preaching had me reading the New Testament, and boredom with preaching introduced me to all the weird and wacky bits no one ever reads.  The practice of a daily quiet time moved me to get my reading organized.  Starting my freshman year of college, I used three different incarnations of the One Year Bible over the course of more than a decade.  Rereading and rereading and rereading, even the wacky bits became overly familiar.

One of the best benefits of converting to Catholicism is that there are all these new books of the Bible to read.  It feels like it would if someone discovered a lost Shakespearean play, and we could all experience his wisdom and genius in a fresh way. These new-to-me books of the Bible promise to be the Holy Spirit's fine work and work in me.  Getting  around to reading them has taken longer than expected, but, at last, the time has come.  I have an amazing Catholic Bible I was given during my RCIA classes, but it's paperbound, four inches thick, and the other dimensions are pretty generous too.  It wouldn't survive the kind of hauling around my loved books receive, so I have invested in a New Catholic Answer Bible.  A rosary is embossed on the leather-like cover.  The Table of Contents refers to the helpful inserts, not the books of the Bible, and a picture of Pope Francis was included free of charge.  I'm starting with Tobit.  Let the renewal begin!

Soft Wear

We ended our third week of homeschooling, and it's time to look at curriculum.  I'm loving it.  I may adjust Jimmy's work, but not until I give him a little longer to adapt to the Kindergarten work we're doing.  Everybody else seems to be on target.
The morning starts with Bible.  For a while I was in such a spin from all that had happened in my life I wasn't really sure what to teach the kids, but I'm settled in now.  The Big Picture Bible Time Line provides a coloring sheet while I read the kids a story out of the International Children's Bible.  We follow this up by learning prayers from the Catholic Prayer Book for Children.
Language A I divide and conquer.  My middles read books and write a summary of their reading in composition books.  Jimmy makes a stab at A Reason for Handwriting, while Peter and I work on his writing using Writing With Ease and First Language Lessons.  They are so simple and direct.  It makes our time together easy and fun.
Science alternates between Physics and Our Universe, a Teaching Company video, and experiments from Science in a Nutshell, Energy and Motion, from Delta Education  I have been shopping for the Science in a Nutshell kits since I was single, kindergarten teacher.  Kurt said this was the year, and he was so right!  When they say everything is in the kit, they mean everything including three great journals for the kids to record their observations in. Science has always been one of our favorites, but this year is a highlight.
Math A everyone is working on their own, except for Jimmy who will finish the sheet if I keep it moving.  He's also enjoying the manipulatives.  Peter is working through Horizons, but we put the girls on Switched On Schoolhouse for math.  They needed the immediate feedback and we needed the instant grading, so far it's a hit.
Lunch is my workout.  It leaves the treadmill free for Kurt in the evening and gives me an endorphin high to get through the afternoon.
History I have lost my Zuzu.  She is reading A History of the American People, which is one of my favorite general histories because the author is British and brings his British sense of humor to the task.  She is making a note at the end of each paragraph and seems to be understanding and enjoying the book.  The rest of us are plugging away at the third installment of Story of the World.  They are each writing a summary according to their ability, and I feel lucky if Jim will sit for the reading.  Thursday we all gather for our Early American History lecture from The Teaching Company.  Professor Linwood Thompson is terrific teaching the course in costume.  We can't wait for Thursday.  Teaching Company videos take some of the pressure off and I don't feel so alone.
Math B is more of Math A except for Jimmy who works on his Horizons Phonics with me.  Some of it he gets, some of it is way over his head, but every week he makes progress.
Language B is the middle's turn to be the center of attention.  We are using Write Source and enjoying the departure from the small publishers we usually purchase.  The curriculum is also used as a back up at Spring Lake Middle School which will hopefully ease their eventual transition.  Peter uses this time to read stories from vintage Open Court and to answer the questions in a comp book.
I end the day grading all the comp books and creating spelling lists.  I give individual feedback and keep track of who has homework, while they do their handwriting, from A Reason for Handwriting
I'm happy with this program.  It's something we can realistically expect to finish and to get good final results.

grown up honeymoon

A few weeks before my marriage my father asked me how I felt about it, and I said, "ask me again in three years."  It wasn't because I wasn't in love, new is simply not my favorite feature for anything, much less for something as critical as marriage.  So in spite of five and a half years of on again, off again dating and seven and a half years of generally being on my radar, I still needed time to feel comfortable qualifying my marriage.  It's been eighteen years, and I can give it an unqualified excellent.  Like everybody we've had challenges both those that we signed up for and those that we didn't.  We aren't perfect, but we don't ever give up.  Our strength comes from being able to take turns carrying the burdens and maximizing each others gifts and character.
I guess it is a measure of our closeness that I started out writing a puff piece about a recent honeymoon trip, but I can't stay away from talking about my joy in the marriage, forget the hotels and meals and sightseeing.  Atlanta is awesome, but the falling in love I did there, I did with Kurt.

poor baby

Summer, for all intents and purposes, is here which means a lot of things, but my favorite is getting back to my writer's group a.k.a. the West Michigan Writer's Workshop. If you are a fanatical follower of this blog then you might wonder at the name change. Yes, it's the same group, but we've broken away from the UICA. I'll let you know when we have a website.
It is so tasty to sink my teeth into someone else's work for a change. The pink ink was flowing tonight. The unfortunate thing is that I don't seem able to produce work worth critiquing. The first draft is a long way from done and I haven't quite gotten into the mindset for my second draft. All of this has Harriet looking like a barrel of missionary clothes. I have to figure it out. This is summer, my one opportunity to get an outside opinion.

Behind Hand

I just finished downloading 268 emails. I didn't think I'd been absent so long. Events and requests have slid by and I'm actually grateful because I was already feeling stressed. There were a few things I did wish I'd been there for and the first is my friend Vic's book launch. Naked in the Stream captivated me for a couple years at the UICA Writer's Workshop. The best part is Vic's voice, safe and adventuresome in equal parts. Please pick it up and pass it along. You will be glad you did.