Serendipity

Christmas and Advent Around the World

We've promised plans for an Advent around the world, and here they are.  I post them with a hint of trepidation however.  I do not want these plans, in any way, to make any of you think that we have come up with a "new way" of doing Advent.  Advent is the season of awaiting Christ's birth, its traditions are those of a church much older and wiser than us, its theme is not rushing, but preparing, waiting for the hush to fall in the awed moments of the Nativity.  We have no doubt most of you, like us, have time-honored ways of living this season at home, some prescribed by the church and some born of your own experiences as a family.  We want you to live them this year as any other, just as we will be doing.  The books you see listed below came from our own book basket lists, they are yearly family favorites.  The celebrations, craft ideas, and recipes will probably all seem familiar.  To us, they are.  The goal as we shift gears in our homes for the season of Advent is to live the predictable rhythm of the liturgy and the comforting traditions of family life.  But we also hope to bring some special touch to each year, mark it with a unique memory all its own, so that as our kids grow, their hearts will anticipate this season with both the longing for its familiar comforts and the memories of its once-in-a-lifetime moments.  In the Foss home, there are yearly traditions and a much remembered rhythm of prayer, but then there will always be fond memories of the Jan Brett Christmas, the Tomie de Paola year, the fairy tale Christmas, and hopefully, this year, the Christmas Around the World.  I hope my little boys will also come to expect the season's familiar rhythm with joy and anticipation, and to wonder at what its unexpected surprise might be.  For isn't that the way of the Little Savior born in a stable, who fulfilled all the familiar promises in totally unexpected ways?  So we share these plans in hopes that they will encourage you to rejuvenate, not re-invent Advent, that they will enrich, not usurp, your own traditions, that they will breathe beauty and joy into the hearts of our children and yours this year.  In a year when my family needs to find the joy and beauty in what will undoubtedly be a season filled with many conflicting emotions, I am relieved to have something to be excited about.  While many of you come into this Advent with crosses much different from my own, and seemingly smaller, I pray these plans ease your burden, whatever it is, this Advent season as you wait in hope for the coming of your Savior. ~Colleen

Beautiful Books to Learn From:

• Christmas Around the World/Lankford
• Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up Book
• Merry Christmas, Everywhere!
• All for the Newborn Baby

We'll use these books for read-alouds and narration during this season.  I'll read a chapter or two of the Lankford book to the children at the beginning of the week, then at the end of the week, open the scene from the pop-up book and have them narrate what they see there based on what they have learned that week and note anything important the scene may be missing.

Links With a Lot to Offer: Advent and Christmas seasons at Fisheaters.com

 

Advent Week 1: Focus on Germany, Poland

Traditions to Learn About: Advent Traditions Around the World

Links for research:
German Christmas Customs
Advent Calendar
The History of the Advent Wreath
Polish Christmas Traditions
Overview and Links to Individual Feasts in Poland

Books to Illustrate the Idea:
Silent Night
Waiting for Christmas
Waiting for Noel: An Advent Story

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
When It Snowed that Night
Who's Coming to Our House?
Country Angel Christmas
B is for Bethlehem

Fireside Tales:
Gingerbread Friends
Gingerbread Baby
Papa's Angels
The Little Match Girl

Recipes to Try:

Lebkuchen

Pfeffernusse

Springerle

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Sculpey Gingerbread Men, Houses

 

By Hand With Heart: Throwing Chestnuts (a fun gift for siblings, cousins, neighbors, friends)

 

 

Advent Week 2: Focus on Russia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia

Traditions to Learn About: St. Nicholas Around the World

Links: St. Nicholas Center's Around the World Page
: Scandinavian Christmas Traditions
: Russian Christmastide

Books to Illustrate the Idea:
The Miracle of St. Nicholas
The Legend of St. Nicholas
Wonder Worker
St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend
The Real St. Nicholas
The Baker's Dozen: A St. Nicholas Tale
The Miraculous Child: A Christmas Folk Tale from Old Russia
The Wild Christmas Reindeer

Feasts to Celebrate:
St. Nicholas
Immaculate Conception
Our Lady of Guadelupe

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
Donkey's Dream
The Friendly Beasts
St. Francis and the Christmas Donkey
Lady of Guadelupe

Fireside Tales:
Miracle of 34th Street
The Polar Express
Christmas Trolls
Trouble with Trolls

The Hat

The Mitten

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Brett)

The Night before Christmas (Brett and others)

Recipes to Try:

Russian Christmas Coffee Cake   

Russian Tea Cakes 

Russian Spice Tea

**All these recipes can be found on the Russian Christmastide page linked above.

Ornaments for Your Tree: Wee Wooden St. Nicholases

  

By Hand With Heart: Matroyshka Dolls (You can order blank dolls here  ....consider decoupaging them with photos of siblings or cousins or grandchildren and giving them as a family gift.)

 

Advent Week 3: Focus on Mexico, the British Isles

Traditions to Learn About: Christmas Decorations Around the World

Links for further research:  

Mexican Christmas Traditions

The Great British Christmas

Books to Illustrate the Idea:
The Legend of the Poinsettia
The Legend of the Christmas Tree
The Night of Las Posadas
Cobweb Christmas
The Christmas Tree
St. Francis Celebrates Christmas

Feasts to Celebrate: 
St. Lucy   

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:                        
This is the Star
O Holy Night: Harlem Boys' Choir
Room for a Little One

Fireside Tales:

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
An Orange For Frankie

Recipes to Try:

Mexican Orange Spice Cookies

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Mulled Cider

British Christmas Cake

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Poinsettia Fairies, Victorian Ball Ornament (Search the web from some inspiring images, start with styrofoam balls, then use things already in your craft cabinets to glitz them up-fabric scraps, sequins, beads, glitter, feathers--so many possibilities.  Sophisitcation and charm are your goals.)

 

By Hand With Heart: Christmas Crackers (An easy gift for neighborhood friends or homeschool groups or a nice addition to a feast day table during Advent.)

 

Advent Week 4: Focus on the Holy Land

Traditions to Learn About: The Holy Places of the Christmas Story, Nativity Scenes from Around the World

Links for research:
: One woman's memories of Christmas in the Holy Land
 
Books to Illustrate the Point:

The Legend of the Christmas Rose

The Crippled Lamb

Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers
King of the Stable
There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve
The Christmas Bird
The Shepherd's Christmas Story

Feasts to Celebrate:
Christmas
St. Stephen

Stories for Preparing Little Hearts:
 Stephen's Feast
Good King Wenceslaus
Jane Ray: The Story of Christmas
A Christmas Story (Wildsmith)
The Very First Christmas

Fireside Tales:

Tomie dePaola: Jingle the Christmas Clown

The First Christmas Stocking

 A Small Miracle

Tomie dePaola: The Clown of God

Recipes to Try:

Mince Meat Pies
Explanation: When the Crusaders came back to England, they brought with them spices from the Holy Land. These spices were added to huge pies made of meats of various kinds, minced very fine and enclosed in pastry. The pies were oblong in shape, to represent the manger. A depression was made in the top to hold a figure of the Infant Jesus, which was removed just before the pie was cut.

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: Popsicle Stick Nativity Grottos (Create small grotto shapes out of popsicle sticks, glue your favorite image of the nativity in the center and decorate with stones, jewels or sequins.), Paper Stars , Pine Cone Angels

 

By Hand With Heart: Wee Wooden Holy Families (Paint or design sets of wooden holy families for little ones' stockings.)

 

Christmas Week: Focus on Italy, France, Spain

Traditions to Learn About: Christmas Foods Around the World

Links for Research:
: Tons of explanations, recipes, and further links to follow

Stories to Illustrate the Point:
 The Huron Carol
The Legend of the Candy Cane
Merry Christmas, Strega Nona!
The Gift of the Christmas Cookie

Feasts to Celebrate:
Mary, the Mother of God

Preparing Little Hearts:
Tomie dePaola: Mary: The Mother of Jesus
Mary Mother of Jesus

Fireside Tales:

Christmas Cookies: Bite-Sized Holiday Lessons

Recipes to Try: Your favorite cookies

Ornaments for Your Tree: beaded candy canes , salt dough cookie ornaments (Make and roll out the dough, let the kids cut them with holiday cutters, poke a small hole on the top of each with the tip of a pencil before baking.  When cooled, let the kids paint them to resemble iced and decorated cookies. Tie a ribbon through the hole and hang.)

 

By Hand With Heart: Cocoa Mix and Peppermint Marshmallows (Consider bringing these as hostess gifts when you do your holiday visiting).

 

New Year's Week: Focus on Central and South America

Traditions to Learn About: Epiphany Traditions Around the World

Links for Research:
Epiphany Traditions from World Wide Gourmet
Twelfth Night

Stories that Illustrate the Point:
 A Gift for the Christ Child
Baboushka and the Three Kings
Tomie dePaola: The Legend of Old Befana

Feasts to Celebrate:

Epiphany

Preparing Little Hearts:
We Three Kings
 Tomie dePaola: The Story of the Three Wise Kings
 The Visit of the Wise Men

Fireside Tales:

Max Lucado: Jacob's Gift

The Little Drummer Boy
The Last Straw
 
Recipes to Try: Make a version of King's Cake: French, Mexican , Spanish, or New Orelans Style

 

Ornaments for Your Tree: bejeweled crowns

 

By Hand With Heart: Wee Wooden Magi (Make a sets of Wee Wooden Magi for little ones to enjoy.)

                                   

 

 

Literature for the Young Lady Advent Plans

Jen shared her Advent plans here. Mary Beth's plans are below, with a PDF with live links for printing at the very end. I'm so excited about these few books. The "Treasury" books by Collins and Eriksson always turn out to be family treasures for us. We're all looking forward to an Anne-with-an-E Christmas! (Well at least all the girls are. Colleen and I have something else up our sleeves for the boys. Colleen's creativity has kicked into overdrive and we're all going to benefit--stay tuned:-)

:: The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Treasury Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson

::Christmas with Anne and other Holiday Stories

::Read these books to Katie and Karoline at night. With Katie and Karoline, "live" these books. Dig into the craft ideas, plan tea parties, study the maps and the floor plans. Just make this your year for an "Anne" Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Start a planning calendar using iCal for  feast days, project days, menu plans and family traditions.

::Spend a couple hours at most at O Night Divine and Catholic Cuisine and choose 1 new tradition, craft, or meal you'd like to introduce to our family. Be inspired and encouraged, but be prudent, too. Remember, we have lots of traditions already and we want our days to be ones of joyful anticipation, not frenzied craziness;-)

:: Assist Mom in planning for our family traditions during Advent and Christmas. You'll find the paper planning of these in mom's Christmas notebook. If you'd like, you may re-work these documents and make them pretty for both of us:-)

::Check out the Flylady.net to see if there are any useful updates since the notebook was first made.

::Help me make shopping lists for the craft store and the grocery store and then come along with me:-) Stop for a gingerbread latte.

:: Using iCal (the “prayer” calendar, which has the feasts already noted ) plan and then print the cooking and baking and crafting schedule for all the Feasts and Holydays of Advent and Christmas. Don't forget Baptism anniversaries and name days. Put one copy in my notebook and one in yours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Organize our picture books into five baskets--one for each week of advent and one for the Christmas season. Use the new Serendipity "Around the World" plan as your guide (coming soon;-). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ :: Christmas in Prose and Verse(editor - Allison Putalla) :: Choose one poem to memorize that reflects the hopeful nature of the season

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

::Fairy Tale Christmas With Bailey, plan a tea party for the week between Christmas and New Years. You may choose your party from this book or the Anne Christmas Treasury

 Plans in Printable PDF format:Download Advent Plans for Mary Beth
 
   

An Advent Basket

As I was preparing our Ivy Basket, I began to realize that in the middle of working through the basket we were going to slide into Advent.  I began to discuss with Sarah what that would look like, and we realized that we really enjoyed the format of having a "basket of ideas" to gently guide our plans and our days.  We thought we'd share our Advent basket with you.  Elizabeth will be posting Mary Beth's plans right behind me.  We hope these ideas will springboard some discussions and perhaps offer inspiration for an idea to share in your home.

Download Advent Basket - pdf

Download Advent Basket - Word

The Advent basket may not reflect the totality of our living out of Advent, but I hesitate to plan or put much more on paper than I have as Advent is a season we try to live out in quiet and simplicity as our hearts are expectant and waiting! 

In building this basket with my daughter we both saw the potential for good in both of us learning to plan and live out the season side by side, and for my daughter especially, to begin to gather a special bouquet of memories that are hers alone in planning.

I hope you enjoy our shared baskets and plans as you consider your own plans this upcoming Advent!

The Ivy Basket

 I'm so happy to be able to post our Ivy Basket plans for the Literature for the Young Lady program!!!  If you haven't yet read the overview for Literature for the Young Lady - please do!

Like the other baskets, I think this basket will take about 9 weeks to complete, however this is so dependent on life, the pace you and your daughter are comfortable with, any rabbit trails you might decide to pursue, etc. 

Again, Elizabeth and I hope you'll take a look at these plans with an eye towards what might work in your own home with your daughter.  We're posting our different plans so that you can get an idea of a basic outline to follow as well as some of the differences we each take in our homes.  Both Elizabeth and I enter into discussions at great length with our daughters when setting up the baskets and both girls are in charge of a lot of the day-to-day planning.  Remember, this is just a lovely outline of a rhythm that seems nice and productive, but if we find a different way of living these ideas neither Elizabeth nor I feel bound by the plans - neither should you! 

Download Ivy Basket (Sarah) - pdf

Download IvyBasket (Mary Beth) - pdf

Download Ivy Basket (Sarah) - Word

(This basket is available in Microsoft Word format so you can download, delete, add, subtract, and customize it for your daughter.)

We hope you enjoy these as much as we enjoy sharing them and living them with our daughters!

What to do about Broken Botany Links?

Jamie wrote:Thank you, Elizabeth, for all you have written and compiled ... so beautiful. The links to the botanical information on the Flower Fairy site say they are "broken" ... I found the site, but can't find anything on there about botany? Any ideas? Thanks again and God Bless, Jamie

Yep. I know.  The Flower Fairy people changed the website and none of the links work, even the botany ones. some of the flowers have links to other sites for botany information. Eventually, I'll go find links for all the flowers, but right now, that is just too big a task to take on in light of the gazillion other things that are more pressing in my life;-). So...here are some sites to consult if you want to find some botany information:

Enature Field Guides

Botanical.com

The US Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers

Wildflowers and Weeds

Sorry for the inconvenience, ya'll. The Flower Fairy site was so huge in these plans and it definitely ruffled our feathers when it all changed. The sites above are even better, though, in terms of the science of it all.

The Utterly Lovely Alphabet Path

I've been so delighted to receive notes from lots of new families traveling the Alphabet Path this year! Did you see Jessica's photos of A week? Remember, comments are open at Serendipity now, so that you can tell us about your adventures with each and every letter. There is some work for me to do in the middle of the alphabet, updating some booklists, and I hope to get to that before you all get to those letters. Your prayers for my time are truly, truly appreciated. Also, I know that lots of Flower Fairy links are broken. The Flower Fairy site was totally overhauled and all the links changed.The new Flower Fairy site is here. Link updating is tedious and time consuming and...I'll get to it:-) Remember, there is a tutorial for how to to use the Alphabet Path here.

I encourage you to leave comments, ask questions, make suggestions, and have a conversation!

Sneak Peek: Writer's Workshop

There's one more component to this year's doings that we haven't yet shared with you. Colleen and I are crafting plans for a weekly Writer's Workshop. She's going to do it as a co-op. I'm going to do it with my own small band of children. We're really excited about this--an idea inspired by not one, but two, great living books on writing.

The first book is Show, Don't Tell! by Josephine Nobisso, author of The Weight of a Mass. The second book is not yet released, but our research tells us that it's worth holding up the whole workshop in order to include this book. S is for Story: A Writer's Alphabet is due out the first week of September, so we don't have too long to wait. In the meantime, we're happily collaborating in Google Docs, and we can share it with you in the not-too-distant future.

Shakespeare Fridays

 

from Shakespeare's Storybook

Colleen and I have put our heads together to come up with a family friendly Shakespeare Study for this year. We are eagerly anticipating dedicating our Friday Afternoons to the bard. You'll see how it's scheduled in Colleen's planning document in the Continent Study post. I'm uploading it again here for your convenience. We'll study one lesson block a month, for a full academic year of literature study.Download Calendar_2009-05-10_2009-05-17(2)

ETA:  **Laughing out Loud at Our Discovery Today! When Colleen sent me her schedule to create a PDF, Google kindly translated her time zone into my time zone, so now it looks like the Mitchells are slackers who don't start their days until 10:00:-). Just slide the time blocks up--or not, depending on when you want to get going...

(Sorry about the funky highlighting. This post spent too long in Google Docs and endured much tinkering. So, it rebelled when we transplanted it and utterly confounded us with all kinds of complex code:-)

We'll cover the following topics:

General Biography of Shakespeare

Globe Theatre

Stories that Inspired the Bard

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Romeo and Juliet

A Winter's Tale

Hamlet

Macbeth

Twelfth Night

The Tempest

Core Books:

Tales from Shakespeare

by: Marcia Williams

Includes versions of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest, The stories are portrayed on a stage, with cartoon panels carrying the actions and direct quotations from the play. The author's narration appears below the panels.

More Tales from Shakespeare

by: Marcia Williams

Includes versions of As You Like It, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice and Richard III.

Lamb's version online for free audio:

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (Nesbit)

Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb)

Brush up Your Shakespeare! (indexed in the back)

Shakespeare for Kids

Poetry for Young People

High School: Shakespeare: Comedies, Histories, Tragedies

General Bio:                                                                     

Read Bard of Avon
Read DK books--Shakespeare

Read biographical information in Poetry for Young People

Shakespeare for Kids: pgs 3-7;43-47;55-66;107-112;131-134

Copywork:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Main Lesson Book page: Who was Shakespeare?(Written Narration and illustration--do one page each week this month)
1.  Draw a portrait of Shakespeare
2. Draw a map of England, label London for reference, the Thames River, and Avon.
3. Draw a scene from Shakespeare's life and narrate it.
4. Write an acrostic poem about Shakespeare using the letters in his name.  Decorate the page.

To Make or Do:
Make a wee felt Shakespeare.
Use only things you can find around the house to dress a sibling as Shakespeare or one of the ladies who would have attended his plays. Take a photo for you main lesson book.

 High School
Watch Teaching Company DVD Lectures 1 and 2

Globe Theatre:
Read William Shakespeare and the Globe

Read Shakespeare's Globe (pop-up book)

Read Shakespeare's Theatre 

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork:  

Sonnet 20

A woman's face with Nature’s own hand painted
Hast though, the master/mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change,as is false women’s fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created,
Till Nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,
And by addition  me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she pricked thee out  for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love, and thy love’s use their treasure.

Main Lesson Book Page: Diagram of the Globe Theatre with written explanation (a page a week for the month).
1. Draw the globe from the actor's perspective (stage out) and label.
2. Draw the globe from the audience's perspective (looking at stage) and label.
3. Illustrate actors in a Shakespearean play, considering common costumes, wigs, props, etc...
4. Create a list of items that would have been common props or scenery at the Globe, illustrate these items in the border of your actor's page and label them.

To Make or Do: Make a diorama of the Globe to use with wee felt folk to be made for each play studied.

 

Stories that inspired Shakespeare:

Read   Shakespeare's Storybook (Barefoot Books/cd available)

Read Will's Quill

Copywork:

SONNET 15

When I consider every thing that grows

Holds in perfection but a little moment,

That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows

Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;

When I perceive that men as plants increase,

Cheered and cheque'd even by the self-same sky,

Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,

And wear their brave state out of memory;

Then the conceit of this inconstant stay

Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,

Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,

To change your day of youth to sullied night;

And all in war with Time for love of you,

As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

Shakespeare for Kids:choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Main Lesson Book Page:
1. Choose one story a week from Shakespeare's Storybook. Look at the full-sized illustration. Create your own illustration in this style. Be sure to include a beautiful border.
2.Narrate Will's Quill  and illustrate in the same style as the Storybook illustrations

To Make or Do:
Make beeswax figures to dramatize one of the stories.

Midsummer Night's Dream                                                               
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version  A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:
1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

To Make or Do: Craft a wee felt scene and use figures to act the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.


Romeo and Juliet
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:
1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

To Make or Do: Craft a wee felt scene and use figures to act the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.
Teaching Company DVD Lectures 19 & 20

A Winter's Tale
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version A Winter's Tale

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare:Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:

1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.

Hamlet
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version Hamlet

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:

1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.
Teaching Company DVD Lectures 25, 26 & 27

Macbeth
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version MacBeth

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:

1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.

Teaching Company DVD Lectures 34, 35, & 36

Twelfth Night
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version of Twelfth Night

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:

1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)

Teaching Company DVD Lectures 3 &4

Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.

The Tempest
Read the Nesbit or the Lamb's version
Read the Marcia Williams version and study the illustrations
Read Bruce Coville version The Tempest

Shakespeare for Kids: choose an activity that appeals to your family.

Copywork: Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Choose quotes from the play which are appropriate for you family and copy, illustrate and memorize them.

Main Lesson Book:

1. Write about the setting with the place and time of the play.
2. Write about and illustrate the main characters--draw them, list their traits--older kids can include quotes for evidence of trait.
3. Write and draw about the plot--diagram major events of rising action, climax, falling action,
4. Write about themes--articulate main themes of play in own words and decorate page.
Bonus: Write a comic strip version of the play.

High School (to be done in addition to assignments above)
Read the entire play.
Watch the film version.

Notebooking pages and other resources

Sunflower Basket

The Sunflower Basket is the first basket in the series of Literature for the Young Lady.  (If you haven't read the introductory post, please do so before reading further!)  Plan on taking at least 9 weeks with this basket, perhaps even a little longer. 

The following are the plans for the Sunflower Basket.  Many of the resources are active links. Almost all the books are linked in the righthand sidebar.

Download Sunflower Basket Mary Beth

Download Sunflower Basket Sarah

Download Sunflower planning sheets

Download Weekly Rhythm and Planning

Download Sunflower Basket blank - planning

**Note** 
You will find Sarah's Sunflower basket to be quite full!!!  This is because she requested starting her basket early in the summer.  She helped me in putting her basket together, and she's already completed a good bit of it!  :)  She tells me she is enjoying it immensely!

We hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Coming soon....Ivy Basket!!!

Announcing ~ Literature For the Young Lady

~ A Fascination of its Own ~

Literature for the Young Lady at the Bend in the Road

by Elizabeth Foss and Jennifer Mackintosh

“…my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend…” Anne of Green Gables

~

Elizabeth and I are excited to share a set of plans with you on this Feast of St. Anne, a curriculum really, that we have been working on over the summer.  This curriculum is designed for young ladies around the ages of 11 - 14. 

First, I'll take just a minute to introduce myself because I'm new to Serendipity.  My name is Jennifer Mackintosh and I have been homeschooling my children from the beginning.  My daughter Sarah is 12 1/2 and fast becoming a young lady.  I have three other children ages 8, 4, and 1.  This past spring, Elizabeth and I began sharing some of our thoughts about our girls (that are approximately the same ages) and we noticed a common thread and desire.  Out of this common desire came the plans for this course which sort of fell into place with very little effort compelling both of us to believe that it was always meant to be written and shared.  Thus, here it is.  As with all things on Serendipity, we share this as part of the overflow of our days.  We can't promise when we'll update, or when we might add more, except to say we will do so as God and our vocations allow.

Literature for the Young Lady is a curriculum that offers a young lady (of approximately 7th grade – 9th grade age) a guide for studying and immersing herself in the virtues of femininity, the domestic skills and arts, literature and history of the Victorian Period, Natural History with a particular emphasis on Botany and Victorian naturalists - all while following along with a most faithful companion well suited to our young ladies as they develop into spirited but gentle young women – Anne of Green Gables.  The study begins with Anne as a young girl in Lucy Maud Montgomery's first book, Anne of Green Gables, but continues and follows Anne throughout all 8 books of the series as she grows and matures into a beautiful woman full of vivacity and life.   It is her vivacious, joyful spirit we mean to imbue this guide with.

 The study itself is organized into baskets, or themes, named for the flowers Father Lasance offers as representatives of the virtues discussed in The Catholic Girl’s Guide.   Following this introduction you will find documents for downloading resource listing for the first year of the program.   This resource list can be used for the year to aid in planning and library lists.   We will publish the Year 2 resource list sometime in the future.  In a post following this one, we will publish documents that offer our plans for the first basket in the series, The Sunflower Basket.

~Note: All the books in the first basket--the Sunflower Basket--are linked in the righthand sidebar.~

This curriculum is decidedly Catholic in content.  There is no better model of purity and femininity for our young ladies to emulate than the Blessed Mother herself and we place this course under her protection.  Faith studies are taught with an eye towards virtue development.  Using The Catholic Girls Guide by Father Lasance, one virtue at a time is presented in order to provide time for prayer and depth of discussion.  Lives of the Saints, particularly those who lived during the Victorian period, were chosen to further illustrate the specific virtues discussed.  It is our belief that Religion isn't a box you check or a subject you study, it permeates every aspect of our lives, every part of the day.   There is an element of Catholic culture in many of the course offerings in this curriculum.

Every attempt has been made to coordinate all subjects so that they work together and complement each other and the Victorian period as much as possible.  This study does not wish to “idealize” the period, but does choose to point out the good and beautiful, and particularly wishes our girls to have Anne as a companion during the entirety of the study. 

I'll briefly give you our vision for each of the individual courses....

:: Literature - Selections are chosen based on the period in which they characterize or were written.  All selections point to the Victorian period in some way.  Each basket offers one of the Anne books, and one additional literature selection.  These selections are fairly meaty, and because we wanted to foster time for immersion, written narrations, biographies, appropriate study, and additional related reading in History, we limited the literature selections.  Occasionally, you will see that Elizabeth and I fill in with other Literature that is appropriate. 

:: History - Selections parallel the Literature pieces offering background or context of the Victorian period.  The goal of the history portion of this course was to provide context and set the stage more than anything else, allowing the strength and vitality of the feminine characters of this study to offer a picture of life in the period.  Special emphasis is given to Queen Victoria and the Victorian period in general during this first year.  Next year, Elizabeth and I plan to assemble a unique course spotlighting some very unique and strong First Ladies of the United States.  In each basket we provide opportunities for adding to the historical perspective of the course through writing opportunities and additions in each of the girl's Book of Centuries/Timeline.

:: Homemaking and Hospitality - No course following Anne and fostering a cheerful domestic spirit would be complete without a thorough and practical examination of the skills of homemaking and an attitude of hospitality.  In living out our vocations, Elizabeth and I see skills and practices that can and should be nurtured within the home to assist in fostering these attitudes and practical skills.  There is also a Catholic element we hoped to breathe into this course through the use of some of the beautiful offerings of Catholic author and homemaker extraordinaire, Alice Cantrell as well as other Catholic authors that have written beautiful books to assist in living out the liturgical year at home.  We hope what we have assembled inches our girls towards cheerfulness and ability in the home and home arts.

:: Natural History - It seemed fitting to turn to Natural History for any course focusing on the Victorian period.  The Victorian era saw a surge of prolific and talented naturalists, two of whom we have chosen to follow for this course.  This first year will be spent following Edith Holden, a naturalist that technically lived and worked during the Edwardian era, the period immediately following the Victorian era and named for Queen Victoria's son, Edward.  She enjoys a great deal of popularity after the publication of her nature notes in 1906 - The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  The second year will be spent following one of our absolute favorite naturalists, Beatrix Potter.  Both ladies offer a substantial body of work for study and inspiration.  Following along with Edith Holden, we will spend this year immersed in Botany offering many opportunities for reading, watercoloring, and nature journaling.  Next year, following Beatrix Potter, our studies in Natural History will take us to Zoology.

:: Faith - Our goal was to follow along with Father Lasance in The Catholic Girl's Guide taking one virtue to really focus on for each basket.  In addition, many books on the saints have been added because of their great value in illustrating through the lives of the saints the beauty of each of these virtues in action.  Each basket contains a chapter of The Catholic Girls Guide, and at least one book on the life of a saint.  This portion of the course is meant to be discussed frequently as some of the terminology and expressions Father Lasance uses are quite antiquated.  Both Elizabeth and I take different approaches to apologetics and it is reflected in our resources.  I'm trying something new...though in the end, I may end up having my daughter read and follow along with Elizabeth's lovely suggestions because they look so good. 

:: Poetry - Our studies for poetry are inspired by Anne. We'll learn some of the poetry Anne and Lucy Maud Montgomery found inspiring using Anne's Anthology by Margie Gray.  The collection of poetry written by Lucy Maud Montgomery also fills the basket.  In addition, the girls are following the R is for Rhyme series on Serendipity.

:: Fine Arts - We'll be following and learning from the Impressionists during this study with a special emphasis on the works of Claude Monet.  We'll also spend a bit of time enjoying pieces of classical music from the Romantic period (1815-1910) such as Beethoven and Wagner and the Impressionist period (late 19th/early 20th century), such as Debussy and Ravel.  As a further connection to our Natural History studies we are offering our girls many opportunities to learn how to paint with watercolors as well as opportunities for expression.

:: Handcrafts - In our effort to foster the development of skills common in the Victorian home as well as promote a joy in creating, we're offering our girls some focused time in the handworking arts - primarily sewing skills and creations.

:: Child Development - The selections in this course are offered with an eye towards equipping our girls with the necessary knowledge and understanding of child development that would be appropriate at this age.  It was our hope that the knowledge gained here would be beneficial in the home right now with younger siblings, as well as down the road if God's plan for our girls includes the vocation of Matrimony.

:: DVD documentaries/movies/viewing options - This course is rich in terms of its literary offerings, but I would be remiss if I didn't communicate to you what a wonderful resource I've found for further enhancing a study in the offerings at Netflix and from the local library.  Each basket contains a number of DVD offerings to enhance the basket.  These are not necessary, but some really shouldn't be missed.  In particular, if you haven't ever viewed the Wonderworks series Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea  with your girls - now is the time!  Using Netflix makes these offerings very affordable for our family.  We borrow DVD's for a period and then return them when we're done.  It couldn't be easier!  And, I'm so happy to say that Netflix has a number of wonderful Catholic films to borrow - like the Footprints of God series by Stephen Ray!  As Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing!"

:: Copywork/Dictation/Writing Opportunities - Both Elizabeth and I are comfortable adding these opportunities into each basket for our girls as a way of furthering and developing the skills of Language Arts.  We have not provided specific passages for copywork or studied dictations in our plans, though we have requested some written narrations as well as biographies for the girl's Book of Centuries.  Many of our selections will come from our poetry selections, our faith studies or reading from the saints, beautiful and well-written phrases from literature selections, or a lovely and inspiring thought from one of our Victorian naturalists.  This approach is important to both Elizabeth and I, but it doesn't have a mentioned place in the curriculum.  (For further reading, Ambleside Online has some discussion of the language arts principles of narration, copywork, and dictation.)  I also wanted to list another FAVORITE resource of mine for notebooking pages.  Some enjoy making their own in a simple, blank notebook, but my children just love doing copywork and dictations to add to their Book of Centuries on these Notebooking Pages.  A particular favorite of my daughter are the floral designs notebooking pages.  They're quite inexpensive and make a lovely addition to any notebook!

A final word about how this course looks...in our homes and yours.  These plans, these suggestions are just that - suggestions, a framework.  This course will look different in our individual homes - one could spend much more time in each basket adding a variety of resources and materials to flesh out a particular book or concept, or you might enjoy focusing more heavily on one section/subject of the basket than any of the others.  You could certainly substitute books and resources other than the ones you see here.  Both Elizabeth and I embrace a literature rich approach to homeschooling, but we each have unique ways of implementing that philosophy, and each of our daughters have individual interests and talents they wish to pursue at this time.  As a way of showing you that we have tailored this curriculum to fit our individual daughters, and of *giving you permission* to do the same (*wink*), we're including both our plans.  Yes, they look basically the same, but there are subtle differences that reflect each of our homes and choices.

We feel that this course is best experienced at a relaxed and gentle pace, and we suggest a 2 year time frame – which means completing 4 baskets a year.  This allows for approximately 9 weeks per basket (in a 36 week year) providing time for writing and expression of creativity through handwork and practical homemaking exercises, all of which Elizabeth and I feel is essential to the development of this course and our young ladies.

What isn't here...This course does not contain any math suggestions - you will need to add your own curriculum for math and Latin or another language if you choose.

The planning sheets...Each basket has its own unique set of planning sheets.  The guide or outline of each basket is provided for you in a format that is easy to use as a reference.  The daily and more detailed planning is left to you or your daughter.  Both Elizabeth and I are excited to hand over some of the daily planning to our young ladies.  It seems a very good exercise in time management as well as valuable experience gained in planning as our daughters prepare themselves for their vocations. 

Planning sheets are provided to fit a variety of approaches - one sheet is designed based on a traditional day where a student completes a little of each subject each day.  However, both our young ladies have enjoyed a more focused approach in which they complete some Religion, Math, and Latin daily, while choosing the remainder of the day to focus time and attention on one other subject at a time, moving through Literature, History, Natural History, Homemaking and Hospitality choices at their own pace.  This allows for a real depth of experience, and we see great value in it.  Feel free to print and copy as many of the planning sheets as you like (planning sheets will be provided for download on the following posts that offer resources for individual baskets).  However, they are not necessary.  Both Elizabeth and I found that we and our girls had already hit a stride and comfortable way of planning already, and it was more difficult to break from something that was working for both of us.  So, just so you know, we may or may not use our own planning forms.  LOL! 

A call to prudence...Almost all of the books and many of the movies/documentaries suggested for this course have been read or reviewed by one or both of the authors, but there are those here that have not yet been previewed.  We’re learning as we go.  It goes without saying that the authors encourage family prudence when choosing and offering books and DVD’s for this program.  We recognize that we're the best judge of our daughter's needs and sensitivity levels, and you are the best judge of your daughter's needs.  If you don’t like something you see suggested...simply remove it from the basket or substitute something more suitable in it’s place and move forward in joy!

It is our prayer that this course fosters a communication and dialogue of true femininity, beauty, and virtue between mothers and daughters at “the bend in the road” while offering noble and great books to feed the intellect, imagination, and soul.

God bless you.

Literature for the Young Lady Resource Lists:

:: Download Serendipity - Lit for a Young Lady - Mary Beth's plans

:: Download Serendipity - Lit for a Young Lady - Sarah's plans

Feel free to print these out.   There are some links in this listing, but not many.  All titles and author's names are provided.  There are a few more links provided on the plans for the individual baskets (see below).

A reminder...this is only Year 1.  Year 2 will be posted at a future date.


As we post individual basket plans they will be linked here:

:: Sunflower Basket Plans and Forms
:: Ivy Basket Plans and Forms
:: Peony Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!
:: Rose Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!

:: Year 2 Resource Listing....coming soon!!!

:: Carnation Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!
:: Forget-Me-Not Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!
:: Violet Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!
:: Daffodil Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!
:: Narcissus Basket Plans and Forms...coming soon!!!

St. Anne, pray for us!