Italy

We started our study of Italy off by "rowing" the book "Angelo" by David Macaulay. This gentle story about a dedicated man in Italy will touch your heart. Angelo finds a sick pigeon, and nurses her back to health. Her concern for him as he ages and his concern for what will happen to her after he dies is very touching. We talked about the many buildings found in Italy and also about Angelo's very dedicated work ethic.

Next, we enjoyed reading Carole Marsh's Mystery at the Roman Colosseum. My kids SO enjoy reading these Mystery books! They are just packed with information! This time, Christina and Grant travelled all over Italy- Rome, Venice, Naples, just to name a few- and had their usual adventures. They told us about the fountains, the buildings, the ruins and the art, as well as many of the customs one might find in Italy.

Of course, we couldn't study Italy and not learn about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. From our "Geography Through Art" book, we found this idea of trying to paint pictures under the table. The kids enjoyed this project, but all agreed it was really difficult and they wouldn't want to spend days/months/YEARS doing it!

I thought their paintings came out pretty good, though!


Finally, we made it to EPCOT and visited the Italy pavilion. The kids got a taste for some of the statues and architecture they'd read about. They enjoyed seeing the gondolas, too. We've been collecting stamps for our passports at each country in EPCOT. The people there take the time to write a personal greeting for each of the kids in their language. I think it will make quite a collection when it's complete.

To add to our study of Paul, we watched International Bible Society's DVD of Acts in the NIV.
We all enjoyed watching the Scriptures "come alive" and following Paul's transformation and Journeys. After we watched them, we plotted out his routes on a map to see just how much travelling he had done! We were just amazed to think he did most of it on foot or by boat!!!

Mexico

Well, we have travelled from China and the 2008 Olympics to Mexico... We're "rowing" The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi and reading (and completing the activities) through Mexico! by Susan Milord. In there, we are learning about the history and culture of Mexico. We made "Ojos de Dios" last week, had Mexican food for dinner last night, and today we went to EPCOT and took the Gran Fiesta Tour with the Three Caballeros!

We also tried on serapes and sombreros. We might try to make some serapes. DS#2 and DD really liked them! Of course, I think our favorite part so far has been the snacks! Who can resist Churros and Bunuelos? YUM!!

Today, we wove a belt, which turned into a bracelet for DD... we made it with a popsicle weaving loom...

DS#1 built a model of a Mayan Temple.