Italy Finale: Tuscany

Here is the quite overdue post for the Italy wrap-up when we toured Tuscany and the kids gave their presentations.

First we dined on pasta e fagioli (pasta fazoo) and fresh baked bread. This was both easy and delicious!




Next we went on our virtual tour through Pisa, Siena, and Florence, and even a mini tour of the Ufizzi (see the slide show at the bottom.) We also watched a couple of short videos about the Palio of Siena and Florence.

Next we had a snack made by Paula's dd. She found a recipe online for Tuscan lemon cake--and it was even listed by metric weight rather than volume, just like they are in Europe. She got the conversions right, anyway, because it tasted spectacular!








After that the kids gave their presentations. First up was Paula's dd giving a powerpoint presentation about Italian fashion houses. This was both informative and stylish, like dd herself.





Here is her presentation:


Italian Fashion Report

Publish at Scribd or explore others: gcc

Paula's ds#1 talked about the volcanoes of Italy, complete with his own drawings.











Her ds#2 also gave a great presentation with a spectacular drawing, also about volcanoes erupting.











My ds#1 gave a presentation about the better known saints of Italy. He talked about their birth, death, patronage, feast day, and special gifts. His list actually included several Doctors of the Church of which there are only 8.








Ds#2 had compiled the famous works of Leonardo Da Vinci. The visuals were on the screen and he read his notes to identify each image.









Here is the slide show tour of Tuscany, with a little seasonal theme:

Tonight is the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. Soon will come the Light of the world...

Roma!

This week we visited Rome. First we had a lunch of Pasta Carbonara, made by Paula. Very tasty!

Next we then did some sightseeing via this slide show, followed by a reading of the story of Romulus and Remus in A Child's History of the World:

Afterward they were supposed to watch a video about the history of Rome but Discovery Streaming must have had a lot of demand since we could not get it to play for more than a minute or two. We told the boys to count to 30 before pressing "play" again. It was vigorous counting practice for the youngers!

So we surfed over to Teacher's Domain and watched a brief video about the dome of the Pantheon, followed by this interactive site in which the kids had to build three different types of domes. Next we constucted an aqueduct with another interective animation.




After all that hard work building things, we needed a break. Ricotta pie, made by Yours Truly, hit the spot!












We ended the day learning about Roman Numerals, which they had mastered in no time!

These guys are science and math geniuses! Hopefully they learned a thing or two about Rome, too.

Southern Italy

I forgot my camera this week, but Paula took a picture of the final project that I hope she will add on to this blog entry ;-)

Our study of Southern Italy started with a lunch of good ol' spaghetti with home made tomato sauce.

Next I tried to give this young crowd some exposure to history timelines and historical maps. I used information from A Timeline of Events in Southern Italian History and some information about the history of Naples from teacher's Paradise. (They all had to suffer me singing Funiculi Funicula, O Sole Mio, and Santa Lucia; I didn't know Torna a Surriento.) I handed them a series of four maps demonstrating the power shifts in Italy during the second millenium:

Next we had a virtual tour of Naples and Pompeii:

We talked briefly about the history of pasta, enough to say that it was already a part of Italian cuisine during the time of Marco Polo, and boiled noodles were probably introduced by Muslim invaders in Sicily. We created pasta art by glueing various pasta shapes onto heavy construction paper. It seemed Pompeii captured all their imaginations since that theme ran common through their artwork.

Northwest Italy

This week I put together a few slide shows about our last class where we toured Northwest Italy. I am particularly fond of this region having visited my family there several times.

First we at gnocchi with butter and sage, or Gorgonzola sauce. Next I talked about some of the highlights in the region, like the Shroud of Turin and famous sites in Milan. I also read Days of the Blackbird by Tomie dePaola. Here are the pictures I used:

We then watched the first half of Globe Trekker: Northern Italy. Next I read Tony's Bread by Tomie dePaola, after which we all enjoyed some wonderful pannetoni.

For our craft we all made coats of arms, reminding us a bit about all the castles and battles that took place in this region.

Here is a slide show of our day. Tomorrow we are off to Southern Italy!

Italian project

This is a reminder about the project theme for Italy. Because this country has such a long and varied history, instead of looking in depth into one topic, I am asking that the kids make a "Collection on a Theme." Pick a theme and collect a whole grouping of items, giving a little bit of information on each. You can put this together as a lapbook, a collage, a Powerpoint, a notebook, or whatever else you may think of. Here are some suggestions:

Well-known Italian saints
Well-known popes
Cathedrals (duomos)
Landmarks
Volcanoes (Italy has 4 of them! Give a little more information for this.)
Historical events
Foods

Wines (O.K. so maybe that would be better for an adult wine-tasting party ;-)

Inventors
Artists or artwork
Composers or operas
Fashion designs

And so on...Please call, email, or post a comment if you have any questions!

Northeast Italy

For our second week of Italy we focused on the Northeast regions, particularly the beautiful city of Venice. We looked at pictures of San Marco and of the Grand Canal.

I prepared the classic Venetian dish Risi e Bisi (rice and peas) while Paula made a delicious loaf of spelt Italian bread.

We talked about Carnevale and Murano glass; I even brought samples from Venice (thanks, Mom!) Then we logged into Discovery Streaming to watch a science video on glass and a second video on Murano glassmaking.

Next the kids made Carnevale masks out of foam sheets, complete with sequins and feathers!

Next, from the Trentino-Alto Adige region that was once occupied by the Austria-Hungarian Empire, we had Krapfen, or more commonly known in Italy as Bomboloni--doughnuts!

After a great afternoon of learning, what would homeschooling be without some great outdoor energy-burning on a giant mound of dirt?

I'm looking forward to next week...

Poland finale

This was our last week of our Poland tour, and what a spectacular ending! First, Elisa made the most wonderful pierogi. Everyone raved about how delicious they were, and it was her first time trying out her MIL's recipe. Well done!





Here is one of Paula's ds giving his report about Lech Walesa. This was one in a series of drawing he made detailing the events in Pan Walesa's life.

This is Paula's dd giving her report about Marie Curie. Notice how her picture details the burns Mrs. Curie suffered while doing her research. Wonderful job!














This is ds#2 giving his report on Copernicus. He drew a picture of the earth-centered universe and Copernicus's heliocentric universe. All the kids then had fun acting out the two models. Very good!











Below is ds#1 playing the Krakow Heynal on his trumpet. All your practice paid off!




Finally, we had a wonderful Polish language lesson from Paula's dh. He even had the grammar book that all elementary school children are given. The was a fascinating demonstration that we all enjoyed!






Next, we are off to Italy...