Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost
Third Grade: Week Twenty-Five Wrap-Up
Still working hard. Not a whole lot to say about this week. We did learn about John Sutter and the California Gold Rush in American History. Turkey and Bunny really enjoyed learning about the three tests to determine if you’ve really found gold…I think they would have enjoyed it more if they could have tested the theory on some actual gold! Unfortunately, I don’t keep gold nuggets around the house…
We eased back into science by watching the documentary Frozen Planet. This is an excellent series that details what life is like in the Arctic and Antarctic, for both animal and plant life. It’s a fascinating show, very well done with excellent videography. There are some brutal moments…nature is funny that way. The children were OK with that for the most part, except for one unfortunate incident involving a wolf and an arctic hare. There were also some cute, and even humorous, moments, particularly one involving a thieving penguin!
Four weeks of math left, and even less of grammar. We still have quite a few states to go through, but we may skim through some of them to get done sooner. Thanks to our special holiday units, by the time we’re done with math for the year, we’ll have hit our required number of days of school, and by then, I think we’ll be ready for another break!
Retiring #10
Last night, Ryan and I, (and one seven-week-old hitchhiker), went to the Cardinals game. When we ordered our (free!) tickets, we knew that they were giving away a Tony La Russa figurine, but it wasn’t until we got our tickets that they announced that they would be retiring La Russa’s #10 that night, as well.
I thought it was very cool how they combed his number into the grass of the outfield.
There were many baseball dignitaries in attendance–past and present Cardinals, as well as players and front-office people from La Russa’s other teams, and, of course, his family. Mike Shannon, the voice of the Cardinals, was the emcee of the ceremony.
Mayor Francis Slay gave him a key to the city of St. Louis
He also received a gold-dipped bat, with a list of his achievements as manager.
And a framed jersey.
Tony gave a nice speech, which was very focused on the organization, and not on himself.
The big moment came when they unveiled his picture and number on the left center field wall, just down the way from the other Cardinals greats who have already had their numbers retired.
The give-away was cool, too, as evidenced by the fact that some idiot was trying to buy them off of people, just to turn around and sell them on Ebay.
It was quite a night–I’ve never been to anything like that before, and I may never see such a thing again!
May 11–Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs
From the LCMS website:
Cyril (826-69) and Methodius (c. 815-85) were brothers who came from a Greek family in Thessalonica. The younger brother took the name “Cyril” when he became a monk in 868. After ordination, Cyril became librarian at the church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople. In 862 the brothers were sent by the emperor as missionaries to what is now the Czech republic, where they taught in the native Slavic tongue. Cyril invented the alphabet today know today as “Cyrillic,” which provided a written language for the liturgy and Scriptures for the Slavic peoples. This use of the vernacular established an important principle for evangelical missions.
Seven Weeks
Look Who’s Five!
We celebrated a birthday today!
May 9–Job, Patriarch
From the LCMS website:
Job was a blameless and upright man who came from Uz (Job 1:1), a land northeast of Canaan. The Book of Job examines the depths of his faith, which was severely tested through the sufferings God permitted. Despite the sudden death of his ten children and the loss of all his wealth and his health, Job refused to curse God: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (1:21). Still, in the midst of his tribulations Job questioned the meaning and purpose of suffering to the point of asserting his own righteousness (34:5- 6). Finally, the Lord revealed that a man cannot know the mysteries of God (chapters 38-41). Job’s faith in his Redeemer and the resurrection prevailed (19:25-27). In the end the Lord restored his wealth and blessed him with another seven sons and three daughters.
Wordless Wednesday
Baby Birds–The Next Generation
To be fair, I have no way of knowing if this nest belongs to one of the robins we watched grow last year. We did learn in our studies that sometimes robins do go back to where they were hatched to lay eggs, though, so I’m choosing to believe that this is the next generation of “our” robin family!
Turkey Talk
Today in school, we learned a bit about the state of Wisconsin, which was particularly interesting to Turkey and Bunny, since they have lived there. After we learned about dairy production in the state, I asked them to guess what the state beverage is (milk).
Without blinking, without even thinking, Turkey immediately responded, “Beer!”
He may have only been a toddler when we lived there, but he certainly knows the state of his ancestors well!
