Our week began with the reading of The Clown of God...the beautiful story of a clown who offers the Christ Child the only gift he has. This story allowed us an opportunity to discuss some very important topics...orphans, the elderly, aging, and compassion.
The Clown of God is set in Italy. So we got our passports ready, and off to Italy we went!!
Our first stop was the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And Old Crow attempted to build his own Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Next, we took a tour of Mt. Vesuvius. We watched old footage of it erupting in 1944, and Old Crow was captivated for the full 9 minutes of black-and-white recording. Then we made our own volcano erupt
(and erupt, and erupt, and erupt) :)
The next day we examined a little of the culture and architecture. Old Crow learned the Roman Numerals. I printed some number cards, and it is amazing how he can turn anything into a game. He matched the Roman Numeral with the number word. After he matched each one, he lined them up to make a "number train."
Later, we watched the gondolas float down the canals of Venice. We recreated our own Venice with the buildings, canal, and gondolas.
Old Crow added the Leaning Tower of Pisa to complete the scene. :)
To complete our trip and to have a keepsake, we made a salt dough map of Italy. The boys painted the oceans after I outlined the country.
Then Old Crow used the dough we made to cover the shape of Italy, and he painted it.
The leftover dough quickly became a new activity as the boys molded and shaped it. I tried to encourage them to make Italian foods...pasta, meatballs, and pizza.
We soon enjoyed some of that good Italian food.
This is our completed salt dough map after it had time to harden. I attached our work to the back by using a sheet protector. Now we can revisit Italy at anytime just by pulling the pizza box off the shelf. Old Crow said he wants to make one of these for every country we visit. I think that can be arranged. ;)
Grazie for reading! Ciao!
Jenny
What a clever idea with the pizza box!
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