Sunday "School"

We observe as strict a day of rest as we can on Sundays, so in addition to avoiding chores and whatnot, I do not plan any lessons.  But somehow, lots of schoolwork does naturally seem to happen...

:: Mass first thing this morning, so a good dose of Latin. ;)  And the hymn this morning was one we just learned last term, "To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King."  Fitting for the feast of Christ the King!

:: One of the littles started up "This Land is Your Land" on the way there, with all the others joining in at one point or another.

:: As soon as the toddlers went up for their nap this afternoon, the children asked if we could please please please read about our saint for next week, so I read them the scheduled chapter for this week from Our Island Saints--Saint Edward the Confessor.

:: They then wondered what was going to happen next to Joseph in Egypt, and could I please read that too?  A short chapter from Bible History.  

:: My daughter, after spending a bit of time reading her missal, asked "What's a Gradual?"  So I pulled out Maria Montessori's The Mass Explained to Children and read the next section, which, I remembered, was set to cover the Epistle, Gospel, and, yes, Gradual.  

:: Later on, I turned on our music selection for this week, "Winter" from The Four Seasons.  The children asked if I could pull out the Pieter Bruegel book so they could try to sketch the haystacks in his "Harvest" while they listened.

:: Lots of leisurely reading: Charlotte's Web (again), Schoolhouse in the Woods (again), Catholic Children's Treasure Box (again), picture books (always).

:: Italian songs during playtime, started, as usual, by my toddler, who just adores our Italian song CD and sings them with all the lispy exuberance he can muster. 

:: Mental math during dinner, thanks to my son asking, "What's 12x12?"  He loves a challenge. 

:: Geography puzzle before bed, a Sunday favorite.

So yes, I suppose we did "do school" today.  It is a wonderful thing when your children choose schoolwork for fun on their days off--a testament to the beauty of a Charlotte Mason education.  And this is another reason I work off a weekly schedule: you just never know when your assignment sheet will be half-checked-off before the week has even begun!