Dante: Inferno

What's Schoolin'?

The olders and I are going through Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.  I checked several translations out from the library but my favorite, and the one we are reading for all 3, is by Allen Mandelbaum. It is not translated in rhyme, but rather goes for a clear and pleasant prose translation.  We are studying a little bit (just one page!) in the original Italian to see how Dante brilliantly used poetry for this epic work and to see the pattern.

Here are my loose 'lesson plans' for Dante's Inferno:

~ Read aloud selected text from p.126-135 of Reading the Middle Ages: An introduction to Medieval Literature by T. Steinberg [you can see a preview of the chapter here]

~ Read the following sections and pages from CliffsNotes aloud and discuss:
   p.5-11 Life and Background
   p.11 Figure of Virgil
   p.11-12 Structure of the Comedy (to appreciate it)
   p.12-14 Interpretation
   p.14-18 General Synopsis

~ Read Inferno Cantos I-XI independently.

~ Read the last part of Inferno aloud to them [line 100 to the end of Inferno].

~ Briefly read through possible essay topics at the end of CliffsNotes; Re-read #3 and #6.

~ They choose from #3 or #6 to write their essay for Inferno.

It took us 2 lesson periods to go through the intro items.  They read Cantos I-XI in one sitting the next day.  I read the last section of Inferno to them and assigned the essay the next.  Dante was more 'daunting' before we got into it (The book is 2 inches thick! Plus, they were expecting it to be as gory as The Aeneid).  One daughter asked, "Why can't we just read the whole thing?"  Yeah!

Next:  Purgatorio...




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High School Vet Science

What's Schoolin'?

My 2 olders are jazzed about pursuing their veterinary assistant certification and have started the 4-H Vet Science curriculum.  Our goal is for them to have it before they leave home for college but I'm not sure my senior can get in her 500 clinical hours by then (gulp!).

[Update:  I am thrilled that up to 200 hours can be outside of the vet clinic under the supervision of the instructor (me!) when the program is done as a high school program (not the 4-H route that we were considering).  Supervised work with live animals qualifies for these hours.  At least 300 hours have to be under direct supervision of the vet or vet tech.  With their work, hours, and hands-on workshops with chickens, goats, horses, and livestock they have waaaaay more than 200 hours within the 1-3 year program time frame.  They have done plenty of direct animal care which includes administering medication.  Now I just need to verify hours from our records.]

Here are some links that have been helpful all in one spot.  I keep jumping around online and seem to be clicking in circles.  This will just put it all in one place.  Hopefully this will help others as well.

This is the book we are using for the lessons.

Veterinary Science:  Preparatory Training for the Veterinary Assistant [student book and teacher answer key]

These are recorded lessons (audio with power point).  The one I tried worked fine on my computer:
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/online-schedule/downloads/

There are new and revised lessons (with answer key) here but they look like what is in the book.  I would need to compare them better to say for sure.  They would need to be studied before the test.
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/new-lessons/
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/revised-lessons/

http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/forms/

http://tvma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=13

Questions and Activities for each lesson.  I think these are the same as in the book; just in hand-out format:
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/lessons-new-book/

Power points for each lesson:
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/powerpoints/

The time log sheets are here:
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/handbook-information/forms/

Certificates to print out are here:
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/completion-of-project/certificates/

This is the regular Texas Veterinary Medical Association website:
http://www.tvma.org/

This page has information regarding Continuing Ed to maintain the certification [5 hours of CE are required each year].
http://txvma.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=13

On the side bar are links to the applications and checklists for the 3 different types of programs (high school; 4-H; hospital).  I decided to use the high school route instead of the 4-H route.
http://txvma.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=13

The same forms can be found here (applications and checklists):
http://aevm.tamu.edu/4-h-veterinary-science/certified-veterinary-assistant/

Basil Butter

What's Cookin'?

I sliced a French baguette and wanted something to fancy it up for our spaghetti dinner.  This was the perfect companion and everyone seemed to enjoy it (one daughter in particular!).  My basil was dried from my garden a few years ago and is not finely crushed.  I usually crush it as I add it to my cooking.





Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter [if unsalted then add 1/8 teaspoon UNrefined salt]
2 large pinches of dried basil (mine were "3 finger" pinches)

Directions:

Shortly before serving, melt the butter over low heat.  As it melts add the basil and stir.  Turn off the heat and let it steep until serving time.

I used a tiny enamel pan to make it and served it in the same pan.  We put the baguette slices on our plates and drizzled the basil butter over them (stir before serving each time).  Mmmmm!

This recipe is part of Real Food Wednesday .

St. Francis of Assisi

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.

Craft Ideas:

Church with craft sticks (2D):
http://www.catholicinspired.com/2013/03/st-francis-of-assisi-craft-plus-few.html

Pine cone bird feeders:
http://showerofroses.blogspot.com/2009/06/in-honor-of-st-francis-of-assisi.html

There are some coloring pages here:
http://www.familyholiday.net/st-francis-of-assisi-coloring-pages-for-catholic-kids

We got some Walkers Scottie Dogs shortbread cookies for a snack today.  They only have butter, sugar, flour, and salt for ingredients.




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