Italy proved to be an incredible stop on our itinerary. There were many places to visit, people to meet and (gluten-free) pastas to sample!
With marinara splattered faces, the kids listened with rapt attention to Papa Picollo, the story of a Venetian cat who adopts kittens and teaches them how to survive in the city of mysterious waterways. I tried my best to read aloud with an Italian accent. Thankfully, the kids didn't realize how odd I sounded. ;-)
We traveled back in time to the Renaissance period and applauded the sacrificial gift of the Clown of God. I would have ended it with a commentary if it were not for the lump in my throat.
Look What Came From Italy amazed us with facts about the origins of Italian creations.
Look what came from Italy--pretzels!
We couldn't visit Italy and ignore her influence on the arts. Our favorite biographies were the Mike Venezia profiles of Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Giotto. We found ourselves in the Louvre staring intently at the Mona Lisa. Jonathan tried moving to the right, then to the left. He confirmed that her eyes seemed to follow him everywhere! She must have been a Mom.
Gelato break!
After enjoying some fruity gelato (aka smoothies), it was time to listen to Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, a fictional story about the composer from the Classical Kids Collection. It motivated us to listen to other fine works by this musical genius.
Later in our journey we lifted our eyes to the heavens as we read Along Came Galileo, a fascinating biography of Italian astronomer Galileo and his contributions to science. It was the perfect launch for our Apologia Astronomy course. We are enjoying it so far and look forward to conducting many experiments in the spirit of Galileo.
Up next: France!
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Psalm 84:5
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