Applied Maths and Martinmas

Dave was acting teacher for this morning whilst Pip and I attended sing and play.  The schools box of Lego Technic was brought into play and Benedict made a model of a wind turbine, with a crank reciprocating piston and several variants of lifting equipment.  The latter demonstrating mechanical advantage through the use of pulleys:

Our resident Wallace in action!

Just checking to make sure it works!

Lego bricks road testing the next piece of machinery.

Making some minor adjustments.

Concentrating hard!

The morning was a resounding success and Dave being an excellent teacher, even managed to incorporate some times table counting into the whole process.

After lunch we played catch up with a variety of chores and I checked the web for Martinmas songs and the story behind the feast.  This is a relatively new celebration for us as a family and as always everything was last minute!  It was Pip's turn this year to make a lantern and she had great fun with Daddy sticking gold stars onto an old jam jar.  The candle was lit during our evening meal and I shared with the others the story of St Martin.  I also found a lantern song which I sung to Pip whilst she had her bedtime feed.  Here is a version in English:

 I go outside with my lantern,

My lantern goes with me.

Above the stars are shining bright,

Down here on Earth shine we.

The cock does crow, the cat meows,

Rabimmel, rabammel, raboom,

Neath Heaven's dome til we go home,

Rabimmel, rabammel, raboom.

I go outside with my lantern,

My lantern goes with me.

Above the stars are shining bright,

Down here on Earth shine we.

So shine your light through the still dark night,

Rabimmel, rabammel, raboom,

Neath Heaven's dome til we go home,

Rabimmel, rabammel, raboom.

And a shorter version in German:

Ich geh mit meiner Laterne,

Und meine Laterne mit mir,

Dort oben leuchten die Sterne,

Und unten leuchten wir.

Meine licht ist aus

Ich geh nach Haus

Rabimmel, rabammel, raboom.

My rusty high school German stood me in good stead and I was able to sing both versions! 

There was no lantern walk around our bounds since we have been experiencing gale force winds and driving rain since tea time, any candle flame would have been extinguished immediately. The image of the flickering vulnerable candle flame reminded me that, we each carry the Christ light within us and like the small flame of a candle, we need to nurture it and protect it from the buffeting winds and storms of life.  How we do this depends on our own personal background but coming from a Catholic heritage, I'm reminded of my own weapons of defence:

Holy Mass, Rosary, Bible, Confession and Eucharistic Adoration.

I do not manage them all by any means but they are worthy signposts on this pilgrim journey.