Archive | August 2005

A Typical Day in Our Homeschool, Part 1

We intend to get up early. Our last name is Early, for heaven’s sake. The parents who are ostensibly running this homeschool believe “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Wait, we believe half of that maxim. Engineer Husband is great with the “early to rise” part, and I used to be good at “early to bed.” But now it seems that this homeschool/home is open twenty-four hours a day. The four teenagers/young adults don’t believe in bedtimes at all; they just fall into bed as the Spirit moves them. And Engineer Husband usually puts the four younger urchins to bed after one more drink of water, one more snack, a second toothbrushing, one more story, a prayer for each urchin, and “play-me-a-tape-please.” And that’s all before they get into bed the first time.

I can hear the comments already: “You were going to blog about a typical day in your homeschool, and you’re already writing about bedtime.” But I have learned that our typical day starts the night before. If none of us makes it to bed before midnight, then we can’t very well rise with the chickens. And typically, we don’t. We also don’t have any chickens. So a typical day in our homeschool starts around 8:30 or 9:00 A.M. –or later sometimes.

1. Morning jobs: Each of my eight children, including Eldest Daughter who is home from college this summer, has a morning job which is supposed to be completed satisfactorily before breakfast. Dancer Daughter’s job is to make breakfast, so she at least must finish her job before breakfast. This morning we had muffins (from a mix), fruit, and milk.
2. Breakfast is rather informal, but I do try to keep the food in the kitchen or the dining area and out of the living room. Everybody finishes their jobs, eats, and generally tries to wake up before
3. Bible reading and prayer. We’re reading Proverbs, a chapter a day, right now. Last year we read Psalms, the year before we used Greenleaf’s Guide to the Old Testament. I’m planning when we finish Proverbs to start through a harmony of the Gospels. Each of the eight urchins, except for the youngest, has his own day to pray aloud for all of us. Then, in theory, we start the day’s schoolwork.

Picture Book Preschool: Week 34

Aug15

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.

WEEK 34 (Aug) FARMS
Character Trait: Sharing
Bible Verse: Do not forget to do good and to share with others. Hebrews 13:16a

1. Brown, Margaret Wise. The Country Noisy Book. Harper and Row, 1940. OP
2. Windsor, Merrill. Baby Farm Animals. National Geographic, 1984.
3. Isenbart, Hans-Heinrich. Baby Animals on the Farm. Putnam, 1989. OP
4. Mills, Patricia. Until the Cows Come Home. North-South Books, 1993. OP
5. Watson, Clyde. Applebet: An ABC. Farrar, 1982.
6. Francoise. Jeanne-Marie Counts Her Sheep. Scribner’s, 1951. OP
7. Petersham, Maud and Miska. The Box With Red Wheels. Macmillan, 1949. OP

Activities: Visit a farm or a petting zoo or someplace where you can see and touch the farm animals. Talk about what farmers do. Visit one of the farms where you can harvest your own vegetables or fruit. Or go to a farmers’ market and talk to the farmers there about what they do.

Beyond the Summerland by L.B. Graham

Aug13

I just finished reading this Christian fantasy novel yesterday, and I’m still reeling from the ending. Well, “reeling” may be something of an exaggeration, but I was surprised. I won’t give it away, but it’s a tribute to the skill of author L.B. Graham that I didn’t see the ending coming. Some of the plot developments were predictable, but I didn’t expect . . . well, anyway, enough about that.

Beyond the Summerland is a good read from a publishing company that specializes in “publishing excellent books that promote biblical understanding and godly living as summarized in The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.” These folks have a high mission, and Graham’s fantasy fits into the reformed tradition. The book begins with The Fall of Man in which one man is deceived by Malek, the most powerful of Allfather’s servants. The rest of the book takes place a few thousand years later in the Thrid Age. Time, events, and tradition have made the Novaana, Kirthanin’s ruling class, the defenders of the land against the evil schemes of Malek. Joraiem, the protagonist of the novel, is preparing to travel to Sulare, the Summerland, to undergo a mandatory time of training and bonding for those of the Novaana who are the proper age to attend this once in a lifetime educational opportunity. The rest of the novel follows Joraiem’s adventures along with those of the other Novaana in Sulare and beyond.

Computer Guru Son is a fan of good fantasy (Tolkien, Stephen Lawhead, and others), and he and I were discussing just the other day the prevalence of cheap Tolkien imitations in the world of fantasy literature. At first glance, Beyond the Summerland does have some similarities to Tolkien: dragons, swords, a wise old man/prophet, evil creatures called Malekim instead of orcs, battles, comrades who band together to fight evil, a journey. These elements all mirror Tolkien. Graham himself says that “J.R.R. Tolkien is the fantasy writer that changed my life. I’d never encountered anything like Middle Earth before, and even as an avid reader, his work set my imagination on fire.” However, Beyond the Summerland is no Tolkien knock-off. Graham has created a story and characters that engage, and the Christian worldview permeates the book without interfering with the plot or overwhelming the flow.

I have one complaint with this book, and it may seem picky at first. I found three instances in my (library) copy of this book where homophones were used incorrectly. Twice the word “too” was used when the spelling should have been “to.” And another time a character who is agreeing with the group says, “Here, here!” Ouch! Where was the editor or the proofreader? These errors make the book and its publishers look sloppy and second-rate. Such blatant misuse of simple words should not occur in a published novel.

Nevertheless, ignore the spelling/usage errors, and read the book if you enjoy adventure fantasy. I’m planning to get the next book in The Binding of the Blade series as soon as I can, because I really want to know where this story is going next. Isn’t that a pretty high recommendation for any novel? If I want to keep reading, it must be good. I’ve forgotten, as usual, who recommended this book to me, but whoever it was, thanks.

Born August 13th

Aug13

The first book printed in the English language: The Recuyell of the Histories of Troy, printed in Flanders c. 1475.
The first book printed in England:The Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers, 1477.

William Caxton, b. 1422 at Kent, England was first a merchant, and when he was about 50 years old he started his second career as a printer. He learned printing in Cologne, Germany, and then returned to England and set up a printing press near Westminster Abbey. His printing career spanned the last years of the reign of Edward IV (of York) and that of Richard III, Edward’s brother and the first few years of the reign of Henry VII (Tudor). Turbulent times.

From The Last Plantagenets by Thomas B. Costain:

William Caxton was not content to print books; he always concerned himself with the translations and with the preparation of the copy. . . . One of the most commendable of his early efforts was an edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Taleswhich was much larger than any of the others. Undoubtedly it did much to acquaint the people of England with the work of their great poet. He also put out an edition of Sir Thomas Malory’s King Arthur and a translation of Cicero’s De senectute. That he translated the last himself is an evidence of his scholarship.

Caxton died in 1491, and his heir moved the printing business to Fleet Street, which by tradition is still the central location of the British publishing industry.

I love English history, and if you want to read more about England from the time of the first Plantagenet kings until the end of the Plantagenet dynasty (Battle of Bosworth) and the end of the Middle Ages, you can’t do better than this series of books by Thomas B. Costain: The Conquering Family, The Magnificent Century, The Three Edwards, and The Last Plantagenets. Fantastic stuff. I wish I had time to go back and re-read them before I teach British literature this school year.

With Great Power . . .

Aug11

puppets puppetpower

Anybody recognize these guys? This is what Brown Bear Daughter and Karate Kid do when they’re supposed to be doing math! Can I just call it “unschooling”? What do your children do when they’re supposed to be doing school? What do you do when they are being productive or creative, but they’re NOT doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Yesterday my six year old, Betsy Bee, wanted to mop the floors instead of reading her reader. How can I say no to such a helpful request?

Born August 11th

Aug11

Joanna Cole (b. 1944), author of the Magic School Bus series. Ms. Frizzle is the best science teacher ever.

Going back to my post on Tuesday about Mary Poppins, the wise woman/magic mentor character does pop up in children’s books quite often. She’s hardly ever called a “witch,” but of course, some people see witchcraft and encouragement toward occult activity in Mary Poppins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and even Ms. Frizzle, the science teacher with the magic school bus. I like all these characters and find them to be comparable to Princess Irene’s Great-Grandmother in The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald. These women are teachers, mentors, old and wise and able to open the doors that lead to adventure and Truth and Life. Their “magic,” if it can be called magic, is not Satanic in origin or expression, but rather an appreciation for the wonders that God made in this mysterious and wonder-filled universe. (“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 5) They’re not casting spells and cursing cattle, but rather giving gifts and blessing children’s imaginations and enriching lives.

Can you think of any other good and wise women in children’s books who appear as aunts and teachers and fairy godmothers and grandmotherly types who have extraordinary powers to guide and enrich the children in the stories in which they appear? (I can think of quite a few in the fairy tale canon.) Are these women symbolic of the Virgin Mary as she appears in Catholic theology or are they witches–or something else? Do you have any problem with these kinds of characters appearing in children’s books?

Pretending to Be Dead

Aug10

We did watch Much Ado About Nothing last night, and those who watched enjoyed it thoroughly. Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson do make such a good pair, and I agree with whoever said that it’s a shame that their real-life marriage broke up.

Tonight is Romeo and Juliet. I think I chose it because it sort of goes with Much Ado: similar themes, but one ends happily and the other tragically. In the midst of the comedy there’s a family feud and deception and dueling and a near-tragedy. People jump to conclusions just as they do in Romeo and Juliet, and the good almost die young.

Dancer Daughter said she thinks Shakespeare had a thing about people pretending to be dead. I think he had a thing about people pretending to be other people, but that’s another post and several other plays.

Born August 10th

Aug10

Herbert Hoover, b. 1874

Once upon a time my political opponents honored me as possessing the fabulous intellectual and economic power by which I created a worldwide depression all by myself.

My country owes me nothing. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor. In no other land could a boy from a country village, without inheritance or influential friends, look forward with unbounded hope.

What this country needs is a great poem. John Brown’s Body was a step in the right direction. I’ve read it once, and I’m reading it again. But it’s too long to do what I mean. You can’t thrill people in 300 pages. The limit is about 300 words. Kipling’s “Recessional” really did something to England when it was published. It helped them through a bad time. Let me know if you find any great poems lying around

Children are our most valuable natural resource.

Yes children are our most valuable resource, and do let me know if you find any great poems lying around.

Born August 9th

Aug9

Happy Birthday to Pamela L. Travers (b. 1899, d. 1996), author of the Mary Poppins series: Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins in the Park, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins Opens the Door, Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, and Mary Poppins and the House Next Door.

Some people don’t care for Mary Poppins for the same reason some people don’t like Harry Potter. Mary Poppins uses magic to both entertain and teach her young charges, and her creator, P.L. Travers, was in fact a disciple of several New Age mystics, including two guys named Gurdjieff and Krishnamurti. Some of this pagan nonsense did creep into the Mary Poppins books, but I think it’s easy to ignore. And I have a soft spot for Mary Poppins, a no-nonsense sort of nanny with a sort of prickly personality. Julie Andrews was much too twinkly and loveable in the movie to actually personify the Mary Poppins in the books. (I like the movie, too, though.) Anyway, for those who are still with me, I’ll bet you didn’t know that:

* Pamela Travers’ real name was Helen Lyndon Goff.
* P.L. Travers was born in Australia and grew up there; she died in London.
* In between, Travers lived for quite a while in Taos, New Mexico, of all places.
* She was a friend of the poet, W.B. Yeats.
* She never married, but in her late 30’s she adopted a baby and raised him as her child. Strange story:

Camillus was his name, and he had a twin. She consulted an astrologer about which twin she should adopt. If she’d take the other one, Anthony was his name, he was the sweet, non-crying one, so she was quite perverse in that way and she said, “No, I’ll take the noisy crying one.” And she actually went to Dublin on the ferry from England, brought him home, raised him, and it wasn’t until he was 17 that he found out he was a twin and he was adopted, and he found out not from his adopted mother, but from his own twin. They met in London because the twin knew, and he’d gone searching for his brother, but Camillus did not know, and really never forgave his mother for that.

And what do you think about that?

Picture Book Preschool: Week 33

Aug8

WEEK 33 (Aug) POETRY/MOTHER GOOSE
Character Trait: Mercy
Bible Verse: Blessed are the merciful; for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7

1. Anglund, Joan Walsh. In a Pumpkin Shell. Doubleday, 1975.
2. Lines, Kathleen, compiler. Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes. Merrimack, 1982.
3. Jeffers, Susan, illustrator. Mother Goose: If Wishes Were Horses and Other Rhymes. Dutton, 1979. OP
4. Domanska, Janina. If All the Seas Were One Sea. Macmillan, 1971.
5. Provensen, Alice and Martin. Old Mother Hubbard. Random, 1977. OP
6. Wildsmith, Brian, illustrator. Mother Goose. Oxford, 1982.
7. Brown, Margaret Wise. Red Light, Green Light. Scholastic, 1992.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.