Book Review - Schooled

Recently, I visited the library with a friend, who was looking for good books for her nephew. The children's librarian recommended several books, and I ended up picking up two of them for myself! This was one of them:

Schooled by Gordon Korman

I enjoyed this book a great deal, though, at first, I was resistant to the stereotyped weirdo homeschooler idea. The public schooled kids were also pretty heavily stereotyped, and, in the end, I decided that the stereotyping is what makes this book so humorous and so powerful at the same time. It exaggerates to make a point.

Capricorn (Cap) is the new kid in the 8th grade because his grandmother, the only person he's ever really known in his life, breaks her hip and needs to recover in the hospital for several weeks. Because the 8th graders are in the habit of electing the the least "cool" or popular student in the school to be their class president, Cap becomes class president. The "cool" kids are ready to make fun of him all year, but they discover that it's pretty difficult to make fun of someone who doesn't understand the social rules and has been heavily indoctrinated with "hippy" values.

Book Review - Eleven

Recently, I visited the library with a friend, who was looking for good books for her nephew. The children's librarian recommended several books, and I ended up picking up two of them for myself! This was one of them:

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
 
A fascinating idea but not a particularly believable outcome. Sam turns eleven and discovers a newspaper clipping in the attic that seems to indicate that he's been missing, which could mean that he's somehow living with the wrong people and that his family is not really his family. Sam's endeavor to find out the truth about himself is hampered by the fact that he struggles with reading. Sam enlists the help of a new girl at school, who seems to have her nose in a book constantly. This book is the story of the friendship that develops between them as they sort out the truth about Sam. There were some very sweet and beautiful things about the story, but, on the whole, I didn't find the ending believable, and Sam seems much younger than 11 (though he has some extraordinary wood-working skills).

A Wagon Walk in the City

Walks in the city are so full of beauty and surprises. Come "virtually" join us for this one...















Our Library:


Mane insisted that I photograph the light...


We reached our destination:

Back Yard Homeschooling

Mane betook herself to the backyard this afternoon and climbed a tree with a pair of binoculars. This isn't unusual. In fact, if you ask her grandparents, who live upstairs, they'll tell you that Mane is out in the yard all the time. This warms me to the very bottom of my homeschool mama heart...

Wee Gillis

Our Five in a Row studies have begun with the tale of Wee Gillis, a young Scottish lad, who can't decide if he wants to be a Higlander, like his father's relatives, or a Lowlander, like his mother's relatives.

The book is full of possibilities for our studies over the next few weeks. We've begun with an exploration of Scotland. Mane has drawn a flag and dug up a pile of images of bagpipes, kilts, tartans, and clan emblems on google images.

We've been reading our way through Scotland: Enchantment of the World by R. Conrad Stein. Last year we studied a number of biomes (ecosystems), including deserts and prairies. So, we're paying special attention to the biomes of Scotland, and we'll be making biome posters (or maybe a biome book) this year.

Our history studies just happen to intersect with our studies of Scotland, as well. We're still using The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emporer. (Also known as Story of the World or SOTW.) We're currently studying ancient Rome, and, of course, a very famous structure in Scotland is Hadrian's Wall, which the Romans built because they could not conquer the Scots, but they really wanted to keep them under control somehow. We've been looking at maps of the Roman empire and marveling that the Romans were not able to conquer Scotland when they had already conquered so much of the world.

Last night, Mane and I began a family tree on-line at geni.com. Since Mango's family comes from Scotland, our study of Scotland has peaked Mane's interest in family, ancestors, and genealogy.

In a totally other direction, a theme of Wee Gillis is the way Wee Gillis' lungs develop because he has to call the sheep in the lowlands and he has to hold his breath while "stalking stags" in the highlands. His well-developed lungs eventually make him able to play the biggest bagpipes in all of Scotland. Sooooo, as you may have guessed, we'll be studying lungs. Mane's interest in the human body has grown steadily since she was very small. This year we'll be making posters or booklets of the human body systems (similar to what we'll be doing for biomes). She's already studied digestion, the senses, the heart, and reproduction. So, we'll be tying it all together and adding the remaining systems this year. I anticipate that biomes and body systems will be semester-long or, perhaps, year long studies this year.

Science Lessons - A Picture Story

Last night Mango was grading papers for his high school chemistry class, and he taught Mane an entire lesson on the scientific method by walking her through the assignment he had given his students...

Tonight they did their own chemistry lab and made GOOP!

Lab set-up


Vinyl Alcohol


Borax


Stir


Keep Stirring


Goop






Listen to the explanation...

Beginning

So, today we're making an unofficial start of the school year. In some ways, I want to make a big deal of going "Back to School," like the kids who go to school. In other ways, I enjoy that we just fall into it, our footsteps fitting into the tracks like comfortable shoes without fanfare.

Mane wanted me to pick up one of the ugly teacher planners from the dollar aisle at Target. So, I did. She reminded me of the way she was writing weekly goals in the spring, and she said this would help us keep track of them. So, we're getting started, with Mane leading the way. She made a list of topics she'd really like to cover this year, and she's set herself some long term goals already!

All summer Mane has been dragging her feet about finishing the 2nd grade Hooked on Phonics chapter book. It was the only book left for her to complete the whole box, and she just couldn't get motivated. Since it was summer, and she was reading other things, I let it go. Last night when we started making a plan for the next week, Mane realized that she could begin the next Hooked on Phonics box, Master Reader, if she finished the last three chapters of the last book in the 2nd grade box. She read ALL THREE chapters last night. This is the child who gets tired after HALF a chapter. Then she begged to open the Master Reader box. She was like a child at Christmas opening the new set of reading materials!! Her long term goal: to finish the Master Reader box and then read the book she won from the library summer reading program last summer, Everything on a Waffle. 

Mane also wants to read the book she received as a gift from our friend in Montana, Three Cups of Tea:

So, these are the things that motivate right now. She's known for many years that whole worlds open up in the pages of books. I've often said that she lives for stories, and I think that's pretty accurate. Her uncle calls himself a bard, and there are many days when she reminds me of him, sometimes even more than she reminds me of myself or Mango. She is beginning to get an itch to discover all those stories for herself. Perhaps, this is the year.

On the subject of other "subjects," we'll be continuing with ancient history from Story of the World, beginning with the Romans. We'll also be continuing with Five in a Row (FIAR) - a last few books from Volume 2 and many books from Volume 3. We'll go wherever they lead us!

....now it's time to go wake up the little sleeper and actually begin the day!

Reflecting

Well, I've been reflecting on the passing of summer and the upcoming school year. This year, I admit defeat. We will not even contemplate "doing school" in the summer ever again. It simply didn't happen. Mane still read me the occasional book, and we played a few math-related games. She's taken to reading a number of things on her own because she wants to know what they say (street signs, t-shirts, billboards, and comics). We read some books related to early American history as the 4th of July approached. And that was that. We didn't do anything else.

Well, we didn't do anything else on purpose anyway...

Mane's education, strangely, continued at a steady pace throughout the summer. Looking back, I remember conversations in the car about speed and acceleration, about credit cards and banks, and about the English language.

Mane is currently carrying out her own experiment with bean sprouts.

She learned about construction while helping Mango with the basement project.

She looked through Vespera's photos of Mexico attentively, learning about Vespera's birthplace and the culture of the Mexican people.

We received a poster in the mail the other day with a timeline of all the American presidents. Mane asked questions about elections, the legislature, congress, the house of representatives, and the various wars, in which the U.S. has participated. She even asked questions that led to a discussion of democracies and dictatorships.

We had long talks about theology, about various religions, about faith and tolerance.

Mane learned about birds, bugs, plants, and weather. We were out in it. We talked about it. We experienced it. She caught tadpoles and frogs, she observed flies (yuck!) and deer and chipmunks.

We saw the science museum film about Arabia.

We went to the Irish fair and learned about Irish dancing, native dogs of Ireland, sheep herding, and the Potato Famine.

The list could go on and on. I see now why some studies show an actual jump in learning over the summer for some public-schooled kids (this was true only of children of college-educated, middle/upper income parents, which is another discussion altogether).

My experience this summer is almost (but not quite) enough to make me believe that un-schooling could work for us. If I could trust the process (and keep up the energy and momentum), Mane could learn everything she needed to know the same way she learned over the summer. The truth is, though, that I think we both appreciate the structure that comes with a new school year. The different form of learning over the summer give us a rest and prepare us for the more focused work ahead. As with so many things in life, we need a balance.

Mane made me a list today of some of the things she'd like to learn about this year. At the top of the list is some family history. We'll be delving into some culture and making some family trees! And we have an excellent FIAR book planned to lead the way....

Deal of the Day!!

We were out with a friend this afternoon and found a Quercetti Skyrail Suspension marble roller coaster (made in Italy) for $10! Mane has been happily at play for about 4 hours, learning how to adjust angle and tension to keep the marbles on the track! The kit comes with a booklet explaining speed, acceleration, gravity, centrifugal force, kinetic energy, inertia, and friction. Hurrah for physics! 

Weaving- Take 2

Thanks to the generosity of my sister-in-law's mother, Mane got her first "real" loom the other night. As you may recall, we studied some about weaving this school year, and Mane has shown a definite interest in weaving. From paper to potholders, weaving projects keep her busy with useful projects for hours on end!

Potholders:



The new loom:









 My sister-in-law's mother also made a kumihimo disk for Mane to try out the Japanese art of kumihimo braiding!

Book Review - The Palace of Laughter

The Palace of Laughter is the story of a homeless boy, Miles, escaped from the local orphanage, and a little angel named Little, whom Miles helped to escape from the circus. They are on a quest to find the angel, Silverpoint, whom Little followed to earth and whom she needs to find in order to get back home. They know that Silverpoint is at the "Palace of Laughter," but they don't know where or what that is.

The story is somewhat dark. The circus people are the scary kind that give people nightmares, and they are dangerous, cold, and cutthroat. Although the book's intended audience is 4-7 grades, I think I'd be inclined to stick with the older end of that spectrum in buying or recommending the book to/for kids.

Philosophically, I like the ideas Berkeley introduces about angels, though I don't know that I buy into all of them. It was hard for me to blend the elements of fantasy into this story in my mind (talking animals again!), but, I found that in the end I liked the way it all fit together. I think I'd like to read the next book to find out what happens to Miles next!

Memorable quotes: "I am a Song Angel, and every language is an echo of the One Song, even the sigh of the wind and the groan of the mountains. Everything speaks. You just have to know how to listen."

"The One Song is the music that runs at the heart of everything. It keeps the world spinning and the stars shining. Everything that exists, every insect and rock and river and flower, has a name in the One Song. Love and Sorrow, Laughter and Anger and Courage all have their places too, and they must be kept in harmony. When one of these strands is taken out from the rest, that is when bad things happen, like a rope beginning to unravel. Each Song Angel must learn a part of that song. We keep it alive and guard it, and in the end we must each add our own name to it so that the Song keeps growing and the world keeps moving along its path."

Book Review - Mossflower

I finished Mossflower by Brian Jaques last night. Here's my review:

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was well-written and I liked the theme of peace-loving creatures defending themselves in clever, rather than violent, ways. The woodland creatures have had their land, Mossflower, overtaken by the wildcats and weasels. This is the story of how they cleverly took it back.

That said, I'm not a big fan of books with animal main characters, especially if those characters basically act just like people. Various woodland creatures farming or usi...more I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was well-written and I liked the theme of peace-loving creatures defending themselves in clever, rather than violent, ways. The woodland creatures have had their land, Mossflower, overtaken by the wildcats and weasels. This is the story of how they cleverly take it back.



That said, I'm not a big fan of books with animal main characters, especially if those characters basically act just like people. Various woodland creatures farming or using slingshots and arrows just doesn't fit for me, nor do I buy into mice, badgers, moles, squirrels, hares, and beavers all living together happily under one roof, cooking great feasts and caring for each others children. The characters were sweet, and there was some nice character development. I'm afraid it just wasn't my style of book.

Summer Art

 We spent some time at Michaels the other day, and Mane came home with a slew of ideas for summer craft projects. We originally went to get more loops for her potholder loom, and she has, indeed, been busily weaving new potholders. She even got our 12yr old neighbor in on the action at a community meeting last night!

This morning, though, she was ready to start in on a new project - vases from recycled glass jars! We got out the hot glue gun and some odds and ends from around the house with some very beautiful results!

Here she is at the kitchen table this morning...









Happy Summer!

Clocks, American History, and Bird Watching

Today Mane and I had a long, long discussion about WHY it might be important to tell time on a regular clock, as most of the clocks in her life are digital. I've taught her to tell time TWICE, but it hasn't really stuck because she doesn't keep using it on a regular basis. She basically told me that time-telling with the hands on a clock is an outdated skill, and she doesn't need it! I explained that sometime in her life it might be really important (in the absence of digital clocks, for example) to be able to tell time. That may not have been particularly motivating, but the online games I found for time-telling were pretty successful in helping her brush-up on her skills.

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We've continued reading Paul Revere's Ride, and now we've started reading America Alive by Jean Karl. We're covering some American history in fast forward in order for the stories of Paul Revere, the Declaration of Independence, and the 4th of July to make sense. So far, I've really enjoy this book, as it gives an honest history, beginning with how the first people probably came to the Americas via a temporary land bridge between what is now Russia and Alaska. The story does not get hung up on names and dates, but it references the important things while maintaining a storytelling feel. Mane and I sat with her inflatable globe between us as I read, and we found everything on the globe as we went along. Today we made it as far as the Spanish and the French coming to the Americas. The next chapter is about the English. Tomorrow I plan to print a map and have her draw lines and label some of the people groups coming from Europe to the Americas. Since she enjoys maps, this should be fun for both of us!

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We've been having a tremendously enjoyable time watching birds lately, too! A friend of mine gave Mane a bird watching journal for her birthday, and she has been steadily filling it up. As many of you know, we live in a duplex downstairs from my in-laws. A few days ago we went and sat on the upstairs porch with them and watched the birds. We saw several house finches, along with the usual chickadees, cardinals, sparrows, and robins! A few weeks ago my father-in-laws snapped some photos of a wild turkey in the yard!!

Book Review - The Higher Power of Lucky

I finished The Higher Power of Lucky last night and couldn't wait to get on-line to write a review! Here it is:

It's hard to know how to write a review of this book. Let me begin by saying that I thought it was absolutely wonderful! I laughed out loud in several places, and when I tried to read the amusing passages aloud to my husband, we both laughed ourselves nearly to tears.

This is the story of Lucky, a 10 year old girl who lives in a tiny desert town where there are hardly any jobs and everyone is poor. The town's greatest asset is the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor center, wh...more It's hard to know how to write a review of this book. Let me begin by saying that I thought it was absolutely wonderful! I laughed out loud in several places, and when I tried to read the amusing passages aloud to my husband, we both laughed ourselves nearly to tears.

This is the story of Lucky, a 10 year old girl who lives in a tiny desert town where there are hardly any jobs and everyone is poor. The town's greatest asset is the Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor center, where there are a number of weekly twelve step meetings. Lucky's job is to pick-up trash around the museum, where she also eavesdrops on the twelve step meetings and becomes fascinated with the search for a Higher Power. Lucky's mother died two years ago, and she is a ward of the state being cared for by her father's French ex-wife, Brigitte. Lucky is convinced that a Higher Power would help assure that she gets to continue life in her small town, and a Higher Power would convince Brigitte to stay with her.

I find Lucky's character to be well-developed. It's hard for an author to really take on the character of a 10 year old, and Patron does this well. The other characters are viewed through Lucky's eyes, and they take on character and meaning as described by Lucky.

The book has been criticized for it's use of the word "scrotum" in the first & last chapters and for the mention of alcoholism, smoking, and drugs. As a book written for the 9-11yr old crowd, I could see how this would offend some and not bother others. I'm among those who would not be bothered. I *do* want to know what my daughter is reading, which is why I'm reading the 4th-8th grade books now (while she's going into 3rd grade), but there wasn't anything explicit in this book. "Scrotum" is in reference to a story Lucky overhears about a dog, and at the end of the book Brigitte gives a very straight-forward answer when Lucky finally asks what a scrotum is. As for the alcohol, smoking, and drugs: these are not glorified or even discussed explicitly. They're discussed in the context of twelve step meetings from the innocent perspective of a ten year old, who doesn't really understand what it's all about anyway. My 8 year old is well aware of alcohol, smoking, and drugs. These are things we've discussed since she was very small, and I'm not concerned about her reading books that mention these things. We live in an urban area where these discussions cannot be avoided. (I should also mention that she knows what a scrotum is, too. It's a very obvious part of basic human anatomy.) Overall, none of these things seem like major themes in the book. They're part of the context of a larger story.

Book Review - Tuck Everlasting

And my final review for today...

I finished Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt a few weeks ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since...

A very delightful read! This book is so well-written that I read several passages aloud simply to savor the sound of them.

This is the story of a family, who drank from a stream of enchanted water that has caused them to live forever, and an ordinary girl who discovers their secret and must make some very grown-up decisions about what to do with that secret.

I have since discovered that many teachers use this book in children's literature classes because of the excellent writing and the richness of themes.

Book Review - The Great and Terrible Quest

I loved, loved, loved The Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret Lovett! It's not a very popular book. In fact, I'd never heard of it until I received it from Sonlight as a free gift for requesting their catalog.

Here's my review:

A fantastic book! This is the story of a man who lost is memory, though he knows he's supposed to be on a quest, and a young boy, who accompanies the man on his quest after escaping his abusive grandfather. The good vs. evil plot is reminiscent of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. There's a strong emphasis on being bold and brave, strong and tenacious, while also being compassionate and kind. The mystery of the quest unfolds along with the book and would keep a middle school reader guessing about the outcome. The characters are layered and complex, which keeps the story from being entirely plot-driven. I'll be on the look-out for more of Lovett's books to add to the bookshelf!

Book Review - The Door To Time

As part of my endeavor to stock the bookshelves with books I really love, rather than the twaddle so readily available for children these days, I've begun reading my way through books that are written for the 4th-8th grade set. I've decided to include my reviews here - for the benefit of others seeking great reading for their children (homeschooled or not).

So, to begin, I read...ok, I didn't finish...The Door to Time...on Tuesday this week. This is what I said about it over at my goodreads account:

"Flat characters, very predictable story line. I got halfway through the book and put it down. I have no attachment to the characters and do not care what happens to them. I guess that says it all."

I found that other goodreads users also found it lacking in substance. Some loved it, but very few give it 5 of 5 stars.  

Studying the Declaration of Independence...

Around the dinner table...

Over the month of June, we'll be rowing Paul Revere's Ride. I wanted to do this last year, but summer got busy, and we didn't have a plan. This year I have a plan, and we'll be covering some early history of America up through the Revolutionary War just in time for the 4th of July!

New website to check out!

I just found this today, and I thought it was worthy of sharing!

Lesson Pathways has free K-5 curriculum & resources for all kinds of subjects - science, math, language arts, and reading. They have structured plans that you can follow in sequence or you can pick and choose your own particular areas of interest and organize them into a planner for your child(ren). I don't know much else about the site, but I've already found some great ideas and on-line resources for our current history studies.

Go check it out!

The Ugly Duckling

Yesterday we began "rowing" The Ugly Duckling.  This story is not part of our Five in a Row  curriculum, but I happened to find a unit study at the thrift store for The Ugly Duckling, and since it's spring, it seems like a good time to row a book about ducklings! We started by reading The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson in A Treasury of Children's Literature. I have to say that I find this version of the story very compelling. It is beautifully written, and the theme is many-layered and rich. I got to thinking about how important the lesson of this story is for children (and grown-ups) - both that people are more than what we see on the outside, and that we are more than what people say about us. The Ugly Duckling had been teased so much about being ugly that he believed it, and it took the love and care of other swans to convince him that he wasn't ugly at all. I think we'll be spending some time on this story just to let it simmer, to talk about how the things we say affect other people, but also, how we can be secure enough in ourselves to let hurtful things go. And we'll be talking about how to bring healing to others and how to repair our own mistakes when we've said destructive things to others.

Today we read another version of the story and compared it to the one we read yesterday. Then we talked about swans, what baby swans are called, where swans live, etc... Mane had already looked them up in her North American Wildlife: Birds Field Guide book. She has declared swans to be her favorite birds (though we've been through this with cardinals, whooping cranes, eagles, and owls already)! Mane learned to make a simple sketch of a swan by beginning with the number 2, and she followed instructions for making a swan hat out of paper!

One on One

Mane has been learning multiplication. And what I've realized is that if she was in a regular school classroom with lots of other kids per teacher, she wouldn't really, REALLY learn this. I have learned that I can set her loose with her math worksheets, and she will return with them finished and correct...but she'll have done all the problems the long way. I want her to learn the "tricks of the trade," so to speak, and that means I have to sit with her while she's doing math and have her talk me through the problem...so the so-called shortcuts actually become shortcuts. Sitting with me helps her to focus, and verbalizing the process helps her to learn.

This is one of the first times I've really stopped and realized that she wouldn't be getting this kind of attention in school, and she needs it if she's going to really learn. She'd be one of those kids who gets by and doesn't cause a lot of fuss, but she would only get to mediocre. I read in the blog of a teacher recently how much she (the teacher) is frustrated with previously homeschooled students because they won't do anything on their own. They require so much attention. And she implored homeschool parents to teach their kids independent study. While I agree that being able to learn independently at some point is important, I think it's entirely possible that homeschooled students are asking for more attention because they really want to understand the process and they aren't accustomed to settling for "good enough." They come to expect themselves to really learn something instead of just getting by.

At least, that's what I hope. I hope that all the time and attention I'm pouring into this means that Mane won't settle for being able to do the work without really understanding. That's what I did through most of school. I was so excited when I got to college and really began to understand how things fit together and why they worked the way they did.

In any case, I'm not going to try to teach Mane to work independently right now at the expense of true learning...no matter what the school administrators complain about homeschooled students. I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to have her one on one, to provide her with her greatest tool for learning success...my presence.

Apricot Tree

In August we ate apricots, and we looked up how to save the seeds over the winter to plant them in the spring. (See pictures here.) This is our apricot tree today: