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.