The first week . . . or two!

Well, we are done with the first week of school - although, technically, it's the second week. In any case, week 1 did not go well, so we had two days of unschooling and got back to our regularly scheduled schoolwork this week.





We actually managed to finish everything on the schedule for this week and even to start some of next week's work. We just finished Week 7 of Core 6 which is Ancient Greece. The kids each did a notebook page on The Trojan War and a page on Alexander the Great. We had some trouble with the map and timeline work. I hadn't cleaned the Mark-up Map since last year and the stuff that's written on it won't come off. So, one of my jobs for this weekend is to get the map cleaned and ready to use.





For grammar, Ga'Hoole girl is supposed to memorize the 53 most common prepositions. She asked for my help, so we came up with some rather fun ideas. I wrote the prepositions on index cards and had her alphabetize them. Then, we mixed them up and played a game where each player, in turn, has to pick a card and them use letter dice to spell the preposition on the card. The player gets points based on the numbers on each letter die (kind of like Scrabble). Ga'Hoole girl really likes the game because we played it Thursday with M&Ms - one M&M/point. Of course, she beat the pants off me.





The most interesting thing that Ga'Hoole Girl came up with is for me to write the prepositions in Gnommish and for her to translate them. Gnommish is a made-up language from the Artemis Fowl series of books. The first time we did this, I wrote the prepositions by hand (only the first 11). But, I found out about a really cool website from a homeschooling magazine: http://www.omniglot.com/. this website has alphabets from lots of "real" and "pretend" languages. So, they have Gnommish, Hylian (from the Zelda video games), Romulan, Klingon, etc. Now, I can make her worksheets very quickly and easily. And, she really likes it.





We are still working through Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day of Creation for science. But, I have added in some other science activities to provide some interest. We are using the Journey North website (http://www.learner.org/jnorth/) to study whooping cranes and monarchs and their migration patterns. We are also going on a field trip to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo in a couple of weeks. The last time we went there was about 5 years ago so we are looking forward to getting to see it all again. We also got an Antworks ant farm. The kids are really excited about it! Their science assignments next week are for each of them to research a topic on ants and then present it to the rest of the family at the end of the week. [I'm not a fan of complete unschooling, but I do like to follow their interests when possible.]




Ga'Hoole Girl is still working on her video game program. She has also started her art class this week. Tuesday was mostly paperwork, and they started linoleum after that. Unfortunately, she is frustrated with her project and with a few of the other kids (one of the boys is particularly annoying, she says). We live a few blocks from the school, so she walks or bikes to and from class. She is there from 8 to 8:40 every morning. I also had her do some art history this week. She looked at Ancient Greek art and decided to make a piece of pottery for her art piece this week (every couple of weeks I have her make a piece of artwork in the style we're studying).


Wild Man is coming along very nicely on his reading. He reads several pages each day out of his reader, along with a few pages of Explode the Code. Then, he and I use letter dice or something else interesting to go over any new concepts or words he's having trouble with. Wild Man is supposed to go to Singapore 3, but I ordered the intensive practice book to go with Singapore 2B. We're going to use that to go over some of the concepts again. One of the issues I've noticed is that his math skills are great, but his language skills don't always connect. When I read a word problem to him, he can often figure out the answer in his head and can give me the answer, but can't tell me how he did it. He can calculate, but has trouble getting information from the math part of his brain to the language part. He also tends to mix up the order of things. For example, I read a word problem to me and he told me that the answer is 8. But, he had real trouble telling me that the equation is 32 divided by 4. He wrote 4 divided by 32 - but, after he looked at it for a minute or two, he figured out that it wasn't right. Anyway, I'm going to be working with him on the language part of math.


When he has been playing outside, he has been playing Greek Soldier. Actually, he occasionally is a Trojan soldier, but more often likes to be a Spartan. He used an old ice cream bucket to make himself a helmet. Then, he used paper to make a red "horse hair" fringe on the top of the helmet. It is really cool to watch him. If anyone were to ask, I'd have to call his playtime part of school since he's playing Ancient Greek soldiers! Next week, we start learning about Rome. I'm sure he'll want to be a Roman soldier then. Homeschool PE starts on Monday, so Wild Man is excited about that. Ga'Hoole Girl doesn't go all the time. This week, they are going to play soccer, so Ga'Hoole Girl will probably stay home.


On Thursday, we went to the first Women's Bible Study of the year. Ga'Hoole Girl is their babysitter. This was her first time all alone with the baby and she did great. She even changed his diaper all by herself. The study itself is a Beth Moore DVD study on the fruit of the Spirit. I had a really good time. I just have to pray that Beth Moore and her big hair don't drive me too crazy (let's just say I'm NOT the big hair type!!).

So, my house is a disaster, but we had a pretty good week of school. Today is supposed to be house cleaning, but my head hurts some, and my hip (shingles) hurts a lot. So, we have a messy house again next week. Ah, well. The kids are learning, so we're doing OK.

Autumn

This is the poem that my daughter wrote for her creative writing assignment today.

Autumn

Red gold leafs, drifting, drifting

Crisp cool winds, blowing, blowing

And as leafs drift and as winds blow,

I watch the people 'round me grow.

Leafs of Youth, drifting, drifting

Winds of Time, blowing, blowing

And as leavs drift and as winds blow,

I watch the people 'round me grow

Tap Class

Tuesday night was my first tap dance class. Ga'Hoole Girl has ballet from 5:30-6:30 on Tuesday nights. My class is at 7:00 at the same studio. Normally, I will just take her to her friends' house and they'll ride together - we live 45 minutes from the dance studio. Then, Wild Man and I will come at 7 for my class. But this week, I went to the studio for Ga'Hoole Girl's class, so Wild Man was at the studio for a full 2 1/2 hours.

I, however, had a blast Tuesday night. There are 8 people in the class - lots of folks for a beginning adult tap class. One of the people in the class (not teaching, but taking the class) is the advanced ballet teacher. Now, you have to understand that dancers from the advanced classes in this studio go to major universities as dance majors. This teacher danced professionally in New York. Ga'Hoole Girl took a Ballet 1/2 class from her a few years ago. She is really, really good - at ballet. She is a complete novice to tap - just like me! Actually, I have watched enough dance classes that I knew in my head how a number of the moves went. Of course, I don't have near the control over my body that this dance teacher does.

The class is 45 minutes. That is quite long enough for me. I was really tired after the first day. Of course, it didn't help that it had been 90 degrees earlier in the day and it was quite humid. Our class was downstairs, though, in the basement so the heat wasn't as bad as upstairs. But, it was a workout for me. And, it did make my hip hurt pretty good (where the shingles are). I think I'm going to have lots of fun this semester.

I ordered my tap shoes Tuesday night when I got home. I had been hoping that they would have some at the studio that fit, but they only go up to size 7 1/2. I got an email Wednesday morning that the shoes aren't available and they are on backorder. I called the company and we had to go through several brands of shoes before we found one that they had. In any case, I should have a nice pair of split sole tap shoes on Friday. Then I can practice in the basement!

Shingles

I'm 40 years old and I have shingles - EEK!. I always think of shingles as an "old person disease" (although I have certainly seen younger people with it) and I'm feeling kind of old right now!

When I went to the doctor for my headache on Tuesday, we noticed that I had a rash on my hip. It wasn't painful, though, so the NP and I really didn't think it was actually shingles - although it does not cross the midline of my back. Then, last night, I started having actual pain and a new crop of lesions (although they're not really blisters) developed in a lovely dermatomal line. I saw a different NP today and she agreed that it looks and acts like shingles, so I got Valtrex, Lyrica, and lidocaine patches. I have a patch on right now - it's not perfect, but it helps.

I had a wicked headache again yesterday so we did unschooling. Ga'Hoole Girl worked for several hours on her computer game that she's programming. Wild Man made a "Master Sandwich Shop" in which he serves meals and snacks. Payment is by rupees - an imaginary kind of money from the Zelda games. Wild Man, who doesn't typically enjoy writing, wrote up 5 or 6 signs to show what he was selling. We watched part of a movie about Ancient Greece while the kids painted. It was a highly educational day, despite the fact that I can't cross anything off my schedule!! I have been thinking about scheduling and how much structure the kids should have during the day. There is a thread on Sonlight Forums about unschooling, so I'm interested in seeing other people's ideas.

Well, the kids have dinner ready - pizza from the Master Sandwich Shop - so I'd better go sit down for dinner!

Reviews - August 29

More book reviews for your reading pleasure.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau
This book is a sequel to The City of Ember which I previously reviewed. The premise is that the people from Ember have found their way out of their underground city and have come to the city called Sparks. While the people of Ember were living underground (for like 200 years), there were several disasters that ravaged the Earth and demolished the population. The book chronicles how the small village of Sparks (of 300 people) works to acommodate the 400 people from Ember. Suffice it to say that things don't always work out smoothly, but the ending is happy. I highly recommend this for family reading or for young adults.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg
This story of Eleanor of Aquitaine is one of the Core 6 readers, so I was prereading it. Eleanor is in Heaven waiting for her husband, Henry II of England, to come Up and join her after his time in Hell is finished. During the wait, she talks with several friends and family members who help tell the story of her life - her marriages to two kings and being mother to two other kings. Clearly, there are theology issues, but the Heaven/Hell thing provides a nice framework for the story. As far as I can tell, the history is accurate as well. It is a children's/young adult book, so it is a pretty easy read. Despite that, it was quite fun. It gives a nice glimpse into medieval court life, including the intrigue and danger. I highly recommend it.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
I had read this back in college or high school. I don't recall that I read it for school - I think I read it out of interest. This is one of the big "anti-utopian" novels (another of which is 1984, which I have also read recently). In Huxley's "utopia", the state has ultimate authority and spends its time making people productive and happy. When someone is unhappy, they take "soma" or engage in some entertainment. Children are not "born" they are "decanted" from test tubes. Serious genetic engineering occurs to ensure that those who are intended for the upper classes get the best prenatal treatment and those destined for the lower classes get less treatment. The idea, though, is that everyone should be engineered to be happy in their place in life. Then, we are introduced to the Savage who was raised on a reservation - where life is still primitive, children are born, families exist. His discontent and his desire to be discontented are confusing to the rest of the people of the city. Well, suffice it to say that Huxley is clearly pointing out that removing all stress, unhappiness, etc. from our lives does not produce superior human beings on any level. This book is a classic and I think everyone should read it in high school or college.

1984 by George Orwell
Can you believe that I never read this book, even though I graduated high school in 1985? For some reason, the regular English classes read this book, but the Advanced class didn't. Did they assume that we'd already read it? Oh, well. This is another of the classic "anti-utopian" novels. But, this one is really quite different. In this case, the Party is the controller of all of life. The Party members are expected to conform radically to all of the Party's rules and regulations. Failure to do so ends up in torture, "re-education", and even death. In addition to the Party, though, are the "proles" which I assume means proletariat or working class. This class is provided plenty of entertainment to keep them from thinking too much. One of the Party's main functions is to control information. The job of the main character is to read news clippings and change past events to match the current events. In this book, state control of information is key. Not only are there news releases, but every Party member's house has a telescreen that monitors the person's every movement and word. In addition, turning people in to the Party for deviant behavior is encouraged. This is a provocative and important book. I think everyone over high school age should read it and take to heart the importance of free spread of information.

The Summer We Got Saved by Pat Cunningham Devoto
I love novels about the South. I used to think that my family was quirky, but I have decided now that my family is just normal "Southern"! This novel is about Civil Rights, voting rights, friendship, and family. There are three storylines, which wouldn't be too bad except that one story line doesn't start till the middle of the book and another storyline stops for almost half the book. But, they all meet up at the very end. The story takes place in Alabama and Tennessee during the 1950s or early 1960s (whenever George Wallace was running for Governor in Alabama). Two of the major plot lines consider a white family in a small town in Alabama. The aunt from California (who is, of course, eccentric in the eyes of her family) takes the two girls from the family up to the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee (a retreat for Civil Rights activists). The family thinks they are going to visit friends and have no idea about the whole Civil Rights thing. Later in the book, the father of this family gets involved with a candidate for governor who favors integration - much to the distress of some of the rest of the family. The third storyline is about a black girl who has recovered from polio who comes to a tiny black church just outside the town where the other main characters live. She sets up a voting class that eventually has six members. Of course, they don't learn as much about voting as she would like, but she does teach them enough reading to vote, open a bank account, etc. I won't say how this whole book wraps up, but I will say that it is surprising but satisfying. When all is said and done, the main characters have all learned a lot about themselves, about people of other races, and about the world. This book is very good for older high school and adults.


Movies reviews:

The Hours
This movie intertwines the stories of Virginia Woolf in the 1920s, a suburban housewife in the 1940s, and a city dweller in the 2000s. The film makers did a great job showing all three story lines without getting things confused or muddy. It was a sad movie - all three women are depressed and two characters commit suicide. But why? There is really no answer. The sadness of the movie is that there seems to be little hope. I enjoyed the movie, but it is clearly only for adults (there are several gay/lesbian characters). My overwhelming thought at the end of the movie was, "How different it could have all been if they had known God!"

The Royal Tenenbaums
What a strange movie!! The main idea is that the father of this family has deserted them and wants to come back into their lives. So, what would any logical person do? Fake a fatal illness. But, the family figures this out and kicks him out so he has to go get a real job. The characters are all very odd. Some are likeable - others are just too weird to be liked. In any case, the idea of restoring family relationships stays central to the movie. The characters do not act in any "normal" sort of way, but the family comes together at the end. This movie is rated R and I would agree that it is not for kids or teens. I'm not sure that I recommend this movie much at all. There are positive aspects to it, but it's not well-paced and the language/sexuality is a little much. So, I wouldn't waste my time with it if I had to do it over.

Well, more later. I'm currently working on The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner, Without God, Without Creed by James Turner, Mary, Bloody Mary (can't recall the author right now) and a book by Dallas Willard (although this one is for teens, so I may return it and get one of his other books).

Survival

We started school on Monday. It is now Wednesday. Things are still not going well. I have had a migraine since Saturday night. I actually had Mr. Math Teacher take me to the doctor's office yesterday for an injection. It worked really well until about noon today. Mr. Math Teacher started his week of preparation for student teaching this week. I was not as prepared as I would have liked to have been, but I think we might have done OK if I didn't have the bad headache.

Monday we were plagued by bad weather and bad attitudes. But, we got most of the work done without too much whining. Tuesday was the day of the bad headache. I called a Code H. This is based on the medical "Code Blue" for medical emergency. Code H is headache emergency. In this case, the kids are responsible for doing all the schoolwork they can do independently and then watch the educational DVDs (I have some planned for every week) or work further in a workbook or on Spanish or typing. They are also responsible for keeping the kitchen straight and getting dinner going. Well, Mr. Math Teacher was around for yesterday afternoon, so he took care of dinner. The kids didn't do as much work as I would have liked.

Today, though, was the real kicker. We got up early to take Grandma to the airport. We left at about 8:05 - right on time. We got Grandma to the airport successfully (despite the construction). No problem, right? Well, I was going to take the kids for breakfast at Wendy's, but they don't serve breakfast. So, I decided that we would do the Food Court at the Mall. This sounded like a great idea because they could get something from McDonalds (makes them happy) and we could get some schoolwork done before we did the rest of our errands (Sam's club doesn't open until 10, so we had time to kill). Ga'Hoole Girl was decidedly against this plan, but, I read history to them while they ate. When they were done eating, I pulled out some workbooks and had them working in the workbooks. Everything was going so well that I decided to go get me a little something to eat. The Food Court is nice and open, so the kids were always in my sight. When I got back to the table, the kids told me that some adults had apparently walked by and commented on how terrible it was that they were already starting schoolwork. They didn't stop to talk to the kids - good thing. I wish I had been there to run interference. The adults didn't stop, so the kids didn't say anything, but it seriously reinforced Ga'Hoole Girl's idea that doing schoolwork in the Food Court is a bad idea!

I really could not believe that this actually happened. I wish I knew what those people were thinking. Did they think that I'm a terrible homeschooling mom for starting the kids so early (the public schools here start on Tuesday - although in some states, kids have been in school for several weeks)? Did they think that I'm some psycho mom who makes her kids do schoolwork before school starts so they are "ahead of the game"? Who knows? But, it is really the first seriously negative comment that we've ever had about homeschooling.

Next, we went to Sam's Club. The kids were happy because I bought some school supplies - a small whiteboard for me with a package of all kinds of fun whiteboard markers. Math and memory work are going to be colorful now, if nothing else. I also got the kids spiral notebooks and clipboards. I only make them sit at the table or desk for handwriting. Now they can take their workbooks around the house without pulling all the big books off the shelf to use for writing on.

Then, I tried out a new yarn shop. The prices are reasonable, and the owner wound my hanks of yarn into balls. Actually, she got it set up and let the kids spin the little machine. The shop is right near Wild Man's reading lesson - probably dangerous! The reading lesson went quite well. Wild Man is really reading and using some expression in his reading. Totally cool.

But, we got home and my headache just exploded. The kids were being crabby (tired from getting up early) and I felt rotten. So, I put on a DVD (Walking the Bible) which ended up providing lots of fodder for good discussion. Anyway, I eventually went upstairs to take a nap. Things have been better since then, although my head still hurts.

So, my plan now is to lay off the academics for the next two days and organize the school room and finish my lesson plans. I'm sure the kids will be just thrilled to help me clean the school room!!! But, we'll restart Tuesday and finish this week's worth of work next week. I think we'll survive - but there are no guarantees!

The Baptism and the Fair

A couple of weeks ago, our church held it's annual picnic and baptism. Since we live in the Great White North, we only do baptisms once a year and then in August so it's not too terribly cold. But, this year, it was 60 degrees and rainy the weekend of the baptism. Mr. Math Teacher is an elder so he was in the water for all 22 baptisms. The most exciting thing, though, is that Wild Man was baptized this year. He said it was quite chilly, but one of the ladies gave him a cup of hot chocolate as soon as he got out of the water and wrapped up in a towel. We were all thrilled about the event!

The Fair has also been a big deal here. Ga'Hoole Girl was in four different Fair events. In June, she won a first place in the Clothing Revue for her purchased outfit for the Consumer Savvy Project. Three weeks ago, she showed two of our cats at the Cat and Small Animal show. Both of them won seconds. Sophie might have gotten a first if she hadn't hissed at the judge!! Two weeks ago was Foods - I showed a picture of her cupcakes in one of my recent posts. Last week was The Fair. Since we don't have livestock (thankfully), Ga'Hoole Girl just entered some artwork. The only one I have a good picture of is her origami. That piece won a third place (although I thought it was amazing!). Her painting (sunset) and drawing (owl) both won seconds. The kids went on the Midway on Saturday afternoon. I'm glad I didn't go since my headache started Saturday evening (and it's still not gone - Yikes!).

One of the other exciting things about Fair Week is getting to see how well our friends do. My best friend and her girls spent Wednesday through Friday nights with us - generally from about 10:30pm to 6am. We live close to the Fairgrounds so it is easier for the girls to get up early and get to the Fairgrounds to do chores first thing in the morning. What is really cool is that their goats did very well and one of the girls who shows dairy cows also did quite well. Overall, it was a good week!

Updates - August 18

Knitting update:

I have been really enjoying my summer knitting. Here are some pictures of the clothes I made for my new nephew and the bath mitt I made for his brother. I described these in a previous post.

I have two current knitting projects. I am working on another little rug - this one to go underneath my foot warmer which is in front of my rocking chair. This rug is made from strips of denim from some old jeans and an old shirt. This knitting is harder than T-shirt knitting, so I can only do a few rows before my hand starts hurting. I'll post a picture when I'm done, which should be soon.

I am also working on a pair of lace socks. The pattern is from the blog "Writing and Living". I am using leftover cotton yarn in both purple and teal. The toes, heels, and top band are teal, while the rest of the socks are purple. I really enjoy working on a lace pattern.

My next project is probably going to be a pair of felted. I have never felted before, so it will be interesting. The other thing I want to make is a lampshade. I found a lovely pattern that uses cabling and short-rowing. I have learned to do short-rowing from the socks I'm making, but I need to learn to make cables.

Kid update:

The kids had a blast on their little vacation to Door County with Grandma. They took a few pictures, but lots of video. They both learned a lot about lighthouses since they toured almost all the Door County lighthouses. It sounds like one of the most memorable events was the ferry ride to Washington Island and the boat ride to Rock Island. I really missed them, and I'm glad they're home. Of course, things aren't nearly as quiet now!!

Ga'Hoole Girl did the 4H Foods project today. She only did one entry this year - decorated cupcakes. She was judged only on the decoration, so I made the cupcakes yesterday afternoon. Last night, she colored the frosting and decorated the cupcakes. She won a first place!! She wasn't the "first" first - the one who was eligible for Grand Champion. But, we are all thrilled for her. The rest of the Fair starts on Wednesday. Ga'Hoole Girl has two art entries.

Review - August 17

Another really headache-y week. Yikes. I was hoping things would get better soon. The kids have been on vacation this week with their grandmother, so the house has been quiet. The downside is that I have done very little useful work. I have been entering lesson plans into Homeschool Tracker and I've gotten to Week 22. Mr. Math Teacher and I have also been watching lots of movies and I have been reading a good bit.

Movie Reviews:
Raising Helen - excellent movie. I highly recommend it. Basically, a young New York career girl gets left with her 3 nieces and nephews to raise after her sister and brother-in-law are killed in an accident. It is rather formulaic, but not so much that it's obnoxious. The kids seem like real kids. Helen really changes for the better throughout the movie. And, of course, I have to like a movie that truly celebrates motherhood.

Flushed Away - I was pleasantly surprised by this. I thought that there would be more "bathroom humor", but it really was just a cute movie. The characters were believable and fun. There was a real support for family in this movie. I recommend it for kids on up.

The DaVinci Code - Yes, we watched it. Actually, Mr. Math Teacher and I both read the book a couple of years ago. Dan Brown is a very engaging storyteller. Unfortunately, he has represented some patently false information as true, and people have believed it. The movie was excellently done. I think it was faithful to the book, but I don't remember all the details of the book. The cast was amazing - Tom Hanks is truly an amazing actor. The character of Silas was truly creepy. And, I loved the settings. The downside is simply that they present an alternative history of the church as truth (or at least, plausible). In doing so, they seriously misrepresent the facts. In one place, Teabing says that the canon was set at the Council of Nicea, as was the divinity of Christ - WHAT? Take a look at the history of the Council of Nicea. Certainly, they opposed the Arian heresy (that Christ was not divine), but there was more to it than that, and the Arian heresy was not "widespread". In addition, Dan Brown (and, consequently, the movie) gives the impression that the Gnostic gospels are as factual as those included in the canon, but they were suppressed by the Church for political reasons. Again, the facts are far different. There has been a lot written out there about this stuff. Start with christianitytoday.com if you are interested. So, my final analysis is that this is a very well-done movie of a well-written book, but you need to watch it knowing that it is completely fiction, including the stuff about church history.

Beauty Shop - Actually, we have watched all but the last two scenes of this movie because the Netflix movie is scratched. So, we'll watch the end of it later. It is really funny! That being said, it is not remotely appropriate for children. There is a lot of sexual humor. In addition, there is a lot of racial humor and innuendo that kids won't get - and shouldn't get. Unfortunately, we don't life in a color-blind society, so there is fertile ground for misunderstanding among the races. This is a topic that should be explored with kids in a more appropriate manner than this kind of movie. But, there are some good things. Queen Latifah is a very good actress. She makes her character truly believable - and likable. Kevin Bacon is beyond hysterical!! The characters are fun but real. Very few are truly bad - most are a mixed bag - kind of like real life. So, I recommend the movie for adults when you just want to laugh.

Just Like Heaven - This is a cute movie about a woman who thinks she still lives in her apartment and the man who has rented the apartment. The plot revolves around figuring out if the woman is dead and then resolving things with the apartment. This was a movie that I could really relate to. The female lead (Reese Witherspoon - excellent as usual) was a medical resident who worked long hours and had no life outside of the hospital. I got married while in medical school, but I could definitely relate to the pressures to be "married to medicine" during med school and residency. The male lead (don't recall his name) was also a very good actor. There was a lot of comedy based on the fact that he could see and talk to her, but no one else could. So, it was a nice, light romantic comedy - classic "chick flick". I recommend it for adults, especially if you are looking for a little romance.

The Terminal - I had seen this several years ago, but we watched it again with Grandma. Tom Hanks is an amazing actor. He completely makes you believe that he is Victor Novorsky (just like I believed that he was Robert Langdon in The DaVinci Code). There are definite serious themes in this movie, but there isn't anything inappropriate for the kids. The premise is that Victor flies into the airport in New York and, while he's been in the air, there was a coup in his country, so he can't go back, but he can't go into the US. So, he is stuck in the airport. This is a great story about how this man makes do for nine months in the airport and how and why he finally gets into New York. It is a touching, sweet movie. I highly recommend it for adults and teens. Kids can watch it, but they'll probably be kind of bored.

Man of the Year - Robin Williams plays a television political comedian who decides to actually run for president. And, he actually gets elected! But, should he have? That's the story of this movie. It was really something of a surprise. I thought it was going to just be a funny movie about a funny guy who becomes president, but it is far more intricate. And, in the end, the main character has to make a critical choice which demonstrates his own character (or lack thereof). This is really a funny movie. Robin Williams is funny, as always, but not as "out there" as he sometimes is. The serious issues that this movie addresses really add depth to the whole experience. I very highly recommend it for adults. There is inappropriate humor for kids.


Book reviews

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - We got this book from the library to read as a family after Mr. Math Teacher read about it on a website. The city of Ember is running out of things - food, clothing, etc. - and the generator (which makes electricity from the river) is breaking, but no one seems to know why or how to fix it. The people of Ember know about nothing but their own city - no one has ever been outside of Ember. But, two kids are about to change that. They make some important discoveries and have to make a final choice that will affect themselves and the city. Everyone in our family loved this book. It is a real page-turner. We were up till 10pm the night that we finished it. We just got the sequel from the library today - and, there's a prequel that we're going to read, too. This is highly recommended for about ages 8 on up.

Truth War by John MacArthur - You may recall that I recently reviewed Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the Emerging Church movement. I'm still not. But, I feel quite sure that MacArthur's reaction is extreme, to say the least. MacArthur uses the book of Jude as his basis for discussing apostasy and heresy. He considers the Emerging Church leaders as apostates and their teaching as heresy. Not only do I disagree with his assessment, but I find that his book is extremely uncharitable to the point of being nasty. It was a difficult book for me to finish because his attitude was so unloving and unbecoming of a Christian. I have done more research on Emerging Church theology. There is some stuff with which I do not agree, but I cannot find that they are teaching a "false gospel". MacArthur comes down on Ron Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan, so I went to the church's website. They don't have a statement of faith like I'm used to with different points laid out in order. Instead, they have a narrative. But, it is completely orthodox. There is nothing heretical about it. I understand MacArthur's being uncomfortable with how the Emerging Church expresses itself - I tend to be a little more linear and "modern" myself. But, that discomfort does not mean that the Emerging Movement has gone across to heresy. That is a serious charge to make and it is completely unfair. I may disagree with the Movement in some important ways, but there is no evidence that the entire Movement is heretical. So, I don't really recommend this book. Read what the Emerging Church has to say about itself and compare that to Scripture.

August 9

This has been a very headache-y week! Yesterday, I woke up with one that kept me down all day. Yikes. I'm back on my previous antidepressant, so I'm sleeping much better, and my mood is better. I'm pretty hungry, so I'm having to watch what I eat very carefully. But, I'd rather by hungry than depressed.




Knitting update:

I finished the rug! It took lots of T-shirts, though, so I won't be able to make another one for awhile. I think that I have enough old jeans to cut up, though, to make a small rug to go under my footwarmer that sits in front of my rocking chair.

Kid updates:

The kids have been spending lots of time with Grandma this week. Grandma got an apartment a few blocks from here, so she'll be spending some of the year here and some of the year down South, and the rest of the time travelling the globe! Anyway, the kids have both been able to sleep over. Grandma has also let each of them edit some video to make a movie. Wild Man edited some footage that Grandma took at one of his baseball games. Ga'Hoole Girl edited footage that Grandma took of her bathing the cats. Yes, Ga'Hoole Girl bathed the cats. The 4-H cat and dog showing is in two days. Sassy did OK with her bath; she just cried a little near the end. Sassy has long hair and really needed the bath. She could have stood some conditioner, but Ga'Hoole Girl decided that would be pushing her luck. Sophie was a whole different story! She put up quite the fight during her bath. But, she is soooo nice and soft now that she's clean.

My camera died this week. It's five years old, so I guess it was time. It would give me a great excuse for a new camera except that the money isn't in the budget for it! In any case, the kids decided to learn about the inner workings of a camera. Wild Man (and Mr. Math Teacher) took it apart and Mr. Math Teacher showed Wild Man the different circuits, chips, etc. Then, Ga'Hoole Girl scavenged some wires and a switch to make a circuit with a little light bulb. Here's what the camera looks like now:

Book Reviews:

A Return to Modesty by Wendy Shalit - Wendy Shalit addresses the current state of modesty in our culture. She makes a compelling argument that the sexual revolution has sold our daughters a bill of goods. Sexual freedom was supposed to make us all so much happier, but, instead, we have a society of girls who are anorexic, bulimic, self-mutilating, and profoundly depressed. Shalit argues that returning to modesty allows our young women to regain the self-respect that they have lost during the "revolution". As a Christian, this makes a lot of sense. We have abandoned God's plan for sex, and our society (particularly our girls) are paying the consequences. The chapter that affected me the most was Chapter 11 "Pining for Interference". She argues in this chapter that young women really do want (and need) adults to care about them in their dating and courting. So many adults use the phrase "as long as you're happy" without thinking about whether what the child is doing is good for them. Throughout the book, Shalit makes the point that the lack of modesty has had negative consequences throughout society: our young men treat women as chattel, relationships though all society are seen as temporary, children have lost the security of two loving parents, and girls are left wondering if anyone really loves them. I highly recommend this book for anyone with daughters. Shalit has another book coming out that I also plan to read: Girls Gone Mild.

A New Kind of Christian by Brian D. McLaren - This is my first foray into the Emerging Church culture and theology. McLaren writes in the form of a dialogue between two friends. He starts with the supposition that my generation is caught between modernism and post-modernism. History has been largely made of modern thinkers from about 1500. Modern thinking is generally linear, rational, and scientific. For a modern thinker, there is only one Truth. If what I believe about God is true, then what you believe about Him must not be true if it is different from what I believe. Post-modern thinking, though, has come about since about 2000, although you can see traces of it before that. Post-modern thinkers are perfectly capable of holding two opposing ideas in their minds - and don't see a problem with it. Post-modern thinkers have less faith in science. They tend to think in narrative and not linearly. McLaren is trying to present how we can be Christians in this post-modern world. He is trying to develop a picture of how we can love Jesus in this post-modern world. Unfortunately, everything gets pretty fuzzy - which, I think, is part of the whole post-modern thing. McLaren talks a lot about post-modern thinking and how to be a Christian, but talks very little about Scripture. Certainly, God reveals Himself through nature and the Church as well as Scripture, but I would have preferred a more thorough grounding of his ideas in Scripture. That being said, I didn't find anything really objectionable in the book. I do recommend that people read something by McLaren or by Rob Bell because the Emerging Church is affecting Christianity and we need to know what it's all about. Unfortunately, I don't really "get" it from this book. I'm going to read some of Rob Bell's stuff and see if that clears it up any. I'm also in the process of reading MacArthur's Truth War, which is basically a polemic against the whole post-modern movement. More on that in a few days when I finish it. So, my conclusion on McLaren is this: the jury is still out. I'm gathering more information before I make any conclusions.

August 6

Well, Ga'Hoole Girl did Piano Odyssey last week at the university. It was a great experience for her. She was sent music for a duet to play at the end of the week. Her days consisted of practicing with her duet partner, Music History and Music Theory classes, private lesson (one during the week) and master classes. The kids also got to swim every day after lunch. She really enjoyed the week. Friday afternoon, they had a performance with all the kids playing their duets. They all did a marvelous job! I truly have never heard my daughter play so well. She is very interested in going back next year.

Knitting news: I am almost finished with my knitted throw rug. It took a lot of T-shirts, though, so I can only make this one rug right now. I still have to weave in ends - using a crochet hook because I don't have any needle type of thing to use. I'll post photos when it's done.

I've been doing lots of reading, but I've had lots of bad headaches the last week or so, so I'll post reviews later in the week.

Other interesting things: Ga'Hoole Girl has been asking questions about college. She's quite young to consider specifics, but I hope that she at least will have some more motivation for schoolwork. She also says that she wants to be a video game developer, so I got her a book on game programming for teens. So far, she has written three or four programs!

Wild Man and I have started doing some TOPS experiments with electricity. So far, we have made some simple circuits. Our next experiment is to learn about conductors and insulators. Otherwise, he's just being "Wild Man"!

I am working on lesson planning the rest of the schoolyear. I use Homeschool Tracker Plus so I can put in lesson plans without committing to dates. The problem right now is that it is taking a long time. I want to add in music and art history, so that takes time to find the websites and resources that I want to use. In any case, it's a good use of my time right now and will, hopefully, make life easier when we start "real school" the end of August.

Harry Potter Reviews (Warning: spoilers ahead)

We have had quite the Harry Potter week! We got the book on Saturday and finished reading it on Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday), after we took Mr. Math Teacher and Grandma to the airport, the kids and I went to the "big city" public library for a Harry Potter party. Then, we went to see the new movie.

First, the Harry Potter party - totally fun! The kids had a blast. They both entered the costume contest, but Wild Man couldn't give his name as Albus Severus Potter because that is from Book 7, so he had to be "A Relative of Harry's". Ga'Hoole Girl made a clock (real clock works) with a CD and a clock mechanism. It is supposed to be like the Weasley Clock, so she has it sectioned into things like "home", "school", "dance", "mortal peril", and "death". (There are a few others, but I can't remember them.) There was a wand-making station and both kids made wands (although they also had the wooden ones that Mr. Math Teacher carved for them a couple of years ago). They also had a ton of food - pizza, cookies, juice. It was a very good use of an hour and a half.


The movie - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"

The kids' assessment: a rip-off. I'm not quite as harsh, but I must agree that it was less than satisfying. First, the good stuff: The actors continue to do an excellent job. The special effects were excellent. The set and costumes were also excellent - it really felt like what Hogwarts is supposed to feel like. The not-so-good stuff: The plot was very thin and forced. Obviously, they had to cut a lot out from the book in order to make a movie, but they cut out so much that the movie seemed to be racing along. Unfortunately, they gave such short shrift to some important plot lines that they seemed understandable only because we knew the movie. Mrs. Figg was also very poorly done. She was supposed to be this little old lady who was very frazzled and talked quickly. Instead, she is very hesitant about everything. In addition, she lightened up the beginning of the book. In the movie, the beginning was more dark than it needed to be (partly because of the lack of Mrs. Figg). The fight scene at the ministry was also thinner than it should have been. People kind of showed up without much explanation. And, at the end, Harry is supposed to be very angry, but, in the movie, he is just sad. I don't think we're going to bother purchasing this movie. It's probably OK to rent when it comes out on video. Let's hope that "The Half-Blood Prince" has a better transition to the screen.


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

J.K. Rowling has done an excellent job in this last book. We read it out loud from Saturday to Tuesday. It is well-paced and kept us interested throughout. There was, indeed, a lot of death, but I was very glad that Harry and his closest friends survived. I really liked that the mission could not be accomplished without all three friends contributing - and Dumbledore knew this, so he gave each of them something that they would need. I was a little worried when Ron left Harry and Hermione, but was thrilled when he returned. Hedwig's and Dobby's deaths were rather devastating. I was glad, though, that Dobby died saving Harry - that was a great scene. Throughout the early part of the book, very little is said of Snape. I had become convinced that Snape was indeed completely evil and a Death Eater. What a surprise, then, to find out that Snape had been on the side of good the whole time (well, at least since Harry was a year old)! The scene in which Snape dies and gives Harry his memories was very touching. I must admit, though, that the entire concept of Snape loving Lily his whole life was a total shock to me. But, it tied up lots of loose ends and explains Snape's turning away from Voldemort.

The theme of redemption and sacrifice continues throughout the book. Harry's facing Voldemort without fighting back was a great scene. It is certainly not an allegory of the Christian story (as in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), but is a clear picture of love overcoming evil. Harry is willing to die in order that the rest of them might be saved. Of course, others died in the fight against Voldemort as well. I was especially saddened by Tonks' and Lupin's deaths.

I very highly recommend this book, but not till after you have read the first six. I recently re-read books five and six, which I found very helpful in order to understand the events of book seven. This book is very dark, and there is a lot of death. It is probably not appropriate for the under-8 crowd. Wild Man is nine and did very well with the book. We have had several very good (and very deep) discussions about the whole Harry Potter series. I have to say that Ms. Rowling has done an excellent job in finishing the story.

Knitting update

One of the fun things about camp is that I have lots of free time in which to read and knit. During May and June I made a cute sweater and pair of pants for my brand-new nephew. I also made a fun little bath mitt for his big brother. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, so I can't post pictures until my Dad sends me some. The sweater pattern is from LionBrand and is a striped hoodie. It was so adorable. The pants pattern was from Knitty.com. This was a little more tricky. I made the first leg and then put it on a yarn stitch holder. Then, I made the second leg. I was supposed to then put all these stitches on a circular needle with some additional cast-on stitches between the two legs. Well, doing this on a circular needle just didn't work. It was a good way up the hips before I was knitting anything resembling a circle or oval - it was more of a figure of eight shape. So, I put the work on five double point needles which made much more sense. In any case, they were really cute. The bath mitt pattern was also from LionBrand. I used cotton worsted weight yarn. I was very happy with the outcome. I still have left-over yarn, so I'm looking for more things to make.

I am currently working on lace socks from a pattern I got over at Writing and Living. I made one pair socks on needles that were far too big for the pattern. I wanted to use them as slippers, but they were even to big for that. And, the socks were each of a different color because I didn't have enough to do both socks (I was using leftover purple and teal yarn from a sweater that I made for a friend). So, I ripped out the socks and have started over with the correct size needles. And, I'm making the toe, heel, and top in teal with the foot and lower leg in purple. So far, so good.

One of the coolest projects I'm working on now is making throw rugs. I really need one under the piano bench because the hardwood is getting scratched up (and I don't really want to sacrifice a towel as a rug). So, I'm cutting old t-shirts and other clothing into strips and knitting it with size 17 needles. Working with such big needles is something of a challenge, but I like it. My plan is that I don't have a plan. I started in navy for 6 rows, then did 2 rows of a patterned fabric, then 2 rows of navy, then I'll add in the other stuff in increments of 2, 4, or 6 rows as the Spirit moves me! I really like the effect of the knitting.

I'm able to do a good bit of knitting these last few days because I knit while Mr. Math Teacher reads Harry Potter to us!

Book reviews - July 23

I've been doing a lot of reading lately - some of the books have really impacted me, others were just kind of interesting. Ga'Hoole Girl and I read all of the Artemis Fowl books except for the second one (there are four altogether). It's definitely preteen stuff, but it was fun. There is a lot of fairies and magic stuff, but clearly not occultic. I recommend it for adolescents.



Dumbing Us Down by John Gatto



The subtitle of this book is "The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling". This is a compendium of five talks that he has given about schooling. He is very clear that education and schooling are very different, and he gives compelling evidence that schooling is actually damaging to children. What is interesting is that he doesn't say that the current public schools are the problem: He says that the concept of compulsory schooling is the problem. We have taken children out of the adult world, where they were learning to be competent, thinking adults and have put them in an artificial world where they learn to be dependent. He doesn't argue that all structured schooling is bad, but that our current system of schooling from ages 5-17 is the problem. Excellent book! I highly recommend it. I'm currently working my way through The Underground History of American Education by the same author. He definitely challenges us.





Saint Catherine of Siena by Alice Curtayne



Now, I am not generally given to reading biographies of medieval Catholic saints, but my interest was piqued by a short article in Christianity Today. This book is a good biography of this woman. It is not, however, unbiased. The author clearly venerates this saint. Several of the incidents that are recounted (and said to be miraculous) stretch the imagination. Were miracles just more frequent during that time period? Or are there other explanations? For one thing, Catherine's "ecstasies" to which she was prone sound very much like partial-complex seizures. So, would she have been treated differently in our current society? It sounds like she was a product of her times. What I did take away from this book is how seriously this woman took prayer. She spent hours every day praying - and then more hours writing letters, visiting the sick, etc. We can say that we have so many more demands on our time in this day and age, but that doesn't take away our obligation to pursue time with God.





A Christian Manifesto by Francis A. Schaeffer



I recently read How Shall We Then Live by this same author and decided to see what some of his other writings are like. This book is a discussion of humanism and our obligation as Christians to oppose it. He spends a couple of chapters discussing how we can impact society for Judeo-Christian values, including civil disobedience. His writing is clear and compelling. I highly recommend this to anyone who takes their faith seriously.





Desiring God by John Piper



Wow. What a book. This book took me much longer than usual to read because there is so much in it. His thesis is that God is most glorified by our enjoyment of Him or (as he modifies the Heidelberg Catechism) "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever". This was a really hard book to get through. Piper makes the claim that we are to pursue our pleasure in God because God is most happy when we are happy. Then, he spends the rest of the book showing how that works out in our lives - in love, in worship, in prayer, with money, in missions, and in suffering. He doesn't want us to persist in the belief that it is more "Christian" to go around being miserable "for the Kingdom". Piper's belief is that when we are truly serving God, we will have joy - even if it is tempered by the earthly situation in which we find ourselves.

Piper is a Calvinist, which comes through in his writing. I'm not sure that I accept the Five Points of Calvinism completely, but it helps to understand his background. He frequently quotes Jonathan Edwards (yes, of "Sinners in the Hands of Angry God" fame - there's a lot more to him!) and C.S. Lewis (of whom I am a really big fan).

I think I have done a poor job of explaining this book. It is quite rich and in-depth. I would encourage anyone to read it and spend some time with it. In the meantime, check out www.desiringgod.org, Piper's website which has many of his sermons and shorter writings.


The Language of God by Francis S. Collins

Here is yet another offering in the origins debate. If you think that the debate is as simple as "Young Earth" vs. "Old Earth", take a look at this book. Collins is a Theistic Evolutionist. He calls his position BioLogos - God created the universe and used evolution as a tool for his Creation of all life forms, but that, at some point, He gave humans a soul, making us different from all the other animals. In any case, he argues that the evidence for evolution is quite strong and that even the "Old Earth" Creationism argument is simply a "God of the Gaps" theory. That is, he believes that "Old Earth" Creationists reject evolution because we don't have all the information in order to completely understand it, so we invoke God for the stuff we don't yet understand. That is a valid point. Is "Old Earth" Creationism just accepting what sounds good of the current science but making sure to put enough God in it so that it's not pure naturalism? I don't really know. This book really made me think about what I believe and why.

Here are the things that I know. 1. God is the Creator of the universe and could have used any method He wanted in Creation. 2. The book of Genesis does not require a literal reading for it to still be the inspired Word of God. 3. "All truth is God's truth" (attributed to St. Augustine). When science and Scripture disagree, we must look at our interpretation of Scripture and the accuracy of the science.

Does Scripture allow for Theistic Evolution? Yes. Am I a Theistic Evolutionist? No. I still think that Evolution is a theory with many flaws. I just can't be convinced that Evolution could create the biodiversity that we see in Nature. But, I'm always willing to be further educated.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject of Origins. It is very well-written and understandable. I do have some objections. The author rather frequently appeals to the fact that "almost all scientists agree" as support for his position. He says this about things that I know there is legitimate scientific disagreement about. His views need to be taken seriously.


The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins

Dawkins is one of the megaphones of the atheistic position. He writes frequently about Evolution for the lay person. I tried to read The God Delusion but couldn't get past the first chapter. Dawkins has a very annoying habit of making statements for which there is no support. He claims that since Evolution can explain all living things, that God must not exist - WHAT? As noted above, it is possible to be a Theistic Evolutionist. He also states categorically that Evolution must have occurred because we are here. He basically makes his arguments on tautologies. ARGHH! So, I only got through about three chapters of The Ancestor's Tale before I had just had enough. I think I will try Christopher Hitchens new book about atheism. Maybe he will actually have an argument that makes sense or at least can be supported. Dawkins' claptrap is just too much for me.

I'm going to be 40!! . . . .Someday!!

If you have seen "When Harry Met Sally", you probably recognize this line. I just love it! And, I used to say it, too, whenever I was feeling kind of old. But, now, as of 2 Saturdays ago, I am 40 - so I'd better find a new movie line!!

I really don't have any profound thoughts about turning 40. It feels pretty much like 39. We celebrated by having birthday cake around the campfire at Family Camp. My kids got me the book If I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom, Then Why Am I Always in the Car? - a Baby Blues comic book. Totally fun! And true!

Change of plans - already!

Well, all of my great plans are now seriously rearranged. I forgot that Grandma is taking the kids to Door County for several days between Ga'hoole Girl's piano camp and the Fair - they're going to tour lighthouses and make a DVD about them (sounds suspiciously educational). Sooooo, I am not starting our "real" school year until after the Fair. I am still doing the Electricity TOPS with Wild Man while Ga'Hoole Girl is at piano camp. But, everything else gets pushed back. (The good news is that I'm using the Lesson Plan function of Homeschool Tracker Plus, so the assignments will be deleted from the calendar, but they're still in the lesson plans for me to use in a few weeks.)

I am going to make a list of things that the kids can do if they ever feel tempted to tell me they are bored or "need something to do" (Wild Man says that so that he doesn't use the actual word "bored"). Otherwise, we'll do some reading and Ga'Hoole Girl will be working on her Fair projects.

The good news is that I'm reading The Underground History of American Education by John Gatto and am being reminded about the importance of letting kids learn by exploring and being self-directed. It is amazing what they do when they are "bored". There were several days in the weeks before Family Camp in which the kids didn't think to ask for media until late in the evening. They spent the days drawing, reading, and playing. Then, of course, there were the days in which they acted like they would die of boredom without media. I'll try to remember the former days and forget the latter!

I finished reading several books at Family Camp. I'll write more about them later. Suffice it to say that I have been very impacted by Desiring God by John Piper. I am also working on Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver and just finished The Language of God by Francis Collins. More on all that later. Of course, right now we're reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

A New School Year

I'm planning out the school year this weekend. We are starting school tomorrow, will skip the next week since Ga'Hoole Girl is going to piano camp, then school for a couple more weeks, then take a week off for the Fair. I am trying to be more relaxed about schoolwork, but still keep enough of a schedule that the kids have some structure.

I am going to start getting up early every morning so that we can have breakfast together and start school and chores at about the same time every day. This is going to be hard for me because I don't always sleep well, so I tend to sleep in on those days. When public school starts, Mr. Math Teacher will have to leave early for his student teaching, and Ga'Hoole Girl will have to be at school by 8 for her art class (first thing in the morning this year!). That will give me and Wild Man some time to work on his reading and dictation stuff. My plan right now is that Wild Man works from 8am until 11:30 (lunch time). Ga'Hoole Girl works from 8am until 2pm, unless she needs more time. I am going to start giving Ga'Hoole Girl a week's worth of work at a time so she can plan out her week accordingly. But, if she is done with stuff before 2pm (or there's only stuff that she needs me for and I'm not available to help her), then she is to continue doing math, grammar, typing, or Spanish until 2. Those are the subjects that she can just continue on her own. [The caveat is that we're only going to school until noon while Grandma is here so that the kids have time with Grandma and Ga'Hoole Girl and Grandma have time to work on Ga'Hoole Girl's sewing projects.]

We are Sonlight die-hards in this family. Mr. Math Teacher and I just love how the Cores are put together (a Core is the history/social science subjects combined into a type of unit study). I decided last year that it was too hard to have kids in 2 separate Cores so this year we are doing Core 6/Core 1. Actually, we are doing very little of Core 1 since both kids have already done it. We don't want to do the Core 1 read-alouds again, and Wild Man has very good comprehension and is doing well with the Core 6 read alouds. For the history stuff, we are doing the Core 6 Story of the World with The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History. Then, I have the kids do a notebooking page every week on what we have studied. I also print off maps for the kids to put in their notebooks. We use a timeline to help understand how stuff fits together in History. The main difference between Ga'Hoole Girl's work and Wild Man's work is that I expect a higher level of writing from her on her notebook pages and she and I will discuss some things in more depth. Wild Man dictates his notebook pages to me, while Ga'Hoole Girl writes or types hers.

I don't believe in changing up the Core too much - I figure that I paid a lot of money for someone else to make a schedule for us to follow, so it better be a schedule that I like. But, I am starting to add art history and music history for Ga'Hoole Girl using internet resources. I was very surprised to find out that there are some great sites about ancient Greek music - I assumed that we didn't really know much about music until the Middle Ages. I occasionally add some hands-on stuff since Wild Man is a little more of a hands-on learner. For example, we mummified apple slices in the spring and learned which combination of salts did a better job of mummifying. Right now, though, I think that notebooking provides a good "multisensory" experience for him (at least, he seems to be learning!).

Language arts is a tough one for us. I have the Core 6 and Core 1 Language Arts (actually, for Core 1, I only have the activity sheets). Ga'Hoole Girl does not like Sonlight LA at all, though. We have come to a reasonable compromise: We are using Easy Grammar Plus for grammar (she can learn most of it right from the book), we will still do dictation /copywork from Sonlight, and I will add Sonlight writing assignments as I see fit. She has to do a research paper this Fall, and the Sonlight resources for that are very good. Wild Man continues with reading lessons with a tutor. He is a little past where he would be in Core 1 reading, but I have him working through the Core 1 worksheets because they give him practice in handwriting, some introduction to grammar, and a boost in confidence since they're so easy. Ga'Hoole Girl also uses Spelling Power which has been very successful for us.

We use Singapore Math and love it. The one exception is that Ga'Hoole Girl is finishing up the "Key to Fractions" series. That was such a great series! I am planning on getting her the sets for decimals and probably several other topics. I was concerned that she isn't as far along in Math as I'd like her to be, but she told me that she was the only one of the kids in her summer school math class who really understood fractions - I felt 100% better. It appears that she is really learning her math, even if she hasn't covered as many topics. Wild Man loves his Singapore math so we continue that. I have also used the game "24" to help the kids with math facts. We have the addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, and original games.

For Bible, we are using Sonlight's Bible curriculum. We use the Children's Bible Field Guide as our main text. This book does an overview of the entire Bible in 36 weeks. So far, we have really liked it. I don't always do the activities in the book, but have supplemented with maps and charts from the "Tyndale Handbook of Bible Charts and Maps". I also find some stuff on the Internet at times. For example, we are learning about the Tabernacle this week, and I found some great sites about the Tabernacle on the web. Sonlight also has a Bible reading schedule that we follow so we're also reading in 2 Chronicles right now. That has spun off some interesting things. When we read about the Temple, I found some good internet sites with pictures so that we could visualize what was going on. Ga'Hoole Girl wants to do a math project in which she figures out how much all the gold and other expensive stuff in the Temple would cost in today's dollars.

Science has been kind of an issue for us. The Sonlight stuff has been OK, but not very in-depth. We are currently using Apologia Elementary Biology - "Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day of Creation". It is an in-depth study of bird, bats, and insects. It is working pretty well, except that our experiments have not gone well. We have very few birds visit our bird feeders and haven't had a chance to go on a nature walk yet. But, the information is clearly presented and she has some pre-made notebook pages on the Apologia website. After this, I plan to do the book on Astronomy and then start Ga'Hoole girl with the 8th grade physical science. Next week, while Ga'Hoole Girl is at piano camp, I'll be doing one of the TOPS books with Wild Man. He wants to learn about electricity, and Ga'Hoole girl never got to the electricity TOPS book. In this book, we will use everyday type of items (which were included in the Sonlight Science kits!) and learn about current, circuits, and other important electricity things.

I also have developed something called "Code H" for when I have a headache. When I have a headache so bad that I can't do schoolwork with the kids, I call a "Code H". Code H for Ga'Hoole girl means that she will do what she can do from her schoolwork list without my help and then continue until 2pm with workbook work. She is responsible for keeping the kitchen presentable and, if I'm still not feeling well in the evening, for starting dinner (usually a frozen pizza!). For Wild Man, he will do any work that doesn't require my help, then do work in his math book or Explode the Code until 11:30. He is responsible to keep the dining table cleared off during the day. When I'm feeling better, we go back to our regularly scheduled day. So, now I feel like I have a plan for days that have previously been out of control.

Well, that's our "school" schedule. I am learning to relax about the whole schooling thing. My kids have learned far more from just living as part of a family than they ever will from school books. I feel very strongly that they need to learn to communicate well, so we do lots of writing. I feel strongly that they need to know how to take care of themselves and our home. They are both learning to do their own laundry. Mostly, they need to learn about Jesus. And that comes more from watching the adults in their lives than it does from books.

We're Home!

We got back from Family Camp two days ago. We had a great week, as usual (although it was marred somewhat by some headache issues). The camp is in the Northwoods, which is just beautiful this time of year. We had one day in which the temperature didn't even hit 70 degrees! We had one rainy evening, but otherwise had great weather.

Ga'Hoole Girl did several crafts, including making a necklace with a piece of amber that she got from a nature class. Wild Man spent all his time (and money) at the archery and gun range. They have a 22 range where you can shoot, but you have to purchase the shells. Mr. Math Teacher and I just enjoyed the lovely weather and the peace and quiet.

The entire family (including Grandma) went on a loon float - the "science guy" at camp took us out in a pontoon boat to see the loons on the lake. We have done this a number of times, but this year we got to see baby loons and they came closer than they ever have before. (It is a crime to approach loons closer than 100 feet. But, our guide turned off the boat motor and we drifted and the loons came up very close to us!) We got to see the adult loons feed the babies - something we had never seen before. And, we got to hear several of the loon calls. Grandma videotaped the whole thing and made a really cool DVD!

We also went on a "Lumberjack breakfast" one morning (with about 30 other people). The guide (the "science guy" again) was a French lumberjack who took us on a walk partway around the lake while he talked about the original lumberjacks of the Northwoods. He also talked to us about the things in nature that we saw on our walk. One thing I have always liked about this man is that he relates everything back to our walk with God. When we had walked about half a mile, we came to where other staff members were cooking us breakfast on an outdoor cooking area. We had bacon, pancakes (made to order with chocolate chips or fruit added), milk, juice, and coffee.

We're still unpacking from our trip. But, we have now started reading the last Harry Potter book!! It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but the UPS tracking number didn't give any info past Friday. So, we were concerned that it wasn't going to be delivered Saturday. When we were at the grocery store, they were selling copies of the book, so we picked up a copy (for Grandma, of course). We started reading as soon as the groceries were put away. I went to get our mail late in the afternoon, and there was our copy!! Apparently, UPS had given it to the Post Office to deliver, and it was delivered on the 21st, as promised. We are hoping to finish reading it before Mr. Math Teacher and Grandma go to Florida on Wednesday. But, if not, the kids and I have a copy that we can keep reading, and Mr. Math Teacher and his mom can take the other copy to read!

Miscellaneous

Try out this link to a great article about socialization of homeschooled kids. I think it's great!

http://www.nhen.org/nhen/pov/editors/default.asp?id=157

Book reviews - July 9

As you can probably tell from my changing reading list, I have been doing a good bit of reading lately. I must say that reading real books is so much more interesting than only reading medical journals and medical charts. I have finished two more books recently, so I'll share my thoughts on them.


How Now Shall We Live? by Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey
This is an excellent book on Christian worldview and I highly recommend it. I can't say that there was a lot that was new for me, but I did get a new perspective on things. The book is split into five parts: Worldview: why it matters, Creation: where did we come from and who are we?, The Fall: what has gone wrong with the world?, Redemption: what can we do to fix it?, Restoration: how now shall we live?.

The authors make a good case for the encouragement of Judeo-Christian values throughout our culture. They also make a strong argument for our working to develop these values in ourselves, our communities, and our nation. They don't just say to get involved in politics, but say to get talking to our friends and neighbors (sounds a lot like the Great Commission!).

The one thing in the book that challenged me was their assertion that "the medium is the message" meaning that the media of pop culture (TV, videos, contemporary music) make it easy for us to become lazy. We have a hard time focusing on anything for any length of time. So, many very intelligent people don't read books because they can't/won't focus for long enough to really read anything. Our music, even Contemporary Christian, is so simple as to allow us to listen and only feel without any thinking. Now, I'm not ready to give up my CCM music, but I did take this as a reminder of the importance of having a wide variety of music in our home. So, today I put on a classical music station (I normally play classical music when the kids are doing schoolwork, but today I had it on while I was cleaning) and Wild Man sat down and just listened. Then, Mr. Math Teacher said, "The bad news is that our son is a head-banger. The good news is that he's head-banging to Beethoven!" Indeed, Wild Man was enjoying a Beethoven trio.

Reading isn't an issue in this house. We use Sonlight curriculum, which is literature based, so we read out loud every day. We also read out loud even when we aren't doing school work (we're waiting with bated breath for the next Harry Potter book!). But, I did realize that one result of our "do everything quickly" culture is that we spend very little time in devotional time. So many Bible studies are advertised as "learn this topic in as little as 15 minutes per day". If you study history, though, the people who really made a difference for Jesus spent hours a day in prayer, meditation, and studying Scripture. I'm still struggling to get in a total of 30 minutes. So, it's important to help our kids develop the habits of reading and praying in more than a cursory fashion.

My conclusion is that this is an excellent book about worldview. I think everyone will be challenged on some level, even if you are familiar with most of the material.

The Creationists: The Evolution of Scientific Creationism by Ronald Numbers
One of the first things that I noticed about this book was in the introduction. Dr. Numbers was raised as a Seventh Day Adventist, but when he was exposed to evolution, his faith didn't have good answers for him. Consequently, he is now an atheist.

That being said, he is very sympathetic to his subject and treats it fairly. Basically, the book traces Creationism (generally, literal young-earth 6 literal day creationsm) from the time of Darwin to the 1980's. It was a little difficult at times to really get engaged in the book when there were names of different men from different universities who were starting different organizations. But, I did get through, and I'm glad I did.

One of the most interesting things that I noticed was that the tenets of Young-Earth Creationism developed along with other Fundamentalist ideas, specifically premillenial dispensationalism. That isn't to say that there were no YEC'ers around before Darwin (think Ussher), but it had never really been a big deal and wasn't discussed very often. But, since many Christians saw where Darwinism leads (naturalistic materialism without a need for God), they went to Genesis and read the first several chapters very literally. The YEC thought went very nicely with those who read Revelation very literally. So, for the Fundamentalists, there was no room for a discussion of the types of literature they were reading. They read it literally, took it at face value, then went to find science to support it.

I also have concluded the importance of teaching our children real science and getting them prepared for the real world. Now, I hold to an "Old Earth Creationist" view (although this view has it's problems, too), but my kids need to know what the theory of Evolution is about, what support there is for it, and what science says that does not support it. When they start to hear evolutionary theory in college or wherever, I want them to have enough understanding to know that scientifically intelligent people can and do disagree on this topic. In addition, I want my kids to have a real relationship with Jesus - something that you don't just walk away from. I think it is very sad that learning about evolution can drive someone to atheism.

I really recommend this book for anyone interested in the creation/evolution debate. Understand that it's not really exciting, but it is very illuminating.

Public Service Announcement

Disclaimer: I got this idea from another blog - http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/c/93/2392/ten-things-to-person/.

I was going to write a top ten list of things not to say to someone with chronic migraines or other chronic illness, but I couldn't come up with ten. Then, I decided that I needed to also add what you could say that would be helpful instead of hurtful (or frustrating or just disheartening). I think people mean well but just don't know what to say to someone with chronic illness. What often comes out is not supportive. So, here's something to help you.

Top Three Things Not to Say to Someone with Chronic Migraines

1. Don't they know what causes it yet? Yes, it's called migraines, and there is no cure, just treatments. Yes, I have had my head scanned and no, I don't have a brain tumor.
2. I heard about (this, that or the other) on/in TV/magazine/internet. You really have to try it. (Variations: My family member/friend tried so&so and it really worked for them, or you should really try some diet modification since that works for some people.) Yes, I've heard and read about a zillion different treatments, and I've tried lots of them. If there was a miracle cure for migraines, my doctor and I would have come across it.
3. You have to come see my (doctor, dentist, chiropractor, etc.). I'm sure they can help you. Thank you for the thought, but I've already seen three neurologists, a couple of chiropractors, and have read everything I can about my condition.

Top Three Things to Say to Someone with Chronic Migraines

1. I'm so sorry you're still in pain. I will pray for you. And, then, pray for the person.
2. I'm so sorry you're still not feeling well. May I (bring you a meal, help clean your house, do some laundry, whatever you can offer)? Be prepared to follow through because I may take you up on it. But, if things are going pretty well right now, I might not. So, it's OK to ask again another time.
3. I'm so sorry you're still sick. I read about someone who was chronically ill but God really used them through their illness. I thought about you, because I can see God working in your life. Believe it or not, someone actually said this to me. I was walking on air for a day or so. Of course, don't say it to someone about whom it's not true. But, if you do see God working in someone's life, go ahead and tell them. This comment really put a lot of stuff into perspective for me.

She's going to camp!

Today is the day that Ga'Hoole Girl leaves for Girls' Camp. She is, understandably, quite excited about it. This is her 5th year going to camp, her second at Girls' Camp (they have the Girl's Camp for Junior High girls separate from the main camp, at a more "primitive" location). It's been interesting to watch Ga'Hoole Girl grow up these last few years. This year she didn't need any help packing, although she did ask me to "help" her, which involved sitting on her bed and talking to her. Her camp goes from Saturday to Friday. She is going to stay at a cottage near the camp with her friend and her mom on Friday night and then they are going to wash clothes on Saturday morning. Next Saturday, the rest of us will go up for Family Camp and meet her there. So, she will be away from the family for only a week, but away from home for two weeks.

The new Harry Potter book comes out the day that we come back from Family Camp. I have a copy on order at Amazon! Mr. Math Teacher and his mom are going to go to her house for a few days, so we have only four days in which to read the book. But, I'll bet we can do it! We always read these books out loud as a family - and no reading ahead!!

Book reviews:
Disciplines of the Home by Anne Ortlund
I have read good reviews of this book and I really enjoyed The Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman when I was younger. Her previous book was rather detailed about which disciplines are important, ad how to get started doing them. This book, though, is much more general. She gives two important "don't's" and 10 important "do's". The things that made the most impact on me were the recommendations to "slow down" and "cocoon". Slowing down is hard for me - I have absorbed a lot of the performance orientation of our society and am having a hard time working out of that. But, to that effect, I reduced the 4H projects that the kids are signed up for, they are each taking just one dance class next year, and I'm going to get very selective about outside activities. My goal, though, is not to isolate them, but to give them unstructured time to develop their creativity, learn things in which they are interested, and get to know our neighbors. Cocooning is also not supposed to be synonymous with isolation. Instead, it is making home the focus of the family's life. We already do a pretty good job of that. I want to be careful that we don't lose that focus when Mr. Math Teacher starts student teaching in the fall and eventually gets a job.

The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine, PhD
I read about this book on a website and thought it would be good to read. Indeed, I highly recommend it. She talks mainly about the difficulties that affluent families have in raising children. Now, it's hard to call us affluent at this time in our lives, but she makes a number of points that are helpful for all parents. One of the biggest problems for parents in affluent communities (and for parents who are achievement oriented) is that they can be emotionally disconnected from their kids (preteens and teens) but overinvolved in certain parts of their lives. So, they may never sit and chat with their kids about life but they are certain to know exactly what their grades are and to tell them exactly which classes to take. Dr. Levine recommends really spending time with our kids and spend more time helping them develop autonomy and be less enmeshed in every activity of their lives. It is also important that kids learn that there is more to life than good grades and getting into a good college. There is a whole world out there that kids need to be free to explore. She also reminds us that the values of the affluent society are very materialistic. It is extremely important that children learn values besides materialism; this book is not written from a Christian perspective, so she doesn't talk about Christian values, but I think it is clear that, as Christian parents, the best thing we can do for our kids is help them know Jesus and develop Godly values. I highly recommend this book for all parents, not just those who can say they are "affluent".

The cat and the string incident

So, Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Math Teacher was at the coffee shop with a friend, who is a vet. The kids and I sat on the sofa and were playing with Sophie, one of the cats, with a piece of yarn. Now, I have all my knitting stuff out in the living room and none of the cats has ever played with any of it, eaten it, or otherwise done anything with the yarn. So, I didn't worry about playing with a piece of yarn with the cat. She played for a while, then jumped off the sofa. A minute or so later, I looked at her and saw that she had the last inch of yarn sticking out of her mouth (it was about 12 inches long). I chased her, but by the time that I got to her, she had swallowed the yarn - EEK! The good news is that it was cotton yarn, so I wasn't worried about her getting something non-organic in her system.

I called Mr. Math Teacher, who asked his vet friend what we should do. He recommended that we give the cat some hydrogen peroxide to make her gag. So, with Ga'Hoole Girl sitting on the sofa in great distress, I took the cat in the bathroom and tried to get some peroxide down her - with very little luck. Mr. Math Teacher and his vet friend came home and the vet got some peroxide down the cat's throat. Despite this, the cat refused to gag or vomit!! The vet gave her several doses without any luck. Two days later, while changing the cat boxes, Mr. Math Teacher found documentation that the string has passed. Thanfully.

The rest of life has not been nearly that exciting. The bathroom is now painted seafoam green. Wild Man doesn't like it. I think it looks really nice with the grey tub, sink, and toilet. Ga'Hoole Girl got 1/4th of one wall painted last weekend. We'll get her room painted next, and then the stairwell and hallway.

Wild Man has been asking for his own baseball helmet for awhile now. So, he bought one yesterday with his own money (along with some baseball gloves). Mr. Math Teacher and I sprung for a new bat (his old one was way too small). Anyway, the boy loves the new helmet. He wore it all around the house yesterday, and I found it in his bed with him last night! What a silly boy!

Fireworks are tonight. The fairgrounds are just two blocks from here, so we are going to walk over. We can see the high ones from the house, but it's not much of a walk to get to see all of them.