Review: More Middle Grades Historical Novels from Susan Kilbride

Pop over to The Curriculum Choice to read my review of two more middle to lower high school level historical novels from Susan Kilbride's marvelous Our America series!

Pulling Together the Screened Porch

I love screened porches, so I was a happy girl when I found out our new house came with one. It's a little on the small side, but that's okay. It also features old indoor-outdoor carpet, ho-hum stencils, a boring ceiling fan, and a funky smell. That's not okay.

Here's the stencil that adorns the wall all around the porch.

Be that as it may, the kitchen is our main focus right now. So I had to do what I could with the porch right now. I want to enjoy it on these lovely spring days we're having in the south!

Here it is as of right this minute.

I used the indoor/outdoor rug in the kitchen at our last house. I bought it from Ballard's several years ago. And the trunk is an old flea market find, which I used as an end table in the family room at our last house. It doesn't fit nicely in this family room, so I slid it out onto the porch.

See the lamp? I bought it at an antique and decor store nearby. The base was black, so I painted it real quick with ASCP Old White. I like the natural shade as it is. Maybe one day I'll jazz it up, but it's fine for now.

I bought the lantern and the church birdhouse at the same store where I bought the lamp. I love the lantern in all its chippy rustiness! And when I reveal more of my house as it evolves, you'll note my fondness for all things bird.

For a touch of spring, I took some daisies out of my birthday bouquet and put them in this darling hobnail creamer. The matching sugar bowl is in my dining room china cabinet.

Daisies just sing "spring," don't they?

Here's one last look, complete with my glass of iced tea waiting for me. I'll just grab my latest book, The Killings at Badger's Drift (love a good Brit mystery!), and head on out to enjoy this beautiful spring weather we're having!

Linking up with:
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Be Inspired at Common Ground
Inspiration Gallery at The Golden Sycamore

She Is Too Fond of Books: Some Books I've Read Lately

It's been far too long since I've reviewed any books, which is particularly shameful to an avowed bluestocking. But don't take that to mean I haven't been reading -- I most certainly have. So I thought I'd post a list of books I've read recently, along with recommendations (or not, as the case may be). Enjoy!

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. This is a dark story, but it's extremely well written. In some places the prose is almost lyrical, which is a satisfying contrast to some of the gritty subject matter. I had no intentions of reading this book; I couldn't make it past chapter one of another of hers: The Secret History. But a friend from bookclub told me she thought I'd love it. And she was right. Another thing that made this book special: I've had the privilege of viewing the painting The Goldfinch in person and before the book burst onto the scene. I didn't have to fight my way to get an up-close look. In face, loads of people breezed right by it! Caveat: language, situations, drug use. My rating: A+

Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. I read this book in Maine over this past summer, which was particularly apropos, since it's set there. But that wasn't my first inclination to buy it. When the girls were small, we read a wonderful picture book by Eve Bunting (love her!) called Train to Somewhere about the orphan train program of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. So I was drawn to the subject matter. This is a fantastic book. Caveat: language, situations. My rating: A

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. I have to admit, it took me two tries to get into this book, but once I made the effort, I was hooked. An unusual story, well told. Caveat: language, situations. My rating: A

The Last Runaway, by Tracy Chevalier. This was pretty good, but nothing to compare, in my opinion, to Girl with a Pearl Earring or The Lady and the Unicorn. I enjoyed learning about the differences between English Quakers and American Quakers of that era, including their quilting styles. But the narrative had some glitches in it (again, my opinion) and weak spots, which I found irritating. Check out her two other books I mention if you haven't read them yet. They are better than this one. Caveat: language, situations. My rating: B-

 Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. Confession time! I hold a master's degree in English and I'd never read any Dickens (save for A Christmas Carol) until last year when the girls and I read Oliver Twist. Tiny Girl and I loved it; Miss Priss did not. Well, that experience whetted my appetite. I downloaded the free Kindle version of Bleak House and off I went. Friends, this novel is wonderful! If you think it's time for you to pick up a classic, make it this one. Caveat: situations. My rating: A+

Bellman and Black, by Diane Setterfield. If you've read the author's fabulous novel, The Thirteenth Tale, then you'll understand why I unflinchingly handed the cashier a lot of money to buy this one in hardback when I saw it in a small bookstore. Oh, to have that money back! When this story opens up, there are enough tantalizing hints that this is going to be yet another somewhat Gothic, atmospheric, deeply satisfying tale. But it never delivers on its promise. The narrative goes on and on (and on) about a businessman and his family, but nothing much actually happens to drive the story. Halfway through, I flipped to the end (yes, I do that!) to see if finishing the book would be worth my time. Alas, no. So I set it aside for something better. Now, I'm not a reader who thinks authors should write variations on a theme in all their books. In fact, I hate that. But this seemed to be written by another person entirely. Highly disappointing. My rating: In all fairness, I can't rate this book since I didn't finish it. But that should tell you all you need to know.

That's all for now. I have other books sitting beside me to review, and I'll get to them soon. Authors include Tatiana de Rosnay, Amanda Eyre Ward, and Kate Morton.

She Is Too Fond of Books: My Summer Reading

I haven’t read as much as I typically do this summer. I’ve had other things on my mind.

In fact, I have not been able to settle into summer this year, and I feel the loss of it. Instead of enjoying the moments here at the cabin, I've continually looked into the future, to our return trip and a new house.

While I was peering anxiously ahead, the future crept up behind me. We leave tomorrow.

I still fit in some reading and have a few noteworthy titles I can pass along to you:

• Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen, by Mary Sharratt
• The Last Runaway, by Tracy Chevalier
• A Man of Means and A Damsel in Distress, both by P.G. Wodehouse
• The Charming Quirks of Others, by Alexander McCall Smith
• And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
• The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult

Two books I attempted to read and just couldn’t (nothing against the books; it was just me):

• The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling
• The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge

Mostly, though, I’ve been perusing decorating magazines and ripping out pages that appeal to me. I have a whole house renovation awaiting me when I get back home. To the home I’ve never seen, that is.

Perhaps that’s why I haven’t been able to focus on reading for pleasure this summer. Duh.

Ambleside Online: The Perfect Fit for Our Family

I love a literary-based education, and Ambleside Online fills the bill for our family. Read my review of Ambleside Online and why we use it for our foundational curriculum at Curriculum Choice!

Middle Grades Historical Novels Bring the Past to Life

I recently had the pleasure of reading and reviewing three middle grades novels by Susan Kilbride, a seasoned homeschooler and homeschooling author. These books are wonderful, and my review at Curriculum Choice tells you why I think so.

Plus, Amazon is giving away FREE Kindle versions of one of the books on July 15, 16, and 17! Hurry over to Curriculum Choice to get the details!

New Sighting! Eastern Phoebe

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

I've heard mention of Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) often over the years, but I've never seen one except for photographs. But just today, I caught sight of an unusual bird perched atop the feeder pole. For a second I thought, "Mockingbird?" But it was too small and its head was darker. I thought it might be a Phoebe.

It flew away before I could grab my trusty binoculars, which I keep on the kitchen counter for bird-spying. But I looked it up in my new compendium, The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, almost 800 pages of photos and detailed descriptions, along with a CD of bird songs, featuring 150 different species. And I was right!

(I'm getting pretty good at this, actually. Ahem.)

She didn't partake of our feeder offerings, but I hope she comes back.

Rediscovering Nancy: Renewing Old Relationships with Book Characters

When the girls were babies, Himself decided they would need their own collection of Nancy Drew books. So, when  he traveled out of town, he made time to visit antique stores and flea markets, hunting for old copies still in good condition. He bought several over a period of a couple of years and then waited for the day the girls were old enough to enjoy them.

That day has finally arrived.

I'm not sure what prompted Miss Priss to decide to crack open a Nancy; Himself has, of course, encouraged her over the years, but she wasn't interested until now. She's on her fourth or fifth as of this morning.

Recently, Miss Priss and I drove to visit my Dad when he was in the hospital. On the way, she read aloud to me her favorite Nancy thus far: The Scarlet Slipper Mystery. Here's a snippet of our conversation:

[Miss Priss reads that Nancy's friends have found a letter, which is written in French.]

Me: I bet Nancy can read it, don't you?

We giggle.

Miss Priss, reading (although I'm paraphrasing; the book's not in front of me): "'Here's the letter,' he said. 'I'll translate it for you.' Although Nancy could both speak and read French, she listened intently as he read the letter.'"

We howl.

I must firmly assert here that I love Nancy. I adore her. I think she's fabulous. I also like to laugh at her perfection.

Miss Priss and I did not finish the book on our drive, so I read the rest of it by myself. And I loved every minute of it. One of my friends saw me with it and asked incredulously, "Are you reading Nancy Drew?"

I said, "Yep. It's awesome!"

It turns out my friend loved Nancy when she was younger; she can't wait for her daughter to read the books!

It's fun to rediscover old literary friends. Sometimes the reunion isn't as lovely as we would have hoped because our tastes changed as we grew up, but many times it's delightful. I've enjoyed getting to know the Ingalls girls again, for example. And it's fun to say to my daughters, "Oh, I loved this book when I was your age!" and then watch them read it and love it, too.

In fact, I've suggested to Miss Priss that she may want to try an experiment, one I did when I was in middle school. I had quite a few Nancies when I was younger (I wonder what happened to them all?), some of which were quite old. For several titles, I owned two versions: an earlier and a later. I read both versions and then compared them. There were quite a few revisions made to the later edition! Typically, the storyline was the same, but details were different. It was fun to compare the two. Nancy, her entourage, and her life details have altered over the years.

It's been a joy to watch my daughters discover literary delights I loved as a child. And I'm having a great time catching up with Nancy, whose the same as she ever was, I am happy to report.

Hmm. I wonder if Miss Priss would like to meet my friend, Trixie Belden?

Weekly Happenings: Ancient Egypt and Signs of Spring

This week we got back into the swing of things after two weeks of theater busy-ness. We still aren't up to top speed, but that will come. Next week.

Our inaugural days of participation in Project FeederWatch were Tuesday and Wednesday, our second foray into citizen science (the first being the GBBC). We saw 19 different species but not more than four of each species at a time. I also tried my hand at a chalk pastel rendering of a male bluebird! For tons of pastel inspiration, click the link at the right: A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels.

After lunch today (Friday), I made homemade oatmeal cookies and ate a lot of dough. I still feel slightly sick, but it's worth it.

We read about the Mosaic Map of Madaba and Machaerus, Herod's fortress in present-day Jordan, where John the Baptist was beheaded (website). Above, Miss Priss researches images of Machaerus. She found some neat cutaway and 3D pictures to share. Tiny Girl found us images of the mosaic on her laptop. I love it when the girls' interests are piqued and they conduct extra research on their own! Both links I've made take you to more photos and information.

We also worked on maps of Jordan. The girls have enjoyed our mapping exercises of the Holy Land. I download and print free blackline maps of each country. Then we consult our several atlases for mapping details.

I determined that our study of the ancients needed more of an Egyptian touch than AO Yr 6 scheduled, so I made some additions. Fortunately, the girls agreed (otherwise there would have been pushback -- ugh) since they've read and enjoyed Rick Riordan's Egyptian-themed novels. This week, both girls began Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of Ancient Egypt, and Tiny Girl read The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, a Newbery Honor book set in ancient Egypt. She gave it a big thumbs up. Miss Priss plans to read The Cat of Bubastes, by G.A. Henty. This title has a free Kindle edition and is also available on LibriVox, if you're looking for something to pass the hours on an upcoming car trip.

Piano recital pieces are coming along nicely. They are also working on other pieces as well. I love listening to them play! We build piano practice into our school day, and the girls' skills are really improving.

Signs of spring are everywhere. My daffodils have come and gone. The earlier azaleas are covered in buds, a few of which have already bloomed. The hydrangeas and rose bushes are leafing out, and the iris by the mailbox has sent out leaves. Ornamental pear trees are blooming everywhere (see my Weekly Happenings title photo) and so are Japanese magnolias. Ornamental cherries are covered in buds. Below are some photos I snapped during the week.

Lenten roses (hellebore) outside the historic sanctuary of my church.

Our tiny red azalea bush.

Flowering cherry trees in bud at a neighbor's house. These trees are glorious when in bloom.

I don't recall what kind of tree this is (at my church). It might be a dogwood. Time will tell.

Those are some glimpses of our week! How was your past week? Full of good stuff, I bet!

Happy weekend!

Link-ups:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
HammockTracks
Homegrown Learners

Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts -- Online

Photo credit

I'm always on the lookout for wonderful online resources that enrich our lives, particularly in the artistic or historic sense. I found two marvelous resources to share with you.

I have a fascination with illuminated manuscripts. On my first visit to London, I was crushed to find out that the Lindisfarne Gospels, a must-see on my trip, was off display at the British Library. A polite sign invited me to return in the fall, when it would be back on display. I wasn't going to be in London in the fall! Aaarrrgh!

So on my second trip to London four years later, a visit less than 24 hours in duration, I hightailed it for the library to feast my eyes. I admit I gazed (probably longer than necessary) upon the revered pages, marveling at the detail, the care, and the beauty of this amazing work.

Here is some information from the British Library website about this manuscript:

The Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the most magnificent manuscripts of the early Middle Ages, was written and decorated at the end of the 7th century by the monk Eadfrith, who became Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and died in 721. Its original leather binding, long since lost, was made by Ethelwald, who succeeded Eadfrith as bishop, and was decorated with jewels and precious metals later in the 8th century by Billfrith the Anchorite. The Latin text of the Gospels is translated word by word in an Old English gloss, the earliest surviving example of the Gospel text in any form of the English language, it was added between the lines in the mid 10th century by Aldred, Provost of Chester-le-Street. Today the manuscript is once again bound in silver and jewels, in covers made in 1852 at the expense of Edward Maltby, Bishop of Durham. The design is based on motifs drawn from the decoration of the manuscript itself.

On the off-chance you are not planning to be in London any time soon, you, too, can feast your eyes on this gorgeous work of art (and history and art history) by visiting the British Library's website and its amazing "Turn the Pages" online gallery. This gallery utilizes Adobe Shockwave, so you'll need to download that free application beforehand. But it is SO worth it. "Turn the Pages" features a Magnify function for an up-close look at the details. Another fabulous element is the Audio option, which offers interesting information on the manuscript. Or you can click the Text option to read the same information. Not every page of the manuscript is part of the "Turn the Pages" gallery, but the cross-carpet and opening pages of each gospel are on view.

However, if you don't have Shockwave, you can also view the pages here. For a quick view of the art pages only (no text), Wikimedia Commons offers these nine images.

For more information on the Lindisfarne Gospels, visit the British Library website and run a search for "Lindisfarne Gospels" to hit the motherlode. Here is a quick link to a bit of background. Also, Wikipedia offers an informative entry.

And, in case you ARE planning a visit to London this summer, don't look for the Gospels at the British Library; they'll be at Palace Green Library in Durham, to be displayed alongside the St. Cuthbert Gospel. So plan a jaunt to Durham. I've been there, and it is worth the trip. The cathedral alone (the final resting place of the Venerable Bede) is worth the trip.

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Photo credit

I was beyond excited to learn that Trinity College Library Dublin now has the Book of Kells available for viewing online. While all pages are uploaded, there are no scholarly comments as of yet. Here's an excerpt from the library's website on the Book of Kells exhibition:

The Book of Kells (Trinity College Dublin MS 58) is celebrated for its lavish decoration. The manuscript contains the four Gospels in Latin based on a Vulgate text, written on vellum (prepared calfskin), in a bold and expert version of the script known as "insular majuscule". 

The place of origin of the Book of Kells is generally attributed to the scriptorium of the monastery founded around 561 by St Colum Cille on Iona, an island off the west coast of Scotland. In 806, following a Viking raid on the island which left 68 of the community dead, the Columban monks took refuge in a new monastery at Kells, County Meath. It must have been close to the year 800 that the Book of Kells was written, although there is no way of knowing if the book was produced wholly at Iona or at Kells, or partially at each location. 

It has been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin from the mid 19th century, and attracts over 500,000 visitors a year. Since 1953 it has been bound in four volumes. Two volumes are on public view, one opened to display a major decorated page, and one to show two pages of script. The volumes are changed at regular intervals.

For some quick views of pages from the Book of Kells, check out this Wikimedia Commons page of images. And for a thorough (and excessively glowing, IMHO) exposition, read this article from Wikipedia.

Since I have no firm plans to visit Dublin, the online exhibit of the Book of Kells is really a blessing. It's not quite the same as viewing the real thing in person, but it's the next best thing. I look forward to the addition of scholarly explanations added to the website!

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Online resources for museum pieces are invaluable for history study and art study. Not only do they give us access to items thousands of miles away, they also give us means to compare similar objects. For example, a worthwhile project for older students would be to compare the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. How are they similar? How do they differ? Why were they created? Do their disparate ages have something to do with any differences? Do their respective histories have any bearing on their condition today? These are just a few areas of inquiry that pop to my mind (before I've had my coffee).

Of course, seeing these priceless artifacts in person is the peak experience. I imagine the hands that have touches the pages, now protected under glass and low lighting. Hands that worked quietly and surely, hands that smoothed pages before a sacred service, hands that seized roughly in a desperate effort to flee from raiders, hands that worked to restore the ravages of age. . . . 

Perhaps an online study will whet your family's appetite to plan a trip!

The Power of Really Good Books

Photo credit

My daughter is crying, and I'm happy about it.

I know that sounds harsh, so let me explain. She's crying over a book -- something she's never done before and has even criticized her sister for doing. "It's not real," she has said with a superior air. "It's only a book."

Only a book.

It's not that she's never connected with literature prior to this. Both my daughters are avid readers, and we make time in our day for plenty of pleasure reading. This child in particular reads while she eats breakfast and lunch. In fact, at lunch we all read. And she's known for reading aloud funny parts to share with me. She loves to read.

Over the last few weeks, she's been reading through L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. We have them all. I've only read the first, myself. She is now on Rilla of Ingleside. Rilla (for Marilla) is one of Anne and Gilbert Blythe's children, in case you didn't know. This story takes place during World War I, which is natural fodder for some complicated and tragic circumstances. One of the boys who goes off to fight is killed in France.

My daughter was devastated. She brought me the book, tears on her cheeks, and said, "Read that part," pointing to words on the page. I read it, my mouth dropped open, and my eyes flew back to her face.

She nodded and began to cry in earnest. "I can't believe he's dead!"

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Later in the day, she made several comments, such as:

"I know he's just a character, but L. M. Montgomery makes everyone seem so real."

"Poor (name of love interest), she's going to be so sad."

"Have you ever read books that made you cry?"

And at bedtime: "I can't believe I've cried so much about him. I didn't know he and I were so close!"

She and I had a lovely discussion about books that touch our hearts.

Isn't that the power of really good books? To take us out of ourselves and into another world? To be drawn in by characters so well created they seem real to us? To be delighted with their good fortunes and heartbroken at their tragedies? And to never forget them?

Finally my daughter understands. It's never only a book.

Weekly Happenings: Cathedrals, Cupcakes, and Other New Things

This was my fire on Sunday night. Himself laid it for me before he left for his hockey game -- with the girls! -- and I lit it when I was ready to settle down with Downton Abbey. Perfection.

I began working in earnest this week. NEW! It's part-time but still required a schedule revamp. My best bet is to work before the girls rise in the early morning, so that's what I did. The house was quiet, no one called my name, and there were no other distractions (e.g., the telephone). When we began our lessons, I was able to focus entirely on those since I'd already worked that morning.

In our lessons this week:

Augustus Caesar's World: Antony and Octavian triumph over Brutus and Cassius
The Story of the Greeks: the Greco-Persian wars and Pericles banishes Cimon
Explore the Holy Land: Saudi Arabia
The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone: Key to Ancient Egypt: finished up
Archimedes and the Door of Science: his love of mathematics
Animal Farm: "Four legs good, two legs better!"
Plutarch's Lives: Pericles, part five

 In composition this week, the girls added descriptions of places in their historical narratives. They wrote about Ivan IV (AKA, "the Terrible") and St. Basil's Cathedral. This led to research on the cathedral, which is absolutely astounding. I'd love to go to Moscow someday and see it with my own eyes.

On Monday, Tiny Girl entered our bird counts on the GBBC website. We finished up our study of adjectives in grammar; and Tiny Girl learned about estimating with percentages in math. In science, we learned about the four states of matter and how they can change. We added information into our NEW physical science notebooks. We also made notations in our NEW books of centuries. Piano practice continued, with recital pieces in the mix.

For pleasure reading, Tiny Girl read A Good Horse by Jane Smiley; Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll; and The White Giraffe, by Lauren St. John. Miss Priss read  Rainbow Valley, by L. M. Montgomery. I am reading Beyond the Spring, a biography of Maine naturalist Cordelia Stanwood, by Chandler S. W. Richmond.

We did other stuff, too.

Miss Priss worked on her LEGO White House.

I tried my hand at papercutting. NEW!

Tiny Girl and I spent a lot of time at the barn. Here she is doing groundwork with the ponies. Tuli is on the left, and Patrick is on the right. They are both flea-bitten greys!

I made cupcakes to take to the barn for Tiny Girl's twelfth birthday tomorrow. I ate so much of that fabulous chocolate buttercream that I feel slightly sick. It was worth it, though.

Here's one Carl Sandburg poem the girls and I enjoyed this week:

Good Night
Many ways to say good night.

Fireworks at a pier on the Fourth of July
      spell it with red wheels and yellow spokes.
They fizz in the air, touch the water and quit.
Rockets make a trajectory of gold-and-blue
      and then go out.

Railroad trains at night spell with a smokestack mushrooming a white pillar.

Steamboats turn a curve in the Mississippi crying a baritone that crosses lowland cottonfields to razorback hill.

It is easy to spell good night.
            Many ways to spell good night.


How was your week?

I'm linking up with some wonderful hostesses. Pop over for a blog-reading bonanza this weekend!

HammockTracks
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
Collage Friday
No Ordinary Blog Hop
The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Need Some Encouragement?

Sometimes we need a little boost along the way, don't we? Kind words to cheer us on (or up!). A nudge to reconsider our focus.

I recently reviewed a lovely source of all these things: Homeschooling with Purpose, by Amy Roberts of RaisingArrows.net. To read my review and get a glimpse of this ebook, pop over to the Curriculum Choice....

Weekly Happenings: A Week of Quiet

 We took it easy this week. The last two weeks were a flurry of activity, mainly due to Miss Priss's theater production. This week, she was hit with a bad cold (and actually napped twice one day -- unheard of!), and I have the winter blahs. It seemed a good time to take a little break.

But we weren't slugs by any means. Unless you count the fact that we stayed in our jammies until we absolutely HAD to get dressed.

On Tuesday, we celebrated National Pancake Day at our closest IHOP. Who can beat a free short stack of pancakes? While we were there, we talked about the positive identification of Richard III's skeleton in Leicester.

We listened to the chatter of the cedar waxwings, stopping for a few days on their annual visit. They and the robins stripped our large holly tree of its berries. I loved watching them swoop to and fro outside the picture window in my study. They were easy to distinguish from the robins because they are smaller and, when they fly, their tails flash yellow. They've now moved on, and we won't see them again until next February.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

We listened to Bach and explored a new art project, which I wrote about in detail yesterday:

The girls did quite a few art projects. They both worked on friendship bracelets. And Tiny Girl drew a picture in pastels for the upcoming Sketch Tuesday event hosted by Barb, something she hadn't done in a while.

We read nice books and drank lots of tea. I read The Tutor's Daughter, by Julie Klassen. Miss Priss read Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, and Anne of Ingleside, all by L.M. Montgomery. Tiny Girl read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, and, for even more fun, Tongue Twisters for Kids. One of the gifts she received at her birthday party last Saturday (her actual birthday is yet to come) was a Kindle! She adores it.

We're also reading The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone: Key to Ancient Egypt, by James Cross Giblin. AO's Year 6 history is light on ancient Egypt, so I added in a few resources. This is one. I want the girls to be properly informed in preparation for our trip to England. We're in the nascent stages of planning it. I've seen the stone on a previous trip and can't wait for them to have that opportunity, too.

The girls are now practicing their piano pieces for the recital in May. Each has one piece that's a bit of a challenge, so we're working through the angst of "I'll never be able to play this!" But of course they will. I'm often called to the piano during their practice time to work out a measure or two so they can hear what it should (ostensibly) sound like. And that's the extent of my piano prowess, I assure you.

It's almost time to say good-bye to Max, one of our ponies. Our lease is up, and his owners plan to send him to Kentucky to sell. We are hoping and praying that he gets another little girl who will love him as much as we have.

The girls and I both needed this week of quiet. Also, it gave me some time to research and plan some other materials we're about to pick up. In our "regular" weeks, I don't have much time to do this.

How was your week?





I'm linking up with:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
No Ordinary Blog Hop
HammockTracks
Collage Friday
The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Spend some time perusing the blogs on these wonderful link-ups for some new ideas, encouragement, and fun!

Weekly Happenings: It's Showtime!

The last two weeks have been both harried and fun. Miss Priss has been in crunch for her troupe's performance of Willy Wonka, so we've been on a reduced school schedule. She's been at the theater for rehearsals from 4:30 PM until 10:30 PM weeknights and from noon til five last Saturday. Midnight has been our bedtime for several nights now. So we've been sleeping in. And staying in our jammies until we have to get dressed.

I've been involved, too. I worked the green room one evening; I provided the staff meal with another parent; I proofread the program for two evenings; I worked with props, hot gluing bagels and pastries to platters; I ran a couple of errands; and I picked up the staff meal last night and will again tonight before the performance. Oh, and I'm working concessions with another parent.

It's been exhausting and wonderful, all at the same time. The cast members are aged between 12 and 17 years old, and they have worked really hard. So has the backstage crew and the staff. I've had an up-close and personal look at all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and it is considerable!

Thursday night was opening night, and the show was fabulous. Last night was great, too. Two shows today, and then we can all collapse! Until the end of February, when Tiny Girl's production swings into high gear.

As far as school goes, we've stayed on top of our scheduled readings and math. Grammar, spelling, composition, logic, and a few extras fell to the wayside for a couple of weeks. We'll get back to them this coming week.

• Plutarch's "Pericles": Lesson 4, in which Pericles one-ups his political rival by throwing a bunch of parties for the masses
• Augustus Caesar's World: Octavian runs Marc Antony out of Rome, takes a consulship by force, and then joins up with Antony and Lepidus to form a triumvirate. Senseless bloodshed and murder, including the death of Cicero
• Story of the Greeks: athletic games; the birth of the theatre; Draco and his (Draconian) laws; Solon's better laws
• Explore the Holy Land: Iraq
• Animal Farm: Chapter 7
• Archimedes and the Door of Science: Chapter 5, in which Archimedes shouts "Eureka!" and solves the mystery of King Heiro's (or is it Hiero?)  crown
• In math, Tiny Girl worked on dividing decimals, and Miss Priss reviewed fractions

Miss Priss is reading and enjoying Kiss the Dust, a novel about a Kurdish family forced to flee Iraq during Saddam Hussein's regime. Tiny Girl will read it next.

Today, Saturday, we are celebrating Tiny's 12th birthday. The actual date is February 23, but she wanted to take some friends to see her sister's play, so we're partying today. I made cupcakes with a delicious chocolate buttercream frosting. I'll share the recipes later.

Happy weekend!

I'm linking up with:
HammockTracks
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
No Ordinary Blog Hop

Weekly Happenings: Back in Action

 The last two weeks have been quite busy, and I've neglected my blog. That weighs heavy on my mind, let me tell you. Blogging is my one real creative outlet, and if I'm away from it too long I feel. . .  weird. Dissatisfied. It's hard to explain.

But one of the things taking me away from the blogosphere is paying work, and that makes my heart happy.

Anyway. The girls and I swung back into action last week. For the most part, they enjoy Year 6, term two readings. Animal Farm is not a favorite of my eldest, despite our background discussion earlier this week. "I can understand what it's about, Mama, but I still don't have to like it." Too true; but that doesn't change the fact that you have to read it.

But Augustus Caesar's World and Story of the Greeks continue to delight. I think it helps that a lot of the material is familiar to us. We learned about Julius Caesar's death and the following wars in Plutarch's Life of Brutus. And we've covered many of the Greek stories in our myth readings in previous AO years.

In math, Tiny Girl and I turned back to Master Math sixth grade video lessons and worksheets. This week, we covered decimal/fraction conversions. Miss Priss is swinging right along at Mathnasium and is due for her first assessment since joining. We are very interested to see what the results will be!

On Wednesday, we visited the Genghis Khan exhibit at a nearby museum. WOW is all I can say. The exhibit was really well done, and we learned a lot. We all brought along our sketch pads and sketched a few items that interested us.

On Friday, I got my brand new computer all set up and running. Yippee! Our old desktop was doing the best it could, but new technology made it glacially slow. The new desktop was my Christmas gift, and I picked out everything just like I wanted it.

All our activities have kicked in. This week, the girls attended drama class, piano lessons, and Mother-Daughter Bingo night with Girl Scouts. Only Miss Priss and I enjoyed the latter; Tiny Girl spent the afternoon and evening at the barn on the first sunny day we'd had for a week!

I also managed to make a loaf of no-knead white bread on Thursday evening. If you haven't tried this recipe, I highly recommend it!

So that's our week in a nutshell!

I'm linking up with:
Hammock Tracks
No Ordinary Blog Hop
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

New Term, New Books!

Yesterday found us easing back into our lessons after a lovely holiday season. A new term often means a a couple of new books, but this time it means quite a lot of new titles, since the Ambleside Online history cycle winds us back to the ancients in term 2 (of Year 6). Yay! For history, our new books are Augustus Caesar's World and Story of the Greeks. Our science biography swings back to ancient times as well with Archimedes and the Door of Science.

Other new titles this term are:

• Animal Farm
• Plutarch's Pericles
• The Sea Around Us
• The Story of David Livingstone (Technically, this book begins in Term 1, but I scheduled things differently. I'm totally a tweaker.)

Other new joys await in the form of Bach and Renoir, the artist and composer we're studying this term, and poet Carl Sandburg. His work is quite a jolt after Robert Frost, whom we all loved. Miss Priss was unimpressed by yesterday's poem, Jazz Fantasia. I can see she's going to take some convincing that Sandburg is worth reading.

Good stuff!

She Is Too Fond of Books: Review of The Girl in the Glass

I detest book reviews that summarize a book’s plot because the reviewer always gives away some detail (typically more than one) that readers would prefer to discover themselves. It happens all the time.

However, I cannot resist reviews that communicate things like, I loved this book; I cannot stop thinking about this book; I want to share this book with you; I think you’ll love this book, too; and here’s why.

Deftly weaving together the threads of three women’s lives, Susan Meissner has created a book as rich and evocative as Florence, Italy, itself. The Girl in the Glass gives us Meg Pomeroy, a book editor house-sitting in a cottage in California. Her job is the only solid thing in her life. A fragmented childhood, a broken engagement, and an unfulfilled promise from her father give Meg’s life an untethered quality, and her dream of visiting Florence, Italy, the home of her beloved Nonna, lies always in her heart. It is possible to be homesick for a place one’s never been.

Through her friend and client, Lorenzo, who lives in Florence, Meg receives a manuscript written by Sofia Borelli, another Florentine, who claims to be descended from the Medicis. Sofia makes other eccentric and mysterious assertions, such as the ability to hear the voice of a Medici ancestress, Nora Orsini, through works of art. Though more than a bit dubious of such claims, Meg is drawn into Sofia’s story, and her desire to visit Florence strengthens

Interlaced between Meg’s story and Sofia’s manuscript is Nora herself. A child of the Italian Renaissance, Nora reflects on her short life on the eve of her wedding to a man she barely knows. Despite her precarious childhood, Nora clings to the secret of the “girl in the glass,” a secret her nurse told her years ago. This same secret serves to benefit Meg and Sofia, as well.

Meissner’s plot is well paced, with surprising twists and intriguing developments, and her descriptions are vivid, conveying a strong sense of place. Through her characters’ lives and circumstances, Meissner skillfully and elegantly addresses themes of loss and faith; reality and imagination; instability and perseverance; and the qualities of love. Although the book begins slowly, it quickly gains momentum and pulls readers into Meg’s life. The denouement is fully satisfying, even though some questions remain unanswered – just like in real life.

The Girl in the Glass is one of the better books I've read lately. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Moreover, Meissner's descriptions are so well written that I found myself daydreaming about Florence! I'm thrilled to discover an author new to me; I'll be reading more from her.

To whet your appetite, here's chapter one of The Girl in the Glass on Scribd.com.

 I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

She Is Too Fond of Books: And Here's What Happened

The family and I were watching a movie on Sunday evening when a thunderous BANG interrupted us and set the corgis to ferocious barking. At first we thought it came from outside, but then Himself suggested upstairs. So up the stairs everyone flew.

Here's what greeted us, only it was a lot messier:

The top two overburdened shelves of my bedroom bookshelf collapsed under the weight of my books. The resulting pile was staggering. I stacked them up so I could get to my side of the bed. In case you're wondering, the books lined up to the left of the bookshelf are always there. I don't have room anywhere else.

My other bookshelves are just as bad. And there's no budget for new bookshelves just now.

If you are like me and books adorn every room in your house, do yourself a favor and check the shelves' stability!

She Is Too Fond of Books: Review of The Giver

Last week on the Ambleside Online forum, someone asked about Lois Lowry's book, The Giver. Since I read it last month, I felt free to respond. After I wrote my post, I thought I might let you in on this thought-provoking title as well.

From Wikipedia:

A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of utopia. Such societies appear in many works of fiction, particularly in stories set in a speculative future. Dystopias are often characterized by dehumanization, totalitarian governments, environmental disaster, or other characteristics associated with a cataclysmic decline in society.

The community, the setting of The Giver, is a perfect example of a dystopia. On the one hand, life in the community is orderly, safe, and happy. Members pursue careers perfect for their gifts and personalities. Senior citizens are pampered and well cared for. Families encourage everyone to talk about his or her feelings and dreams. Honesty and truth are valued.

The first half of the book sets the stage. The reader learns what it's like to live in this community. It seems a good and pleasant place. Some of the strictures seem weird, but perhaps it's just a small price to pay for the multitude of benefits. Who wouldn't want meals delivered and all dishes washed? Who wouldn't want to work in the career best suited to one's gifts and talents and enjoyment? It's tempting. . . .

And yet.

In striving to do what's "best" for its members, the community's totalitarian government, the Committee of Elders, has taken control of almost all decisions: what to wear, what to eat at meals, whom to marry, how many children to have, what career to follow, when to get a bike, what to name your child, what music to listen to. . . . all for the sake of peaceful community living. Everything runs smoothly, and when it does not, steps are quickly taken to remedy the situation.

In fact, some of the government's decisions are quite surprising, and Lowry reveals these a little at a time as they come up in the narrative. To me, this is a mark of a brilliant story-teller.

In the second part of the story, Jonas, the twelve-year-old protagonist, becomes the mentee of a very important member of the society. In his training, he learns the dark side of the community. His mentor, the Giver, accepted these "drawbacks" and lived with the knowledge. What will Jonas decide to do himself?

Lois Lowry has written an exceptional book, one that makes readers think. Moreover, it ends on a hopeful note, something I look for and appreciate in children's literature. I'd list The Giver as a middle grades and up novel. My grade: A+

Caveat: You may want to pre-read this book if your child is highly sensitive (or wait until your child is older). There is one particularly upsetting scene that might not be right for certain readers; however, this scene is crucial to the overall plot.