•56 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - currently reading •51 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH •50 Summer of the Swans
•47 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler •42 A Wrinkle in Time •37 Rifles for Watie
•36 Miracles on Maple Hill •35 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch •34 The Wheel on the School •31 Ginger Pye •30 Amos Fortune, Free Man •29 The Door in the Wall •28 King of the Wind •27 The Twenty-One Balloons •24 Rabbit Hill •23 Johnny Tremain •18 Thimble Summer •15 Caddie Woodlawn •9 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years •8 The Trumpeter of Krakow •2 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
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"What happens when a small group of saints gathers in a clapboard community
church somewhere out in the sticks? At their call to worship, they ascend
to t...
Have you ever tried *Bible copywork* in your homeschool? Not only
does your child get to practice spelling, penmanship, reading, punctuation,
and gra...
What could be better on a homeschool mama’s blog this time of year than a
“Home and Garden 101″ series (which is happily sponsored by Central Pet &
Garden ...
The other day, Corinne gave a heads up to Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal’s sparkly
Pre-AFCC Glitter posts – well, today’s features Corinne herself – so head
on ove...
*1*
Einstein is rather excited this week as he now has his Learner's Permit!.
Our third child to take to the road under supervision.
*2*
Bass did after a...
Not that I’m switching curriculum because it’s AO every time. We’ve come
far from our start with CM/AO and I’m impressed with my kiddos. We still
won’t cov...
When I got the Waterproof Bible from Bardin & Marsee Publishing in the
mail, I thought how interesting. At first, I thought it was a kind of a
strange i...
*Let's Prepare Our Kids for the Future *
*by Susan Stephenson*
Regular readers of The Book Chook will have picked up by now that I believe
strongly in t...
Creating your own curriculum doesn’t mean working out all the lessons.
Sometimes we think that because we are working out our children’s
curriculum that we...
I've had precious little personal experience with the infamous piranha, *
thankfully*.
Besides that one time I went swimming in a lake full of them. Yep. ...
Wow, it's been a whole year since I posted on my blog! We have been busy
with the newest little (big) member of our family. Lucas was born between
Christ...
Probably the easiest way to involve my husband in our homeschool over the
years has been to provide him with a living book to read aloud to the kids.
If ...
I thought I'd share some of our reads today. These books below are what I have read aloud to Blossom today
I just wanted to give you a taste of the illus...
I hope you've all had a wonderful Mother's Day today!
We've enjoyed the end of a warm autumn spell, a leisurely drive up to the
scenic Mount Macedon wit...
La historia de la foto al final.
Como muchos sabréis, comencé a escribir en el blog llamado Charlotte Mason
en español, con la intención de acercar al...
To all the mothers out there.
Mothers of children
and those who mother and share
their love and compassion
with others
in many different ways.
Often unreco...
I found a good book for sale at the library a while ago which I think fills
my desire to add something about Native Canadians into Year 2 - so I am
addin...
It has been a turbulent time in my soul. Some days are great then, just
like that, something can trigger my depression and the tears come. I just
go w...
"Allegorical Figure of Grammar," by Laurent de la HyreIf your children have
their sights set on college, make sure they are prepared for college-level
comp...
*If any of my readers, visiting Rome, will make the short journey to the
Catacomb of San Calixto, which is more ancient than that of San Sebastiano,
he wil...
Well another weekend has just about finished. Pretty soon, it will be time
to get the children to do their evening chores and prepare for school
tomorrow.
...
[image: round button chicken]
We're winding down our Golden Week over here. We weren't able to travel
far from home this time, but we have managed to get...
I missed my rays of sunshine whilst at work.
Probably the single-most question I am asked is how we home schooled during this year "abroad" while running a...
I've been a bit absent from blog land for the past couple of months, just
visiting from time to time as my time and moods allow:)
I've been through some se...
In order to add you to the private readership I need an email address.
Those who wish to continue reading would you please send an email through
to ganeida...
*Don't worry!* It is the last post of THIS BLOG. I have merged all my
posts from all the very many blogs I have expanded to with time, and I have
consolid...
Firstly, Happy New Year!
Here's hoping 2013 is a year of blessings and new adventures!
The days are hot and sunny here and it feels like summer is stretch...
*I* love blogger but it has issues. It does not want to send me my
emails. It does not want to notify me when your blogs are updated. It
spits comments ...
We usually keep Thanksgiving pretty simple with just the four of us. I
didn't even cook a turkey this year. The kids like chicken better anyway.
That we ...
[image: water buffalo]
A few little thumbnail studies and fun with Eowyn and Leilani.
Water buffaloes feature in the dream of one of the characters in 'I...
Corn husks, twine, & fabric scraps make autumn decorations,
and step-by-step, they build attention spans in the group, too.
The handicrafts we make in our...
I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have someone up on a
pedestal. For example, I always had my Mom up on a pedestal. I truly
thought that if...
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to my daughter’s school and meet her
teachers for parent-teacher conferences. It was a super-huge, proud-momma
ev...
The week didn’t really start in the most positive manner! Monday morning
work went well and we headed off to homeschool group where we had a speaker
comi...
Wow! It's been a year since I last logged on here and posted a blog
message. Can't believe how fast the time has flown.
For those that may take the time to...
Love this website. http://www.theydrawandcook.com Have just ordered this
book for Miss Molly 9yr old. She loves to draw and loves to cook! Hopefully
this ...
This is what our shopping cart looks like these days. The cashier thought
it must be some sort of project or experiment; she said people don't
usually bu...
Or: A walk around my neighbourhood.
Vic suggested this little game we could play. We all go for a walk and
take certain photos as we go. This was great ...
I’m sitting at our kitchen table as I write this. The sun is shining
through the slats of the blinds. I can look through and see our dog
fossicking about i...
I will make this blog private on Monday next week. If you would like to
follow me on His Pen on My Heart, you will need to do so soon. Thanks for
your lo...
Mum was telling us yesterday of an incident that she recalls when Don first
married Margaret & they were renting a house opposite from her, they used
to le...
Unlike the rest of the country, the weather in Seattle has been cool for
several weeks now. In fact, our "Summer" (and I use that term very loosely)
never ...
If you're seeing this at springvaleacademy.blogspot.com, it's time to head
back over to www.anordinarymom.com ! It looks a bit different, ok a lot
differen...
Hi,Haven't posted for a while!Been busy reorganising curriculum and touring Disneyland!We took the girls down from Sunday to Thursday last week. The boys sta...
I'll be up front and say that I was bullied in school. I had someone kick
the back of my knee (to make me stumble and fall) as I was walking down a
set of ...
We're an Australian homeschooling family. We're passionate about the educator Charlotte Mason, the Ambleside Online curriculum, MEP maths, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia, Japanese aesthetics, French language, Asian travel, children's literature, our garden, and living a peaceful life in the country.
Please leave us a comment if you visit - and especially if you enjoy a particular post - it means a lot to us to know you've enjoyed visiting us!
Sometimes Edith Schaeffer's favourite phrases make me a little crazy.
"It is possible," she keeps saying in Chapter 5 of *The Hidden Art of
Homemaking*. ...
This week for the blog post I would like for everyone to read a short
portion of an article from the 1915 Parents’ Review, “Impressions of
Conference work ...
The day dawned bright and sunny. Well, as sunny as it's ever gonna get in
pollution-filled Beijing. We were up early to meet the driver Leo had
organised ...
Dear Friends,
I have worked on the skirt some more and I really like it! I am not sure
though if I am 100% satisfied. Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. My ...
These books are free at the time of listing. This can change, so be sure to
check the cost first, before you download. You do not need a Kindle to take
adv...
As they say, when it rains, it pours! That has definitely happened to our
home library lately. Some children were given gift cards for birthdays and
specia...
We’ve had a whole lot going on around here, from the youngest child’s last
day of preschool to the eldest child’s college graduation, and all sorts of
thin...
Time for another game! This one is new to us, even though 5ive Straight is
marketed as being a long-time family favorite. It made its debut appearance
back...
If I’ve learned something since the last time I posted it’s that I can’t
teach a class, volunteer, hold down a job, and write a blog. If I’ve
learned somet...
If you are in the habit of reading homeschooling blogs at all, you’ve
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Anthony Andrews as Eden in "Marvelous Year for Plums"
Many readers know that I'm taking a break from this blog to work on a
novel. Among those who are inspi...
Family Traits - Exercising an Interest
On the margin of this blog is a favorite quotation of mine by the early
American artist Benjamin West (1738-1820)...
This spring I am learning to treasure a certain Charlotte Mason phrase more
deeply than ever. Charlotte talked about recognizing “the familiar face of
a ...
Edited to add: I have to share the irony of my blogging blunder. My post
was live and being shared via social media, and I suddenly realized I never
added...
In this competitive world we live in, our kids try out and audition for
things all the time, hoping to be the best. Hoping to make the team. We
encourage t...
::Je ne sais pas comment décrire en mots la joie que je ressens lorsque les
signes de l'été commencent à se montrer... Le matin, c'est le soleil qui me
fai...
Coconut Rice Bubble Crisps made by my Ess last week.
Last week Ess made us these delicious biscuits almost entirely
independently, as well as transformi...
Here are some pictures taken at O'Neill Regional Park on March 30th to give
you an idea of what's blooming this Spring. Some of the pictures are
blurry, bu...
Hello friends! See the above little buttons of deliciousness? So much
yumminess in such a little, er.. button. Why are they called Chocolate
Peanut Butter ...
Congratulations to Tiffany, the winner of last week's Friday Giveaway.
Tiffany, if you'll send me your email address, I'll send you a digital
giftcard to ...
It is in these last days of autumn when our light becomes scarce that those
of us in the winterland take every chance we can of escaping our cozy
caves. T...
I am currently working on Cats & Mice by Jade Starmore I am using Jamiesons
Spindrift in colours of my own choosing. This is a lovely knit, much easier
tha...
Ethan has a phone in his hand, and is talking Matty language to Matty who
is on his regularly held hand phone. So funny. Wish I had a video camera
with...
I have a confession to make: I am not a fan of potlucks. I’ve always found
it to be a lot of pressure and kind of take them too seriously. But
bringing a...
the most incredible "secret beach" of Bouno-tsu
Sakura-jima at dawn.
beautiful satsuma-kiriko glassware museum
Digging through some old photos, I foun...
Toshihisa Fudezuka‘s stunning exhibition at Yoseido Gallery is untitled,
but I would venture to give it one of my own –”Matters of the Heart.” Over
the las...
Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and
fearlessness.
If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.
...
Rick Daddario is amazing. If you have not visited his site, please do. He
writes, he creates, he inspires. Best of all, he encourages. That
encourageme...
Flora in Triptych - drypoint etching
Flora - close upFlora - close up
Succulent blossom in dirty blue - drypoint etchingFragments - drypoint
etching
I've be...
[image: photo tsunami_3-11-11_20110311_640_480_APKyodo_zps159a3d9f.jpg]
Image: AP Photo/Kyodo News
It's hard to believe that two years have already passed s...
Photos this Post by Kenji Miura Shiokara, or more precisely ika no shiokara, is most often described as “fermented squid guts.” No surprise that I mistakenly...
it turns out, in 2012 i had even less time to blog. i started a new full
time job, and am now in the final stages of dissertation writing. craft
project ...
Images of the current installation at Mr Kitly gallery.
It is soooo great to have this show.
Ceramics by Bridget Bodenham (Austrtalia) and Yu Kobaya...
First, please let me apologize for the long absence. As regular readers are
aware, Deep Kyoto has been hacked repeatedly over the last three months and
the...
Un livre japonais
Livres du Japon
Japonica
A Japanese Book
Books from Japan
Nippon Nihon
日本の本
日本からの本
Libraire
Bookseller
Bookshop
Bookstore
Minute antiquari...
Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Woolen Moss Farm & Studio. In Kate's words: "My Etsy shop is dedicated to quality handmade clothing ma...
:: enjoying the sunlight after some heavy rain. Our weather here has been very changeable with lots of short sharp rain and and hail showers interspersed wit...
today was cleaning day. cleaning day is always a little dull and always
seems to roll around way too quickly for my liking. i do not have a
specific day of...
Elizabeth Drew
References to Watergate, impeachment, even Richard Nixon, are being tossed
around these days as if they were analogous to the current so-ca...
I've been waiting all week to feel happier. To feel reconciled to recent
events, to create a fragile peace and you know what? I suck at it. I'm as
good at...
Jessica Mitford (whose superpower was muckraking) and Wonder Woman!
Thanks to Anna of dudguacamole.tumblr.com for sending in this fitting duo.
Do you hav...
The global craft community, and indeed the community in general have been
deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Kathreen and Rob. It's impossible to
fath...
Last week we posted the first steps for throwing your own weekend bike
riding adventure with friends. We were dogged with rain for what felt like
weeks, bu...
Image and text by Gabrielle. Hello, Friends. How are you? I hope you’ve had
a wonderful week! My family was so delighted to be back to a normal
schedule. H...
I love the look of leggings on little boys, and these ones, by new
Californian brand Mason and the Tambourine, I just couldn’t resist! All
the leggings by...
Well I was suppose to have mother's day last week but it kind of all blew up, so we rebooted and had it this week. David took me and the girls to my favorite...
[photo by Phoebe] Stockport this time. 200 miles there, 200 miles back, seven hours in the car, two tired eyes because I was on my own. I feel I'm getting to...
For the specific fabrics used in Palette No. 17, please subscribe to CLOTH
& KIND’s emails. Details for each textile are provided exclusively to our
email ...
Antique and reproduction tiles sourced / designed by Sonya Marish of Jatana
Interiors, who runs her business from Federal on the NSW North Coast.
Photo – ...
I'm looking forward to conducting simple living workshops at Stockyard
Creek in the Lockyer Valley this weekend. I love meeting people who are
open to new ...
Remember Mags? Yep, she's back! You can find her in kit form right HERE! She has one previously available dress fabric and four new ones. There's Betsy: And ...
I'm really into this look at the moment........
I really adore the postage stamp, postcard look, its beautiful but I wanted
to make something fresh..th...
this is to me one reminder I am a diamond I´m able to follow my dreams to
listen to my heart bought in Stockholm when days were a bit tough a
reminder of w...
Hello, dears - I am still here... sort of, anyway. I am now deep in moving
hell. Lots of cardboard boxes. I move to Washington, DC in less than a
month. T...
From May 13–19 we celebrate Children’s Book Week, a great time to look at
old classics and new favorites. Last year for Scholastic Book Clubs, I
worked wi...
Someone in my house recently turned eight, and as you all know, almost the
only time I buy previously unused books are for the holidays and birthdays.
Th...
With winter creeping up, a tad too fast...
Out came the chunky wool...
This is a new skirt pattern that I have finished...
It's so comfy...
And a lit...
[image: my camelia]
[image: in the garden]
As the seasons have changed so has my small garden of pots. The basil and
chilies have come out and the spinac...
Third time lucky!
[image: Cover page of Tintin in Tibet] Tintin in Tibet After two
unsuccessful attempts to award a free Tintin book in my giveaway, the l...
Hello I'm sorry I've been away for so long. Almost a year. So much has happened. There's been a lot of sadness and pain, as the marriage between Hugo and I h...
The new Book By Its Cover site is in development (thanks to Jenny) and I’ll
start posting updates as we get closer to the launch. In the meantime, I
want t...
Come on over to our new home: theredthreadblog.com.
If you are a subscriber to this blog’s feed you should be automatically
redirected to the new domai...
Next month the new picture book by Anna Walker will be released and we are
so looking forward to it. Anna just released this trailer for Peggy this
morning...
We have been keeping a keen eye on the sun... without looking right at it of course. Winter Solstice is coming and we have been watching the path of the sun ...
Kid’s literature and playrooms have long included castles and kingdoms,
kings and queens, knights and dragons. In my 1970s toy box Fisher Price
reigned sup...
Parfois, un nuage dans le ciel ressemble à une brouette, l'ombre d'un chat
à un loup-garou et la tête de votre collègue à un cactus. Quand Sandrine
Boulet ...
My [MONA x +] scarf. Crocheted as we drove to Hobart for opening of [MONA x +] a couple of weekends ago. No pattern - it just grew, and found a life of it's ...
My family got lost in Kara Kara State Park yesterday. All of them. Husband. Daughter. Dog.
I first learnt about it by text at 11:48 am, 2 hours and 48 minutes after they'd set out for a short postprandial stroll. It was probably a good thing that I learned about it so late, actually, since I was supposed to be concentrating on the conference speaker, and I certainly was not after I received that text. Fortunately, it was not many minutes after that first message that I received a second, letting me know that they had worked out their location using the map on hubby's trusty iPhone. Only thing was, Taltarni, where they were, was a rather long way from Warrenmang where I was, so I had to wait a good while longer before they actually walked through the door.
I was kinda happy to see them.
Apart from a raging thirst (Who goes for a walk in the Australian bush without water, I ask you. Easy to see that my husband is a British alien), and rather sore feet, they were no worse for wear, although all three did sleep particularly soundly last night. The dog, in particular was shattered.
Now that they're home safe and sound, it really is a great adventure - a story to dine out on as it were. Things like this are always funner after the event, aren't they?
Here are some photos of the first part of their journey. They stopped taking happy snaps for Mummy when things got serious.
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by Michael Hague
Alphabears by Kathleen Hague, illustrated by Michael Hague
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham, illustrated by Michael Hague
Michael Hague's Favourite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
A Siamese Fairy Tale by W. Somerset Maugham illustrated by Fleur Brofos Asmussen
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling illustrated by Nicola Bayley
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll illustrated by S. Michelle Wiggins
Bonjour, Babar by Jean de Brunhoff
Stuart Little by E. B. White illustrated by Garth Williams
A Treasury of Kate Greenaway Stories
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and Roberto Innocenti
The Wombles by Elisabeth Beresford illustrated by Nick Price
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien illustrated by Michael Hague
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie illustrated by Scott Gustafson
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams
Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond
There are some very beautiful illustrated editions of those-books-children-must-read. Here are some of them. I have a soft spot for Michael Hague's illustrations, as you can see!
I'm enjoying these posts. I hope you are too. Is your favourite children's classic pictured here? Tell me about it! Let me know in the comments if you'd like to hear more about one of the books pictured.
Yes, I'm still loving our new library. We went to purchase more bookshelves for the opposite wall from IKEA last week, but did you know there is a nation-wide shortage of Expidit bookcases? We'll have to wait for a month for more to arrive. The things we need to endure. Sigh.
Something is eating our next-door-neighbour's beautiful elm tree. It's a teensy little white caterpillar that's skeletonising the leaves. I do hope that the fact that it is autumn and the tree would drop its leaves naturally about now means that it will survive, because its really old and really beautiful, and if it dies, I, for one, will be really sad.
The skeletonised leaves are beautiful though, aren't they?
Anyone have any ideas as to what the little beastie might be?
But a child cannot dream parts of speech, and any grown-up twaddle attempting to personify such abstractions offends a small person who with all his love of play and nonsense has a serious mind.
Charlotte Mason A Philosophy of Education p210
Hey everyone, I know Miss Mason didn't like M. L. Nesbitt's Grammar-Land, but we've been really enjoying it this term.
The little story is a bit contrived - after all, it is about a courtroom of personified abstractions, but it does help illustrate the various parts of speech, and the application exercises at the end of each chapter are excellent.
We rarely use worksheets, since most of them are painful busywork, but these worksheets put together by a homeschool mum have proved to be most enjoyable. I simply printed them out and bound them with a cover into a book. Jemimah does an exercise each week, and they take about five minutes.
Latin is a language
As dead as dead can be.
It killed the mighty Romans
And now it’s killing me.
You will know from previous posts that if there is an easy way of approaching a subject, that’s probably the method we’ll be using in our Peaceful Home. 'Keep it Simple' is my motto.
Latin is a case in point. There are some pretty erudite homeschooling mammas out there, and some of them are teaching some rather impressive Latin. Their kids are learning the five declensions and four conjugations while still in primary school. They know the indicative, imperative and subjunctive, and are perfect in the pluperfect. Remarkable.
Now I know my student fairly well, and I am quite aware that she is not going to enjoy that sort of teaching. She really isn't. To begin with, her English grammar isn't anywhere near the level required for serious Latin study. Possibly, neither is mine. Okay, definitely. Secondly, she just isn't up for the type of rote memorising that goes with that method of instruction.
To be honest, neither am I. It sort of doesn't fit with my philosophy, y'know? It smacks of Classical homeschooling rather than CM homeschooling, I reckon. There is a difference. Even if I'm not quite sure what it is.
Charlotte Mason realised that studies of this type are not attractive to young children.
Of grammar, Latin and English, I shall say very little here. In the first place, grammar, being a study of words and not of things, is by no means attractive to the child, nor should he be hurried into it...Therefore, if he learns no more at this early stage than the declensions and a verb or two, it is well he should learn this much, if only to help him see what English grammar would be at when it speaks of a change in case or mood, yet shows no change in the form of a word.
Charlotte Mason Home Education p295
AO introduces English Grammar very slowly into Primary School at Grade 4 level, the same year that Latin is begun. Over the next three years the student gradually learns the nine parts of speech and a few other things in preparation for serious grammar study in secondary school. I figure that that's the time for serious Latin study too - Secondary School.
Moods and Tenses
Bother my senses
Adverbs, Proverbs make me roar.
Irregular Verbs
My sleep disturb
They are a regular bore.
When Jemimah moves into AO7 - next year, oh my! - we will be studying Latin using the Cambridge Latin Course that her father and I both used at school. It's a rigourous English Classical Latin programme (that is, it was published in the UK) and is highly regarded, but the main reason I'm using it is that in my memory, Latin using this course was fun. Each of the first year's lessons contained a little story about Caecilius, a banker in Pompeii, his wife Metella, Quintus their son and Cerberus the family mut. There was a list of vocab, and a little bit of grammar and culture, introduced where it is necessary to proceed. I want my daughter to learn Latin like this too. Caecilius and Metella are my friends. (Pompeii is not the best place for you to be living, people. Please move!)
But enough about Cambridge Latin - we're not using that yet.
In the mean time, while Jemimah's in Primary School, we decided on Minimus Latin. It, too, is published by Cambridge University Press, which is the reason that I first looked at it, and has a similar layout to the Cambridge books, but the real reason I chose Minimus for Jemimah is because it looked like it kept Latin simple. Simple and enjoyable. There are two books - Minimus: Starting Latin is for kids 7-10 (We started in AO4 when Jemimah was 9) and Minimus Secondus: Moving on in Latin for 11-13 year olds.
If you were keen you could easily complete a book easily in a year - there are 12 lessons per book. We've managed to find plenty to keep us interested for what will be the three years AO4-6, though, doing Latin for two short lessons a week.
What I have loved is how many of Charlotte Mason's methods we can fit into our study using this course. The year, in particular, as our history rotation is in ancient times, I've also loved all the overlap between Latin and our history subjects. Education is the Science of Relations, and it has certainly not been difficult to make connections this term!
Most lessons we read a little story first, which introduces the subject and grammar for the chapter. The stories are in picture form, so you can guess intelligently at what you're reading without having to look up every vocabulary word. The vocab lists are arranged according to the parts of speech, allowing similarities of form to be discerned more easily. After Jemimah narrates back in English - or occasionally using a few Latin sentences if she really wants to impress, we might have a bit of a closer look at the grammar and do one of the short activities to reinforce what we've learned. The Teacher's Guide (which is critical unless you're a much better Latin Scholar than I am) contains worksheets - some of which are time-wasting busy work, and most of which are not. Sometimes there's a game to play - Jemimah loves those - or a map for CM style map work - I love those. Sometimes there are craft activities. We generally skip them. Sometimes the book explores the Latin roots of English words and we orally run through a few. Sometimes, but not too often, there's a written activity. Each lesson also contains historical information about Roman life, and often a myth as well. This information reinforces what we are learning in our literature and history subjects just beautifully! All so easy!
The course also contains a series of little readers. Some weeks we read through one of those for a few days in a row until the vocabulary is learned. Jemimah tries to narrate these in Latin after she's heard them a few times and know the story well. These readers are a great way of reinforcing what we've studied in the lessons.
The stories in the Minimus books focus on a real life family who lived at Vindolanda in Roman Britain in 100AD. Flavius is the fort commander, and his family includes his wife Lepidina, their three children, assorted household slaves, their cat Vibrissa - and Minimus the mouse. We know of their existence from the famous Vindolanda writing tablets.
This term especially, I've been impressed with the number of times our history and Latin lessons have coincided. Last week in Latin, for example, we learned about the signifier - standard bearer - the officer that carried the unit's standard into battle. Today, we read about him in history. Last week in history we read about Saturnalia. That features in next week's Latin lesson. Children can't help but catch connections like those!
Minimus is a really gentle way to learn Latin. But learning we are. Recently we commenced translating Latin fabulae mirabiles into English. The good thing about fairy tales is that we all know pretty well how the story goes, but even so, I have been delighted at how much of these stories we have been able to read. (Don't you love the royal 'We'? I learn as much as Jemimah, y'know.)
We don't learn Latin in order to honk like a goose when declining pronouns - hic haec hoc; hunc hanc hoc. We study Latin to understand how languages work. It's logical and teaches us how to think. It will enhance our knowledge of English grammar, but it will also make the study of other languages easier as well. When you can read Latin you can not only read fairy tales in Latin. You can read the Classics in the original as well. I read the Odyssey (which was actually written in Greek, not Roman, but that's what I read), but there is also Virgil, Pliny, Cicero, Lucretius and Tacitus. Mostly, though, we study Latin because it's fun.
Brutus adsum jam forte
Caesar aderat.
Brutus sic in omnibus,
Caesar sic inat.
It's been one of those super busy weeks where we've sort of had to condense five days of school into three, and every extra minute has been taken up with important stuff that can't be put off. I do have a couple of posts in the planning, but they're not going to get done this week at least.
In the mean time, and because nobody leaves me nice messages if I don't post, and I'm getting sad and lonely and downright miserable, here's a shelf from our library (I love typing that!) for you to have a browse through. Don't you love stickying at people's bookshelves? I do, but you already know that.
Below the photo is a list of books from left to right. You'll notice a couple of copies of Magic Pudding, and two of Blinky Bill. That's the way it is sometimes.
It turns out that I've had a bit to say about many of these books, and in that case I've linked to the post. Some of these are actual reviews; others are just a bit of chat. Some have photos of the insides of the book too, and if you're anything like me, you'll love looking at the delightful illustrations.
Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more shelves like this. Or if you'd like to hear about any of the books here.
I'll be back next week with something a bit more erudite. Have a nice weekend!
:: Swam butterfly laps of the swimming pool. The girl and her friend Jay, not me. Perish the thought. I cheered from the sidelines.
:: Went on a Mummy-Mimi Morning date with my beautiful girl. It's starting to get a bit chilly for much sitting outside, though. See that huge muffin? She couldn't eat it all. Just in case you wondered.
:: Went shopping for new cold weather clothes. You know that day at the start of each season when you wonder whether you might, in fact, have spent much of last year running around naked, because you have absolutely nothing to wear? It was yesterday. :: Began translating Rumpelstiltskin from Latin into English. We thought this was really cool! Okay, we may possibly be a bit weird.
- Est tuum nomen Marcus, homunculus?
- Minime, nomen meum non est Marcus.
- Aulus?
- Mimime.
- Publius?
- Minime.
Neque ulla nomen homunculo erant.
We're using this book, Fabulae Mirabiles. It's just the right level to be able to read and understand without having to look up too many words. Each story is less than 1000 words, and there's a comprehensive glossary in the back.
:: Watched this film.
Having just read The Wizard of Earthsea, it was interesting to see how Ghibli interpreted the mythical world of Earthsea. The plot diverged significantly from LeGuin's books, but I think a knowledge of the story was important to understand the nuances in the movie. We all enjoyed it. Many reviewers have not.
So that's our 5 things. What 5 things did you do today? Do tell.