tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68831981654776381772024-03-14T02:50:00.524+00:00A Pilgrim's HeartRecording the memories and milestones of our homeschooling journeyMamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-14284245181938955582012-10-26T15:26:00.000+01:002012-10-26T15:26:31.198+01:00Autumn is beautiful<br />
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MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-54935691319335737812012-02-27T20:17:00.001+00:002012-02-27T20:18:45.001+00:00British History: From William Rufus to the Magna Carta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Royal_Arms_of_England_(1198-1340).svg/410px-Royal_Arms_of_England_(1198-1340).svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Royal_Arms_of_England_(1198-1340).svg/410px-Royal_Arms_of_England_(1198-1340).svg.png" width="171" /></a></div>
So the political intrigue of royal life in England continue after the death of William the Conqueror. Our notebooking pages and resources on William and The Battle of Hastings can be found in <a href="http://a-pilgrims-heart.blogspot.com/2012/02/pulling-together-education-on-road.html">this post</a>. Below is a quick overview of the highlights up to King John and the Magna Carta with some resources. I highly recommend An Island Story by HE Marshall and The Story of Britain by Patrick Dillon as an appealing way to introduce the various twists and turns of succession.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Norman Kings:</span></u></b></div>
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<b><u>William Rufus</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_027_marshall_64kb.mp3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.s9.com/images/portraits/32369_William-II.jpg" width="141" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><i>Click on the image to listen to a Librivox recording of his story from Our Island Story by HE Marshall.</i></span>
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Upon the death of William the conqueror, William Rufus becomes ruler of England while his older brother Robert ruled Normandy after rebelling against his father. However, Rufus eventually re-asserted control over Normandy. He was deeply unpopular with the church as he would raid the monasteries to fund his wars. Death comes in the form of a stray arrow that kills Rufus in a hunting accident in the New Forest, undoubtedly there were suspicions of foul play and many thought his younger brother Henry had planned it all. While many expected Robert to take control of England, Henry outmaneuvered jis brother by acting swiftly and gaining control of the treasury. He eventually made a deal with Robert and with the support of the Clare family - he was crowned king on August 5th 1100.<br />
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<b><u><i>William Rufus Resources:</i></u></b><br />
<ul>
<li>You can download a powerpoint focusing on the question "<i>Was William Rufus Murdered?</i>" from tes.co.uk <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/ResourceDetail.aspx?storyCode=6125968">here</a>.</li>
<li>Notebooking and colouring pages can be found at <a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/william_II_printables.htm">Activity Village</a>.</li>
</ul>
<b><u>Henry I</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_028_marshall.mp3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Henry1.jpg/368px-Henry1.jpg" width="122" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click on the picture to hear the story of The White Ship from the Librivox recording of HE Marshall's Our Island Story</span></i></td></tr>
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Henry I is crowned King and sets about expanding his political power and establishing laws for the more efficient administration of Englad. He made peace with the church and with his marriage to an Anglo-Saxon princess (a descendant of Edmund Ironside), he began to heal the divisions between the Normans and Anglo-Saxons and break down the differences. It was a period of peace and prosperity for England. He had two legitimate children in William and Matilda. William drowns in <i>The White Ship</i>, leaving Matilda (married to Geoffrey Plantagenet) as his only legitimate child.<br />
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<b><u><i>Henry I Resources:</i></u></b><br />
<ul>
<li>Video clip from the History File series on Henry I <a href="http://youtu.be/K9Pb8ikzisE">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/henry_I_printables.htm">Notebook pages and colouring pages </a>can be found from Activity Village.</li>
</ul>
<b><u>Empress Matilda and King Stephen</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_188138627"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.britroyals.com/images/stephen.jpg" width="167" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_029_marshall.mp3"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click on the picture to hear the story of King Stephen from the Librivox recording of Our Island Story by HE Marshall</span></a></i></td></tr>
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Henry I extracts promises from the nobles that they will recognise Matilda as Queen of England upon his death but unsurprisingly, they balked at the idea of a woman ruling and turned to her cousin, Stephen of Blois and crowned him king. Thus starting a vicious 18 year civil war often called the Anarchy. Matilda ruled for a few months before the throne was seized from her but was never crowned and hence is rarely included in the list of Kings and Queens of England. Exhausted by years of war, they eventually made an agreement that Henry II would inherit the throne upon Stephen's death.<br />
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<u><b><i>Empress Matilda and King Stephen Resources:</i></b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW3aDDuPhwY">this clip </a>from History File series on Matilda and Stephen.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/stephen_I_printables.htm">Notebooking and colouring pages</a> for King Stephen from Activity Village.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/matilda_printables.htm">Notebooking and colouring pages</a> for Empress Matilda from Activity Village</li>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">The Plantagenet Kings:</span></u></b></div>
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<b><u>Henry II</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_188138648"><img border="0" src="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MedHenry2.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_031_marshall.mp3">Click on this picture to hear the story of Thomas Beckett from the Librivox recording of Our Island Story by HE Marshall</a></i></td></tr>
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Henry II turned out to be a strong ruler with a temperament for war and a fiery temper. He expanded and conquered almost all the French lands, laid the foundation for the English jury system and raised taxes to pay for a personal militia force. He was ruthless with the nobles but said to be kind to his defeated enemies. Immensely intelligent and hardworking, he made sure he undermined the power base of his noble enemies by tearing down their castles and deported their 'foreign mercenaries'. He famously quarreled with Thomas Beckett (his closest companion whom he had appointed Archbishop of Canterbury as a way of controlling the church) and was blamed for Becket's murder. There was no peace in his old age as his son's turned against him and rebelled in an attempt to de-throne him. His sons included Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland.<br />
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<b><u><i>Henry II resources:</i></u></b><br />
<ul>
<li>Video clips from Kings and Queens on the life of Henry II and Thomas Becket <a href="http://youtu.be/-ZHen6A_rrw">here</a>.</li>
<li>Worksheets on Henry II and Thomas Becket from <a href="http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/becket_worksheets.shtml">School History</a>.</li>
<li>A Henry II and Thomas Becket <a href="http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/becket/becket.htm">interactive game</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/Henry%20II_printables.htm">Notebooking and colouring pages</a> on Henry II from Activity village.</li>
<li><a href="http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityBase/BecketMystery.html">A kinaesthetic activity </a>to teach kids about the murder of Thomas Becket - great for co-ops.</li>
</ul>
<b><u>Richard I</u></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_188138678"><img border="0" src="http://wwp.royalhistory.com/images/richard-lionheart.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_034_marshall.mp3">Click on the picture to hear the story of Richard I from the Librivox recording of Our Island Story by HE Marshall</a></i></td></tr>
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The third son of Henry II, he was crowned upon his father's death. He spent no more than six months in England, preferring to be out leading his armies out in battle. He was the leader of the third crusade to Jerusalem. After many years of war, on his journey back to England, he was captured, imprisoned and held for ransom. A massive burden of taxation was placed on the people of England to pay for his ransom. Although often depicted as a hero of England, he actually had very little affection for England and the people, using the kingdom to finance his military exploits and in fact, he had spent very little time in England and did not speak the language. His brother John came close to seizing the throne from Richard but he was eventually forgiven and even named as his heir.<br />
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<b><i><u>Richard I Resources:</u></i></b><br />
<ul>
<li>A History Files<a href="http://youtu.be/UCQlvpTu6M0"> video clip </a>on Richard I</li>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/richard_I_printables.htm">Notebooking and colouring pages </a>on Richard I.</li>
</ul>
<b><u>John</u></b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/download/our_island_story_1_librivox/our_island_story_036_marshall.mp3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/images/various/johnlackland.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>click on the picture to hear the story of the Magna Carta from the Librivox recording of Our Island Story by HE Marshall.</i></td></tr>
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Vilified in film and in folktales - evidence seems to show that John Lackland was a better king than he is given credit - he was an able general and administrator but unfortunately was hindered by a cruel, spiteful and petty personality. He lost much of his French lands and subsequent battles against France and the Pope were expensive losses for him. The barons grew tired and rebellious and they marched on London forcing him to sign what became known as the Magna Carta. This document laid out the responsibilities of the King (limiting his power to obedience to the law) and protected the rights of the barons and the common people as well as the liberty of the church. John signed this under duress and immediately tried to rescind the document. However, the die was cast, and the signing of the Magna Carta paved the way for the eventual formation of parliament and the idea of representation by the people.<br />
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<i>Podcast video about King John and the Magna Carta</i></div>
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<b><u><i>King John and Magna Carta resources</i></u></b>:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/king_john_printables.htm">Notebooking and colouring pages</a> from Activity Village.</li>
<li>Some <a href="http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/john_worksheets.shtml">resources on the Magna Carta</a> from School History.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityBase/KingJohnDecisionMakingGame.html">King John decision making game</a></li>
<li><a href="http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/magnacarta.htm">Text of the Magna Carta</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/index.html">British Library site on the Magna Carta</a></li>
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Our approach as we learned about these kings was to read about them in our books, watch the documentaries and I made use of some of the posted resources. I then assigned them time to make notebook pages on the Kings or make a PowerPoint presentation on them. I will post them at a later date when they are complete.</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-12698836315835950812012-02-20T12:53:00.000+00:002012-02-20T12:53:41.033+00:00British History: Geography and Mapwork<br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This is being posted a little out of order but eventually I should have a good series of posts on British History from Pre-history to Modern times. This was how we started our studies on the history of the British Isles:</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><u>Geography:</u></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I always like starting our studies with mapwork so the kids can visualise where the events take place. I chose to have them look at a number of different maps (physical and political), identify the different countries that make up the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and locate the major cities in each of these countries. They then proceeded to make a salt dough map which I love doing because they have fun with it and I think it really solidifies their learning.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">They identified the following cities and islands:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Birmingham</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Manchester</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Outer and Inner Hebrides</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">And then they identified the following rivers, mountains and seas:</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">River Thames</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Grampian Mountains</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Cambrian Mountains</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Peninnes</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Southern Uplands</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Northwest Highlands</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Celtic sea</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Irish sea</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Atlantic Ocean</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">English Channel</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Straits of Dover</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">North Sea</span></span></div>
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<br /><a href="http://www.freeworldmaps.net/europe/united-kingdom/map.html" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Freeworldmaps</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">provides some very helpful maps to work from. </span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-50004543473236260362012-02-16T01:11:00.000+00:002012-02-16T01:13:39.646+00:00Thoughts on Discipline and Passion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">God sells us all things at the price of labour."<br /><b>-Leonardo da Vinci</b></span></div>
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Discipline and Passion.<br />
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Something I've been thinking about lately.<br />
<br />
They are the two things that I personally want my children to grasp hold of as we make our way through our homeschool odyssey.<br />
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My personal educational journey was certainly a model of discipline, self-motivation and success - in terms of academic achievement and gaining a good degree. Yet I do not necessarily claim to have learnt very much in all those years.<br />
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Let me explain:<br />
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I was lazy - so I was told all through my primary school years. Now, I honestly don't recall that to be the case but I guess my report card attests to that fact: "Satisfactory work", "Could do better", "Try harder"; words transcribed in ink, a constant reminder that I didn't quite measure up - not up to the other girls in my class at least. Our report cards would give our position in the class and each year I would be marked 36th or 38th (or thereabouts) out of 40 girls, much to my dismay. In those days, (scarily, I'm now of the age where I can legitimately say that) - kids were streamed by ability into different classes. It was a smallish school at the time so it was Class A and Class B. I'd comfort myself with the thought that at least I was in the "A" Class and so I must still be cleverer than <i>those</i> girls in the "B" class. It really was a mentality that was drummed into us, that what counted was being clever and passing your exams well.<br />
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At age 11, we had to sit national exams which decided if you got into the secondary school of your choice. Classes here were also ranked according to ability - A for the top and F was the worst. Sitting in groups in the large airless hall, the teachers marched in to announce the classes that we would be put in. First, they read out the names of the students that made it to the coveted top class - I was not on that list. In envy and dismay - I watched the girls file out to their new elite class. Well, I thought to myself, if I make it to either the B or C class, that would be respectable. Names were read, girls filed out and I was still sitting there. It began to sink in that I was going to be in one of the classes for the"not-so-bright" and with that came all the baggage of not being quite as good as the others, being lower down in the chain of popularity, being looked upon with pity and even looked down on. My heart sank as my name was announced for Class E. None of my friends from my previous class were with me and I was now one of <i>those </i>girls who were seen as either lazy or unintelligent.<br />
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It was there and then that I decided that I had something to prove. If I had not been motivated before to study for my exams and work hard, now I was. I was going to show everyone that I was not stupid and I was going to make something of myself. I did what years of nagging from my parents couldn't do - I motivated myself. My pride had taken a serious fall and I was going to do something about it. I wanted to be successful academically and I worked for it - hard, <i>really hard.</i> And for me it paid off: I started to do well - topping the year in History, Geography, Bible Knowledge, Literature, English - winning book prizes and coming in near the top out of over 200 girls for the next four years.<br />
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I was motivated, disciplined and I had a goal - to do as well as I could academically. I eventually did well enough to get into Oxford to read law. I did not enjoy the course and seriously regretted my choice of subject but despite that fact - I did really well. To my complete surprise - I emerged with a first class honours from Oxford University. I had expected to do well enough considering all the effort and work I put in but it blew me away when I got my results. I had employed all my discipline and work ethic towards a course that I found for most part uninteresting and if I were honest, I don't think I learnt or retained a huge amount from those years. My success can only be attributed to the fact that I was well versed in how to sit exams, worked extremely hard and not a small amount of prayer!<br />
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Discipline can get you far - my personal experience tells me that. It is undeniably a lynch-pin to succeeding in whatever endeavour we undertake. But how I wish I had chosen to do something I was passionate about, something that excited me and inspired me rather than something that seemed like a good career move. I wish I had chosen to follow my heart - because what would have happened if I had thrown passion into the mix with all that discipline and hard work? Oh how I wish....<br />
<br />
I think when discipline and passion come together - the magic happens. There is nothing like a motivation and a desire that is born inside of you. People can cajole, nag, push and even force you towards success in any area and with immense discipline and self-sacrifice - one can, I feel, achieve great things. However, when you want it as much as someone else wants it for you - that's when it really changes everything.<br />
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My personal motivation to prove myself was totally self-serving but it taught me a lesson about the importance of self-motivation; it is the most powerful factor for personal success. This is something I really want my kids to understand. I can encourage them, set schedules, impose discipline and lay a banquet of learning and discovery before them but it is really only when they want it themselves, when it becomes a passion for them - then they will excel and find real satisfaction in their pursuits be they academic, vocational, relational or spiritual.<br />
<br />
I believe strongly in discipline - the type of discipline that gets you up at 6am in the morning to read your bible when you would rather snuggle up in bed for an extra few hours. I believe in the discipline of setting aside regular time to exercise or drawing boundaries around your time and work in order to be with your family. I believe in the discipline of working hard, working well, and being on time. I believe in the discipline of generous regular giving and of simplicity. I think teaching our kids to persevere when it gets hard or isn't necessarily fun is important because the hard work required to get to one's goal - be it to be a top tennis player, a competent musician, to lose weight, to get a degree or learn how to sew - is very often challenging, hard-going and not always fun, but the reward is the pleasure of achieving our goals.<br />
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Discipline is a skill that needs to be modelled and taught to our kids but ultimately, for it to really bear fruit, they need to get hold of the goal and run with it with a motivation that comes from their own hearts. For example, in our family, we believe in the importance of spending time each morning with God - through reading the bible and through prayer and worship. So when we started homeschooling, we always started the day with a family devotion. We didn't push them to get up early and spend time on their own having quiet times with the Lord but through encouragement to read scripture daily and to take the time to write things down, somehow, they caught a sense of its importance in setting the tone for the day and they started to wonder how to create a space in their lives to enable this. We talked about taking time out before breakfast, after lunch, before bed, and then they just made up their minds that they would do it. Since then, to my amazement, with no pushing from us - they set the clock early and rise up to do their personal devotions first thing in the morning. In fact, when I went through a season of real struggle and was finding it hard to muster the strength to discipline myself to rise early - it was their example that fired me up. The kids were teaching their mum! This experience convinces me how important it is to model behaviour to our kids, because there really is nothing more powerful than seeing someone live out what they believe. It is the kindling that starts the fire in our hearts.<br />
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I recently came across this quote from Elizabeth George's book Write Away and her observation about writing and being published:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>"You will be published if you posses three qualities: talent, passion and discipline. You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination--either talent and discipline or, passion and discipline. You will likely be published if you possess neither talent nor passion but still have discipline. But, if all you possess is talent or passion, if all you possess is talent and passion, you will not be published."</i></span></div>
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Discipline will get us far but discipline with passion can take us to the moon. That's why I love it when I see my kids passionate about something whether it is photography or writing. When the interest takes hold, they'll go out of their way to learn everything they can and are constantly looking for opportunities to grow.<br />
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I think, as parents, if we can impart discipline and release passion - our children will find their way and not only have real satisfaction in their work but they will pursue it with an excellence. Sometimes, it can take a while to find your passion (some of us are still trying to work this out as adults) and I hope my role as parent and teacher will be not to impose my desires and ambitions on them but to help my children discover who they are, what they are capable of, what their talents and passions are and in doing so, I will give them wings to fly.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></span></span>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-55433643744519340792012-02-10T15:55:00.001+00:002012-02-10T21:01:43.946+00:00Pulling Together An Education On The Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Ok, admittedly, we are not on the
road but after so many weeks of being unsettled and travelling up and down the
north and south of England, it is a luxury to be staying put for even four
weeks. Four weeks is a long time.....enough time for some routine, enough to
make plans for work, as such I am grabbing the opportunity with both
hands and we're making every effort to get back into our work routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">So what are we doing? Not having any of my usual curriculum, books
and supplies has meant that I have had to improvise. This is the part in which
I could wax lyrical about the beauty of internet access! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Below is a look at how we are doing school:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>Devotions</u></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>:</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">We are carrying on with our daily devotions and I am using the
character studies from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/11/10-days-of-character-studies-day-1.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Confessions
of a Homeschooler</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>as the
basis of our short morning devotions. It has been very helpful for all of us.
These last two weeks, we have focused on Arguing (dealing with it rather than
actually arguing!) and Peacemaking. We have<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>all</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>found it very helpful and I have to
say that I have noticed a calmer atmosphere at home which is a blessing!
Last week we memorised:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">1 Peter 3:8 " <i>Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one
another, be sympathetic, live as brothers, be compassionate and humble</i>."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">(I made up some silly actions to go with it as it helps my four year old
remember it better and I have to say it works a treat!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Some of my personal favourite verses were from Proverbs:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">"<i>A gentle answer turns away wrath, a harsh word stirs up
anger.</i>" Proverbs 15:1 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">"<i>Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop a matter
before a dispute breaks out.</i>" Proverbs 17:14<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">So the week was spent declaring to each other whenever an argument
threatened to break out - " Don't breach the dam!" and "Be a
Peacemaker!" And it worked (mostly) LOL.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>Math</u></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I was using a combination of MEP math and Singapore Math before we
moved but I don't have my workbooks with me and while MEP is available online -
I didn't fancy printing out the materials again and to be honest, it was
too time-intensive during our period of family crisis. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I discovered<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.conquermaths.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">ConquerMath</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">after</span></span></span> joining some UK homeschooling
forums. It is a programme that follows the British system right up to the GCSEs
and you can buy the CD or subscribe for online access - no books to cart about. It works brilliantly for
us as each subject starts with a video of a short 5-10 minute tutorial which is
clear and concise afterwhich the kids go on to do a series of exercises online
- all independently. Records are kept of their progress and they can go back
anytime and do more exercises. This is such a help as it frees me up and they
have someone else other than slow-at-math-mum teaching them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>English</u></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>:</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">As my girls are at different grades - I am focusing on different
things for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">My elder daughter signed up to do two literary analysis courses
with<span style="color: #741b47;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bravewriter.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Brave Write</span>r</a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(The Hobbit and Anne Of Green Gables)
over the last 4 months. I've said it before and I'll say it again - we love
Brave Writer classes. She learnt a lot and enjoyed the classes immensely. She
has really come along in terms of thinking about and analysing a text. She is
now doing some work towards preparing for the IGCSEs with a UK based tutor
called<span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.catherinemooneytutoring.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Catherine Mooney</span></a>. She
offers exam support, tutoring and marking of assignments. While I have no
immediate plans for my 12 year old to take the IGCSEs just yet - she is
certainly ready for the work. So we are using Catherine's course as a way to
work through the concepts she will need to know for her understanding. It is
written in an engaging and interesting way, so my daughter has been enjoying it so
far. I am also thinking about usin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">g</span><span style="color: #741b47;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/wws-student-1.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Susan Wise
Bauer's Writing With Skill</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>to
work on her writing skills - I've downloaded some sample chapters for her to
work through and we will see if it works out well. We are also continuing with
copywork using<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bravewriter.com/program/language-arts-programs/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Brave
Writer's Arrows and Boomerang programmes</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span>as well as quotes I am
pulling off the internet and books we are reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">My younger daughter is working on building up fluency with her
reading, writing and spelling. A friend recommended<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.unitsofsound.net/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Units
of Sound</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>( a programme
designed to help dyslexic kids build a firm foundation in spelling, reading,
memory and dictation). While my younger daughter is not diagnosed as dyslexic -
she does have some issues. So in the period where I haven't had time to sit
with her for spelling and copywork - I decided to give the programme a try. She says it is helpful especially the dictation and memory
sections. We are also throwing in handwriting practice and more recently, we
have started copywork again using our Arrows monthly publication.(<i>I bought a
number of different back issues at 50% off during an offer with the</i><a href="http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/"><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Homeschool
Buyers Co-op</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></i></span></a><i>- very happy
about that!</i>). She has recently started Catherine Mooney's <a href="http://www.catherinemooneytutoring.co.uk/wordweaversdetails.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Word Weavers</span> </a>course
which should help her with establishing her grammar and writing skills. It comes with an audio CD which is an extra help. I also
purchased in downloadable PDF format <a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/complete-writer-writing-with-ease-workbook-3.html"><span style="color: #741b47;">Susan
Wise Bauer's Writing With Ease Level 3<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></a>as
I think she could do with building up her narration and comprehension skills
and with that book I don't have to think - I just print it out and go.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Outsourcing help and using online programmes or computer software has been the</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"> key to keeping homeschooling on the road during our time of uncertainty.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">History:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">As we are in the UK and all our<span style="color: #741b47;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Tapestry of Grace</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>books and curriculum are in storage -
I had to pull together a plan for our history studies. Being in England -
studying British History seemed to make the most sense. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Britain-Patrick-Dillon/dp/1406311928" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CulxbGtEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">As the spine of our lessons, I am
using<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Story-Britain-Patrick-Dillon/dp/1406311928"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">The Story of Britain by Patrick Dillon</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> which
I stumbled across in the bookshops. It is an engaging and well-written overview
of the stories of british history written in chronological order for children -
a little like a modern version of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Our-Island-Story-History-Victoria/dp/1903386527/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328568941&sr=1-1"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">An Island Story by H.M. Marshall</span></span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">(also in storage!) I started reading this
aloud and I also purchased from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.audible.co.uk/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B004FTXDHO&qid=1328569157&sr=1-1"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Audible</span></span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">the audio book of An Island Story. Both books
give a helpful introduction into Britain's history. We have been reading it through
but these few weeks we have gone back to the beginning to solidfy their
understanding with more in-depth work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I did a quick review of early British history including the Celts, Roman invasion, invasions of the Vikings (Danes), the Angles and the Saxons - ending with the death of Edward the Confessor. The girls made a notebooking page on an introduction to Ancient
Britain. Click here for the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmINjQ0OWQ1ZmYtOGUyNi00N2U3LWI4YTctYWZlNzY3M2E3NjBl&hl=en_US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Early
British History notebooking page</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0zuE6HxZVrI/TzGpKA9oNXI/AAAAAAAAAoE/T948JN4HYaI/s1600/Early+history+of+Britain+notebook+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0zuE6HxZVrI/TzGpKA9oNXI/AAAAAAAAAoE/T948JN4HYaI/s1600/Early+history+of+Britain+notebook+page.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Then we took up our story with the Battle of Hastings and conquest by Duke William of Normandy in 1066 - a crucial turning point for British History.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/images/william-the-conqueror.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/images/william-the-conqueror.gif" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I found some excellent resources
and made some notebook pages:</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I used this<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/conquest_worksheets.shtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">powerpoint
entitled "Who Should Be King?</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">" </span>from this useful website
<u>www.schoolhistory.co.uk</u></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">to introduce the different claimants for the throne upon the death
of Edward the Confessor. We then made a notebook page on</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1R04h_ktqmIMjAxNjI4ZTEtOTc1YS00ZjY5LWI4MzgtNTQ5NTcxODQ5NGY1" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Who
Should Rule England</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">?</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A2dVgAHnfgY/TzBhH1e7YpI/AAAAAAAAAn0/snrPzsH61tM/s1600/Who+should+be+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A2dVgAHnfgY/TzBhH1e7YpI/AAAAAAAAAn0/snrPzsH61tM/s320/Who+should+be+king.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The Battle of Hastings - I used this </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/BayeuxContents.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">excellent website</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">to tell the story of the battle using the Bayeux tapestry and this helpful </span><a href="http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/year7links/conquest_worksheets.shtml" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">powerpoint</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">on The Battle of Hastings to go through the events of the battle. The BBC have produced </span><a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/lesson_plans/anglo-saxon/normans_lp_hoh_hastings.pdf" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="color: #741b47;">wonderful hands-on resources</span> </a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">on the Normans - using their lesson ideas, I
told the girls to pretend to be news journalists in the midst of the battle -
one was reporting for the Normans and the other for the Anglo-Saxons. They had
notes and then made short reports on the battle as it progressed. It was great
fun role-playing newscasters and it really helped solidify their knowledge of the actual events of the battle.
Finally, they finished off the lesson by making a newspaper front page on the battle. They used
this </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://newspapertemplate.net/newspaper-template-for-word/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">template</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">. It was definitely one of their favourite things to do.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ioTdDymiAVg/TzBo8U7e7vI/AAAAAAAAAn8/edq_aTsldsc/s1600/Norman+newspaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ioTdDymiAVg/TzBo8U7e7vI/AAAAAAAAAn8/edq_aTsldsc/s320/Norman+newspaper.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Other resources:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Perfect for Co-ops -
a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/HOH_Battle_of_Hastings_Game.pdf"><span style="color: #660000; text-decoration: none;">Battle of
Hastings game</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(the
ultimate in hands-on learning) </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/normans_reading.pdf"><span style="color: #660000; text-decoration: none;">Reading list
about the Normans from BBC</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #660000;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/HOH_Tapestry_activities.pdf"><span style="color: #660000; text-decoration: none;">Bayeux Tapestry
activities from the BBC</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/launch_gms_battle_hastings.shtml"><span style="color: #660000; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Computer game
recreating the Battle of Hastings</span></span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">We shall be continuing a more in-depth look at British history as
we go on and I will post more on the resources we use.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I have to mention our favourite show - CBBC's Horrible Histories
which is available on Youtube. We all love it. It is very silly and funny
(british humour) but it is amazing the little facts that stick through
all the silliness. The girls have learnt the sequence of the Kings and Queens
of England from this skit. Even my 4 year old is singing it! We love love love the Horrible Histories TV show. Go on Youtube and watch it - I guarantee you'll find
it impossible to tear your kids or yourself away from watching.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Kings and Queens of England Video</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/l4x0K2Y7kPw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another video on the War of The Roses (just for fun!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And one more, just because I love it! About the Domesday book.
Enjoy!</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>Science:</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Science was hard for me to do consistently without my books.We read a variety science books picked up from the bookstore and started using a borrowed Apologia
General Science book - however, I needed something they could work on independently and provided some hands-on work and experiments for them to do. I heard about <a href="http://www.explorationeducation.com/">Exploration Education's </a>Physical
Science programme from a <a href="http://teachingourown.com/">friend's blog</a> and liked the sound of it. It allows them to learn independently through
interactive text on the computer and it comes with box of experiments and
hands-on learning. The programme takes them step by step through a variety of projects such as building a car, a circuit board and a motor and using those things to carry out experiments. The experiments come in organised, well-labelled bags and it practically has everything you need. They managed 3 lessons to date and then got stalled because we didn't have a glue gun! That has now been ordered and we are looking forward to getting on with it! The girls like it and enjoy putting together the projects. We are also reading through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Story-Book-Science-Yesterdays-Classics/dp/1599150255">The Story Book Of Science by Jean Henri Fabre </a>which is a lovely read-aloud book that centres on the conversations between three children and their very knowledgeable uncle who takes them on journeys of discovery through story about nature and the world in general from ants milking "cows", spiders building suspension bridges, how we make cloth from wool, flax, hemp and cotton, volcanoes and earthquakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u> <b>Art Appreciation:</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">We are using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Story-Worlds-Greatest-Paintings/dp/0500238804/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328655492&sr=1-1">The Story of the World's Greatest Paintings by Charlie Ayres</a> which I picked up from the bookstore. It is an easy no-fuss way to accomplish art studies at the moment. It works well as a jumping off point for learning more about the artist and his work. I also </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">use the <a href="http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/">SmartHistory</a> videos for a more in-depth analysis of an artwork or artist. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><u>Poetry and memorisation</u>:</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I am trying to get back to encouraging the kids to memorise bible verses and poems. So we have a bible verse to learn each week and I am printing out poems for them to read and memorise once a week. I am also trying to incorporate poetry reading during our tea-times. Winter is a lovely time for hot chocolate, muffins and poetry!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><u>Music Appreciation:</u></b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Another no-fuss solution to incorporating music appreciation in our week for now - I found this book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Classical-Music-Book-Audio/dp/1843791188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328655786&sr=8-1">My First Classical Music Book </a> which comes with a CD and an introduction to instruments and an orchestra. Although it is aimed more at my four-year old - we spend 15 minutes going through a chapter a day and listening (and dancing!) to the music. It is a nice way to keep up with some music appreciation without too much effort. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><u>Nature Studies</u>:</b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">You may have read in an earlier post that we do <i>not</i> enjoy the climate of the tropics at all and while we were living in Singapore - nature studies always had to be deliberately planned. It is so much more fun in temperate climates - you just want to be outdoors (admittedly less so in the winter). Nature studies have just happened naturally as the girls have taken an interest in the world outside. They have really got
into birdwatching after we put a feeder in their grandparent's garden - they are taking pictures, using the field guides to identify the birds and checking out their tracks in the snow. Their experience was further enhanced when I bought this DVD - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Watercolor-Journaling-Christina-Lopp/dp/B002GJX0QO">Beginning Watercolor Journalling</a>.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;"> I </span>bought it after reading about it in this inspiring post at <a href="http://ponderedinmyheart.typepad.com/pondered_in_my_heart/2010/06/watercolor-year.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">Pondered in my heart</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">.</span> It has paid off and the girls have been
completely inspired by what they've watched and started to journal and paint more regularly. These are some early efforts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><u>French:</u></b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I found a lovely lady who comes twice a week to teach all three kids. She does a great job engaging them using stories and fun games. I have asked her to start the girls on more serious grammar as they have progressed quite nicely. She recommended<a href="http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/"> languages online</a> as a good website for practice.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">My Rosetta Stone software is in storage so I'm not getting much use out of that at the moment although I suspect that they are going to be able to progress much quicker with it after these lessons. I've heard about<a href="http://www.galorepark.co.uk/product/parents/47/so-you-really-want-to-learn-french-book-1.html"> Galore Park French</a> and have been looking into using this - possibly since we
may not be in our current accomodation for long and will move to another part
of the UK and lose our lovely french teacher!</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><b><u>PE:</u></b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Being active is a total challenge in winter and not being in a
place for more than a month or two makes it hard to join any organised
activities. So I am literally trying to make sure we get off our bottoms for 20
minutes each day </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">at least</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">to exercise </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">. It's too cold to go outside for too long so I've devised
indoor games (like an active Simon Says) or exercises like circuit training. We might start off with some
stretches and then on some days, I'll have them pick 5 exercises from a pile of cards - it might say something like 10 sit ups, run up and down the stairs 2 times, 20 jumping jacks etc. On On other
days I will lead the exercises myself. I'd love to play more silly run around
games (we used to play dodge ball with a soft squishy ball and have obstacle
course races in our old home) but there just isn't enough kid-friendly space
for that kind of play indoors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px;">So that's us at the moment, for the next few weeks at least - who knows what the next month will bring for us but I'll take what we can get.</span></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-63270438868332901542012-01-06T23:11:00.000+00:002012-01-06T23:11:00.305+00:00A Prayer for Today<!--StartFragment-->
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic";">Each day a conscious decision to follow,
to surrender, to give thanks, to give words to heart-cries.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic";"> <b><u> A Prayer for Today:</u></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic";"> Lord, may
prayer become again a conscious, living, </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Century Gothic";"> daily natural rhythm in my life.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Century Gothic"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span> May that prayer infuse home, marriage, thought and
action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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May it be living <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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and infectious......<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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May my children breathe it in like air and catch
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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May it be sacred and precious<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Yet routine, set in
stone, unchanging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Like breathing, let it come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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May it be deep,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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hopeful,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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truthful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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May it be born out of a listening heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-34521778577203895652012-01-05T07:30:00.000+00:002012-02-11T11:03:14.774+00:00When The Year Doesn't Turn Out The Way You Expected<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Forgive the silence. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>It's been awhile.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>It has taken sometime to find the words to make sense of the emotional roller-coaster that we as a family have experienced in the last year.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>A post at the start of the new year seems fitting: a marker for myself; a symbolic statement that I am ready to engage again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>It has been over five years since I've experienced a northern hemisphere winter. Christmas' have been tropical affairs for us these last few years - barbecues, outdoor dining, shorts and T-shirts, and air-conditioning. It has been lovely to breathe in the frosty air and toast our toes by open fires for a change. I love the turning of the seasons and find it always speaks to me profoundly. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>I am a fascinated observer, watching as Winter strips the trees bare-naked, sharp twigs piercing blue-grey overcast skies, branches twisting and turning as bitter winds force them to bend and bow. I marvel as they remain unbroken, flexible, strong despite the unrelenting brute force of the windy gales. Occasionally, the skies break and rays of luminous light warm the cold; the sunlight painting landscapes in glittering shades of copper bronze and yellow gold - lifting spirits and turning the drab and dull into moments of eye-watering beauty. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">I find this a particularly apt symbol of my life as we leave 2011 behind and turn our eyes to a new year. I wish I could say that I have embraced the coming year full and excited at all that lies ahead. The truth is the rapid approach of the close of the year filled me with a dread that the no-man's land of uncertainty we were in was no more likely to change as a new year began. I felt stripped bare - bereft of faith, of certainty and strength; I felt buffeted by the winds of circumstance with no clear compass or road map of what God was doing. I felt bent over and bowed down. But even in my frustration - I knew inside that I should be grateful, thankful for my many blessings; I should be thankful for the deep unshakeable knowledge that God is in control. Like the light that breaks in the midst of the grey and momentarily reminds us of the glory of nature - that felt knowledge of His unchanging nature and the beauty of His perfect plan kept me and still keeps me going. I do believe the exquisite perfection of His timing and His purpose will eventually be revealed - but I must bend willingly and not fight and resist what He is doing.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">2011 started with a decision to move countries - the timing was right and decisions were made. Our certainty and plans vanished when family illness forced us - almost immediately after our upheaval to a new country - to abandon our plans and head to the UK for medical treatment. We left most of our personal possessions in storage because we didn't know where we'd be and for how long. All those shiny new homeschooling books I bought waiting to be unpacked, the kids bikes and scooters, the crates of gluten-free flours and products (bought because they were not easily available where we were settling), computers and precious photos....left behind. We had just what we could fit in a suitcase. To be honest, we didn't think we'd be gone this long - 4 months and counting with no definite idea of the whens and wheres. Had we heard wrong? What was God doing? How do we cope with this?</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;">I'll have to admit to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">patchy sporadic bouts of homeschooling - with moving countries and medical emergencies, it was hard to carry on as normal. All this would, ever so occasionally, give rise to nights of panic and tears. Will my husband get better? How can I school my kids under these circumstances with no books, no fixed abode, constant displacement? Where are we supposed to settle now with no home of our own in any country? What is God's plan?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">I'd love to say I met all this with serene grace and perfect trust in God's purpose and plan and to some extent, I think I can look back and say "Yes, I did meet every crazy twist and turn with equanimity and I did trust that all this will come to some greater purpose that would become clear to me - eventually." But there were moments, no, more than moments, <i>stretches</i> of despondency, frustration and disappointment. Questions rising up ceaselessly - how long Lord? All our plans put aside - for how long? The children's disrupted education - for how long? My husband's illness - how much longer? Living in a home that is not ours - for how long Lord? </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">It was clear we wanted to make decisions that were wise and led by God but it was hard to hear and hard to be sure. Nothing seemed clear and clarity has not come with time - not yet. It seems that one-day-at a-time and trust are the themes of our new year. It is, I realise, the first year ever, where I literally have no plan for the year to come. No schedule for school, no plans for ministry, no important dates and appointments, no classes, nothing. This is because we can't plan - decisions have to be made around ever-changing health issues and we have no idea for now where the Lord wants us to be based in the medium term, let alone the long term. We pray, answers tarry.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">As I wake in the new year, it occurs to me - there is a lesson to be learnt. For the first time in my life, I can pray "Lord I have no plan (really) so show me yours." I have never <i>ever</i> been in this place - without an agenda. As a child - each school year was mapped out, maybe with vacations to look forward to, then came the years of work, weddings, marriage, children. When have I ever had a year where I had no plan? This is not to say I have no desires. I have desires aplenty.</span><br />
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; font-style: normal;"><br /></span>I want my husband well. I want him to be free
of pain and strong.</span></i><br />
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;">I want a home, I want to be settled. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;">I want my stuff in storage. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;">I want to homeschool.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;">I want to know EXACTLY where we are supposed
to live and what we are supposed to do. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Times; font-size: 11pt;">I want you to tell me straight Lord. I want
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>The "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><i>I wants"</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"> have nothing to hold onto. There is no certainty without Christ and I don't want to make mistakes by going my own way. I've spent so much of the last few months stating my "I wants" to God and finding myself crushed under the weight of my frustration and disappointment. I know He has a plan and a good purpose and maybe my "I wants" don't fit into those plans - not yet anyway. By His grace, He answered my feeble pleas to rescue me from my despondency and disappointment because I awoke to the new year with a desire to lay it all down and just seek Him. I know that desire comes only by His grace and not from me. I woke to the realisation that I was blessed - to enter this year unencumbered by expectation and plans and freed to choose Him. To choose the way of trust. What more did I have? But I saw I was blessed. I would lay down my 'wants' and listen.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>So begins the year of listening. The year of laying down. The year that I learn truly to trust. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>I would dearly love to go back to blogging about our homeschool adventures but it seems this pilgrim has another journey to make for now. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>The bible exhorts us in all things "GIve thanks." so I will give thanks, grateful for my many blessings of the last year:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>1. for improvements in my husband's health </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">2. prayers prayed to uphold us in our trials</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">3. for help from unexpected quarters</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">4. for financial stability</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">5. for cold weather to enjoy Christmas in</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">6. the joy of watching my children's faces as they saw snow for the first time</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">7. our first real bonfire in the garden</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">8. for family and opportunities to spend time with loved ones</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">9. for being together at Christmas </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">10. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">friends made in the countries we have moved around in</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">11. for a roof over our heads</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">12. for my favourite English desserts! and Custard!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">13. for nature walks in autumnal weather</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">14. for the knowledge that God - you never let go of us.</span></span><br />
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</span></b></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com11United Kingdom55.378051 -3.43597336.641164 -43.8656605 74.114938 36.9937145tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-6431278868836626382011-06-24T12:05:00.000+01:002011-06-24T12:05:25.575+01:00Teaching Worldview: Preparing my kids to understand their world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/The_Thinker,_Rodin.jpg/450px-The_Thinker,_Rodin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/The_Thinker,_Rodin.jpg/450px-The_Thinker,_Rodin.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the advantages of homeschooling is the opportunity we have to step back from the traditional curriculum that schools follow and make time for discussions that will have an impact on our kids for the rest of their lives. Teaching my kids to think about life's big questions is one of the important strands I wanted to make sure I was weaving into our lives. I want them to understand that everyone has a view on these important questions and these will undoubtedly affect how they live their lives. My hope is that they will be able think through and understand what they believe and what they stand for, but not only that, I want them to realise that <i>everyone </i>has a worldview and appreciate where they are coming from. Once they have grasped those ideas, hopefully they will be able to critically wrestle with what they read and see in the media and to discern and perceive the worldviews behind the statements and rhetoric they will face each day.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This may be a tall order for young kids but it doesn't mean we can't start to lay a foundation that will help them as they grow up - and kids <i>are </i>growing up so fast these days. As a Christian family, we ultimately want them to have a living, truthful, intimate relationship with God and to fully grasp the foundations of their faith. We also hope to equip them not just with the knowledge of their faith and of other faiths or philosophies which people adhere to (consciously or not) but to enable them to walk with integrity <i>and </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">grace towards all people. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So where do we start? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First, we teach them our worldview: this happens in part through our daily discussions during our family devotions - where we learn from the bible and tackle issues of right and wrong, what is good and bad, love and grace, life and death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, the real life lessons come from watching us live it out (or as the case may be - <i>failing miserably</i> to live it out) as role-models. I've come to accept that our failures are wonderful teaching opportunities - because even as they see us - as parents - fail, they also see us <i>apologise, repent, resolve, struggle, and surrender. </i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In seeing our imperfection and our response - they learn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>{I hope they learn that our knees should always be bent in humility and that our hands should be ceaselessly outstretched upwards to the one who is Grace and that our hearts can only survive if they flow with forgiveness.}</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><br />
</i></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Secondly, we give them the big picture. Here I use two tools - Current Affairs: what is happening in the world today and structured study. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I got a great idea from a veteran homeschooler to put a map in our home and talk constantly about current affairs. And as we talk about what is going on in the world, we mark the places in the map with newspaper articles or pictures of the leaders of the world. We should be talking about what is happening around the world and why, about leaders of countries, democracies and dictatorship, responsible government, about elections, ecosystems and economies. And after all that talk, what better thing to do than </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>PRAY. </i>It is an excellent way to teach our kids to be global thinkers, to always have the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> bigger view by looking at what is happening around us every day. Of course, what you choose to talk about will depend a great deal on the age of your kids but getting into the habit of talking about the world around us is a good start to them understanding our world and how it works as they get older and can address more complex issues. </span> <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The second more obvious step is to undertake a structured study of worldviews. As we are at the beginning stages of our worldview studies with pre-teens - we have opted for an introductory course which I've found to be excellent. We are using <a href="http://www.brimwoodpress.com/productlist.html"><span style="color: blue;">The Young Historian's Introduction to Worldview</span></a> by Brimwood Press. It is aimed at about grades 5-8 and is set out in a series of short chapters that have discussions and hands-on activities to aid understanding of big concepts like "What is a Worldview?", "What do all worldviews have in common?" and "How to Identify different worldviews?". You can read Cathy Duffy's review <a href="http://cathyduffyreviews.com/worldview/young-historians-introduction.htm">here</a>. She makes a good point that although there is a subtle slant towards Christianity - the material itself can be used by families of different beliefs or philosophies as a foundational study for worldview as it takes a discovery and discussion approach to the subject. It is set out in four chapters but we have broken up each chapter into smaller more manageable portions within our time constraints. My book came with a bag of all the materials we would need for the hands-on activites which was wonderful. I can imagine that having to come up with the materials myself would have meant the book sitting on the shelf unused for quite a while.</span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">When we complete this study, I plan to move on to a study of Christian apologetics - laying out the foundations, evidence and reasonableness of our personal faith. I haven't yet found a curriculum per se but intend to use some of the following books as a basis for our study. These will cover evidence for faith in Christ and deal with big questions like "Why does God allow suffering?", "Is God good?" or "Do all religions lead to God?" and so on.</span><br />
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</span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Searching-Issues-Common-Questions-Encountered/dp/1905887787?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Searching Issues: The Most Common Questions Encountered in the Search for Faith (Alpha)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1905887787&tag=apishe-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1905887787" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Demands-Questions-Challenging-Christians/dp/0785242198?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0785242198&tag=apishe-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0785242198" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Case-Christ-Kids-Updated-Expanded/dp/0310719909?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Case for Christ for Kids, Updated and Expanded (Case for... Series for Kids)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0310719909&tag=apishe-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0310719909" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Check-Your-Brains-Door/dp/0849932343?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Don't Check Your Brains at the Door: A Book of Christian Evidences (Know What You Believe and Why)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0849932343&tag=apishe-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0849932343" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am also looking at curriculum and books from</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.summit.org/curriculum/elementary-school/home-school/contents/">Summit Ministries</a> - they have a whole range of interesting books catering to elementary students to High schoolers. I have ordered their Lightbearers study for middle-schoolers as it looked very helpful and thorough (although I have not actually looked at the full content or used it as yet). It is said to cover the tenets of the Christian faith and compares them with leading humanistic worldviews, teaches the student how to apply their faith to all ares of life from ethics, law, politics, history, economics and so on. It also deals with issues like abortion, relativism, relationships, cults and pluralism.</span></span></span></div><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, working on teaching logic and critical thinking is another important aspect of teaching our kids to think. It is an issue of teaching kids</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">HOW</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">to think not just</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">to</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">think. I think this requires the parent to allow and encourage questions (even when it can get a little tiresome or when you may not necessarily have the answers and especially when it starts to tread ground on areas you might not feel so comfortable with). The temptation is often to</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">tell</span></u></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> them the answer rather than explore and guide them to the answer but I think the process of helping them make the connections themselves is a good basis for their future critical thinking. It is useful to ask them open-ended questions, sometimes playing devil's advocate or at least helping them to see things from different perspectives. I think active listening and encouraging them to be real and voice their doubts, concerns or confusion is supremely important. Kids get very good at giving the answer that is expected from them and it takes patience and wisdom to draw out how they really feel. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span></span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In terms of material that one can use for critical thinking and teaching logic - I like the look of this series very much:</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Toolbox-Thirty-five-Lessons-Reasoning/dp/0974531510?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Thinking Toolbox: Thirty-five Lessons That Will Build Your Reasoning Skills" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0974531510&tag=apishe-20" /></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fallacy-Detective-Thirty-Eight-Recognize-Reasoning/dp/0974531537?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0974531537&tag=apishe-20" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-color: initial !important; border-width: initial !important;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0974531537" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is but one layer in equipping our kids to go into the world with all the tools they will need to understand the world around them, to stand firm in their values and beliefs and to be able to communicate effective, clearly and compassionately. There are many other layers that prepare a child to face their futures with confidence - love, grace, healthy relationships, wisdom, life skills and academic training - all of which are equally important. Every parent wants to prepare their child to live to their fullest potential and for them to stand for what they believe, and I believe that this is one essential key for helping them do that. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-76457202589574979942011-06-15T14:56:00.000+01:002011-06-15T14:56:33.040+01:00Free Summer Membership to the Weekly Writers Club 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.weeklywriter.org/assets/images/autogen/a_bn_buildersclub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="http://www.weeklywriter.org/assets/images/autogen/a_bn_buildersclub.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Preparing for a move to a new country means that blogging doesn't get much of a look in at the moment. There's a lot going on but so little time to try and make a record of it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">However, for those who might be interested - The Weekly Writers Club is offering free membership for its Summer course which is totally fun and has my kids clamouring to write. They'll get to meet kids online from all over the world in a safe environment, participate in writing stories with other kids, blogging and plenty of varied activities and challenges that will have them writing and having fun. It will run from June 15 (oh that's today!) until August 25th 2011. It is easy to join - just go to their website: <a href="http://www.weeklywriter.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">http://www.weeklywriter.org/</span></a> and register.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Have fun!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-42303497752069754932011-04-07T15:20:00.000+01:002011-04-07T15:20:33.233+01:00Using copywork to teach grammar and spelling<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/doing_homework.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/education/doing_homework.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">I could have entitled this post "oh, so that's how you do Copywork!" - Maybe I'm just slow on the uptake and this is going to be old news to most; it was, however, a bit of a revelation to me when I discovered how copywork could be used as an effective means to teach not just spelling but also grammar, punctuation and the literary elements of writing. I also picked up some great tips on how to make it work for a struggling reader and writer.<br />
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When I started out homeschooling, many of Charlotte Mason’s ideas and methods appealed to me. I was intrigued by the idea that children could learn how to spell and write beautifully and turn out language worthy of the greats if they spent time diligently copying wonderful literary prose and verses. It made sense and so that's what I did. I assigned my kids copywork featuring wise proverbs, witty sayings,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>inspirational passages and beautiful passages of prose - all in the hope that that they would absorb everything they needed for elegant writing and thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">However, I was faced with boredom and resistance and I noticed their spelling wasn’t really improving. Self-doubt flooded in and I began to look around for other language programmes to fill the gap. Maybe I need a spelling programme? So I dutifully did my research and bought</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="http://www.all-about-spelling.com/">All About Spelling<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">for my struggling reader and I bought<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="http://simplycharlottemason.com/books/spelling-wisdom/">Spelling Wisdom<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></a>(</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">the Charlotte Mason approach to spelling) for my strong reader, who was a careless speller.<br />
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What I hadn't really understood is that the exercise of copywork was not really something to just hand over to your child and let her get on with - not if you wanted her to get the full benefit of it. I learnt this while doing a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.bravewriter.com/"><span style="color: #741b47;">Brave Writer course</span></a> - "Foundations In Writing". It was here where I learnt how to use Copywork and dictation to teach grammar informally, how to teach them to notice and learn spelling and how to set my kids up for success in writing and spelling.<o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br />
One of the key ideas was intentionality - intentional copywork <span class="apple-style-span">(knowing the goal you want to achieve - is it neat handwriting, accurate copying, grasping new spelling concepts or learn how to punctuate dialogue etc) and intentional editing (modelling and teaching your kids how to go back to the passage and edit their own mistakes). </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">The idea of "pre-teaching" was new to me – so now even before they start writing, I teach the passage depending on what I want to achieve. The pre-teaching helps the kids to pick up on important spelling, punctuation, literary elements and grammar.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br />
This is what one week typically looks like for us - first I have them read the passage aloud to me and we discuss its meaning to ensure comprehension. Then depending on my aim for the day, I might draw their attention to a literary element such as a metaphor or hyperbole or some interesting phrasing (informally introducing and familiarising the child with the literary terms and elements so essential for good writing). I might then point out punctuation like semi colons, speech marks, commas, colons and explain their usage. <span class="apple-style-span">I usually highlight words that I anticipate they may have problems with, underlining them - explaining spelling rules and pointing out spelling families and maybe have them practice spelling the words on a whiteboard. I sometimes have them practice breaking down and segmenting long difficult words. All this prepares them for success even before they start writing and goes a long way to alleviate stress and frustration. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">I don’t do all of these things in one day, I may teach a few of these and then have them copy the passage, and then return to the passage the next day and point out more things. Depending on time, we might then practice dictation which is a great way to solidify new spelling words. For my struggling writer, I may take more time over teaching spelling and segmenting words and even leave the copywork and dictation until the following days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br />
</span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">On the next day, we might review the difficult words and discuss grammer - nouns, pronouns, verbs etc. It is also a great way to introduce and discuss new vocabulary in context – I might help them notice vocabulary choices and ask why the author uses one word instead of another, perhaps asing my child to come up with an alternative word.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">In my Brave Writer class, I learnt that if my child is struggling with spelling I need to teach her spelling and word study rules and help her recognise it in action when writing – this is achieved much more effectively within the context of reading and writing and hence copywork is ideal. We were told to get them to “spell with your ears and check with your eyes”. I found this very helpful and have made an effort to teach my daughter to learn to connect sounds to letters to help strengthen her phonological processing skills. This strategy of encouraging them to sound out the words as they write them is useful - as they can hear what they are writing and if they have a tendency to drop letters from their words and make careless mistakes, it helps them to catch them more quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">Before they copy the passage, I have usually already highlighted or underlined key words so they can take note of them when they write. With each child, it is helpful to encourage them to progress from copying letter by letter (arduous), to whole words and then getting them to keep whole phrases in their heads and eventually whole sentences. It is an exercise in teaching them to copy accurately and efficiently, increasing speed and reducing any sense of tedium. This is an important skill – increasing the attention and memory skills – forcing them to interact with the content and attend to what they write.<br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">The next step for them, after they have copied the passage, is the process of intentional editing. Initially I modeled how they should check each word, phrase and sentence and circle mistakes caught and then as they learnt, I let them edit their own work.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">They have their own coloured pen and will check their work, mark out and correct any mistakes. This increases their awareness of spelling and punctuation and their sense of ownership over their work. I reward them with 25 cents if they find any mistakes and if it is mistake-free they get 50 cents. The only time they don’t get anything is if I find a mistake after they have proof-read their own writing. The financial incentive is probably not necessary but it is a fun little motivation for them at the moment.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">I never used to get around to dictation but I’ve appreciated how it helps build accuracy and reinforces lessons learnt in spelling and punctuation and so I try to make it a point to do it each week.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">It is very helpfully explained here on the Brave Writer website:<o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Dictation enables children to discover how to write from memory properly spelled words, and how to assemble them on the page using proper punctuation. Because they are transcribing someone else’s words (not their own), they have a model to compare to. They can evaluate whether or not they have successfully reproduced the original. Happily, the challenge of accuracy is the primary task in copywork and dictation. As a result, no one’s feelings get hurt when you point out mistakes, unlike when you correct your child’s spelling in his or her original work. The focus is entirely on accurate reproduction. And that’s the beauty right there! Mechanics can be taught using beautiful literature more effectively than the wooden practice sentences in a workbook or attempting to edit a child’s freewrite. Dictation works because children keep spellings and punctuation in meaningful writing contexts and thereby reinforce the intuitive level of mechanics, rather than mere memorization of rules</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.</span><u1:p></u1:p></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">I have taken onboard many ideas learnt from Brave Writer such as mixing things up by doing a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>french dictation</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>whereby you type out the passage leaving blank spaces for key words and phrases. Another thing you might try is<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>reverse dictation</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>where you type out the passage with mistakes in punctuation, lower case letters where there should be capitals and make spelling errrors and have them edit the passage and highlight the mistakes. All great ways to reinforce lessons learnt in context.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 13.5pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">These few ideas have really transformed my approach to copywork and I can see that it is working on many levels for both my kids. I still have a lot to learn but I'm certainly pleased with the new tools I've got to work with to help teach my kids.<br />
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Some great resources:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.bravewriter.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Brave Writer</span></a> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">- Arrows and Boomerang are a monthly resource which features passages from one classic novel which can be used for copywork and dictation - it supplies you with notes on important punctuation or spelling to note, or literary elements to consider and gives you ideas about what to discuss with your child in terms of language, writing style, vocabulary and so on. You download a sample from their site. I have not yet subscribed to it but downloaded back issues based on books we are currently reading. The cost effective way to get these issues is to subscribe for a year. It is pricey (in my opinion) but I do keep coming back to them. I really should take out a year's subscription - but I do like being able to choose the issues based on books we are reading already.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.com/2010/07/considering-charlotte-mason-and-our_05.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Wildflowers and Marbles</span></a> - Jen's beautiful blog has a lot of wonderful information on the Charlotte Mason approach to Language Arts and she put together in printable document - a collection of articles from a series of posts she wrote on her blog. It is called</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><a href="https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=NbmrNYZSo1KQ28v2*uxQ3g"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Considered Language Arts</span></a> which is an awesome resource that covers copywork, dictation, narration, grammar and composition. Reading this will really equip you to implement a Charlotte Mason approach to Language Arts. It is so clear and thoughtful. It really is an excellent resource. Many thanks to Jen!</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">These two books are my two reference books when I am trying to explain spelling and grammar rules.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0880621400&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0898159660&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-48605655565903636322011-03-18T16:12:00.001+00:002011-03-18T16:16:47.920+00:00The Aztec and Incan Empires and The Spanish Conquest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://differncebetween.infoloommedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aztec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://differncebetween.infoloommedia.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aztec.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Returning to the Americas after the study of the Olmecs and Mayans during our Ancient Civilisations tour was interesting (if not a little more gruesome - with all the human sacrifices!). I am posting a bunch of resources that I found and created for our studies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">I made a few notebook pages to use with our studies. The first is a<span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmINzRmN2I1ZjMtYWNkMi00N2Y1LWEwMGEtNTUyZDU2NmUwNGJm&hl=en&authkey=CMzUgrMJ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">Quick History of The Aztecs in Pictures. </span></a> I created some text boxes and prepared some clip art to add to each box. As we discussed the Aztecs - I had my kids add the pictures to the boxes to create a nice notebook page for their books.<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmINzRmN2I1ZjMtYWNkMi00N2Y1LWEwMGEtNTUyZDU2NmUwNGJm&hl=en&authkey=CMzUgrMJ"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-KFdrxU8wyEg/TYMOebjMpAI/AAAAAAAAAlo/oo-SXQzpPGA/s200/aztecs+in+pictures.jpg" width="200" /><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ohLASxGrvQA/TYMO0LrTAFI/AAAAAAAAAls/NLID1oY6GAE/s200/aztecs+in+pictures+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I also created some</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIZDkzYmJkMzgtMTEyMy00NzgxLTg2NjQtMGVjMWZjNjYwZTIy&hl=en&authkey=CNfn2JMP"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">notebook pages for the Aztecs, Incas and the Spanish conquest</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> You can download the clip art I used from</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIYTc5NzQzMWMtOGU0OS00MjZkLTgzYjctYzk0ZjY1ZDAxMjBh&hl=en&authkey=CLnomuQK"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">here</span></a></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">(to save you time!).</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-eeQr8MTAcIs/TYMRfAEMJNI/AAAAAAAAAlw/njFh1MKt6uo/s1600/Aztec+notebook+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-eeQr8MTAcIs/TYMRfAEMJNI/AAAAAAAAAlw/njFh1MKt6uo/s320/Aztec+notebook+page.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">At the start of each study of a new civilisation, we will usually do some map-work to get an idea of where in the world we are and then we'll learn a little more about the geography, culture. climate, fauna and flora of the new place. This time, after a power point presentation that I created to use with the girls as an introduction - I gave them a list of animals and plants that were indigenous to Central and South American and asked them to do some research on them and add them to index cards which slipped into <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIYTlkZmU3Y2EtMGVmMi00ZTBlLTgyZmYtMDY4ZTBjZDg3OWNk&hl=en&authkey=CNes27ED"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;">this</span></a> lapbook piece. They then pasted it onto a piece of cardstock and added it to their books. The list of plants and animals included:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Cocoa beans<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Brazilian nut tree<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Pineapples<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Potato<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Orchids<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Armadillo<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Chinchilla<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Marmoset<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Tapir<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Jaguar<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Llama<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Lsfsers-Utw/TYN6oodGUzI/AAAAAAAAAl0/cPHneHluYZ8/s1600/flora+and+fauna+of+central+and+south+america.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Lsfsers-Utw/TYN6oodGUzI/AAAAAAAAAl0/cPHneHluYZ8/s320/flora+and+fauna+of+central+and+south+america.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">You can download the clipart<span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIMjMyZDc2YjYtYmI4OC00ZTYyLTliYTItYTc3ZmQ4M2VlYjNl&hl=en&authkey=CKikytgC"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;">here</span></a> and you can download the lapbook piece<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIYTlkZmU3Y2EtMGVmMi00ZTBlLTgyZmYtMDY4ZTBjZDg3OWNk&hl=en&authkey=CNes27ED"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The power-point presentation<span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> can be accessed and downloaded </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #c27ba0;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIMGY0YjYxZjctMGJlMC00OGEzLTgzY2EtMDc5ZmUzZjUwNTg2&hl=en&authkey=CNSq5p8O">here</a>.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> (Most of the information on it comes from Wikipedia).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">We also watched some excellent videos below about the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica and Michael Palin's trek to the Atacama Desert.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Idt48rhdVGQ?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WLN5uz42oos?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Due to time constraints, we did not do any hands-on activities which I usually like incorporate. You could go into so much more detail with studying the daily life and religion of the Aztecs, their art and craft, farming methods and food, their amazing engineering feats and of course, you have to study all about the fall of the Aztec empire at the hands of the Spaniards. Below is another excellent documentary by the BBC presented by Michael Woods about the fall of the Aztec empire.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Here are some other helpful resources:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://aztecs.mrdonn.org/">http://aztecs.mrdonn.org/</a> - his site is a goldmine of kid-friendly information, links to powerpoints, games, activities and lesson plans on just about any subject!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Some of the books we used:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0751360198&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><a href="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0531162095"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0531162095&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0531139263&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0618117458&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0763642002&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0756519535&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0531153614&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></a>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-29662071712974618312011-03-14T07:24:00.000+00:002011-03-14T07:24:58.884+00:00Online Art Resources to enhance your Art Studies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.penwith.co.uk/artofeurope/angelico_annunciation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.penwith.co.uk/artofeurope/angelico_annunciation.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">While researching resources for our study of the Renaissance and the artists of that period, I came across some amazing resources for our art studies. Here they are to share:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The first is called <a href="http://smarthistory.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Smarthistory</span></a>, a multimedia art history textbook - it includes unscripted conversations between art historians on the pieces of art and the history of art. It is an absolute gem and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am at finding this resource. They even have sample curricula and resources you can use to teach art using video and text from their site. We watched this illuminating video on <a href="http://smarthistory.org/michelangelo-pieta.html?searched=pieta&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+ajaxSearch_highlight1"><span style="color: blue;">The Pieta</span></a> today. It added so much depth to our art appreciation. Love this!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/images/pieta.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/images/pieta.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The other wonderful discovery I made was the <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Art Project by google</span></a>. This is another awesome resource that lets you visit many of the world's art museums, virtually walking along their corridors and looking at their paintings and sculptures. It also allows you to get up really close to a painting and observe the most minute details with amazing clarity. In fact, one can probably get closer to these paintings on google than you can in real life! You can get a fuller explanation of how to use it from these <a href="http://www.googleartproject.com/c/faq"><span style="color: blue;">youtube videos</span></a>.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Another resource that I recently purchased and cannot wait to use with my kids is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Art-Learning-Classify-Critique/dp/1593633416?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Smart Art: Learning to Classify and Critique art.</span></a><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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style='width:1.2pt;height:1.2pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Chi-ann\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"
o:title="ir?t=apishe-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1593633416"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1593633416" border="0" height="2" src="file:///C:\Users\Chi-ann\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.gif" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="2" /></span>Essentially, it is a workbook that takes the student through the different elements of art and design and gives them tools to learn how to analyse and look at art. You can read a full review at <a href="http://jimmiescollage.com/2010/12/smart-art-review/"><span style="color: blue;">Jimmie's Collage</span></a>. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1593633416&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Something else my girls love using and usually fight over, is a computer software programme called <a href="http://www.madcaplogic.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Creativity Express</span></a>. You can check it out on their site which will allow you a free demo of one of their interactive activities. I believe I purchased my copy from <a href="http://www.timberdoodle.com/Default.asp">Timberdoodle</a>. It is an animated, interactive programme that is fun to use and takes you through the fundamentals of art history and design, as well as enhancing creative thinking and problem-solving skills.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">This next site is a UK website called<a href="http://www.artisancam.org.uk/"><span style="color: blue;"> ArtisanCam</span></a>, I haven't had a chance to explore it fully but the site gives one an insight into the lives and works of contemporary working artists - the site has videos where the artists talk about their work and you can also watch at work which is a fascinating process. There are lots of fun interactive activities to encourage children to inspire further learning. It really is a great resource for kids to see modern artists at work today. A multitude of different art forms are covered from photography, illustrations, ceramics, weaving, textiles, drawing to painting, animation and sculpture.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.iamanartist.ie/index.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">I am an Artist</span></a> is a website for the younger ones which has activities and ideas to explore including clay, fabric, paint, construction and drawing. The site is appealing and easy to navigate with slideshows to engage the kids to think and then kid-friendly projects for them to build upon their new ideas.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Another interesting site which gives step by step design and drawing lessons - <a href="http://www.artyfactory.com/sitebody/gallery1.htm"><span style="color: blue;">Artyfactory</span></a>. Again, I haven't personally used it but have bookmarked it as a resource to come back to.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I hope that some of these resources will help you deepen your enjoyment in your art studies! Hopefully, time permitting, I will post more on our studies of the Renaissance and their artists and include my notebook and lapbook pieces.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-61901095143438620442011-02-25T10:11:00.006+00:002011-04-01T10:16:51.024+01:00Life is not a series of tasks to be accomplished<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/early-morning-sunrise-through-trees-and-fog-richard-singleton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/early-morning-sunrise-through-trees-and-fog-richard-singleton.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;">A golden note of misty light quietly slips through the velvet-black night; noisy birdsong dips and rolls through not-quite morning air. Into my slowly-waking heart, His whisper settles in me:</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16pt;">Life is not a series of tasks to be fulfilled.</span></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt;">It is to be lived and savoured, held close - filled with space and grace – space enough to respond to My call - no matter how inconvenient it may be when it comes.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 5.0pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt;"><br />
</span></i></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;">Oh how well you know me, Father - even half awake you know my mind is already filled with things to do and achieve today, lists to check off. You know how easy it is for me to be structured, maybe even too rigid. How I feel happiest when my list all accomplished. Words that could almost define me - discipline, efficiency, focus...."</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;"><i>Come on....time is ticking away", "Hurry up!"</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;">.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;">But at the expense of what (or whom)? Are there feelings I have steam-rolled over, children I have nagged and harassed, precious moments I have failed to enjoy in order to finish the task?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Your words of encouragement flow through me - Life is for <i>living</i>:</span><br />
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<i style="font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">When your son builds a fort and wants you to play even though you are in the middle of your devotions.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">When your children need a snuggle just when you are desperately trying to answer all your long overdue emails.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To dance in the rain when you are supposed to be cooking dinner.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To watch a movie with the family even though they really should be in bed.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To take your time over a piece of work that you are all interested in even when the schedule tells us it's time to move on.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To lay on the floor and eat cookies, listening to music when the laundry needs doing.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">Taking the day off to visit the museum or swim in the pool when there is still much to be done.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To sit and enjoy being with your husband, not rushing to put the kids to sleep.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span">To embrace life's bumps, surprises, mistakes and allow them to be fertiliser for learning and growth.</span></i> <br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Life is for living not just for getting through or surviving</b>.</span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes we just have to survive - I know that - I've lived it. But so much more is given to us; a life to embrace even with all its thorns and cut-glass edges. We may bleed but if we feel and live grateful and find peace in the small things, we'll find God: open-armed, smiling, delighting in us. In me. In you.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">So today I pray - </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"> </span></span><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">" I surrender. I surrender my need to control, to have things run according to schedule, to count my worth by what I've achieved each day. I choose to live - not just survive. I want to learn to be."</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19px;">As I open my eyes, I see a new day has dawned - brilliant blue streaked with fresh linen-white clouds, mellow golden morning-light dancing off the the tips of towering jade-green trees. I am reminded of this verse from His word: </span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">for his compassions never fail. </span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">They are new every morning;</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">great is your faithfulness.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">therefore I will wait for him. </span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><i><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Lamentations 3:22-24</span></span></i></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19px;">Thankful for new mornings, I start today.</span></i></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff162/annvoskamp/subalbumone/walkwithhimwednesdays2-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19px;"> </span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-38296940411366707692011-02-06T17:36:00.000+00:002011-02-06T17:36:38.158+00:00Music appreciation: All About Jazz Unit Study<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">One of our favourite CDs to listen to is <i>Jazz for Kids</i> which has an eclectic selection of quirky jazz songs sung by some legendary singers like Ella Fitzgerald (Old Macdonald, The Muffin Man), Slim Gaillard (Potato Chips), Louis Jordan (Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens) and of course, Louis Armstrong singing the beautiful "It's A Wonderful World". </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0001KAA86&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">When my daughter recently declared that jazz was her favourite style of music - I thought that I should give her a real taste of what jazz was all about. And being a homeschooler - how could I resist turning it into an educational opportunity? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Below are the links for the unit study and lapbook pieces that I created for our studies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Origins of Jazz</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">We started off with an introduction to jazz and how it is sometimes termed America’s classical music, We looked up this</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> <a href="http://pbskids.org/jazz/time/index.html">useful timeline</a></span> from PBS and discussed how the origins of jazz were rooted in the spirituals and work songs of the African slaves in the plantations. We listened to a few beautiful spirituals sung by Mahala Jackson on Youtube.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/fY0G_S6ZrtE/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fY0G_S6ZrtE&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fY0G_S6ZrtE&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DVXReRfZCM8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Musical Elements in Jazz:<o:p></o:p></b></span></u></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></u></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The next week we focused on two elements that are key to jazz – syncopation and improvisation. We used information from<a href="http://www.suite101.com/content/jazz-syncopation-and-improvisation-a115822"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">this site</span></a> to help explain syncopation. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">This <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.apassion4jazz.net/improvisation.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">site</span></a> </span>provides a helpful explanation jazz improvisation and as always, we discovered some <i>wonderful</i> videos of Billy Taylor explaining and demonstrating improvisation.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">You can download the A4 sized poster definitions of Syncopation and Improvisation that I created for us to put on our walls by clicking on the pictures below.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmINjllZDYyNjctYjk5My00ZDI1LTlmOGQtMjdlMGVjNWExNjFk&hl=en&authkey=CO27qP8E"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU6so-efo9I/AAAAAAAAAjI/f6Hr-BYHAGw/s320/improvisation1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU6reen-p6I/AAAAAAAAAjE/_0iSn9CXme8/s1600/Syncopation+definition1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU6reen-p6I/AAAAAAAAAjE/_0iSn9CXme8/s320/Syncopation+definition1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Early Jazz – Ragtime and Blues</b></span></u></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Following that, we talked about how <a href="http://www.ehow.com/about_5127123_history-ragtime-jazz.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Ragtime </span></a>was the earliest form of jazz. It is hard not to love this infectious fun musical style. We listened to music by two famous ragtime artistes – Scott Joplin (who wrote <i>The Entertainer</i>) and Tom Turpin. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/CkKEoSSa_4Y/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CkKEoSSa_4Y&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CkKEoSSa_4Y&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">We also talked briefly about blues music which finds its roots in jazz as well and listened to Bessie Smith, who was called the "Empress of the Blues" and one of the most popular female blues singers in the 1920s and 30s.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>New Orleans or Dixieland Jazz</b></span></u></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/dixie.html">Dixieland jazz, Hot jazz or New Orleans jazz </a>- it is probably a genre that many of us are familiar with. It was a combination of music from the marching bands and funeral parades of New Orleans and ragtime and blues - often played in small bands with brass, woodwind and rhythm instruments. Some famous New Orleans artists included the inimitable Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">We also happened to have this copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019QQW92?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0019QQW92"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Dixieland Hymns </span></a>on our shelves which was great to listen to. It is available as an MP3 download from Amazon.com.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019QQW92?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0019QQW92"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU69M4aVkxI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/UeUfXTTS1dY/s1600/61BTS66BQsL._SL160_.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">Books to read: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><i>If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis Armstrong</i><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=apishe-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=061825076X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Getting to know your Jazz Instruments</b></span></u></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">I decided to change it up the next week because I bought an excellentpicture book that I couldn't wait to share with the kids.</span></span><br />
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</span></span><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=0590478931" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It is a terrific way to introduce the kids to the different kinds of instruments used in jazz bands and it comes with a fantastic CD. It is a fictional account of a night of jazz played by some of the greats like Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Max Roach. It is beautifully illustrated and the writing is rhythmic and evocative.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Thelonious Monk invents on the keys, </i></span></div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Does his own thing, not aiming to please. </i></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Discordant chords now blend to be </i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i>Pure genius, joined in harmony. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></div></i></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;">The CD gives you a taste of each instrument from the drums, piano and different saxaphones - exploring tempos and volume.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I created a lapbook piece on jazz musical instruments and we learnt about the instruments in greater detail as we put it together as a little booklet. Click on the picture to download the PDF document.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIZDc3MmNmZmItYmY1Yy00NWRjLTgyM2EtNmNhZGQ5NDZlNDY1&hl=en&authkey=CK3m6LUE"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU64Wf0O93I/AAAAAAAAAjM/ZJIIWKaeenY/s320/Instruments+in+jazz1.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">We also went onto YouTube and just found examples of the different instruments being played (I do love the internet for resources).</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">YouTube Examples of:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzkvfF9w6-s">jazz guitar</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YexaQsaCrU">jazz drums</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpZHUVjQydI&feature=related">jazz saxaphone</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2OaXpqJYk">jazz trombone</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO1uMjz3n3w">jazz trumpet</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPiZoND209U">jazz piano</a></span></span><br />
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</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><b><u>Swing Jazz</u></b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://www.just-the-swing.com/his/swing-history/swing-jazz"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Swing jazz</span></a> developed and gained huge popularity from the time of the Great Depression and all through the 1940s. It was characterised by large bands with music you could dance to. Famous swing artistes included Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. The videos below are of Duke Ellington and his band and the second is a swing dance scene.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/R0BHxhUnokU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">Books to read:</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786814209?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0786814209"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU7AlqP15zI/AAAAAAAAAjU/GkXZVh_s8_A/s1600/613ST7HTTYL._SL160_.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<u style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Bebop/Scat and Ella Fitzgerald</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bebop developed in the 1940s and in a sense, it arose from a desire for greater creative freedom outside of the big swing bands. It was characterised by more complex melodies and chord progressions We read this lovely picture book about <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECEVVQ?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002ECEVVQ">Ella Fitzgerald: A Tale Of A Vocal Virtuoso</a> </span>and we learnt a lot about scatting and Bebop from it.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ECEVVQ?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002ECEVVQ"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU7CphDiE4I/AAAAAAAAAjY/KJGfgpkKJ5E/s1600/517T7S00GAL._SL160_.jpg" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">We watched lots of videos of Ella Fitzgerald singing and were so taken away by her style, grace and talent.She is undeniably wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XUYpUogn91U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">Trailblazers in the area of Bebop were Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.</span></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ukL3TDV6XRg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">Books to read: </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0531070956?ie=UTF8&tag=apishe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0531070956"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU7Hs-jdswI/AAAAAAAAAjk/7SZzbxO04xE/s1600/51PQEoUWE6L._SL160_.jpg" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Cool Jazz and Hard Bop</span></u></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br />
</span></u></b></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The 1950s was as time of experimentation and the result was the emergence of a number of different styles.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/cool.html">Cool jazz</a> was smoother, relaxed and slower in tempo. Miles Davis is a prime example.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/hard-bop-d424">Hard Bop</a> was an extension of Bebop but looser, simpler and more soulful. Art Blakely and Horace Silver were pioneers of Hard Bop.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/BbyPIgjP_5I/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BbyPIgjP_5I&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BbyPIgjP_5I&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><u>Latin Jazz and Fusion</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><u><br />
</u></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As its name suggests - <a href="http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/latin.html">Latin jazz </a>was influenced by latin rhythms and melodies.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.hypermusic.ca/jazz/fusion.html">Fusion</a> combine jazz improvisation and rock music. Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea are famous artists.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">That was the end of our tour of jazz!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Some other helpful resources:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIMTgyNzJmYTQtNDExZC00ZmQ4LTg0MTctZWJlOGY4NWJlYjE5&hl=en&authkey=CNOkrsAE"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><b>My lapbook pieces</b></span></a></span><br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1R04h_ktqmIMTgyNzJmYTQtNDExZC00ZmQ4LTg0MTctZWJlOGY4NWJlYjE5&hl=en&authkey=CNOkrsAE"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"></span><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TU7X2yBulWI/AAAAAAAAAjo/ozBQsryncdw/s320/jazz+lapbook+pieces2.jpg" width="225" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.jazzinamerica.org/" style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jazz in America</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> - I found this belatedly but it has lesson plans and all sorts of resources if you want to take your learning further.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/history_of_jazz.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><b>Scholastic's History of Jazz</b></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> - lesson plans and audio clips</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/jazz/beat/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><b>PBS' Companion site to Ken Burn's film "Jazz"</b></span> -</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> You can sees parts of the film on YouTube<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITbuFIG4Xvc"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">here</span></a>.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/jazz.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><b>Classics for Kids - Jazz</b></span></a></span><br />
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More books about Jazz:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000WPPZOE&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0805079947&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0823421732&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1833129382"></span><span id="goog_1833129383"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1833129484"></span><span id="goog_1833129485"></span></span></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-51087059863425089952011-02-02T07:08:00.002+00:002011-02-02T07:08:59.373+00:00Oops! Broken links on my blog<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I've been AWOL for a while with Christmas and travelling over the last two months and as a result, I've just found that my 4Shared account (where I keep my documents for you to download) has been deactivated because I haven't logged in for over a month. How annoying! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I will be working to upload the documents again and repair the links in due time. So, to anyone who has been trying to get the documents and notes and been unable to - Sorry! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Hopefully I can get all the links working before long.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.0pt;">:)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-26306077905386445272010-11-29T12:37:00.003+00:002010-11-29T12:47:03.373+00:00Poetry kids love: T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www3.images.coolspotters.com/photos/73238/old-possums-book-of-practical-cats-by-ts-eliot-profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www3.images.coolspotters.com/photos/73238/old-possums-book-of-practical-cats-by-ts-eliot-profile.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I was looking for some fun poems to enjoy with the girls when I was suddenly thrown back to my childhood and the memory of my time in the car, with my mum, singing songs from “Cats: The Musical” <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We had watched the musical together in the West End on a trip to London and we both loved the music. I learnt all the lyrics to the songs and was surprised to find out later that the lyrics were actually adapted from poems by T.S. Eliot. These poems had been written to amuse his grandchildren and they certainly entertained. I remember devouring the poems as a child and I suspected my girls would get the same amount of enjoyment from them too. The poems are hard to resist and they beg to be read out loud and acted out and that is exactly what happened as the girls read them.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">We started off by reading a selection of poems like<span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/oldpssm.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Macavity: The Mystery Ca</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">t </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">and<span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/oldpssm.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">The Naming Of the Cats</span></a>, which I had printed off the internet and then, just for fun, I showed them clips from musical. It whetted their appetite and they were eager to read the other poems as well as watch more clips from the musical. Before long, I caught them practising their own rendition of<span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/oldpssm.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">The Old Gumbie Cat</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space" style="color: black;"> </span>- not only had they had memorised it but they had also choreographed a whole song and dance routine and were practising it with such glee. :)</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Needless to say - it was great fun and I always love it when they get this enthusiastic about something they are learning!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I purchased a lovely audio version of the poems beautifully read by Sir John Gielgud and Irene Worth.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0007202628&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18.75px;">These are some of the videos we watched from Cats: The musical. It definitely served a purpose in increasing their interest in the poems.</span><br />
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<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MaIKlYQVQLw?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MaIKlYQVQLw?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2W4a9P6ZQeU?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2W4a9P6ZQeU?fs=1&hl=en_GB&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18.75px;"> My daughter was so into it, she even made a glog about it. Making the glog really appealed to her artistic sensibilities and it was also a valuable exercise in learning to research and distil</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18.75px;"> the information needed to fit the limited format. She really enjoyed the process and did a great job. </span></span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="1300" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://edu.glogster.com/glog.php?glog_id=11183885&scale=100" style="overflow: hidden;" width="960"></iframe></div></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-16072811968554731582010-11-24T15:05:00.000+00:002010-11-24T15:05:45.259+00:00Losing one's way: the road to perspective<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOKd611BRLI/AAAAAAAAAgU/_vVw-yVVNS8/s1600/IMG_0877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOKd611BRLI/AAAAAAAAAgU/_vVw-yVVNS8/s320/IMG_0877.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.9722px; line-height: 53px;">"Mummy, try not to be too stressed." </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.9722px; line-height: 26px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.9722px; line-height: 37px;">My elder daughter looks at me with a worried frown on her face. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 53px;"><i></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Am I stressed? Have I been yelling again? Have I misplaced the joy of being <u>here</u> - present - alive? </span></i></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; line-height: 53px;">I have to take deep breath.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 53px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I'm sorry." This is all I know to say when I realise that I've lost my way - again. When was the last time I laughed with my kids?</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.9722px; line-height: 26px;">I need perspective, I need to step back. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 37px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I need to remember why I'm doing this: homeschooling, juggling family and work. It seems to always be about trying to prioritise the right thing - time with God, my husband, my kids; or trying to catch up on things - reading, administration, sleep, life...</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes we all need to look up from our ceaseless tasks and perceive the landscape of our lives and make sure we haven't taken a wrong turn and ended up entangled and so far removed from our original path that we don't even know how we got there.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 26px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I'm a do-er, a planner and a tick-off-my-list kinda girl - so it is really easy for me to get caught up in the day to day busy-ness of homeschooling and lists of to-do's. I focus on the tasks and not on the present. I miss out on little smiles, tender hugs, whispered secrets, silly jokes. I lose my grace and end up frazzled, grumpy, stressed out and just no-fun at all. My <i>brokenness</i> emerges and I am undone by my lack.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">So when my daughter looks at me with her big eyes and rubs my back in concern - I know I need to stop: to take</span><span class="apple-style-span"> refuge and check in with God, to allow him to draw me back and restore my soul. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">Our recent family devotions have been spent doing a study about becoming a woman of excellence and through our discussions one thing stood out clearly to me. In order to pursue excellence - we need to know what it is we are striving for. We need goals and a vision. I realised I needed a new vision for our family - no, wait - <i>we </i>needed a <i>shared</i> vision for our family.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">At the beginning of the year, the girls and I made a list of goals - it included things like learning how to sew, how to ride a wave board, how to play the guitar, being on time for family devotions, sleeping earlier and exercising more. As we talked about how we did on these goals - we were pleased to see that we'd accomplished many of these goals. We also realised that if we hadn't articulated these goals, we would never have taken the necessary steps to achieve them. For example: because the girls expressed their desire to learn how to sew - and being deficient in that skill myself - I sought out a sewing teacher and opportunities for them to learn how to sew. The result was some beautiful bags and two glorious medieval costumes for our end of term medieval feast celebration. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOzdzHvQ3dI/AAAAAAAAAgw/5vhY8tQD4Xw/s1600/iphone+pics+sept+076.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOzdzHvQ3dI/AAAAAAAAAgw/5vhY8tQD4Xw/s320/iphone+pics+sept+076.PNG" width="213" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOzbDaxZxyI/AAAAAAAAAgo/7SMHfsX4hF4/s1600/iphone+pics+sept+077.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOzbDaxZxyI/AAAAAAAAAgo/7SMHfsX4hF4/s320/iphone+pics+sept+077.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">So with the Christmas season fast bearing down upon us, I thought the year's end would be the ideal time to take stock and talk about our hopes, desires and goals. It is a great way to check in with each other and ourselves, to make sure we are going in the direction we want to. So over these next few weeks, we will be working on a Family Mission Statement as well as our goals for us as a family and for ourselves individually. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">We spent the last week or so talking about the things that we want for our family. We began with a time of prayer and worship and invited Christ into our discussions and everyone had a chance to talk about things we'd loved to be doing as a family - practical things like getting back to regular games nights and about parents not using the phones during what is supposed to be family time (oops!). We got to heart issues as well - like the way we talk to each other and how that makes us feel, the need for more patience and consideration to one another. We reflected on how we could ensure that Christ was at the heart of our family and how we could impact the lives of people around us with grace and blessing.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">After all the talking, we got to work on creating a Family Mission Statement - something that would reflect who we are and who we want to be as a family. We got the whiteboard out and started a mindmap of ideas.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOziUN5C6wI/AAAAAAAAAg0/YI-MYIESAPo/s1600/family+mission+statement+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TOziUN5C6wI/AAAAAAAAAg0/YI-MYIESAPo/s1600/family+mission+statement+board.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span">Out of this, we saw where we wanted to be in relation to God, to one another and to the world outside our family.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 43px;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is a wonderful thing to have at the forefront of my mind as I go through each day - it reminds me of my purpose as I mother and school my children. I love that Christ infuses our hopes and dreams for our family. It feels like a marker for our journey - something that will keep us grounded and on course. So when the day spins out of control and all my best laid plans crumble under the weight of real life, when I am tempted to lash out, lose it, lay down in defeat and cry, I look to His grace and return to our vision and remember... </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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o:title="Tree Silhouettes Clip Art"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span></b><span style="font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Our Family Mission Statement</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We choose to keep Christ first and foremost in our</span><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"> hearts</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">and </span><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">our home</span><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We echo Joshua’s words “</span><span style="font-family: "Rage Italic"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">.” </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="apple-style-span"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We choose to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in order to </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">create time</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> <span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">and space</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> to be in God’s beautiful presence, to receive daily strength from the Holy Spirit and to bear his fruit through </span><span style="font-family: "Script MT Bold"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL";">grace-filled lives</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We want our family to be </span><span style="font-family: "Britannic Bold","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL";">unified</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">in love and appreciation, in understanding and care<span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span>for each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We desire our home to be a </span><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">refuge</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">and a </span><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Agency FB","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">safe place</span><span style="font-family: "Agency FB","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">where we are </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">loved unconditionally for who we are</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">, </span></b><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">where our failures and mistakes are forgiven and our dreams and aspirations find their wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one will be left behind or ignored and our purpose is to build each other up, not to tear down. <span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We desire that our home will be a </span><span style="font-family: "Script MT Bold"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">welcoming p</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.8333px;"><span style="font-family: "Script MT Bold"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">lace</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">for all – that all who enter our home will breathe in an </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">atmosphere of holy laughter, joyful peace and loving acceptance</span></b><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.8333px;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We choose not to ignore the needs of others, to give of ourselves </span><span style="font-family: "Lucida Calligraphy"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">generously and sacrificially</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">, to strive always to see others with the eyes of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We want to learn to be </span><span style="font-family: "Viner Hand ITC"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">available </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">to God and to respond to his prompting so that we may be </span><span style="font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 22.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">vessels of blessing</span><span style="font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Gloucester MT Extra Condensed","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">We do all this so that we may </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">live lives</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Papyrus; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL";"> <span style="color: #943634; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">worthy of the calling</span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Ezra SIL'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">we</span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> have received, that we may be completely humble and gentle, always patient in bearing with one another in love. We choose to make </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Harlow Solid Italic"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Ezra SIL"; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent2; mso-themeshade: 191;">every effort</span></i><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Ezra SIL"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 30px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 30px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. ~e.e. cummings</span></span></i></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><br />
</span></span></span></span>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-18501866543518781002010-11-03T06:35:00.003+00:002010-11-03T06:45:23.974+00:00A Study On Clouds<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg/300px-Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg/300px-Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg/300px-Arctic_stratospheric_cloud.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I love nature and I'd like to get out more, but as I explained in my last <a href="http://a-pilgrims-heart.blogspot.com/2010/10/nature-studies-is-this-cheating.html"><span style="color: blue;">post</span></a>, we just don't. Clouds (and stars actually) have long held a fascination for me. So I guess it was only a matter of time that I would find a way to incorporate it into our nature studies. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most recently, I started having the girls observe the clouds on a fairly regularly basis, making sketches and noting the weather. To help them, I printed out a cloud guide from</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> <a href="http://www.usc.edu/org/cosee-west/March06Resources/OtherResources/CloudID.pdf">here</a></span></span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">to help them identify the clouds. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">While doing this, the girls complained that it was hard to draw clouds properly and this seemed like a great opportunity to link in an art lesson or two on "<i>How to paint the sky</i>". And then, I thought why not turn it into a fun unit study? So I declared an "All About Clouds" day and quickly put together a unit study on clouds which would allow us to delve more deeply into all areas of the subject. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the usual morning's task of cloud sketching and identification was completed, we started our day reading the following books:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1402728131&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0807549746&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8333px;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">John Day's <i>Book of Clouds</i> is a beautiful photographic portfolio of clouds which is organised and explained very clearly. We "ooh-ed and ahh-ed" over many of his photos and absorbed a great deal of new information . <i>The Man Who Named The Clouds </i>is a lovely simple picture book which packs a lot of learning into a easy read. It combined biography, history and weather science.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In my opinion, a study on clouds lends itself perfectly to poetry and art appreciation. I picked out a few simple little poems to read and focused particularly on the idea of <i>Imagery</i><i>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/weather/rain_cloud_BW.png" style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clouds<br />
By Christina Rossetti</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<br />
White sheep, white sheep,<br />
On a blue hill,<br />
When the wind stops,<br />
You all stand still.<br />
When the wind blows,<br />
You walk away slow.<br />
White sheep, white sheep,<br />
Where do you go?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/weather/rain_cloud_BW.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.clipartpal.com/_thumbs/pd/weather/rain_cloud_BW.png" width="193" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rain Rain</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">by Jame Horner</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rain rain<br />
falls on the street,<br />
mud in puddles<br />
cleaning my feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thunder thunder<br />
rumble and roar,<br />
close the windows<br />
and lock the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clouds clouds<br />
black and gray,<br />
heavy with water<br />
to drop all day.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sun sun<br />
is breaking through,<br />
clouds are moving,<br />
the rain stops too.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Rainbow rainbow<br />
across the sky,<br />
see-through colours<br />
to tickle my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then we tackled Percy Shelley's longer, more complex poem, aptly named The Cloud. We took it verse by verse and discussed the language, imagery, alliteration, assonance and personification. It is a long poem and we only looked at the first three verses. You can read the whole poem <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-cloud/"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Cloud</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By Percy Bysshe Shelley</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,<br />
From the seas and the streams;<br />
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid<br />
In their noonday dreams.<br />
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken<br />
The sweet buds every one,<br />
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,<br />
As she dances about the sun.<br />
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,<br />
And whiten the green plains under,<br />
And then again I dissolve it in rain,<br />
And laugh as I pass in thunder.<br />
<br />
I sift the snow on the mountains below,<br />
And their great pines groan aghast;<br />
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,<br />
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.<br />
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,<br />
Lightning, my pilot, sits;<br />
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,<br />
It struggles and howls at fits;<br />
<br />
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,<br />
This pilot is guiding me,<br />
Lured by the love of the genii that move<br />
In the depths of the purple sea;<br />
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,<br />
Over the lakes and the plains,<br />
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,<br />
The Spirit he loves remains;<br />
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,<br />
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">After reading all that poetry, we had to try our hand at writing some of our own. So I instructed the girls that they were going to write a poem in free verse. We started off with a five minute freewrite where they could get all their thoughts down about on paper without worrying about spelling or grammar. Then they took a short break and came back to their work. They highlighted phrases and ideas that they liked and then off they went, using those phrases and ideas as a jumping off point for writing their own <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8333px;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.25pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8333px;">In the afternoon, we moved onto learning how to paint clouds. I think this was the highlight for us and we had a lovely time experimenting different techniques and ideas.We used these Youtube videos to start us off and then after that we looked at photos from <i>The Book Of Clouds </i>and tried to paint our favourite pictures. </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I belatedly found this lovely Cloud Art slideshow at <a href="http://heartsandtrees.blogspot.com/2008/02/clouds-art-show.html"><span style="color: blue;">Hearts and Trees</span></a>, which I will definitely use for more art appreciation on how different artists paint clouds.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We finished up by reading a general book on weather and exploring some weather terms but not in any great detail. We also used some very helpful worksheets from</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> </span><a href="http://warnick.wikispaces.com/file/view/TypesofClouds.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">here</span> </a>to complete our studies. We'll probably have to come back to do a more comprehensive study at some point but all in all, it was an enjoyable day of learning. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-10635318915034488082010-10-24T17:30:00.000+01:002010-10-24T17:30:29.685+01:00Nature Studies: Is this cheating?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMQ9sHnyOkI/AAAAAAAAAfM/Cz2gr_5PERw/s1600/leeds+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMQ9sHnyOkI/AAAAAAAAAfM/Cz2gr_5PERw/s1600/leeds+garden.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I first started thinking about homeschooling, I was drawn to many aspects of the Charlotte Mason philosophy and approach and I knew that I definitely wanted to incorporate into our lives regular opportunities for art and poetry appreciation and also plenty of nature studies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">However, when it came to nature studies and getting out and about - we just didn't. The reality being that the humidity and heat of living a few degrees north of the equator, is simply is too oppressive for us and it drives us indoors. On our last visit to the local tropical nature reserve, we ended up with huge welts of mosquito bites (despite copious amounts of insect repellent being applied) and drenched in sticky sweat. Not only that, after scaling the heights to the top of the hill, my toddler decided he had had enough and I had to carry him all the way down. It will probably be a while before we brave that again!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">How I long for lovely balmy summer days, crisp cool autumns, delicious wintry weather and glorious spring days - but alas, in the tropics, that is only a dream. So, those long leisurely walks in the pleasant sun-dappled parks and forests will have to wait. The rainforest is a fascinating place to explore but how does a heat and perspiration averse family find a way to spend time enjoying more of God's beautiful creation? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Well, first I decided that I would start small and try to incorporate nature studies in small and creative ways. Plan A was to get the girls to explore the fauna and flora in our local vicinity. I told to them to find and photograph any beasties they could within our small plot of garden and the landscaped gardens of the condominium we live in. I equipped the girls with a camera and tasked them with the challenge of finding creatures big and small and photographing them if they could.They had fun and it was pretty successful in getting the kids out.These are some of the critters they caught on film.</span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRdvZFFjaI/AAAAAAAAAgE/WGoH4cJTiew/s1600/caterpillar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRdvZFFjaI/AAAAAAAAAgE/WGoH4cJTiew/s320/caterpillar.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRd2mtixrI/AAAAAAAAAgI/3ZrYOAQYkZ0/s1600/bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRd2mtixrI/AAAAAAAAAgI/3ZrYOAQYkZ0/s320/bird.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMReFbKQvDI/AAAAAAAAAgM/teSr708OKFg/s1600/fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMReFbKQvDI/AAAAAAAAAgM/teSr708OKFg/s320/fly.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMReU7zIlfI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/sm0iDgEO35M/s1600/spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMReU7zIlfI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/sm0iDgEO35M/s320/spider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, we found it difficult to identify the particular species of insect or animal and we got frustrated and lost heart a little. </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Also, as the weather got hotter and more oppressive, it became harder to persuade my girls to head out (they really don't like the heat). So, it seemed like our nature studies were doomed to be neglected.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I then hit upon an idea - nature studies don't always have to be outside, do they? It is, after all, the study of nature and I can bring it into the home. So I planned a study on fruit, something easy and doable, an achievable goal we could build on. I would assign half an hour each week to the study of a particular fruit. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first week the girls looked at, sketched, and cut open a Papaya. We then went online to look at Papaya trees and I prepared a little note page on papayas which they read and stuck into their nature journals. They enjoyed it, stayed cool and happy - so I'll count it as a success.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRI3nHfKiI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/QvWCUzWe0nA/s1600/papaya+notebook.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRI3nHfKiI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/QvWCUzWe0nA/s320/papaya+notebook.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The next week was followed by a study of a starfruit. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRUfUKQZZI/AAAAAAAAAfs/uZSr1pUUrBw/s1600/starfruit+nature+drawing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TMRUfUKQZZI/AAAAAAAAAfs/uZSr1pUUrBw/s1600/starfruit+nature+drawing.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span>It seems to be working well and I plan to carry on for awhile and spend time observing other tropical, local fruit like the Rambutan and Mangosteen.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Rambutan_Fruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Rambutan_Fruit.jpg" width="200" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="http://cdn.wn.com/pd/bc/a4/495e60a3ccc1ecac0b34b67ad5ee_grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://cdn.wn.com/pd/bc/a4/495e60a3ccc1ecac0b34b67ad5ee_grande.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is not quite the getting out into the fresh air and observing nature in its natural surroundings (hence the cheating?) but I think it still counts </span>as an opportunity for my children to observe and appreciate the natural world. What I have noticed is that the children are paying attention to their surroundings more, and they'll stop to watch a bird in the tree pecking away at the bark or a grasshopper perched on our window sill, which is lovely.<br />
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And who knows, we might still get out that door and brave the heat for another foray into nature in the not too distant future.. </div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><br />
</div></span></span></span>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-91953256160324153682010-10-02T12:57:00.000+01:002010-10-02T12:57:32.626+01:00The Versatile Blogger Award: I got an award!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ngQU5S-Or7A/TKTUZh5ZRqI/AAAAAAAAadU/T43xtRqcVaE/s1600/The+Versatile+Blogger.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ngQU5S-Or7A/TKTUZh5ZRqI/AAAAAAAAadU/T43xtRqcVaE/s1600/The+Versatile+Blogger.bmp" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Wow! I got an award given to me by <a href="http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/versatile-blogger-award-from-lady.html#comment-form"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">All Things Beautiful</span></a> and I am so thrilled. Being new to the blogosphere, it feels good to know that someone has actually read and enjoyed my blog! So I appreciate this award immensely. Not only that – I have discovered some new (to me) and inspiring blogs through this. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks and more thanks to <a href="http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/versatile-blogger-award-from-lady.html#comment-form"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">All Things Beautiful</span></a> for this honour. Her blog is new to me so I’ve had a great time checking it out – it is full of fun and interesting posts and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">very</i> helpful ideas that I plan to incorporate into our school day. I love discovering new blogs. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now the rules of this award are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Thank and link back to whomever gave you the award. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Share 7 things about yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">Pass it along to other blogs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that you've recently discovered and enjoy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">And finally leave your recipients a note telling them about the award.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">So here goes:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I loved drama and the theatre as a kid and wish I had had the guts to pursue it </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"> seriously.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’d love to learn how to paint and to take stunning photos.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I enjoy making things look beautiful.</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’d much rather be cold than hot. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I like my schedules and have a hard time adapting to change – but I’m working on </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"> it!</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I’ve recently discovered that I don’t like roller-coaster rides (even the baby ones).</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;">I love buying books, books and more books and after that comes stationary – I </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-themecolor: text1;"> adore that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">new notebook smell.</span></div></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now here comes the fun part – so many blogs to choose from! Here are some wonderful ones (I’ll try to pick blogs that haven’t had the award before but that might be hard!)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/sharing-the-homeschool-journey/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Practical Pages</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">– I think she’s been given this award before but I do love her blog because it really embodies the versatile blog with excellent free resources and helpful encouraging ideas for schooling and life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://counterculturalschool.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Countercultural School</span></a> – packed with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SO </i>many great ideas including wonderful resources on how to school your dyslexic child. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://ohpeacefulday.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">O Peaceful Day</span></a> – an Australian Charlotte Mason homeschooling family which gives a different perspective on some things. I discovered her blog while researching MEP (Mathematics Enhancement Programme) and found myself enjoying her many other fascinating posts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://barefootvoyage.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Barefoot Voyage</span></a> - I just recently discovered her blog and have enjoyed reading her posts not just on homeschooling but on marriage and her book reviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://teachingourown.wordpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Teaching Our Own</span></a> – when Angie suggests a book I pay attention! She writes not just about homeschooling and raising her kids but also about how to manage the home. She has a knack for finding awesome time-saving gadgets!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://satorismiles.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Satori Smiles</span></a> – plenty of interesting homeschooling related posts here – just go check it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Enjoy and thanks again! <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 156.65pt;"><br />
</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-74700599892460744612010-09-29T15:31:00.000+01:002010-09-29T15:31:10.564+01:00Carnival of Homeschooling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2006/02/introduction-to-homeschooling.html"><img border="0" src="http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/hcate3/ImageC.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 20px;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Carnival of Homeschooling is a great way to check out blogs and get some great new ideas for your homeschool. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My <a href="http://a-pilgrims-heart.blogspot.com/2010/09/weekly-writer-club-review.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;">Weekly Writer Club review</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"> </span>is featured there as well as many fantastic blogs and ideas! There is a special feature on "schoolrooms" and it is fun to see how other families organise their homeschooling lives. Go check it out at <a href="http://sbees.blogspot.com/2010/09/carnival-of-homeschooling-school-rooms.html"><span style="color: #741b47;">Sprittibee</span></a>, this month's Carnival of Homeschooling host.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-63508103416854472612010-09-23T17:36:00.000+01:002010-09-23T17:36:28.494+01:00Weekly Writer Club: A Review<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.weeklywriter.org/assets/images/webnr_2011.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="68" src="http://www.weeklywriter.org/assets/images/webnr_2011.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">There are some problems that homeschool mums love and one of them is when your kids are so into a project or activity that you can't get them to do anything else. That’s what we have with our new favourite activity – <a href="http://www.weeklywriter.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">the Weekly Writer Club</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">.</span> This is an fantastic language arts programme that puts the fun into writing and creating and it has my kids addicted. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So what is the Weekly Writer Club? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">It is the brainchild of Judy Steidl who acts as the director of the Club and cheerleader to all the kids’ efforts. It is an online writing programme where kids can participate in the club's many projects, activities and forums aimed at grades 2-8. What makes it unique is that it is highly interactive and fuelled largely by interests of the children in the club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, these customised writing opportunities are designed to help meet grade level expectations (US State Standards) .<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">What I love is how Judy supports and interacts with my kids, constantly encouraging them to build on their ideas and to initiate new forums or stories based on their own interests. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">The premise of this programme is about getting kids contributing and writing about the things </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> are interested in and she has created so many different avenues for them to express themselves. Not only that, it is a safe place for kids to interact with one another and also provides interesting opportunities for them to develop their leadership and technology skills.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The best way to explain what it offers is to give you a sampling of the myriad of activities that my girls are now participating in:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When they joined, they each had their own profile and blog which they could personalise by writing about their hobbies, interests, ambitions, favourite books etc and they got to customise it by adding their own pictures and images. They are also able to send and receive messages within this safe environment to Judy and the other kids in the club.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Virtual Cafe</b> where the kids can meet at “tables” (forums) and discuss anything from Lego, Food, Fantasy pets, People watching, Music, History, Science and anything else that takes their fancy. The girls have written about their favourite places to go for fun and added pictures, they’ve engaged in a discussion about their fantasy pets, discussed music they like and contemplated what they would do if they were given one wish.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Virtual Library</b> where there are book reviews and kids get a chance to review and discuss their favourite books. I know there are a few books on the girls' lists that they want to get a chance to put in there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Fantasy Island</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> is a firm favourite. Here they can create adventures about how they came to be shipwrecked on the island and what they have to do to survive. There are numerous aspects about life on the island where they can imagine the kind of animals that might be found there and food that they can eat, the dangers they may be face (pirates, sharks, storms!). It is fun non-pressurised creative writing because the kids can write as much or as little as they want in order to contribute to the whole story. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A big part of the WWclub programme is where kids are encouraged to join the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">QuickStart Letter Writing programme</b>. This is where they are given a series of steps to get started on writing and sending physical letters - first to Judy, then to friends and family and followed by suggestions to write to community leaders and career experts in the areas where the kids are interested in or passionate about. A variety of skills get practiced in the act of composing different types of letters and the reward of receiving an answer in the post is motivation enough for my girls. When they start on the course, they get business cards from Judy and if they write at least seven letters in the term and receive five replies, they get promoted to Club Ambassador. All these act as incentives to get them writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Brain Bank</b> is a place where kids are given opportunities to research and write about things that interest them. There are various courses like the Research course which teaches them various skills needed for effective information gathering and organisation, as well a lesson on how to create a Wiki document which acts as a repository for all kinds of interesting information, videos and images. They are encouraged to become Captains of a Wiki topic and take responsibility for developing it into a fun and interesting source of information. The topics range from Future Careers, Holidays, Entertainment, Journalism, Photography, Faith, Entertainment, Art, Cartoons, Weather – the list is exhaustive. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The idea is to engage all the kids and get them contributing to these Wikis, using their research skills to create an interesting and informative document. It is a new initiative and my girls have both expressed interest in being Captains and I am looking forward to them doing the research course and practicing their new skills in subjects they are have chosen themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">There is a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Travel Club</b> where kids can write about their adventures, trips or favourite countries. They are encouraged to post interesting information on any country of their choosing, maybe do a little research and add links so that other kids can learn too.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">There are plenty of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Study Helps</b> which help the children to find ways to improve their grammar, vocabulary, spelling, through challenges and games. They can even post about their homework and get help and encouragement with that in the forums. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Along the way, Judy will to introduce interesting little challenges or videos such as the “Create a Voki Character (personalised avatar) Competition”. These do a marvellous job in getting the kids interested and involved which inevitably spurs more discussions (hence writing) between them. I love these things because they are so fun and they get my reluctant writer practising her typing skills, checking her spelling and punctuation and just writing where she would normally avoid it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">To be honest, there is so much going on that it would probably be impossible to do every single thing. However, what it does do is provide countless alternatives for writing and plenty of diversity which would make it practically impossible not to find something in this club that would spark a child’s interest. Frankly, I’d love to be writing in some of these forums! (Sadly, no parents allowed in the club, it is just for kids – although there is a parent’s support forum). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Without a doubt , it is the creativity and participation of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Club Director Judy who keeps the club moving on. She is very active and absolutely lovely - sending encouraging emails to the kids, responding to their suggestions and always looking for ways to create new forums to include their interests and ideas.<br />
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My girls look forward to logging in every day and they are writing and improving their typing skills. They are getting lots of practice informally on how to use punctuation, spelling, checking over their work before they post and what makes a good sentence and tons of creative writing opportunities.<br />
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What I like as well, is the fact that there is a lot of grace - the children are given the freedom to tap into their creativity without worrying too much about spelling or punctuation. These budding writers will have an opportunity to take the work that they are personally proud of through the editing process later as they will be encouraged to submit their writing for publication in an ebook at the end of each semester. It fits right into the <a href="http://a-pilgrims-heart.blogspot.com/search/label/Bravewriter"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">Brave Writer philosophy</span></a> – freeing kids to express themselves without the shackles of worry about good grammar and perfect spelling which may make them hesitant to write and stunt creativity. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Membership for the whole family for one semester costs US$99 (so the more kids you have the better!). At the moment, it costs US$198 for a whole year’s access for the family. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When I first enquired about the WWClub this was Judy’s reply to me which sums up what the club is about:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">We take all the state standards for writing and create activities to match those requirements, but we do so in ways that keep the activities customized and a good match for each student.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">We are seeing that their excitement propels them to write more and, as young writers, this is the beginning of true literary appreciation as we dig deep to see an author's toolbox and how we can adapt good writing techniques, proper punctuation, and paragraph organization simply by practicing our own writing and borrowing from our favorite authors' successful examples.<br />
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In addition, in the fall, we have opportunities for kids to group together to study a book, discuss magazines, publish eBook creative writing (per semester), learn Web 2.0 technology, and earn leadership awards based on the number of letters that they write and receive.<br />
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Sometime I may publish products as many vendors do. But, with the WWClub, I want to create an opportunity for kids to experience true communicative arts, to see the relevancy in their writing, and to explore and deepen (and practice) their skills. I want them to understand that their writing matters, because they have important things to say....just like other writers who have come before them.<br />
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Beyond all this, the WWClub is so flexible that you can opt in or opt out of any activity as your schedule requires and is so open that we can create new opportunities simply because it will best match the needs for one child.<br />
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At the end of the term, we want the kids to have a stack of letters that are worth preserving; we want them to be able to say that they have been "published" in an eBook, we want them to be able to understand key lessons about Internet Safety and Moodle, and we want them to be able to celebrate a list of achievements in mastering content objectives through<br />
WWClub activities with new friends, forums, and blogs.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Why join the club? Well, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">if you are looking for something that gets kids writing on their own terms, energised and fighting their siblings to get onto the computer to write - this is a wonderful tool. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">It is full, fun and fabulous and I can unreservedly recommend it as a excellent way to supplement your language arts curriculum and get your kids animated and excited about writing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div></span></span>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-44287956368546056122010-08-23T01:50:00.000+01:002010-08-23T01:50:19.616+01:00Hands-On Activities: Byzantine Empire<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3366cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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o:title="Hagiasophia-christ"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout;"></span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Hagiasophia-christ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Hagiasophia-christ.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 9.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Hagiasophia-christ.jpg"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24.0pt;"><br />
</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 9.65pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our study of the Byzantine Empire inspired our art studies and there are so many different art activities one can do. Once we had spent enough time looking at the different aspects of Byzantine art from its architecture to mosaics and brilliant illuminations, I had to decide what we would take on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 9.65pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mosaics</span></u></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_003.jpg/300px-Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_003.jpg/300px-Meister_von_San_Vitale_in_Ravenna_003.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 9.65pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Print a blackline picture drawn in Byzantine style on card stock, enlarge it and stick your tiles to it. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/14024263/Orthodox-Christian-Icon-Coloring-Book"><b><span style="color: blue;">C</span></b></a><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/14024263/Orthodox-Christian-Icon-Coloring-Book"><b><span style="color: blue;">lick here</span></b></a> for a good source of Byzantine style colouring pages. This idea could easily be adapted to use paper tiles, coloured egg shells or glass tiles.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other ideas for Mosaics:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/mosaicsartscraftsideaskids.html"><b><span style="color: blue;">Artists Helping Children</span></b></a> is a good site with lots of different mosaic ideas.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.kinderart.com/sculpture/beanmosaic.shtml"><b><span style="color: blue;">KinderArt</span></b><b><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></b></a>has a cute lesson on bean mosaics.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Frescos</span></u></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg/800px-Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg/800px-Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3366cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg/800px-Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco.jpg"
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o:title="800px-Catacombe_Di_San_Gennaro_Fresco"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout;"></span></span></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://msjuliesartschool.blogspot.com/2008/10/giotto-plaster-of-paris-fresco-project.html"><b><span style="color: #3366cc;">Ms Julie's Art School</span></b></a> has a great post on making a fresco using a blackline drawing. In this post, she is using a drawing from a fresco by Giotto Di Bondone but it is easy enough to substitute with one of the Byzantine colouring pages provided in the link above. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Illuminations</span></u></b><b><u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg/200px-Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg/200px-Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3366cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg/200px-Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001.jpg"
style='width:92.25pt;height:150pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'
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o:title="200px-Meister_des_Mar%C3%A9chal_de_Boucicaut_001"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout;"></span></span></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 9.65pt;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the project that we picked in the end and I was very pleased with it. This<a href="http://www.leavesofgold.org/"><b><span style="color: #3366cc;"> site</span></b></a> is fabulous for teaching your kids about manuscripts and illuminations. They have a slide show which shows a number of different illuminations and asks questions which allow the kids to explore each manuscript more closely and then it gives you more information about the manuscript you are observing. There is another resource that shows you how manuscripts were made, the different roles and the whole process. They also provide templates for you to make your own manuscript illuminations.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Creating a whole manuscript page would have taken more time than we had, so I decided that they should create their own illuminated letter which was a smaller more manageable project.<br />
<br />
I found this fantastic PDF lesson on the <a href="http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OHSICS/FineArts/pdfs/Illuminations1.pdf"><b><span style="color: #3366cc;">Art Of Creating Illuminated Letters</span></b></a> which I used as the basis of my instruction. Then I used a free download from <a href="http://www.proseandletters.com/Learn/MedievalBorder.html"><b><span style="color: #3366cc;">Prose and Letters</span></b></a> which distilled in one page the essence of how to draw a medieval border. We then surfed online to look at different types of letter fonts and calligraphy to help them decide how they wanted to draw their letter. We used felt tip pens, coloured pencils and various metallic pens to get the right effect.<br />
<br />
I was pleased with the end result.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrH8yYMuOI/AAAAAAAAAb8/pNBbvy8bilM/s1600/R+illuminated+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrH8yYMuOI/AAAAAAAAAb8/pNBbvy8bilM/s200/R+illuminated+letter.jpg" width="198" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrIAbq0AQI/AAAAAAAAAcE/8wdoW6ypD2E/s1600/C+illuminated+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrIAbq0AQI/AAAAAAAAAcE/8wdoW6ypD2E/s200/C+illuminated+letter.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3366cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrH8yYMuOI/AAAAAAAAAb8/pNBbvy8bilM/s1600/R+illuminated+letter.jpg"
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o:title="R+illuminated+letter"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout;"></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #3366cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFrIAbq0AQI/AAAAAAAAAcE/8wdoW6ypD2E/s1600/C+illuminated+letter.jpg"
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o:title="C+illuminated+letter"/> </v:shape><![endif]--><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout;"></span></span></b></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other Illumination resources:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This <a href="http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/ken-illumination.htm"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Crayon Resist Illumination lesson</span></b></a></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">would be suitable to use with older children.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Lesson from the <a href="http://centralpt.com/upload/417/10005_MedievalManuscriptsLessonssm.pdf"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Utah Museum of Fine Arts</span></b></a> is full of useful information. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-91522339682021898722010-08-06T14:46:00.000+01:002010-08-06T14:46:40.064+01:00Hands On Activities: Islamic Empire<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Islamicartandarchitecture.jpg/350px-Islamicartandarchitecture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Islamicartandarchitecture.jpg/350px-Islamicartandarchitecture.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We have just completed week 3 of our Tapestry of Grace studies on the Rise of Islam. A fascinating subject where we learnt a great deal! I am very excited to share two wonderful video links which greatly enhanced our study.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The first is this informative PBS documentary narrated by Ben Kingsley about Muhammad and the birth of Islam.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><object height="360" width="580"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yX3UHNhQ1Zk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yX3UHNhQ1Zk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The second is a brilliant promotional film (1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets) from a highly acclaimed travelling exhibition called -<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;"> </span><a href="http://www.1001inventions.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">1001 Inventions: Discovering The Muslim Heritage In Our World</span><span id="goog_1031990437"></span><span id="goog_1031990438"></span>.</a> The short film itself has won many awards and accolades. It is a fine introduction to the achievements and influence of Muslim inventions to our modern world.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
<object height="360" width="580"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JZDe9DCx7Wk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JZDe9DCx7Wk&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="360"></embed></object></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We decided on two hands-on activities this week. We constructed a diorama of an Arabian marketplace and we also made a simple study of Islamic art and concentrated on a project about Geometric Art.<br />
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<b><u>The Diorama</u></b>:<br />
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This was was quite a time-consuming project and we've stretched it out over a few weeks. I spent a some time before our project collecting empty cereal boxes, tissue boxes, toilet rolls and cardboard boxes. I also pulled out clothespin pegs, dowel sticks, a few remnant fabrics and old clothes that they could cut and use to dress up their people and stalls. I also purchased clay in case they wanted to make clay people, animals and foods.<br />
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First, they found a cardboard base on which to set their market place (we used these great sturdy cardboard wrapping used by the Book Depository to protect our books.)<br />
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Next they decided which boxes they would use - tissue boxes were the most popular as they had a nice squat square shape.<br />
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My older daughter decided to cover her boxes in newspaper and paint them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv8xL47lJI/AAAAAAAAAds/r_Sr_jDqk3o/s1600/painted+boxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv8xL47lJI/AAAAAAAAAds/r_Sr_jDqk3o/s320/painted+boxes.jpg" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My younger daughter decided to cover hers in colourful crepe paper. She then used dowel sticks broken in half and stuck into the boxes to create the structure for their awnings over their shops. She used a mixture of fabric and crepe paper for the awning.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9CgCrwLI/AAAAAAAAAd0/e4Ad-Ay3ggA/s1600/C+Market+place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9CgCrwLI/AAAAAAAAAd0/e4Ad-Ay3ggA/s200/C+Market+place.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9IcMKmbI/AAAAAAAAAd8/hIPNq4Hb6iE/s1600/Arabian+market+place.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9IcMKmbI/AAAAAAAAAd8/hIPNq4Hb6iE/s320/Arabian+market+place.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">My younger daughter used pieces of cardboard to create baskets and windows for her buildings. And she used clay to make pots and jugs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9Rg5RuxI/AAAAAAAAAeE/oWOWxBYoHvc/s1600/arabian+baskets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9Rg5RuxI/AAAAAAAAAeE/oWOWxBYoHvc/s200/arabian+baskets.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9Z7aJ2wI/AAAAAAAAAeM/iFWisBurahs/s1600/clay+jugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9Z7aJ2wI/AAAAAAAAAeM/iFWisBurahs/s200/clay+jugs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My oldest created little clay fruit for her market stall and also molded a donkey with a cardboard pack to help carry goods.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9lbqtpmI/AAAAAAAAAeU/AEYBQHUSZe8/s1600/clay+donkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9lbqtpmI/AAAAAAAAAeU/AEYBQHUSZe8/s200/clay+donkey.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9nW0hj1I/AAAAAAAAAec/WKPqxr3gNUI/s1600/clay+vegetables.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv9nW0hj1I/AAAAAAAAAec/WKPqxr3gNUI/s200/clay+vegetables.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The people were made using clothespin sticks and wrapped in various fabrics.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv_bOlPX0I/AAAAAAAAAes/kT3C-Mjy_10/s1600/arab+people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv_bOlPX0I/AAAAAAAAAes/kT3C-Mjy_10/s200/arab+people.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv_Zn7x_nI/AAAAAAAAAek/QR3L9_4eKls/s1600/arab+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFv_Zn7x_nI/AAAAAAAAAek/QR3L9_4eKls/s200/arab+man.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I let them do it all by themselves and I think they did a great job all on their own.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b><u>Geometric Art</u></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We started off with a look at Islamic art in general by watching this video (we only watched the first episode).</span><br />
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<object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VK0V1FI7XCc&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VK0V1FI7XCc&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The video above is a shorter and quite informative BBC documentary that talks about how Islamic art has influenced western art. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We then went on to explore geometric art using this lesson from the<a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/publications/pdfs/islamic_geometric/islamic_art_and_geometric_design.pdf"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79;">Metropolitan Museum</span></a>. It was excellent and I highly recommend it. We were taken through elements of geometric art step by step. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">We started off by drawing circles with a compass and more circles at intersecting points. We then discovered the different patterns and shapes that emerged as we did this - flowers, hexagons, stars and triangles. We followed the activities through the process of how to get a template for triangles or hexagons. We played around with beautiful patterns and we enjoyed it tremendously.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFwOrrNCwfI/AAAAAAAAAe0/e9ZwrJNv_0E/s1600/geometric+art+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFwOrrNCwfI/AAAAAAAAAe0/e9ZwrJNv_0E/s200/geometric+art+2.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFwO3IJWjEI/AAAAAAAAAe8/VVmtUqq8TDo/s1600/geometric+art+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eKJpZUE-LEs/TFwO3IJWjEI/AAAAAAAAAe8/VVmtUqq8TDo/s200/geometric+art+1.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">These are some of the books we read during our studies. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B003FGX274&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1882514068&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0794518656&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=apishe-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0140367829&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></div>MamaChihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05542151653872875808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6883198165477638177.post-88937049905225984142010-08-03T17:32:00.000+01:002010-08-03T17:32:14.042+01:00Poetry Appreciation: The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Edgar_Allan_Poe_2_retouched_and_transparent_bg.png/245px-Edgar_Allan_Poe_2_retouched_and_transparent_bg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Edgar_Allan_Poe_2_retouched_and_transparent_bg.png/245px-Edgar_Allan_Poe_2_retouched_and_transparent_bg.png" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Poetry appreciation for us has been a somewhat haphazard affair to date. However, this term I have actually scheduled it into our week and so I am hopeful we will be able to spend more time on it. My girls loved the <a href="http://a-pilgrims-heart.blogspot.com/2010/07/brave-writer-review.html"><span style="color: blue;">Brave Writer</span></a> Poetry class that they participated in a few terms ago and so writing and reading poetry is something they've come to enjoy a great deal. My plan t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">his term is to focus on a few common poetic devices and thus to choose poems that demonstrate those elements.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Last week's elements were Alliteration (something they are already familiar with) and Onomatopoeia. I printed off these <a href="http://msjensenclass-teacherresources.wikispaces.com/file/view/Literary_Devices_Posters.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">colourful wall cards</span></a> which define each term and I will stick it on our wall each week as I go through the different terms so that the girls can refer to them at any time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I chose <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/bells-the/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe</span></a> which is an excellent example of both poetic terms. Before we delved into the poem, I introduced the definition of the two terms. We then looked at some simple examples of onomatopoeia from <a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5177941/childrens-onomatopoeia-poems"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">here</span></a>. I found <a href="http://interactives.mped.org/preview_mg.aspx?id=736&title="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">this fun interactive activity</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"> </span></a>to help the kids form their own sounds and words to further enhance their understanding of the use onomatopoeia. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span>I think this poem is one that really needs to be <i>heard. </i>So instead of me reading the poem out loud, I let them listen to this fascinating rendition of The Bells.</span><br />
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</span>We were very taken by the musicality and tone of the poem and the way it was read by the late Nelson Olmsted ( an American broadcaster and and actor from the 1950s) and this led the girls onto wanting to hear how other people had approached the reading of this poem. So we checked out some other youtube videos and also some choral renditions of the poem. </span></div></span><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is a very long poem and we did not spend a long time analyzing it (not this time round anyway). My goal was for them to experience the poem and the way it sounded when it was read. We did, however, spend some time talking about what the poem meant and the way the sounds enhanced what he was trying to say. You can find some helpful analysis of the poem <a href="http://www.gradesaver.com/poes-poetry/study-guide/section10/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">.</span> </span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
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