Across a Dark and Wild Sea

We have had a quiet week so far. Last week, all 3 kids were sick; this week, they aren't quite well and my daughter is threatening a second bout. I hope to avoid it!

Yesterday was all about the skeleton. Today we did a little more, but ran out of tape to put the models together so we moved onto history. I didn't feel like pulling out The Story of the World today so we read a bunch of library books depicting the Dark Ages and read them out loud. The kids loved it.

My favorite story was called Across a Dark and Wild Sea, by Don Brown. It is about Columcille, a prince, scribe, monk, and bard. It opens with him copying a songbook that its owner didn't want copied (remember, this is a time when there were very few books and those few were copied by hand.)

Here was a favorite paragraph of mine:

For thousands of miles in every direction, armies marched and battles raged. The Roman Empire, which once sat atop the world of Columcille's ancestors, tottered and fell. And in its ruins lay knowledge and education. All of it---empire and culture---was swept away like yesterday's dust by new rulers.

That theme reminded me of Farenheit 451. (not the whole book---it follows the life of the son of an Irish king about 521 AD). How grateful I am to be in the middle of plenty of books! Do we really understand what we have?

Back to this book though: It is a picture book but informative too. A wonderful read-aloud for parents and kids. One of my sons came around and read over my shoulder while my other two children were hooked listening. Don't skip showing the pictures---my kids are highly visual and artistic, and the pictures are worth studying.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths

I just finished reading the book Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths, by Bruce Feiler. This is an incredible book in which Feiler examines each of the 3 faiths that claim Abraham as their father: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in an attempt to understand who Abraham is and if we can become reconciled one to another by appealing to him.

One of my favorite quotes in the book comes toward the end when he interviews a prominent Islamic imam. This interview happens the day after he met with an inflammatory, extremist imam so he was somewhat concerned about his safety. This last Islamic interview was with Sheikh Abu Sneina. At the end, Feiler realized that the sheikh had suggested a way for all 3 groups to live together peaceably and asked him to speak about Abraham. The sheikh said, "'Abraham was a man of faith. He worshiped God, and was thankful for God. He invented monotheism. He had high values. If all people---not just Muslims, Christians, Jews---follow the correct path of Abraham, I'm sure life would be better. But we are not doing that. The situation we are facing is that people are living their daily lives far away from the truly faithful, and from Abraham. If we look beyond the details, which we may disagree about, and follow the principles of Abraham---truth, morality, and coexistence---then most of our problems will disappear.'"

I think this was one of the important notes to remember from this book. If we truly remembered the principles Abraham lived and taught as detailed in our scriptures (whether the Bible or Koran), and lived by them faithfully, our lives and world would be ever so much better! As we have progressed through this election year in particular and other years in general, I have often yearned for a world where we truly acted in love toward our fellow man. How much better off we all would be!

My rating: A thought-provoking read.

Lists

My mother requested a list of titles we will be using in the upcoming school year. Now that she has come and gone, I am finally typing up the book resource list. If you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, I am adding the titles as quickly as I can.

This book resource list comes from the curriculum A Noble Birthright: Defenders of the Title of Liberty noted on the sidebar with a link. As you can see, the list may not be exhaustive but it is extensive! The books marked with a dot are those most recommended; the others are supplemental. I have noted the ones I own.

I began linking them to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other book sellers, but I got tired of searching for them. Some of these will be tricky to find!!! I'm hoping I can find many of them at our library---I recognize quite a few titles---if only they are from this library and not Kentucky's! There are some others that we have that are not on the resource list that we will likely use as well or in place of some I cannot find.

At the top of the sidebar, I have begun making a list of texts we will definitely be using this year. It is not complete since I tend to add/subtract texts throughout the year, but it represents the core curriculum. (A Noble Birthright covers history, geography, language arts, social studies, grammar, art, music, math, science, food, literature, dance and drama.)

Another book

I just finished another book that I started a couple of weeks ago called, "Fine Old High Priests: A Novel About Friendship, Family, & Faith", by Donald S. Smurthwaite. Read my other blog for my review.

BTW, the weather has cleared and it has become a very nice, pretty day.

A friend of mine mentioned her goal was to read a book a week. Hmmmm. By that measuring stick, how am I doing? We are at week 22, and I have read 17. Jim (my husband) has probably read 40. :-P I think he has always smoked my numbers; he keeps me stretching!

It feels like summer!

Somewhere, we have crossed into summertime. Not that you would know it by the weather. We have rain, rain, and more rain on the horizon. Now that we are done with our nature trips, it is hard to settle back into a "school" routine. Today is being very quiet. It started with a thunderstorm and rain pelting down and me remembering I didn't get the garbage out. Argh! The boys slept way in, which was nice. I had time to get my day together.

Dragon and Monkey just finished practicing the piano. I haven't sat down with either of them much in the last few weeks---Monkey occasionally but Dragon hasn't had a lesson in probably a month. Oops! They are both progressing, however, and Dragon has new things to work on now. Monkey got a bunch of new songs from his teacher; hopefully we will make a lot of progress this summer so he is in the next level by fall when his lessons resume. That shouldn't be hard to do.

Sister Dog Lover gave the boys a science kit so I think we'll be doing that some today. It's Friday---more of our "fun" day than studious. Then hopefully I will get my quilt square put together that is due tomorrow. I got it cut out this morning. The boys want to make their coonskin caps that they received too.

Dragon and Monkey received two more of the Five Ancestors books, and they have had their noses buried in them. Every so often, they'll read an excerpt aloud that they think is exceptionally good. Last night, I finally decided to read them to find out if they are any good. I mean, really, I'm buying the silly books. I ought to know if they're worth the read! So I binged it, starting about 10:30 last night and going to bed after finishing Book 3 at about 4:30 this morning. They're pretty good, but I think the author is milking the series for all it's worth! The story line in the first 3 is basically the same but follows the first 3 individuals who are named after the tiger, monkey, and snake. Each book adds a few details and then finishes with a totally new event. They have become masters of their "animal's" type of kung fu. They all split up after their "temple" is raided and the monks destroyed. The 4th book is about the crane. It is a new release so we'll probably wait to buy it until it comes out in paperback so they all match. Hopefully they won't wait too long, although they have definitely priced it much higher than the previous three! Obviously it is a popular series! :-)

Mary, Martha, and Me

In this book, Mary, Martha, and Me: Seeking the One Thing that is Needful, Camille Fronk Olson explores the depth of the question of whose choice is better: Mary or Martha. She notes that Jesus does not say that Mary chose the better part, just that she chose a good part. Then he teaches her that "One thing is needful." He didn't devalue Martha's service but counseled her to put Himself first, and then all other things fall into place.

My sister-in-law recently blogged (under May Flowers) about her frustration at being at a preschool end-of-school-year party and having other moms basically put her down for working. I had to chuckle because I have felt what I believe to be the same emotion with people's response to my homeschooling. That was just a couple of days ago, and I picked up this book yesterday. It answers on many levels. Another thought Olson explored was that one person's choice or gift may not be another's, and yet we all contribute---so much that we will probably never realize in this life the impact for good we have had.

These are just two of the main ideas Olson discussed. There is so much more! Mary, Martha, and Me is definitely another 5 star read. I'll be reading it again. I need to be reminded of how much I depend on the Saviour and how much He loves us.

Letters to Emily

I just read the book Letters to Emily. (see sidebar for link) It is such a good book, full of sage advice, such as that which a parent or grandparent has to offer. The format follows events around an older man who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. He has a grand-daughter that is literally his best friend. She isn't very old, and he is afraid she will remember him as the man that he will become because of the AD. To counteract that, he writes letters to Emily that are linked with poetry riddles so she will remember the man he was before the disease takes that side of him away. Along the way, the letters help his son and his wife who are soon to be divorced understand life a little better and their challenges. His advice to Emily is very timely for his son at the time he receives his copy of the poems.

This is a five-out-of-five-star book in my opinion. It did not take long to read it---maybe 4 hours. Although it is a thick paperback, it is a quick read. I had to read the ending before continuing very far in the book though. I had to make sure it wasn't a downer type of book. It isn't. I will definitely be reading it again soon.

Books and CDs

Yesterday I was watching some friends' daughters while they were out of town. When I took them home that night, one of the girls saw a book on audio CDs that was laying on the van floor. She commented, "You get a lot of CDs to listen to instead of getting books!"

That comment startled me, because we only have a few audio CDs and tapes. On the other hand, our home is literally *filled* with books! I'm still not sure where she came up with that observation, but it makes me shake my head with wonder!