Things This Thursday

Thing 1. Carnival sightings

This weeks Carnival of Home Schooling is at Corn and Oil. I haven't read it all yet, but what I have read is first rate. I especially appreciated Tag your Truant at Home is Where you Start from.


My blog is still the site of the most recent carnival of book review blogs. You can check it out by clicking here.

Thing 2. Sew what?

Emma is taking a machine sewing class at our home school co-op this semester. It is the only course I chose for her. She would have rather taken a drama class offered at the same time. I chose for her because she has shown interest in sewing before, and it is a class that at this point neither Amy and I could teach her. We have supplemented her yen for drama with a park district class on improvisation that takes place in the spring.















It turns out she LOVES the sewing class! She had a little trouble the first week with the sewing machine we borrowed, but we borrowed another one which is working fine.

She sewed this pocket in class. She has been working on a few more at home.















I always try to teach at least one co-op class to one of my kid's grade level and assist in one of the other kids classes. I hit the trifecta this year. I am the assistant in Charlie's gym class, Emma's is taking the second part of my Narnia class, and I am teaching a pre-K class called, "Let's go to the store." This week Lucy and her classmates made a shopping bag. Here is a picture of Emma and Lucy with their projects.
















Thing 3. Two Race Charlie

It seems that no matter how full or empty your schedule is that there usually are two "can't miss" events scheduled for the same day or time. Recently, we have been experiencing that phenomena in spades. For example, the sewing class and drama class Emma wanted were two of the classes Emma wanted to take most this semester and they were offered at the exact same time. This is the second year in a row that the Awana closing ceremony and our home school closing ceremony are scheduled on the same day.

We are hyper vigilant when it comes to avoiding scheduling conflicts. I should say that Amy is hyper vigilant when it comes to avoiding scheduling conflicts. Last Fall when we received our schedules for cub scouts and Awana Amy entered them all in our calendar to make sure there were no conflicts. We were glad to see that the Pinewood Derby and the Awana Grand Prix, two similar model car events were scheduled on different weeks in January.

That was until, the Cub Scouts moved their race back a week and then they were both on the same day! Charlie was able to build two different cars and bring his Awana car in early so he could enter both races.

Thing 4: An extra special glimpse at my life.

The first time I was on an airplane was in 1973. I was 9 and we went to visit Washington D.C. I did not get on a plane again until Spring of 1992. I spent the next decade as a fairly frequent flyer. I flew domestically and internationally landing in 8 countries outside of the U.S. The last of which was in July of 2001 to attend my brother's wedding. I have not been on a plane since. It has nothing to do with the events of September 11th of that year. It is just that I have had no occasion to fly since then. Everyone else in the family has flown since then , although only 2 of them remember it. Charlie flies to Florida this year to go to DW with my parents.




















Thing 5: Television by the book.

My sister stopped by today and gave me my Christmas present. 2009 not 2010. She gave me the ninth edition of "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows. I already had the 8th edition which carried a description and cast list for every prime time show from 1946 to the 2002/2003 television season. It also includes the prime time schedule, Nielsen ratings, and Emmy winners for each year. In short a TV geeks dream come true. The 8th edition is 1,591 pages long. The new 9th edition checks in at 1,831 pages and goes up to the 2006/2007 season. Chuck is not included in this tome as it premiered in the fall of 2007. If the 10th edition publishes with a 4 year lapse between editions as the 9th did. It should be available sometime in 2011. I'll be making room on my shelf.

Those are my things this Thursday! What things are up with you? Due to a glitch with mr. linky I am not able to accept links today. If you have some things to share just post a link on the comments.

Next Time: Book Review

Poetry

Poetry appreciated. Poetry demonstrated. Poetry Lucified.

We have been studying poetry in school for the past few weeks. Today I had Emma blog about two of her favorite poets who coincidentally have written several poems about bunnies. You can see her post by clicking here.


Charlie and I worked for a while to write a poem and finally since many of the poems we have been studying have been accompanied by illustrations. Charlie wrote and illustrated a poem about winter.

I like to ski. Wheeeeee!

Lucy really wanted to write a poem about flowers. So I had her dictate one to me.

Flowers are pretty

They're very nice

I picked them for my Momma

Flowers are beautiful

The pink and purple and red ones

and green ones and black ones and yellows ones

and roses and green ones

and orange ones and . . .

Now, she probably had a few dozen more lines to recite when I interrupted her by saying that's a nice poem let's draw a picture of a flower. Her response: I'm not good at drawing flowers let's draw a horse.

Then she decided that she wanted to draw a unicorn instead of a horse. I want to say that she wanted to draw a unicorn because I had read Shel Silversteins's "The Unicorn" earlier that day. But Lucy's motivations are generally much more random than that. Here is said picture . . .

Those are my six words for today. Head over to Show My Face dot com to play along at home.

Before you do, I want to share a small poem I wrote today inspired by Charlie. I had asked him to write a poem about winter and he was getting frustrated and being silly at the same time. He said something like: Winter winter Winter winter. I don't like winter.

I decided to write a poem from the perspective of a second grader assigned to write a poem about winter and does not want to.

Winter. Winter. Winter. Winter.

Winter is no fun.

Winter. Winter. Winter Winter.

Now my poem's done.

I say it's done

but Dad say no.

Who wants to write

when you can play in the snow?

Sledding, Skiing, snow ball fighting.

Winter's really quite inviting.

It's fun outside and in the home

but do I have to write a poem?!!!

Winter. Winter. Winter. Winter.

Now, my poem's done!

Next Time: Things This Thursday

Getting Ready for DC

As some of you know, I took over a blog meme this past fall called 3 Things This Thursday. Michelle at Psalm 104:24 originated the meme whose premise was basically simple: On Thursday blog about 3 things and then link to her post. I was a frequent contributor and when she gave me the opportunity to host, I gladly went for it.

The thing is this: Hardly anyone ever participated in it. I have been thinking about scrapping it or begging Michelle to take it back. I have decided instead to tweak it a little.

Going forward I will call it: Things this Thursday.

The reason why the name change is because some people have told me they would participate but can't think of three things. That's okay one thing is fine. Just blog about as many things as you'd like and then link it to my post. If you don't know how to link and still want to participate just leave a comment and tell me the name of your post and blog and I will do the link for you.


Here are my things for this Thursday:

Thing One: Our family is going to Washington DC this spring and we are psyched. I have been to DC several times but not for an extensive time of sight seeing since the 4th grade. The rest of the family has never been. We definitely want to visit the Mall and some of the Smithsonian exhibits. We have contacted our congressman will visit several governmental buildings but it doesn't seem likely that we will get into the White House, which is what we really want to see.

A friend of my sisters, who we have never met has offered to house our whole family for our week there at no cost. What a blessing! We are driving and we hope to visit a few other sites near the DC area as well. As the plans get more fleshed out I will let you know what's going on.

Thing Two: I've been blogging for over a year and there is so much that you don't know about me. Each Thursday I'll try to share something about me that I haven't shared previously. Today's Factoid: My favorite candy bar is Three Musketeers.

Thing Three: Chuck Update. Michelle used to give us Lost updates and maybe she still will and link them here. I don't do lost. I do enjoy Chuck and have blogged about the show a few times. When it was renewed for season 3, I shared my fears that the show would have no choice but to bring Chuck back to the Buy More. I thought this would be a mistake. After watching the 2 hour season premiere and the most recent episode, I must say that I am pleased with the direction the show is going. Yes Chuck is back at Buy More but it sure seems he will be spending less and less time there; and the way they are utilizing Chuck's BIL is, well, awesome!



Thing Four: What's with the music? You ever get a song stuck in your head? Tuesday night Emma, Charlie and I went to visit my SIL. For the entire 45 minutes there and back they sang the words they knew of You Never Let Go. As a result, I've been singing it ever since. I did not know who sang it. As I was writing this post I was listening to the music on Michelle's blog and it came on. So it's going to be on the blog for a few days. Maybe I can get all of you to sing it as well.



Well those are Things for this Thursday I hope you enjoyed them. Just click on Mr. Linky to join in.




Next Time: Poetry

Carnival of Home Schooling: Library Week Edition

This is week 212 in the carnival of home schooling. If this was the carnival of home schooling for dogs it would be week 1,484.



Before I get started with the theme of this week, I thought this would be the best time to talk about the big news story going on right now. I certainly don't mean Leno vs. Conan. Laura presents 21 Ways For Your Children To Help Haitian Earthquake Victims posted at Practical Homeschooling.



Twice a year, our family embarks on library week. It is a week where we go to at least 1 library every day during the week. It serves our family as both a break in the academic year and also an opportunity to discover the various amenities and learning opportunities afforded at these libraries. In past years, we have crossed state lines to see how the other book lives. This year we kept it strictly in Illinois. Interspersed amongst the fine articles that I have assembled for you this week, I will tell you of our library travels during our Christmas break.

Our first home school article comes from Jenn who presents More Homeschooling (Plus Bonus Funny Interlude!) posted at Rational Jenn. She says: "As the needs of my kids (ages 7.5, 4.5, and 1.5) change and grow, things are getting harder to juggle in our homeschool! Yikes! "

Speaking of juggling, Cristina presents Home Spun comic strip #435 posted at Home Spun Juggling.

Not all schooling takes place indoors as Becky Johnston informs us in Animal Tracks posted at Wide Open Campus.

The outdoor learning continues, as Amber presents October Nature Walk posted at The Mommy Earth.



Day 1: St. Charles Public Library. I previously blogged about our trip there but for those who missed it is Emma's report of our time there:


Name of Library: St. Charles Library. St. Charles, IL.
Something I liked: I liked all the Animal Ark Books they had.
One thing I didn't like: They didn't have one of my favorite books, Bunnies in the Bathroom.
A book I read while I was there: 2 Minute Mysteries by Donald Sobol author of Encyclopedia Brown.
Dad asked me to ask the Librarian a question. Lucy said she would, so I followed her with my notebook.
Lucy: Knock Knock
Librarian: Who's There?
Lucy: Emma
Librarian: Emma Who?
Lucy: Emma Kayrene (My Middle Name)

Next up, we have Cindy who wanted to get into the nitty gritty world of the planning of her unit studies. This she has done with gusto in Unit Studies Revisited, an informative Q&A, posted at Our Journey Westward.

A good homeschooling book to add to your personal library is The Socialization Trap by Rick Boyer. Click here for my review. I thought of that book when I received a carnival submission from Molly Cook of Southern Spunk. It seems she wrote this piece in response to having had her fill of ignorance outside of the homeschooling circle. She had heard the socialization word one too many times and decided to set some people straight. Well, you go girl! Here she is with, Don't Go Hatin' On The Homeschoolers.

Molly is not the only one out there confronting stereotypes and misinformation. There seems to be a plethora of education "experts" out there essentially making up their own facts and bending those facts to meet their agenda. To that end, last week's host Alasandra presents Robin L. West takes a potshot at homeschooling posted at Alasandra's Homeschool Blog.



Elena LaVictoire weighs in on the Robin L. West issue with The Double Standard of Robin West - Author of The Harms of Homeschooling posted at My Domestic Church.

Day 2. Our library Journey continued to Lake Zurich, Illinois where we visited the Ela Public Library. Emma and Lucy had a play date with some girls from our church. Things we liked: We could use our library cards there and what we checked out would show up at our regular libraries website. They also had a cool super hero section that Charlie enjoyed.


Sebastian from Percival Blakeney Academy has submitted Egyptian Art Projects for Kids. It is an insightful post rounding up links on ancient Egypt.



Sandra Foyt presents A response to the New York homeschooler arrest case, describing our typical homeschool day, and arguing that there is no such thing as "no-schooling." in Homeschooling, Unschooling, But Not "No-Schooling" posted at On Living by Learning.


e-Mom presents Family Life: Top 100 Books for Kids posted at C h r y s a l i s. This is an excellent list. A great place to get a hold of those books would be your local library.


And speaking of libraries that brings us to day 3.




That's a picture of Charlie and me at the entrance of the Oak Park library. Oak park is a lovely Chicago suburb that actually feels more like downtown than a suburb. No offense to my friend Patti who grew up there, and has fond memories of the previous library building, this one has all the warmth of a bus depot. A children's section that is on tile rather than rugs did not add to that impression. They did have a very good selection of books to choose from. I also taught Charlie how to use a microfilm reader, which he was extremely keen on.

When I visit libraries I spend a lot of time with a kid and a book in my lap. Lapbooking is the subject of our next post, as Lynn presents Lapbooking Ideas posted at Eclectic Education - Homeschool Blogger.


Here is a quick family science experiment submitted by The Family which I give two big thumbs up. It is aptly titled Genetic traits of the thumb and posted at Once Upon a Family.


Michelle Dennis Evans presents an excellent work titled Freedom and Kids posted at Michelle D Evans.

One thing I have noticed about libraries, is that they often have good craft ideas especially around holidays. Libraries aren't the only ones with good holiday ideas. Here are some valentines day articles worth looking at . . .


Shannon Dodds demonstrates with Valentine Craft (sun catcher) posted at Mommyapolis.




HappyCampers presents Valentine's Day Homeschool Ideas posted at Reese's View Of The World.

Day 4





Johnsburg is a small town in Mchenry County in Illinois. It has a population of less than 7,000 people. Yet it boasts one of the finest libraries I have ever been to. For homeschoolers it is a special library. It houses a homeschool resource center with shelves of curriculum and other materials available for checkout. Homeschoolers can check out material for 6 weeks at a time and renew for an additional 6 weeks as long as there are no holds on the material. I am test driving an Abeka spelling book I checked out from there with Emma.

Since socialization gets brought into the home school discussion so often, I have decided to bring it into this week's carnival again. Janine Cate wrote a very insightful article on socialization based on a recent conversation she had. She says it comes down to what socialization means to you. I proudly present It depends on what you value posted at Why Homeschool.




Kathy says Read my review of the first Camp Club Girls book, a fun new book series for your tween girls. You can find Camp Club Girls and the Mystery at Discovery Lake posted at Homeschoolbuzz.com Reviews.



Misty shares a couple of tricks to make multiplying by 9 more fun. Check out (Library Pun Intended) Fun Multiplication Tips and Tricks – 9’s posted at Homeschool Bytes.

Katherine from No Fighting No Biting went out on the first non-frigid Saturday in a long time and took her big kids to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. She says the inspiration was worth the long lines. Read all about it in National Archives.


You know what else has archives? That's right, libraries. Let's get this fun over with and move on to day 5. Amy read on-line that Downers Grove library was having a game day so we decided to end our library week there. There were tunnels and little rooms for the kids to explore. Lucy played on a children's computer while Amy and the kids played games. Their favorite was a dice game called Shut the Box. We liked it so much we ordered one from amazon.


Speaking of Downers, very few downers are more depressing than thinking about the many terrorist acts that have been in the news lately. ChristineMM shares ideas about how to talk to young children and tweens who ask about news stories about terrorist attacks against American civilians. Take a peek at Thoughts about Parenting Kids in Times of Terrorism posted at The Thinking Mother.


We check out all manners of things out from our library. The main 2 staples are books and DVD's. With that in mind, Rachel Lynette presents Comparing the Book to the Movie posted at Minds in Bloom.



Linda Dobson revisits The Animal School saying it's a wonderful classic. It's posted at PARENT AT THE HELM.

Lynn presents 10 Ways Save Money on Homeschooling posted at Lynn's Gather Page. I just want to say that 3 of the 10 ways include using the library. Way to stay on theme Lynn!

Well we did it! We got through library week. 5 days, 5 libraries in 5 different counties. There were several things we did during library week that didn't involve going to the library. I'm sure we ate, shopped, I think we might even have bowled once. I didn't really go into detail about them here because I was focusing on the library part of library week.

In the same way, I received many submissions this week that had nothing to do with homeschooling. Some were fine articles, but I just didn't think they fit here, so I left them out. One exception to that was a fine article from Leah, The Danger of Parenting Books posted at Ingathered. It really described a perspective to parenting that I think is similar to my home school tale on it.

Next week's carnival is being hosted at Corn and Oil. Susan has a post this week entitled Don't burden the innocent. She says The public schools seem to be making attempts in several states to close in on homeschoolers by using truancy as their weapon of choice

Announcement: The library week carnival of homeschooling is closing in 5 lines. Please select from the articles above and then go on with your homeschooling Day. You can submit a post by clicking here.

Next Time: Looking forward to our trip to Washington DC.

Book Review Blog Carnival - 35th Edition

This is my first shot at hosting the Book Review Blog Carnival. My special thanks to Clark Bjorke, who runs this fortnightly literary lovefest like a well oiled machine, for giving me a chance to drive the zamboni. I'll try to do him proud.

A quick explanation of format before we commence with the reviews. I have divided each review into 4 components. 1) Title, Author, Reviewer and blog information. 2) A picture of the book being reviewed. 3) The reviewer says, which is a place where I include the remarks the reviewer included with his submission. Not every reviewer included comments. 4) Review Nuggets where I have included a quote from each book review. Also, there were a few literary based submissions that were not exactly book reviews. I include these at the end of my post in a section I call, beyond reviews.

BIOGRAPHY

Hold the Roses by Rose Marie reviewed by Rick Sincere at Book Reviews by Rick Sincere

Rick Says: My project for 2010 is to archive all of the book reviews I have written over the past 30 years on a single blog site. This review -- of Rose Marie's memoir -- is a sample I unearthed from 2003, previously published in The Metro Herald.

Review Nugget: Hold the Roses—a chatty memoir by radio, TV, Broadway, and nightclub star Rose Marie—is fascinating but flawed.


Clark Bjorke presents American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia by Joan Biskupic posted at I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!

Review Nugget: Outspoken and opinionated, Scalia has not hesitated to "tell people what they don't want to hear." This biography focuses on his most colorful, written opinions and public remarks, of which there are plenty.

NOVEL

KerrieS reviews BLOOD BORN by Kathryn Fox posted at MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

Kerrie says: Australian crime fiction author who is up there with the best. Forensic physician Anya Crichton risks her own life in her search for justice.


Review Nugget: There is no doubt that this is a novel that can hold its own in the world market of this genre.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood reviewed by Clark Bjorke at I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book!

Clark says: The second in a two book trilogy, The Year of the Flood explores the consequences of climate change, genetic engineering, religious cults and corporate irresponsibility in a future nobody could love.

Review Nugget: Atwood has extrapolated on climate change, genetic engineering, privatization of government functions and corporate irresponsibility and immunity, all trends we can see today, to create the distopian future of The Year of the Flood.







Nicole presents The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova posted at Linus's Blanket.

Review Nugget: Kostova’s writing is a reader’s dream. The rich language is descriptive of characters and setting, and I was seamlessly folded into Andrew Marlowe’s quiet life as a psychiatrist and dilettante artist, which is suddenly disturbed by the curiously urgent need to delve so deeply into treating this particular patient.

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Diana Hall reviews Marked by Steve Ross at damascusmoments.

Review Nugget: Fast-paced, terrifying… this graphic re-imagination of the gospel of Mark in a contemporary fictional setting is clever and deep.

NON-FICTION

After The Stroke: My Journey Back to Life by Mark McEwen reviewed by Sparky Bates at Accidental Reads

Review Nugget: Although I have had some personal exposure to friends and family who have experienced relatively minor strokes, reading this book made me acutely aware of how little I really knew.










June Tree presents A Parent's Guide to Wills & Trusts by Don Silver posted at The Digerati Life.

Review Nugget: This book will help you make sense out of what you may feel is a complicated subject. The six page glossary in the back of the book is probably worth the cover price of the book alone, with some of the more complicated terms described in easy-to-understand language.






Viviana Widjaja reviews Learning Early by Dorothy Eidon posted at Resources for Moms and Kids

Review Nugget: This is the parenting book that will give you a complete guide about your child’s learning during the first 5 years, from newborn to preschooler.







Adam presents Interview: Jane White, author of “America, Welcome to the Poorhouse” posted at RabbitFunds.com.

Adam Says: In America, Welcome to the Poorhouse, Jane White sounds a strong warning to the nation’s citizens that change is needed in order to retire with enough in the bank. White uses this book in order to promote specific political changes and bills that she is sponsoring in Congress.

Review Nugget: Although White does an excellent job of raising the right red flags, there are several flaws in the changes proposed in her book. For the most part, I found that her argument lacks a strong understanding of economics as well as a false sense of entitlement.



Jim presents Career Comeback by Lisa Johnson Mandell posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

Review Nugget: I liked the book because it was both practical and realistic. . . . It’s good practical advice from someone who recently went through the job hunt roller-coaster, . . .

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Craft Stew reviews Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions by Maxine Anderson posted at Craft Stew.



Craft Stew says: I’m a big fan of technology books written for kids. I first discovered them when I homeschooled my son for 7 years.

Review Nugget: If, like me, you’re a crafter who enjoys bringing a bit of technology into her projects, take a look at Amazing Leonard da Vinci Inventions.

BEYOND REVIEWS

Emily Moser presents The 50 Best Free Online Comic Strips You've Never Heard Of posted at Graphic Design Degrees.







Sandra Lopez At Best Colleges On Line Dot Com presents The Evolution of The Book




Well that wraps up the 35th edition of the Book Review Blog Carnival. Two weeks hence, the show moves on to the capable hands of Deanna Dahlsad. Click here to submit a review.



Next Time: Carnival of Homeschooling: Library Week Edition.

Six Word Saturday

As I wrote earlier this week, I took the week off, for the most part to concentrate on regular old life. Any blogging I did do was in preparation for the blog carnivals I am hosting next week.

Well, I am back and back with my contribution to Six Word Saturday.

Here goes . . .

Six words for blogging. Reviews: four.

I really like Six Word Saturdays at Show my Face.com. It is a challenge to condense your week into six words. I guess that's why I enjoyed The four world film review (FWFR) so much.

It is strikingly similar to Six Word Saturdays but it is relegated to film reviews. Your reviews can be less than 4 words but not more than 5. The idea is you submit these film reviews and then they are either accepted or rejected by the editorial staff at fwfr. Once accepted then your reviews can be voted on by other members if they enjoyed them. From 2005 to 2008 I had 657 reviews approved which is good for 105th all time of fwfr reviewers.

My first review was of the movie Return to Me. (Love grows where transplanted).

I have reviewed films from 3 different centuries: Edison's Kinetoscopic record of a sneeze from 1894 (Lights. Camera. Ahchoo), 1986's Peggy Sue Got Married (Turner ignores time warner), and Crash from 2004 (Six degrees of segregation).

Other reviews I am quite fond of are

Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace: First shall be fourth.

Cars - Herbie Fully downloaded.

Legend of Bagger Vance: Golf War Syndrome.

Wizard of Oz: Garland's dream role.

Braveheart: Wallace lethal weapon too.

Emperor's New Groove: Me llama, David Spade.

American President: 1600 (Pennsylvania) First Dates.

Jonah: A Veggietales Movie - Animal, Vegetable, Biblical.

I especially enjoyed the ones where I actually was able to make salient points about the film even while making a pun or two. For example . . .

A River Runs Through It: Redford's Reel - Great Casting.

Breaking Away: Cycling down 'Rocky' road.

I mentioned that I used to like fwfr. I still do. I just kind of grew out of it. Writing 657 film reviews in 3 years will do that to a guy. I recently submitted a few new reviews. One that was just accepted was: The Dark Knight (Knight dark. Joker Darker.)

I will leave you today with four word reviews of my 3 favorite movies of all time.

I'll just say the reviews without the titles. The first person ( who is not my wife.) who can give me the correct title of each film will win a bag of ramen soup.

1. Angel gives Christmas absence.

2. Swampdwelling Muppet becomes star.

3. Brother drowns. Mother frowns.

So those are my six words about four words. To see more Six words click here. For more reviews, albeit book reviews longer than 4 words, come back tomorrow for the Book Review Blog Carnival.

Next Time: Book Review Blog Carnival. Didn't I just say that?