Deep Ponderings and Frivolous Wanderings: writing

Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Engaging History Curriculum with a Classical Approach

It’s that time of year again...when we homeschool mom’s have to look to next year and begin to figure out just what our students will be doing then (while still keeping an eye on what they are doing now! Aren’t we amazing?!!!). With my youngest going into 7th grade, I am all for curriculum that she can do (mostly) on her own; but with her personality type in mind...it cannot be just a straightforward textbook or she’ll be miserable!

Thankfully, Pandia Press sent me a copy of History Odyssey: Early Modern by Kathleen Desmarais for me to review, and I have been happy to check off “history/geography/writing” curriculum from my list! With a classical approach, History Odyssey: Early Modern will give my daughter detailed lessons that will lay a good foundation in this period of history (1600-1850 AD). Intended for 6th grade and above, this curriculum integrates whole books along with the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon as the basis for study. My daughter will enjoy a varied palate of activities that will be filed into a notebook that she will compile over the course of the year.

There is a healthy emphasis on outlining and writing essays as well as note taking, keeping a timeline, writing biographies, and learning geography in this curriculum. In fact, the cover of the book states that it is “a literature based study guide combining history, geography and writing” (however a basic writing course prior to using this material is recommended because it does not delve deeply into logistics; assignments assume there is some basic knowledge of structure). Although some parental oversight will be needed, it really looks like a program she can take initiative with, understanding what is required from each lesson. There is quite a bit of reading involved so, if that is a struggle for your student, you may need to be more hands on in that area. The maps and workbook pages are all included in the appendix and are reproducible for your child, which is always a plus. Another feature I appreciate is that the material was sent unbound, but three-hole punched, ready to be placed into a notebook! Way to make life easier, Pandia Press! (I just realized that there are a list of vendors on the Pandia Press Website that carry the paper versions of the book. However, you can instantly buy all of their curriculum as an eBook that will download directly to your computer, just printing out the pages you need. You can decide which version will be best for your school).

History Odyssey: Early Modern is one of many history curriculums offered on their website, utilizing the Classical approach (written for the logic and rhetoric stage). They also offer science curriculum. See for yourself what they carry, and enjoy the "try before you buy" feature by clicking here. You will get a full years curriculum, for $28.99 -$33.99 depending on the particular history time period you buy, this price is for the eBooks, there is not a price given for the paper versions, but there are connections on site to those that carry them. Also realize that you will need to purchase the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and The Story of Mankind, as well as purchasing or checking out from the library about a dozen other books for reading through the year. For the sake of interest and retention, this is the best fit for my student and will be worth every penny!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Roots and Fruits: An Abundant Garden of Vocabulary Words!

Raise your hand if you love dead languages! Ok…not an overwhelming response…can’t say my hand shot right up either. Well, I think we will have to settle for learning to appreciate the value of dead languages instead. That I can do. And so can your children.

We all know that an understanding of Latin and Greek can make a huge difference on tests, particularly an SAT or ACT. However, daily reading comprehension in all school subjects in another benefit of learning these languages; after all most of our English language is built upon the foundation of Latin and Greek. (By the way, Greek is NOT a dead language, though ancient Greek is considered dead by many sites I googled.)

This is where a valuable tool, Roots and Fruits by Jill J. Dixon, comes in quite handily. A former teacher and a homeschool mother that was alarmed by the lack of comprehension that many students exhibited, Ms. Dixon set out to fix the problem by writing this helpful curriculum.

The great thing about this program is that the one book is used for all grades, K-12. It contains 673 roots and prefixes as well as 1716 vocabulary words, many of which will appear on the SAT and ACT. Using English forms of Latin and Greek words, as well as offering many helpful tips and games to make the roots stick, this user friendly book needs only 15 minutes a day to enhance your child’s ability to read with understanding from any subject.

We have incorporated this into our daily routine and things have been going swimmingly. The kids really do complete the suggested routine on time (introducing the new prefix etc. writing the meaning, giving some words as an example and then splitting the words up that they will hunt for in the dictionary). There are no complaints and the process of becoming little geniuses has been painless.

The root list compiled by Ms. Dixon is very extensive. I have used other programs that needed several volumes to complete. The nearly 700 prefixes and roots in Roots and Fruits will easily fill most of a child’s school career. There are asterisks next many words that are recommended for younger students. Year after year, you can work your way through this book and build that vocabulary that will impact their school career as well as provide enjoyment in leisurely reading as well.

At only $19.98, Roots and Fruits is a no-brainer investment to make in your homeschool. You can currently get the eBook of Roots and Fruits downloaded right to your computer for just $11.25 (25% off), and this is one book that would easily translate into an eBook without loss of usefulness. Visit their website at http://www.edudps.com/ to order and while your there check out the plethera of products to help with all of your English and writing needs!

Kudos to Ms. Dixon for a great vaocabulary program! ("Kudos" is Greek for praise or extol...hey, I am picking this stuff up quick!).

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I Blog, Therefore, I Am

Welcome to my blog!

I have, it seems, been living in the Dark Ages of technology. Sticking to reading books made of paper (gasp!), using Snail Mail (well, just occasionally) and sticking to email (I guess that would time warp me from Dark Ages to the Victorian Era).

Alas, I have finally crawled out from under my rock and have gone cyber! Today is a brand spankin' new day for me; I have created a Face-book (something friends have been urging me to do) AND began my own blog (something I have been urging myself to do)!What kind of writer am if I cannot communicate my thoughts and opinions at light speed? Certainly not one cut from the fabric of the "relevant-writers-market," that I long to be a part of!

I will point out that all of my original books are kept neatly in a "Word" document and not in a pile of messy papers floating around the flat surfaces of my home.

So, here's to a day of new beginnings! Maybe because the "Big 4-0" is looming dangerously close, I feel this need to reinvent the wheel...or at least myself!I really hope what I post here will be useful, thought-provoking, and encouraging for all who link their way to my opinions.

Many blessings, many blogs!
Heather

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At the Intersection of Creation and Evolution: A Dream

The alliterating story below is based on a dream I had several years ago. Please contact me for permission to reproduce.

Darkness devours me.

I am enveloped in emptiness.

Are my eyes open or are they closed? I strain against this shroud of night and still see nothing.

What is this place?

An image illuminates in front of me. A large, leafy tree streaks past and vanishes.

It deserts me to the darkness again.

In a moment, more images appear. A rapid succession of snapshots and thoughts clamor before my eyes and mingle in my mind.

I see seedlings. Several supple shoots have emerged before me and then swiftly stream away.

“The first trees on earth were not seedlings”, my mind observes. “They were not created as small insignificant saplings.”

That thought is rapidly replaced with a vision of a man.

He’s maybe 30; he is muscular and needs to shave.

He fades away.

In his place I see an infant.

A tiny bundle of pink skin upon a soft blanket flickers briefly in my brain.

“Man was created with age,” is the next statement I hear. “Adam did not begin his life as a baby, he began as a grown man.”

The voice seems like my own.

The thoughts do not.

Reeling before me now is a blur of rivers, forests, mountains and even layers of the earth. It is like a movie rushing rapidly before my retina.

The soundtrack of this epic is proclaiming a peculiarly plain concept:

“The earth was created with age. Creation and evolution are not in total opposition. There is a reason that science finds the earth to be quite old: it was made that way.”

Thoughts continue to tumble through my mind; pictures parade before me. I listen in amazement to what seems to be puzzlingly profound and yet rather apparent all at once.

“Adam was created as an adult. Trees and plants were made fully grown.”

I suddenly feel quite certain that, if I were to chop down some of the trees that had been spoken into existence, I would find a range of rings running through their trunks.

“The earth was brought to life with age built into it… just like Adam. He did not begin life as an infant. The earth came into being with what it would need to sustain the life that was created. It was old when it was young. The world was
made with maturity; it was also produced with purpose.”

These thoughts are thrilling. Why had I not seen this before? It seems so simple. Obtusely obvious. Had others not observed this correlation? If they had, why wasn’t it being candidly conveyed?

In the span of thirty seconds I have been ravaged by a radical revelation. I feel the weight of its worth resting on me; it is tantamount to tangible.

I am neither a theologian nor am I a scientist. I don’t claim that the ethics of evolution are completely compatible with the Bible’s account of creation. But certainly Science can come concurrent to creation and affirm our faith with facts.

Of course, the Omnipotent Originator of the Universe is exceedingly elusive to what our mind could ever envision. Above what science could ever extensively elucidate.

Accordingly, creation is confounding too. Each diverse discovery deems it more marvelous to grasp. Many scientists have reluctantly relented to the theory of Intelligent Design.

That’s why, alongside those facts, we also need faith.

Lying inexplicably at the intersection of those two essential elements is an exceptional endowment: the intermittent insight of our dreams.

Today's Deep Pondering 1/16/11

"I bear the Maker’s image, and one of the ways that plays out is that I delight in making. I’ve loved to draw for as long as I can remember. From the moment I picked up the guitar I wasn’t content to play another guy’s songs–I wanted to sing my own. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to write stories. I love stories, and thrill to an imagination on fire. I sat down in front of the blank page and let my imagination run wild, did my best to tell a story I would want to be told. If a reader is willing to trust me with a little of his or her imagination, I want to light it up with truth, and beauty, and goodness."

Andrew Peterson, author of The Wingfeather Saga. A great expression of why I write, as well!

Today's Deep Pondering 12/5/10

"In our present world, people devote too much time on personal gain instead of productive change such as evangelism, cures to diseases, protecting the innocent and punishing the wicked, etc. And through Christ's continuous trials that He places in our lives He gives us the chance to rise to the occasion and to glorify the One Who's forgiveness reaches as far as the east is from the west. the One who maintains the equilibrium of every cosmic and atomic force in the universe. The One who determined how you would be molded in His image not only in the womb, but in the predestined things that He will give and take away from us so that we might bring glory to the Creator and not the creation. And the One Who will judge the living and the dead at the returning of His kingdom. In this knowledge we must not live for tomorrow, but for eternity." Adam Christopher Martin, class of '09

Today's Deep Pondering: 11/04/09

"Our situation was truly desperate. We had no hope...no possibility of overcoming sin's dominion on our own. No power to initiate our own salvation. No potential of ever having a right relationship with God. We could not do anything to change or improve our situation. If our sinful condition had made us only sick or weak, we might have entertained hopes of getting better. But we weren't sick; we were dead. Someone had to infuse life into us. Someone did." From Seeking Him 12-Week Study by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom

Easy, Fabulous Toffee

Here's a recipe that will make you fat. Sorry, but, it is so good, you really don't want to share it. You want to secretly eat the whole thing! Thankfully it is VERY easy to make. You will make it so much, once you try it, you'll know the recipe by heart when someone asks for it. And they will... if you let them have some and you don't keep it all for yourself!

Plain or honey graham crackers.
2 sticks of real butter (may substitute up to one stick with margarine, if you're into that).
1 C brown sugar, packed. I prefer dark but both work fine.
1 package semi-sweet choc. chips

Preheat oven to 350. Line a jelly roll pan with graham crackers, cut to fit so that it is wall to wall grahams! Melt butter in sauce pan, add brown sugar. Turn up heat, stirring occasionally, while mixture comes to a boil. Dark brown sugar can burn a bit easier, FYI. Let boil together, still stirring only occasionally, keeping heat up pretty high. The mixture should look foamy and combined in about three minutes. Pour over the graham crackers and spread around with the back of a spoon to cover.

Place pan in over and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove and pour the package of chocolate chips over the top, fairly evenly. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Chips will look shiny, meaning they are melted. Spread them around evenly with spatula.

Place entire pan in fridge and let harden (about 30 minutes). Cut or break into pieces. For crunchiest toffee, keep in fridge and take out before serving.

Some variations: Add cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to butter mixture before you pour over grahams. Or, after you spread the melted chips on top, sprinkle with nuts of your choice, toasted almonds are quite tasty!

You may also substitute some of the semi-sweet chips for milk chocolate, but they do not spread as well so I don't recommend only using milk chocolate.

A pretty variation is to sprinkle a few white chocolate chips randomly on top of the semi-sweet chips that have already been spread around. Let the white chocolate chips melt and use a butter knife to spread the white chips in a zig-zag pattern across the toffee.

Fancy Shmancy Cream Cheese Sandwich

Here's an unbelievably easy yet gourmet tasting sandwich. Eat it with soup or fruit, or serve at a luncheon, either way you will get a bunch of requests to make it again!

Sourdough bread
Cream cheese at room temp.
Raspberry Jam
Smoked turkey lunch meat. (Good quality recommended).

Spread one slice of bread with cream cheese, the other with raspberry jam. Place a few slices of smoked turkey between the two and sear in a skillet with a little bit of butter. Be ready to see eyes rolling and hear throats groaning when eveyone takes a bite!

I cannot take credit for this delicious combo. My friend Susan had it at one of those "frou-frou" restraunts and copied it at home. Once she made it for me, I was hooked!

Capuccino Cream Cheese Recipe

Here's a yummy recipe that will turn breakfast bagels from boring to bodacious!

1 pkg. Cream Cheese at room temp.

1/4 Cup of very strong coffee or one shot of espresso (if you don't care for strong coffee flavor, start with less coffee and taste and add as you mix).

1/2- 1 whole cup of powdered sugar (taste and add as you mix)

1 tsp. vanilla (optional)

Mix well with electric mixer. Store in fridge for up to two weeks. This is simply decadent and is a great item for a brunch. Good spread on banana bread too!

THE THREE LITTLE WEE-BOOKS. SMALL BOOKS OFFER BIG HELP IN GETTING KIDS TO WRITE!

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that all children find writing therapeutic. For some, writing is a creative outlet that makes sense of all the ideas floating around in their creative noggins. For many others, writing is akin to shock therapy or other primitive forms of institutionalized torture.

In addition, the parents that are trying to teach their children to write…well, that comes with its own set of “therapeutic” effects depending on their prior experience with the craft. Even adults that have a good grasp of the process may struggle with how to systematically teach writing to their children. If only we could figure out how to teach and learn by osmosis, right?

I recently read three “Wee-books” that take the colossal task of teaching children to write and turn it into small doable portions that are easily assimilated. At under $2 a book, these little gems are a good investment in practical writing techniques and ideas.

“What’s a “Wee-book”?” you may ask. A Wee-book is simply a small (or wee) e-book. Just in case you are unfamiliar with this rather new concept in book publishing, e-books are online books that are completely electronic and paperless. They download right onto your computer. Wee-books are shorter, inexpensive books on a variety of subjects of homeschooling interest, brought to you by the folks in-the-know at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Though I had the opportunity to review any three Wee-books of the over 30 that are currently available, I decided to choose three on the subject of writing. I must admit that I am one of those parents that love to write but struggles with how to practically convey what I know to my kids.

Getting to the Root of Writer’s Block by Kim Kautzer was the first of the three Wee-books that I read. As a writer myself, I wanted to know the answer to the plaguing question of writer’s block! Ms. Kautzer presents us with a typical scenario of teacher telling student to “write about anything,” and student staring at blank page having not a clue where to start. Been there, done that, haven’t you?

Well, without giving away the complete answer to where the root of writer’s block lies, let’s just say I learned that it could be summed up in the problem of being a perfectionist. Writing is a craft that takes vulnerability, laying out personal ideas for others to judge. Our human nature wants it to be just right on the first try and to have our efforts loved and not criticized. Unrealistic desires, grant it, but what we all struggle with, nonetheless.

Ms. Kautzer rightly states that, “writing is a process, not an event.” She then breaks down that process into steps that are easily understood, attainable, and will point the instructor in the right direction so they, in turn, can lead the student. From brainstorming to the final draft, Getting to the Root of Writer's Block takes you succinctly through the progression.

One thing I would add that Ms. Kautzer didn’t touch on as a cause for writer's block is that our human nature can just be plain lazy. Writing, revising and rewriting can seem like drudgery in some ways, and is not for the “fast food” mentality that plagues kids and parents alike in this day and age. Frankly, there's a shortage of short cuts that one can take to write a good piece of work; we’ll have to be thankful for spell check and grammar suggestions via our PC as tools that help to shorten the process. That said, Ms. Kautzer presents the parent with many good ideas for preventing writer’s block and ways of dealing with it if it rears its ugly head.

With the problem of writer’s block at least tackled, let’s take a leap to an important staple in the career of any student: the essay. Writing Essays, by veteran homeschool author Ruth Beecheck, is the second Wee-book that I would like to look at. With essay writing “entrenched in our schooling system”, getting a handle on writing an essay is an important task.

The four types of essays a student needs to learn to write are discussed with emphasis on what a college looks for in a good essay as well. Working through your first draft and writing essays for tests are also given some discussion time.

What Ms. Beecheck does a knockout job of in Writing Essays is offering up truly helpful suggestions on ways to write effectively; to a write in a way that the reader can easily follow. She states that, “with good sequence, the thoughts flow smoothly for your reader,” and then suggests some wonderful ways in which to accomplish this, giving concrete examples as she presents different techniques.

Essay writing is a skill every student needs to grasp. It must begin at a young age, in small assignments, and build in length and complexity as the child grows. Ms. Beecheck issues this obligation and then gives the teacher superb guidance on how to make excellent essays a reality in their student’s lives.

Finally, for the parent who may read through the two Wee-books I just reviewed and still feel daunted by the task of teaching these skills in an effective way, Writer’s Workshop by Maggie Hogan may provide just the solution to this problem. I must admit that, at first, I was resistant to the idea of putting such a workshop together. Sounded like a lot of effort and stress waiting to happen!

Though anything worthwhile certainly takes some effort, Ms. Hogan shows why such a venture does not need to be stressful. Creating a writer’s workshop is actually forming a writing co-op with some other willing parents. If you follow the suggestions laid out in Writer’s Workshop, the work will be easily and evenly spread out and a successful group can be enjoyed by all (yes, even the kids!).

Ms. Hogan stresses that the ultimate purpose of creating these workshops is not to just end up with polished projects. “If you are more concerned with the finished piece than with the child, you may get a few nicely written works, but your child may have learned little about writing.” Truly, if we make the finished product the goal, the child will fall quickly into the perfectionist mentality that we already discussed as being self-defeating.

However, using the tips and suggestions that have worked for Ms. Hogan for the last ten years, you can feel confident that your efforts will pay off with kids that will actually enjoy the journey of writing (maybe for the first time ever). Writer’s Workshop will guide your group through the first meeting, how to get organized and what kind of game plan you will walk away with. Then it will take you step-by-step through what a regular meeting should look like right down to what the toddlers are doing to keep busy!

One of my favorite ideas is that of the “author’s chair”. It is considered “the most important element of the workshop”. The author’s chair is a special chair designated for the reading of one’s work. Though it may be a different chair depending on where the meeting is held from week to week, it is a spot set apart when the time comes for kids to share (voluntarily) their work. The chair signifies a time to read, listen politely and offer kind comments or ask a few questions.

The typical meeting is broken down into three steps (with an optional fourth) that are explained in detail with plenty of room to customize according to the needs of your particular group. The ideas presented are not intimidating but, rather, encouraging and tempting to try. With a few other committed families (ages of children can vary widely), you can use the template from Writer’s Workshop to foster an environment of writing that will encourage even the most reluctant writer to give their best effort. Parents are encouraged to give it a try too!

All three of the Wee-books reviewed also include a “Further Resource” section at the end that will allow you to click on and instantly access more material and curriculum that will help you on your writing journey. You can download these Wee-books and many others on a variety of subjects in the online store from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Conquer your child's writing fears-- and your own-- or learn something new today! Click here to check it all out without delay:

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=62_171

e-BOOK REVIEW

HomeWork from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.

Homeschooling families are often single-income families. Yet, what stay-at-home mother hasn’t lamented over her inability to contribute, in some way, to the family income? Most of us have at least day dreamed about a home-based business; whether to supplement what our husband brings home or to allow our families to work alongside one another. HomeWork, an e-book available from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has collected a wonderful menagerie of stories about homeschooling mothers that have managed to make their Home also a place of Work (thus the clever title!).

The single income dilemma has always clung to me like a pair of pants that were a size too small and uncomfortably tight. If I could just lose a few pounds, if I could just figure out what the right job would be for me, then everything would fit just right. The “if” is what looms in your mind when you are a struggling single income family. What “if” you invest in something and it goes belly-up? What “if” you have a great product but find that it consumes too much time and homeschooling falls by the wayside? What “if” you never give it a try?

HomeWork does a fabulous job of introducing the reader to successful homeschooling families that have taken the leap of faith and begun their own home based business. Some of the stories are of professions that encompass the entire family, others are part time ventures taken on by busy homeschooling mothers. All of the stories are written in a conversational tone in a way that naturally tells the families’ journey.

There are a variety of enterprises explored in this book. From homemade crafts that sell on the internet to running a Bed and Breakfast, there is something for everyone within these pages. The stories combine the ins and outs of that job’s particular quirks with how those things fit into a typical day of school for the family. The reader will learn how these businesses began, what it took to get them going (helpful ideas such as lease financing, marketing, overhead, and how to use the internet), and the stories include where the children fit into the scheme of things as well. Each synopsis shows what it currently takes to keep everything afloat.

Having not read many e-books myself, I was pleased with the effortless reading format of this book. The font was easy on the eyes and the table of contents took you to the stories that interested you most. One great little perk with this e-book is that each family had websites and/or blogs which could be instantly accessed at the end of their story. In many cases, I was able view the products that I just read about. Can’t do that with a paperback!

Furthermore, there are resources at the end of the book to help with bookkeeping, financing and organizing. Many of the obvious questions that would come up when considering such a venture are dealt with in a “Q & A” section as well.

I would highly recommend HomeWork as a very useful tool for most home school families. Even if you know that it is not at all the right time to look into something like this, eventually the thought and/or the opportunity will present itself! Even the independently wealthy get bored, right? (Not that I would know!). The ideas presented in these pages are worth chewing on and exploring. Building a business takes preparation and time. If you plan ahead and read this now, you’ll have a much better idea of what you want to do and how to go about doing it when the time inevitably comes.

If it sounds like this book would meet your needs, please visit this link to purchase the book:
http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191_201&products_id=8425

Deep Ponderings and Frivolous Wanderings