{Keeping} :: My Commonplace ... Lessons from a Convict

A couple of weeks ago, as I was perusing our library's digital consortium, my interest was piqued as my eyes rested on the title: Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard, by Laura Bates.

I was easily lured into reading this because of Shakespeare in the title; however, I did not expect to be enthralled by Larry Newton's personal tale and drastic life change as an inmate ... Or how prison education programs like Shakespeare greatly benefit the personhood of prisoners, which consequently affect the betterment of society! It was an eye-opening read. 

And the incredible wisdom of Larry shine throughout the book. I just had to make several entries into my Commonplace for this one. Granted, most of his comments are regarding prisoners and prison life, but I also found many of them to be universal truths.


p. 162 ... on pride (And who can say they don't suffer from this? I can't!)

It is not our conscience that torments us over our image; that is our ego tormenting us. 

Our conscience torments us when we behave in ways that are contrary to our values. 

When you look in the mirror and cringe as a result of your shame, it is conscience. 

When you look in the mirror and cringe as a result of how people think of you, it is ego. 

Which of the two is more prevalent in your life?

p. 168 ... on instructing younger inmates in the Shakespeare program. (Isn't this what we, as Charlotte Mason, educators also strive to do?)

That's the idea behind real change. 

The idea is that we make them question things that we don't question...

The idea is not to give them the answers, but to make themselves question.

p. 188 ... on preparing the younger inmates for the study of Shakespeare. (Another plug for reading good, rich literature!)

You are going to have to dig inside yourself and come face-to-face with parts of you that you never knew existed. 

And, yes, the language is tough. These facts aren't meant to scare you away. 

I just thought that you should know that this is no cake walk. 

But I have every confidence that you are more than capable of stepping up into the "big leagues" of intellect. 

Others may want to water things down for you, because they see you as mere juveniles. 

But I know that you are not simple-minded kids.

p. 224 ... on questioning the purpose for providing education programs to prisoners and appealing to one's sense of right and wrong. (Talk about conviction!)

"Why should we do good for bad people?" 

The answer is because "anything else would be bad."

{Handicrafts} :: Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder

It's Spring!

Seems like the weather took a turn for the warmer around here real quickly.

We've gotten good rains, the grass is green, trees are budding...

Birds are everywhere!

So with our "spring fever" we decided to make some extra bird feeders during one of those rainy days recently. Here is the inspiration for the feeders we made.

Materials:

popsicle sticks

wood glue

twine/hemp string

scissors

ruler

We used 8 fat popsicle sticks for the bottom, then started stacking others around in a square, Lincoln-Log style, adding a bit of glue to the tips to hold them all together.

We also decided to make a suspended square of popsicle sticks above the feeder, so this was glued separately.

After allowing the glue ample time to dry, we drilled small holes in all the corners in order to run our twine through.

Each piece of twine measures 22"

We cut four at this length.

Next we tied knots at the end of each piece of twine, which would be at the bottom corners of the feeders, underneath.

After passing each piece of twine through a corner hole, we measured up 7 1/2" to place another knot here, where the top square piece would be held aloft.

Finally a knot was tied at the top, binding all four pieces of twine together, ready to be hung outside on a hook.

And they were hung on the next sunny day we had.

Royal's Exams :: Year 3, Term 1

We are a bit behind the "normal" school schedule, so we have just finished our first 12 weeks of Year 3 (3rd grade-ish). It was such a wonderfully productive first term too, as Royal really began taking off with his reading skills. It sure has made getting through the day's assignments easier on me since I now also have little Alice to work with in Year One.

So I have just finished going through the suggested questions for the Term 1 Exam over on the Ambleside website. I have used some of their questions verbatim, calibrated others, and added extras to cover more subject matter.

So without further ado, here is our exam:

Bible
1. What do you know about Moses' babyhood and early life?
2. Tell about Moses and the burning bush or a story of Moses & Aaron.
3. Tell about Mary's visit to Elizabeth or something from Jesus' childhood.
4. Tell about the healing of the man who came through the roof or of the centurion's servant.

Penmanship
Copy "The queen went stumping along in one shoe of stone and one of skin."
Print, then rewrite in cursive.

History
1. Tell about how Bloody Queen Mary's sister, Elizabeth, became a prisoner.
2. Talk about how England was saved from the Spaniards when Queen Elizabeth was in power.
3. Talk about the Spaniards' search for the city of gold called El Dorado OR about one of the explorers: Vasco da Gama or Magellan.

Tales
1. Tell your favorite part of The Princess & The Goblin.
2. Tell the story of Paul Bunyan or Pecos Bill.
3. Talk about Christian & Hopeful's crossing of the river and up to Mount Zion's gate.

Biography
Talk about one of the works of art that Michelangelo was involved with.

Geography
1. Tell about TWO of your favorite parts of Marco Polo's journey to China.
2. Tell everything you know about the Great Wall of China. Why was it built?
3. Draw the shape of the earth and show where the hot countries are and where the cold ones are.

Natural History and General Sciences
1. Describe from memory the chinaberry or the Inca dove that you drew in your Nature Notebook. Tell everything you know about it.
2. Talk about how a hermit crab develops and grows.
3. Tell about sea anemones and how they feed.

Reading Skill
Read this passage in your clearest voice: (Dad selects)

Arithmetic
1. 234 + 8 =
2. 105 - 7 =
3. 365 + 80 =
4. 89 - 27 =
5. Royal saved $300. He bought a gun and had $98 left. Find the cost of the gun.

Spanish
1. Sing "Noche de Paz"
2. Sing the abecedario up until the letter we have learned.
3. Answer:
     ¿Qué día es hoy?
     ¿Cuál es la fecha?
     ¿Qué tiempo hace?
4. La ropa (clothing):
     *Using the bears family puzzle, dress & undress your chosen bear, talking about what you take off and put on in the morning and at night. Using your bear's facial expression as a guide, answer: ¿Cómo estás?
     *¿Qué llevas tú? (Talk about what you are wearing today)

Picture Study
1. Describe your favorite picture you studied of this term's artist, Fra Angelico.
2. Do a quick sketch of it.

Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb

Recitation
1. James 1:2-12
2. Dad chooses a poem for you to recite:
     "A Good Play", by R.L. Stevenson
     "Ferry Me Across the Water", by Christina Rossetti
     "Little Boy Found", by William Blake

Singing
1. Sing "The Yellow Rose of Texas"
2. Sing "Joy to the World"

Handicrafts
1. Give one of your handicrafts to someone else.

This is another hand-stitched card; however, Royal designed this himself
and sent it to a family friend as a birthday greeting.
He loved it!

2. Do your best kitchen floor and table duty cleanings.

Composer Study
1. Talk about the sounds of Hildegard von Bingen and why you liked her compositions or not.
2. Tell a little about her.

Art
1. Color in the primary and secondary colors on the color wheel.

2. Draw Wally the Worm winding through the grass, coming straight towards you.

Foreshortening technique

Read Alouds
1. Which was your favorite book: "On the Banks of Plum Creek" or "Alice in Wonderland". Why?
2. Draw a scene from either of these books and tell me about it.

On the Banks of Plum Creek

{Keeping} :: My Commonplace

Habits.

Discipline.

These two words embody the life-blood of a Charlotte Mason education. 

And they are powerful, whether it be the absence or the presence of them.

I am frequently reminded of where I am needing improvement.

The following excerpt from The Blue Fairy Book, of all places, is no exception.

I was reading a portion of Prince Darling today with Alice (Year 1).

As I said the words out loud, I couldn't help but feel the conviction again that our lives (starting with mine) need little adjustments.

Lord, help me. This is difficult!

When the Prince grew old enough to understand, 

he soon learnt that there could be nothing worse than to be proud, obstinate, and conceited, 

and he had really tried to cure himself of these defects, but by that time his faults had become habits; 

and a bad habit is very hard to get rid of. 

Not that he was naturally of a bad disposition; 

he was truly sorry when he had been naughty, and said:

"I am very unhappy to have to struggle against my anger and pride every day; 

if I had been punished for them when I was little 

they would not be such a trouble to me now."

The Blue Fairy Book

Prince Darling

Andrew Lang

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Miscellany :: A Feast of Crumbs

• I finished J.R.R. Tolkein: A Life Inspired. This was a quick read, but oh-so-interesting! I always enjoy learning about people's lives, and as The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a family favorite around here, it was really fascinating discovering how the fantasies and characters came to be. One curious tidbit was the inspiration for Gandalf. On a trip to Switzerland he purchased a postcard of Der Berggeist, by Josef Madlener, a German artist. This was the origin of the great grey wizard:

Der Berggeist ("the Mountain-Spirit")

• Snow in Texas is always an exciting event. But three separate snow days is just thrilling! On March 5, we had the latest snow that I ever remember in my lifetime. And apparently, we set the record for this date with 2.5", beating out whatever it was back in 1947!

• This was what spoke to me today:

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." -Hebrews 13:15-16

Jesus paid it all. 

So after His perfect sacrifice, what more could be pleasing and acceptable? All we have left to offer as a loving and grateful response to what Jesus did: praise, humility, service to others...

• Mom's handicraft: DIY Swiffer wet jet pads

This is the easiest, fastest one I came across. The first one I tried called for cloth diapers, of which I had one, but after following the directions and trying to sew on velcro through THREE layers, I could not, for the life of me, get the thickness under my presser foot. So this one was less frustrating. Not so thick, no velcro needed. I just used a microfiber kitchen towel I had, and presto! I got two pads from one towel.

• A day at the museum - This was great fun for all of us, as we had never visited this gem before. One of the exhibits held a ginormous humpback whale skull. All were in awe of the size of this thing!

There were so many fun rooms to explore and let the imagination run wild. A favorite of all three kids was the pioneer room, where their love for Little House and Farmer Boy played out again...

• I decided to make my own Paddle-to-the-Sea map for Alice. I just couldn't find any free ones online that I cared for much. So I traced over the one in the back of the book using our light table. Then I laminated it to use over and over again :-)

I hung it up on the bulletin board with Royal's Personal Timeline:

{Keeping} :: Calendar of Firsts

A Calendar of Firsts is something I have been wanting to try doing for a year or so now. I just couldn't get a jump-start. But with reading through The Living Page, researching how others put one together, and with a new year and all, I just bit the bullet and jumped in. Because it is really just me right now anyway, making short comments to the kids about what I notice and suggesting we can enter it into our Calendar of Firsts.

I didn't really know how best to organize something like this, so to avoid spinning my wheels and procrastinating even longer, I just took Celeste's idea for inspiration and tweaked the images on the pages to represent things we see here in Texas. (Thanks, Celeste, for sharing by the way!)

Here is our "Nature Nook", where we keep all our field guides, brochures and informative pamphlets, along with our nature journals and Calendar of Firsts.

The cover of our Calendar of Firsts:

Calendar of Firsts: a month-by-month look at nature

Inside:

And here is 2-and-a-half month's worth of progress...

January is pretty skimpy. I was still working my way into the groove of observing things :-)

February was a full (and crazy) month!

~Blooms, birds and arctic blasts~

We are excited to see that our Texas Redbud tree, which we bought and planted last spring, made it through the ice and snow. We've got its first blooms!

{Keeping} :: My Commonplace

Just a few words that struck me during our read-aloud time of late...

The truth is, that folks' fancy that such and such things cannot be, 

simply because they have not seen them,

is worth no more than a savage's fancy that there cannot be such a thing as a locomotive, 

because he never saw one running wild in the forest.

 Wise men know that their business is to examine what is, and not to settle what is not.

The Water-Babies 

Charles Kingsley

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