crafting in may

Duke crafted his own hair one afternoon.

Caleb found a recipe for oo-bleck in a book he was reading, so we all made some one day. The kids enjoyed messing around with the semi-solid/semi-liquid gunk.

 

Mommy crafted Aunt Shawny's wedding cake!

And we found the simplest recipe for a most delicious ice cream! Puree an orange honeydew with a smidge of sugar. Whip a carton of cream, gently mix the puree and cream and put in the ice cream maker. SO GOOD. We made it more than once! 

The littles and I also made play-dough. They've played with it all summer long! 

I crafted this beautiful mess...

...and added this beautiful mess...

...which became THIS delicious mess—our spring tradition!

The duke got creative with his dinner one night!

And I pulled out all the remaining greens from the garden. We sure did have a whole lot of good greens from the garden this spring. Not sure this is really crafting at all at this point, but oh well!

My bday

For my birthday, Mom made at my request lemon curd pavlova. We topped it with wild blackberries picked from around the pond. 

Maddie finally gave her snowflake presentation to the family...a bit late, whoops!

And Aunt Xenia passed on a family heirloom to me. Uncle Ali's aunt's ring from Germany. I want to take it to an antique jeweler to see what more I can learn about it. It's clearly old.

Katie Luther

Maddie mastered the art of a solid research paper this year. She really wrote this paper with hardly any guidance from me at all. I read her rough draft, and I only had to fix or suggest a few words and phrases. She has become a good little writer! 

Madeleine

4/2/16

Katie Luther

         Most people have heard of Martin Luther, the man who began the Protestant Reformation. However, few people know of his wife Katie. Katie Luther grew up in a convent. Once she married Luther, she supported him in every way she could. Katie was known for being hospitable and generous.

         Katie Luther spent her early life in a convent. Katie’s full given name was Katherine von Bora. Starting at the age of three, she lived in a nunnery because her unkind step-mother didn’t like her. As a girl, Katie was a negative influence on the other girls in the convent. Sometimes she would tempt her friends to climb trees or steal fruit, which were explicitly forbidden. Katie, however, decided to be an honest and virtuous nun when she was sixteen years old. Solemnly, she took vows never to marry, to have no belongings of her own and to stay in the convent for the rest of her life. In the Marienthron Convent, Katie, who was now eighteen years old, started hearing of a man named Martin Luther. Everyone was amazed at the flagrantly foolish things that he did. Some things that he did, like preaching in German instead of in Latin, were considered sinful crimes. “Luther affirms that faith in God will get you to heaven not doing good works!” exclaimed the bewildered people. “Luther insists that you don’t have to pray to the saints, and you can pray directly to God!” “Luther says that you don’t have to live in a convent to serve God, and he proposes that nuns, monks and priests can marry!” This excited Katie! She dearly wanted to marry. Katie wanted to have children. So with the help of some of Luther’s loyal friends, about ten young nuns, Katie included, secretly escaped from the convent. On the seventh of April 1523, Katie and her friends arrived joyfully in a new town, free from the convent. Katie was now 23 years old. Up until this point in her life as a young woman, Katie had spent almost all her life living in a convent.

         Katie didn’t stay single for long; she and Luther married and she became a loving and supportive wife to Luther. When Katie was twenty-six years old and Luther was forty-two, the couple married on June 13, 1525. Katie quickly noticed how hard Luther was working every day and realized he needed a way to relax. She encouraged him to become interested in other things besides church matters. For instance, she turned him into a gardener. Katie patiently helped him grow eight different kinds of fresh, fragrant fruit in their orchard and peas, beans, turnips, melons and lettuce in their vegetable garden. Katie also bought hens, ducks, pigs and cows. Working in the garden and caring for the animals, helped Luther to relax and take a break from his stressful work. Katie took the initiative to do the desperately needed work on their property and house. She had practical things like stairs installed in the house. She gave Luther a comfortable pillow to help him rest better, and she made him make his messy, matted bed, which was something he hadn’t done in forever! Katie did every task she could so Luther could focus solely on church work. She was the chief cook, nurse, bookkeeper and brewer. Skillfully, Katie took care of the garden when Luther was away and managed the farm and animals herself. Ultimately, she helped Luther translate the bible into the common tongue of the day. If Luther was sick, Katie was there at his side nursing him back to health. She would use the herbal remedies she had learned in the convent. Other times, if Luther was just depressed, Katie would send for some of his friends to cheer him up. She was incredible! Without her Luther would have been lost. Over all, Katie was certainly the most supportive wife Luther could have had.

         Katie was known for her hospitality and generosity. Ironically, the Luthers lived in a colossal deserted monastery. Although it had numerous rooms, their large house continuously stayed full. They raised their six children there and eleven orphans. Besides all those children, there were also six of Luther’s nieces and nephews and some of Katie’s relatives who lived with them too. They didn’t neglect anyone. Student boarders, tutors and even unexpected guests all stayed at their house. It was noisy! Coming to stay at the Luthers, travelers knew they would be comfortable. Katie was extremely busy, and she worked hard to cheerfully house all these people. During the devastating plague, the Luthers converted their house into a hospital! Later they constructed several lecture halls and a bowling alley inside their house! It must have been as noisy as a barnyard! Katie always graciously welcomed people into their home. Although they were poor, the Luthers were profusely generous and shared what little they had. Because of the way she lived her life, Katie has always been remembered for her generosity and hospitality.

         Katie began her life in a convent. She later became a supportive wife to Luther. Katie was extremely hospitable and generous. Luther positively influenced the church in significant ways, but without Katie’s support he never would have accomplished all that he did. When we remember Luther, we should also remember his wife Katie because without her he would never have been so successful. 

William the Conqueror

Two things the students learned in Essentials were how to use differently structured sentences for variety and how to incorporate descriptive verbs, adverbs and adjectives. You can see how Caleb put this into practice below in his paper.

Caleb 

3/26/16

William the Conqueror

         Why do we still remember a man who lived one thousand years ago? William the Conqueror, who was an early king of England, is a man we still remember today, one thousand years after he lived. William’s childhood was difficult. Becoming king for William was full of substantial challenges. However, as king, William strengthened England.

         William’s childhood was definitely unusual and challenging. William the Conqueror was born in 1027 or 1028 in Normandy, which we now know as France. His father was Robert the Magnificent, who was Duke of Normandy. When his father died, William became the new duke. He was only 15.

Notably, when William was still a teenager, King Henry made him a knight. William was brave. He was capable. He was bold. Fighting bravely, his first military expedition was successful when the gallant William defeated a band of rebels at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes. William’s challenging childhood made him strong.

         Becoming king was a monumental achievement for William. In January 1066, William was named King of England. However the people of England challenged his rule because he was young. They crowned a man, who was named Harold Godwinson. He became king. Furiously, William built a castle near Hastings for his protection and then plundered the surrounding area. Since he plundered the area, it was an immense insult to Harold, who owned an estate there. Harold angrily declared war on William. Their armies fought and Harold died in battle after being shot in the eye by an arrow. This battle is called The Battle of Hastings. Winning triumphantly, William then became the official King of England. William’s quest to become king was difficult.

         William was a capable king who strengthened England. William the Conqueror earned his name because of all the battles he courageously won. To protect his kingdom, William commanded broad buildings and bridges to be intelligently built. He also ordered the stunning White Tower of London to be built. Since William loved to hunt, he destroyed villages to make a forest, which was called “The New Forest.” The people were angry. However, most of what William accomplished was beneficial for the country of England, and the people were pleased. Strengthening his country, William made 1066 one of the best years for England. William was a productive king who made England stronger.

         We remember a man who lived one thousand years ago because of his unusual deeds. William’s childhood was challenging. It was hard for William to become king. When William was king, he made England stronger. William was a successful king of England because he loved his people and fortified the country. We remember William the Conqueror, a man who lived one thousand years ago because of his extraordinary accomplishments.

Faces of History

For the culmination of Maddie and Caleb's co-op course, Essentials (grammar and writing), each child had to choose a person from history, write a research paper on the person, and then present their paper in costume.
 

Caleb chose William the Conqueror. 

 And Maddie chose Katie Luther. 

They both worked very hard and did a fabulous job on both their papers and their presentations. This was Caleb's first real research paper—as in reading various sources, creating a bibliography, and writing a 5-paragraph paper with intro, conclusion and three points. Maddie did an outstanding job presenting. She was the last child to present, but she held everyone's attention. Her poise impressed me! Both of them have grown this year in their presenting and writing skills. I've been so encouraged watching them be challenged, rise to the challenge, enjoy learning, grow and gain new skills. I'll be posting both of their papers next.

Mommy Delinquent

So this week the Duke typed his own name on my keyboard, and Maisie started pointing our sight words, which she now reads as I read her books. Furthermore, Duke told me this morning that when something makes a noise it makes "noise waves," and showed me waves with his hands up and down and up and down.

I think I better get myself in gear here and really start teaching these two smarties! I was so on top of Maddie and Caleb's every point of early development, and matched them stride for stride. But these two seem to always be a step ahead of me. Preschool has been relaxed this year and very light so far, but the time has come. I'm upping the ante.

Miscellany from July into August

Since Duke had two birthdays so close together, he thought more would be coming. He kept telling us he was going to have a birthday. One day I found him and Maisie with all these plastic wineglasses stacked up. Duke was "bwowing out da candohs on my buffday cake."

I bought some monarch caterpillars for the kids—one for each—to raise to launch us into school. We fed them milkweed leaves and then watched as they grew...

...and J-ed and then spun gorgeous caccoons of green and shiny gold...

...then we watched the caccoons fade...

...and then out they came! We let them loose as they hatched. Three caterpillars spun and hatched for us, but alas, poor Caleb's died as a caterpillar. 

Maisie and Duke hanging out in their favorite play place—the landing of the stairs. 

Babysitting Annalisa for Auntie La

Duke being his crazy ol' self! He sure keeps us laughing!

Braden hit up another Nationals game with Kevin & Isaac before we moved.

Field Trip

Maddie and Caleb got to go on a field trip with some homeschooling friends to a Tae Kwan Do center. 

I really thought Caleb would go for this and do well. 

He did like it and he did well. 

But it was Maddie who rocked it! Look at the girl kick!

And jump!

They both had a blast...and Tae Kwan Do is definitely something we're thinking about for lessons for them in the future. I really liked the aerobic activity, plus the agility aspect, and also the body control. It's all so good for them! (And us adults too! ;) And they really, really liked it.

mary poppins

Maddie read Mary Poppins for her book club that we run, and it was her turn to create a presentation for the club meeting. This was Maddie's first research project, and she did phenomenally well! I was so pleased!

I found a few articles to start her off, and then we found more articles related to the aspects in which she was most interested. From those, she highlighted things that stood out to her. Then she used her highlighted notes to compose a rough draft. From there I helped her edit. She created a wonderfully written final copy. Then we searched the internet for photos to correspond to her report. She chose which ones she wanted to use and where. Then I created a powerpoint presentation for her of her photos. She presented her report to her book club, reading her report, and using the iPad to show photos as she read along. She also presented it to family later on. Maddie really did a great job with this project! The text is below.

--------

THE STORY OF MARY POPPINS

BY MADELEINE

FEBRUARY 8, 2014

The author of Mary Poppins is Helen Lyndon Goff. You might be surprised to hear that because that is not what is on the cover of your book. But I’m going to explain that to you.  Helen Goff was born in August of 1899 and died in April of 1996 at the age of 96. She was born in Deptford, South London, England. Helen began publishing her poems when she was a teenager. Then she became an actress and chose the stage name Pamela Lyndon Travers. As a young lady she toured Australia and New Zealand as an actress in a Shakespearean Company before returning to England. (PIC  – This is Pamela Lyndon Travers as an actress.) Back in England she decided to be a writer and chose the pen name P. L. Travers.

In the winter of 1933, P. L. Travers began to write Mary Poppins. She wrote it very fast, probably because she had lots of time to write since she was recuperating from a serious sickness. It was published in 1934, and it was her first literary success. Over the years she wrote other “Mary Poppins” books titled, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins in the Park, Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, Mary Poppins and the House Next Door, and Mary Poppins in the Kitchen – A Cookery Book with a Story. Travers’ great aunt Helen used to say, “Spit spot, into bed.” She might have given Travers the idea of some of the things Mary Poppins said and did.

During World War II, Roy Disney first contacted Travers about selling the Mary Poppins story for film. Although Travers was an adviser to the production, she didn’t like that Walt Disney took away the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins’ character and made her a bit nicer in the movie. Travers didn’t let Walt Disney make a movie out of any other later Mary Poppins novels. (PIC  – This is Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins, on the left, Walt Disney in the middle, and Travers on the right.)

Walt Disney knew what children would like to see. He never wondered what would parents want their kids to see but thought about what the kids would like to see. Peter Ellenshaw painted more than a hundred paintings for the movie. He painted them on glass so they could put light behind them and make the lights of London appear to come on gradually during certain scenes. The first song that the Sherman brothers wrote for the movie was “Feed the Birds – Tuppence a Bag,” which was Walt’s favorite song. Though lots of people had been working on the Mary Poppins project for years, the actual filming didn’t start until February of 1963. (PIC  – Here is Dick Van Dyke on the left and Julie Andrews on the right. They are practicing dancing for the Mary Poppins movie. The man in the middle is the choreographer. Dick Van Dyke was Bert in the movie, and as I said before, Julie Andrews was Mary Poppins.)

Mary Poppins was called “Disney’s Masterpiece” because it was a smashing success. Mary Poppins was the biggest hit of the Disney Studios. The movie took in $44 million at the box office. Just recently a new movie was made about the making of the movie Mary Poppins, because making the movie was an interesting story.

Even though the movie does not take place in the 1930’s, that is the time period written about in the book Mary Poppins. I am going to share with you some information about what life would have been like if you had lived during the 1930’s in London.

First of all, Jane and Michael were wealthy. We know this because they had a cook, a housekeeper, a gardener and a nanny. (PIC  – Here is a row of ladies being trained to be maids. PIC  – This is a baby who got gifts, and he looks surprised. His family was probably wealthy.) But most people were not rich like the Banks family. In fact, most people in London in the 1930’s were poor. There was a lot of unemployment.

In the 1930’s there were no supermarkets, only small shops. People in those days had to shop most days because they didn’t have refrigerators. They kept milk fresh by storing it in bottles in a bowl of cold water with a wet cloth. Many homes and streets were still gas-lit, and people cooked on coal ranges, or stoves. Some people had a flush toilet in a lean-to. (That’s kind of like a little shack outside.) Many people used newspapers as toilet paper, and babies wore cloth napkins for diapers. Paper tissues hadn’t been invented yet. People used hankerchiefs and rags. When walking outside, you had to watch out for globs of spit on the pavement because spitting was common. (PIC  – This is a London trolley with lots of people getting on. PIC  – This big clock is called Big Ben. It’s London’s big, famous clock.)

People washed their clothes in heavy metal buckets and tubs using soap bars and a small wringer to squeeze water out of the clothes. Some people with a little more money would send their clothes to a commercial laundry where they were washed, dried and pressed. People with less money sent their clothes to a bagwash, which was cheaper. The clothes were just washed and returned wet in a bag. Often a very poor lady would run a bagwash service to earn some money.  (PIC – This is a poor family. The mom is doing laundry. She might be going a bagwash.)

There were public baths and some of these also had swimming pools attached. The baths were a row of cubicles. (Cubicles are kind of like bathroom stalls in a public restroom.) Adults went here to get a hot bath, since most apartments didn’t have bathrooms or hot water. But kids often bathed in large kettles. (PIC – This is a picture of a child having a bath and this is how they bathed.) If you lived in London, you most likely lived in an apartment. (PIC – This is an apartment flat from the 1930’s. PIC – Since people didn’t have yards the babies had their sun time in cages hung outside the windows. I wonder if babies got hurt falling.)

In order to keep warm, everyone burned coal in their homes. Burning coal made air pollution and “pea-soupers” occurred frequently. Pea-soupers were a thick black or greenish fog which occurred when the air pollution and a lot of moisture from the nearby Thames River combined. Pea-soupers were dangerous and people died from them sometimes. (PIC – This picture shows what policemen would have looked like in the 1930’s. This is not a pea-souper, but it does show London fog.)

It was almost unheard of for a lady to go to work. But like I mentioned before, she might wash clothes in her home to earn money. Girls always learned to darn socks almost as soon as they could hold a needle. (PIC – This is a picture of a group of girls. We would have looked like this if we lived in London in the 1930’s. PIC – This is a girl with a decoration on her front door. She has a coat much like Jane’s coat.) Most kids started school at the age of 3 and left school at the age of 14. When you were 14 you often left school to go find work to help support your family. When you left you were given a leaving school certificate and a character reference, and when you applied for a job the employer always wanted to see them.

By the end of the 1930’s Hitler was gaining power in Europe and was a threat to England. People living in London were given gas masks in case of an attack so they could breathe clean air. Young kids sometimes got Mickey Mouse gas masks.

THE REST OF THE PICTURES:

PIC – This is a young man in the 1930’s. He is in his military uniform. Most young men were in the military because at the end of the 1930’s World War II began.

PIC – This is a young lady in the 1930’s.

PIC – Those two people got married and this is their wedding photo.

PIC – Here is a man dressed up as Santa Claus. He is giving gifts to boys at an orphanage.

PIC – Here is a family having a special Christmas tea.

PIC – These kids are carolers. They might be singing for money.

For a snack today I made scones. Scones were (and still are) a very common food to have with tea in England. I also made gingerbread stars. I got this idea from the chapter in Mary Poppins where she takes Jane and Michael to the shop and buys them gingerbread.

In September our living room looked like this...

Yes, for about 2 weeks Caleb spent most of his time here on the couch. He didn't like the crutches at all and couldn't figure out how to use them. Once his leg stopped hurting, he was allowed to put weight on his leg and had a soft shoe to cover his second cast. So he ended up getting around like that after a while.

Nothing like starting school with an invalid. It actually worked to Caleb's advantage though. He was so bored so often that school was a welcome break to his boredom. I'm not sure he realized that, but Mommy did. :) I even had him do some extra school. (Shhh! Don't tell him!)

the great london fire

Recently we learned about the Great London Fire that burned 4/5 of London back in 1666.  To help Maddie and Caleb understand part of the reason why London burned so terribly and how they finally were able to stop the fire, we did our own experiment in our fireplace.

We made a few paper houses.  We set 3 up really close together, just like the London houses were.  One house we set a distance away.  That house (and the space between) represented how the soldiers blew up parts of the city in front of the fire, creating separation so that the fire didn't have anything to continue to burn.

So we lit our first house and watched it quickly burn...

 ...and spread nearly right away to the next house...

...and to the next house...

...but then once those houses were burned, the fire stopped because there was nothing nearby left for it to burn.  And thus, the last house--set apart--was saved.  

I love how taking a few minutes to complete a hands-on activity can reinforce important concepts and events in Maddie's and Caleb's minds.  Both of them can now explain the Great London Fire to you.  We haven't done many hands-on activities this year because of the little ones.  But I look forward to returning to more of these next year. It makes learning memorable and it brings it to life. 





 

reading buddies

All last year Caleb was "reading."  He read through his school readers, but he never crossed that point where he realized he could really read, you know, pick up a book and read it.  At the end of August, one day he did.  He picked up a book and started to read it, and click, the light bulb went off!  His reading has since skyrocketed.  He's reading so well now! 

One of his favorites things to do is to read to Duke.  It's really cute, because Duke watches him and the book and stays very happy.