So Many Audiobooks, So Much Car Time

Win!

I love audio books, and when Audible came on the scene, it fast became a favorite.  Back in the old days,  the website was painfully slow, and downloads were slower.  Once downloaded, transferring audio to a portable device--a Pocket PC at the time--took forever, and and could only be done in small segments due to the small memory capacity.  Burning content onto CD was worse, with temperamental burner technology and cheap blanks.  Stone knives and bear skins, really.

But the price was right, and it still is.  The following is all advertisement.  (But I would not suggest Audible if I didn't use the product.)

Save 50% for 3 months - Download and Listen to an Audiobook for only $7.49 today!

Today, downloads are almost seamless, very fast, and Audible's customer service is the best on the 'net.  They even employ humans.

A friend asked for my top five audio books, but honing my favorites to 5 proved too daunting a task.  Instead, I gave her 11:  five fiction, and five non-fiction, more or less, and one (actually, three) all-time favorite listens.  Here they are:

An outstanding read:  

The Arabian Nights Entertainments

One of the first Audible purchases I made:

The Enchanted Castle

Classic Heinlein Juvenile Sci-fi: 

Citizen of the Galaxy

Classic British humor: 

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

And drama:

Jane Eyre [Blackstone Edition]

And Non-fiction (sort of...)

All Creatures Great and Small

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man's Guide to Chivalry

The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

The Seashell on the Mountaintop

And my personal all time favorite:  Out of the Silent Planet and the other two in the Space Trilogy.

I Was a 5th Grade Unschooler

Problem was, I went to school.

This past Christmas, my mother brought over a pile of my childhood stuff, and my 5th grade report card was in there.  I was in a gifted program, but you would not know it from my grades:  I got a C in literature.  Is that possible?  It seemed unlikely that I deserved it, because most of what I recall from 5th grade was literature (and that dismal sewing class where I made a garment that my girls refer to as "that dress-thing").  Even French class was literature; our teacher read Les Miserables aloud to us.  In French, bien sûr.



I recall spending hours at my best friend's house reading and talking about books.  We read and reread Narnia and Little House, drawing pictures and maps, and affirming each other in choosing "Peter" or "Laura" for the names of our yet-unborn children.  I walked to school most mornings, uphill in both directions (there was a hill between home and school), as the sun rose on frosty winter mornings, singing Tirian's marching song in my head as I stomped through snow.  Once that year I brought The Last Battle to Symphony Hall and read during Seiji Ozawa's inaugural season, while the Boston Symphony played Flight of the Bumblebee and Bolero.  It was a school trip, and someone ratted me out to the teacher for reading, so I know she knew I was reading.

As a class, we read Animal Farm, and chanted "Four legs good; two legs bad" together, until someone screamed "two legs better" and we all laughed.  Each student was assigned a Newbery Award book, and each gave a presentation to the class.  We cried as Lori described the possessed sister in The Bronze Bow.  We all longed to hear the Heynal with its broken note when Mark told us about The Trumpeter of Krakow.  When Richard reenacted the scene with molten silver spilling over Johnny Tremain's hand, we all stared in amazement at his talent, until we discovered that Richard had actually fainted, and had to be taken away by ambulance (he was fine, and returned to school the next day).  After everyone had given a presentation, we all traded books until everyone had read through the list.

During a unit on pirates, we each put on a puppet show based on the life of a real sea raider.  I chose Captain "Red Legs" Greaves, a pirate with a heart of gold, who was fleeing captivity when he joined a band of bloodthirsty buccaneers.  We watched the 6th graders' performance of The Taming of the Shrew, and sang "Brush up your Shakespeare" in the schoolyard.  And we wrote our own (rather bad, I'm afraid) plays based on classroom shenanigans, like the time the bus broke down on the way to Old Sturbridge Village, and John put a toad down Mary's shirt as we waited by the side of the road for a replacement bus.  Gosh, it should have been a better play, with material like that.



So, why was my grade so mediocre?  We were required to write weekly book reports, and I simply didn't bother to write them.  To this day, I find book reports intrusive, as well as formulaic and dull, and I never require them of my children.   Like many unschoolers, we read and talk about books, sharing quotations, passages and impressions.  When they were younger, my kids made maps and invented their own stories.  They challenged each other with impromptu trivia quizzes.  We took field trips to visit settings (or places very like the settings) of our favorite books.  And we parents stepped back, giving the kids the freedom to be Swallows or Bastables or Hobbits.

Looking back, I now realize that my friends and I did the same in 5th grade. Maybe I deserved a C, but I unschooled an A's worth of memories.

High School Astronomy Books (because a friend asked)

Originally from MacBeth's Opinion website. 
 (Most links are to Amazon...you know the drill.  Links are for convenience.  Most books are available in the library.  Some are available on Kindle!  If you buy a book, Amazon gives me a tiny bit of dough towards books for my homeschool--no pressure, ever).

"And behold, the star that they had seen in the East went before them, until it came and stood over the place where the child was.  And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly." (Matthew 2:9)

"At the dead of night, two noble planets, Tarva and Alambil, will pass within one degree of each other.  Such a conjunction has not occurred for two hundred years." --Dr. Cornelius in Prince Caspian

"Dear old leopard." --Lucy in Prince Caspian, admiring the Narnian constellations

As a spine:  Astronomy:  A Self-teaching Guide

365 Starry Nights : An Introduction to Astronomy for Every Night of the Year by Chet Raymo (astronomy lessons night by night) .

For the more advanced astronomy student:

With a good back yard telescope, and not too much effort, this is one fun book: The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide : With Complete Maps, Charts and Tips to Guide You to Enjoying the Most Famous List of Deep-Sky Objects by H. C. Pennington (whew!) The Messier objects (about 100 of them) were catalogued in the 1700's by Charles Messier, a comet hunter who was annoyed by "fuzzy objects" that were not comets in the sky. He catalogued them to get them out of the way! His list includes star clusters and galaxies, all fairly easy to find (even with 1700's technology).

Need information about tonight's sky??

Online, Sky and Telescope   magazine is the best source for finding out what planets can be seen from your location and when they rise and set. It also includes meteor showers, comets, etc.

And some good theory books for high school and beyond?

• Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist by Guy Consolmagno  This is such a great book!  Find out just why the Vatican keeps an astronomer in this Jesuit's biography.  Journey with him to Antarctica to hunt for meteorites.  Enlightening!  Also by Brother Consolmagno:  Turn Left at Orion will help the back-yard astronomer find 100 objects in the night sky through the year 2006.
• Seeing in the Dark The truth is out!  Most great astronomical discoveries are made by amateur astronomers!  Be inspired to join their ranks!
  
  
  Diversions for discussion:
• God and the Astronomers by Robert Jastrow delves into the design of the universe.
• The Creator and the Cosmos : How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God
  by Hugh Ross
• The Sun in the Church : Cathedrals As Solar Observatories by J. L. Heilbron
• Star Names Their Lore and Their Meaning by Richard Allen
  
  
  Check out NASA's Photo of the Day!

The Forgotten Pages: India

Well, sort of.  I compiled a set of recommended books for a study of India a few years ago, but thought that it had disappeared from my MacBeth's Opinion when I decided to go back to the free (and ad-laden) basic website.  Instead, I discovered a browser issue:  The page just doesn't load for Chrome.  So, I am transferring this list of my favorite books on India and Indian culture to the blog, right here!  I hope it is useful to someone, and my apologies to the friend who was looking for books on India one day, and I dropped the ball.

My interest in India I get from my father, who studied eastern philosophy with Sahakian in college.  My father never traveled to India, but told me of a friend and classmate who did; the poor fellow got off the plane, looked around, and got right back on and returned to the US.  (I am not sure if this classmate changed his major, and the only other thing I remember about him is that he had a cat with horrid scars from going through the dryer accidentally.)

My first teacher was an Indian woman (a Buddhist married to a Brit) who ran an excellent pre-school in Boston.  I was but three years old, but remember the school vividly; it was wonderful.  Thank you, Mrs. Renfrew!

In addition to the books here, I recommend rounding out a study of India with a visit to an Indian restaurant or grocer.  We do, often...Remember this post about Paul's discovery of Sweet Paan?  That was a fun thing to try (once).

Picture books:

A Curly Tale

Magic Vessels

Hiss Don't Bite

Eyes on the Peacock's Tail

One Grain Of Rice

Folktales from India

The Ninth Jewel of the Mughal Crown ...

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Savitri

Aani & the Tree Huggers

Monsoon

The Brave Little Parrot

Rama and Sita

The Story of Divaali

The Little Brown Jay

The Monkey and the Crocodile

Seven Blind Mice

I Once Was a Monkey

Buddha Stories

The Wisdom of the Crows and Other Bu...

Twenty Jataka Tales

How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head

Novels:

Kim

The Jungle Book

Gay Neck

Siddhartha (high school)

Non-fiction:

Mother Teresa

Come and See

Hindu Festivals Throughout the Year ...

Look what comes from...India

Disclosure:  As usual, these books are available in most library systems.  The Amazon links are provided for convenience, and I do make an absurdly small profit from your purchase (which in turn is spent on books for my own homeschool...)

On Lewis and Librarians

As a child, I spent a good deal of time in the Brighton Branch of the Boston Public Library.  It was (and still is) a "modern" building, built in 1969 to replace a venerable old brownstone.  The link above includes a slideshow of the old facility and its patrons, as well as still photos of the new facility, with a teen cafe-style lounge, and reading nook (and I note that the old interior photos always seem to include folks reading books, whereas the new photos show no patrons...odd).  I can't help but think the older building had a charm and warmth that I never felt in the newer one.  Still, the children's librarian was cheery, and I soon discovered that she had a special place in her heart for C. S. Lewis.  

I had discovered Lewis in 2nd grade, under the influence of a young teacher who came in as a maternity replacement halfway through the school year.  My school was a public school, so she never mentioned any Christian themes in the Chronicles of Narnia as she read them aloud to the class.  After that introduction, I read them and reread them over again, always thinking there was some message just out of reach.  A few years later, while sitting in the library's children's reading room, I overheard some of the 6th graders from the local parochial school asking the librarian for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Somehow in the conversation I overheard  her say the name "Jesus" and the whole message dawned on me.  How could I have been so dense?  

Imagine my delight, then, when visiting the library at Thomas Aquinas College last week, and seeing a well-stocked Lewis section.

L immediately reached for the books she so loves.  We looked at the covers of older editions of his works, and tried to find which were the oldest copies.  It's a book thing, I guess.  T, meanwhile, was reading through his first assignment, which was Lewis' essay, "Learning in Wartime."

As we left, we passed the checkout desk to pay for a book (they were having a discard sale) that L picked up on Danish literature.  We were delighted to find this admonition:

A bit later in the day we were back in the library for a tour with the librarian, the very amazing and enthusiastic Viltus Jatulis.  L whispered to me (it was a library, after all) that it would be worth going to TAC just to enjoy her company in the library.  High praise.  I wish I had taken a video of her presentation and tour of the rare book collection; her tour should be on the TAC website so students get an idea of the kind of place this really is--a place where learning is cherished.  I could spend years in that room alone, perusing the medieval manuscripts!  

YA: Romancing the Misery

Last May, at the Book Expo here in NY, I was struck by Sarah Dessen's frank admission (and her free whoopie pies!) about becoming the author of Young Adult books by accident.  It seems that when she wrote her first book, she the audience she intended to address was adult, meaning, "grown up," not teens.  I have never read a book by Ms. Dessen (though she was a delightful and engaging speaker), but I was amused by her admission.  And it got me wondering, just what is a YA book?  After looking around the expo, booklists, and library, I came to the shocking conclusion:  YA books, for the most part, were books I didn't want my YAs reading.  Self indulgent books about drugs, sex, suicide, and every dark thing you can imagine...

Yet, books that deal with all of these matters are not new; "adult" books on these themes have existed since...well, earliest writings, including the Bible.  But there is a curious crudeness about the genre.  These books seem to, with rare exception, hit one over the head bluntly with bitter misery.  Do they enlighten?  Do they enrich the YA's life?  Or do they just bog teens down in a morass of murky, muddy self pity?
...

When I began this post several weeks ago, I anticipated reading a few of the worst titles in the genre.  Since then, this article and this follow-up  in the Wall Street Journal and Erin Manning's terrific take (start here) on YA have made my thoughts rather a perfunctory addition to the chatter.

Read all the above, but read this article, as well, on a book about teen suicide that "saves lives" (how does one quantify that assertion?).  A follow-up interview with the author of that book is here.  I had to laugh as he accused Gurdon (the WSJ book reviewer):  "...the tone in her article was very confrontational..."  Perhaps he should write a YA book about how to deal with people who disagree with you.


Debate is welcome here, as always.

This Photo from Libby's French Adventure...

(I know it's dark, but take a good look...it was not edited at all)

reminds me of this cover of a certain book by C. S. Lewis:

The Magician's Nephew

Book cover look-alikes are a favorite pastime of mine.  Check out these.

In Defense of Goodnight Moon

[Note:  Typical me--didn't notice the spelling mistake (since corrected) in the title.  I am sure the Brits didn't even notice.]

When a new mom asks for a book recommendation, the first book I think of is Goodnight Moon.  But it has come to my attention lately that some people just don't appreciate a literary bowl full of mush the way I do.

Of course, I like it because of the science:  The room darkens as night takes over (astronomy), a fire burns in the hearth and dries the mittens (chemistry and physics), there is a telephone (electricity and acoustics), a comb and a brush are potential sources of static (electricity), the colors red and green are part of the visible spectrum (see how they fade as the room grows dark!), kittens romp (animal behavior) and the old lady sits in a rocking chair (momentum).  And how long can that bowl full of mush endure (mycology)?

Well.  Not really.

Actually, there are plenty of reasons for me to dislike Goodnight Moon.  It has all of the annoying problems that I frequently bemoan when I read children's books.  For one thing, the poetry doesn't quite work, and the lack of scheme makes the occasional rhyme more of a surprise in this book than in a poem with measurable meter. It has a miserable commonplace vocabulary.  And it really doesn't go anywhere, but rambles on sleepily in a stream of bedtime consciousness.  And yet...I love it.

Perhaps I love it most for the bedtime routine.  There is the usual going to bed ritual, including the obligatory goodnights.  The rabbit child (for it is not a human child living in that room with kittens and mice--something I never noticed in my youth!) delays sleep by wishing goodnight to everything in the room, even, in a last sleepy effort to delay the inevitable, "goodnight nobody!" which was always my favorite line when I was a child.  (In fact, the concept of a lapine nobody reappears with gleeful charm in the character of A. A. Milne's Rabbit, as he attempts to fool visitors by pretending to be nobody at home.)  Now, the occasional rhyme gallops excitedly, making one think that there might be a reprieve from the inevitable sleep, but, alas, the old lady always whispers, "Hush."  Then, even the world quietens.

The room in the book resembles, in my mind, the room we stayed in when we visited my grandparents' house, though that room was neither great nor green.  When I was a child, the idea of a bedroom with a phone was unusual, but my grandparents had a phone in that spare room, and we children thought that was a marvel, playing with the dial, receiver in cradle, for hours.  There we had no fireplace, and no kitten; balloons were reserved for special occasions.  We had mittens, of course, and they were dried on racks like the one in the book.  If we had a mouse, it was usually dead in a trap.  The was a doll house, and a rocking chair, and my grandmother was always whispering Hush!  At night, that room became very, very dark.

I suppose, then, that my affection for the book may be as unique as it is personal.  And perhaps, readers of my age, with similar memories and taste, might purchase the book for young mothers, who, confused by the abundant accolades for Goodnight Moon might wonder, upon a first reading, "what's so great about this book?" and turn instead to the latest Elmo pablum.  But I hope not, for, as I recall, a bowl full of mush is so much more substantial.

Smart Stuff on Imagination, plus Books for Parents and Others

First, whet your appetite with a few lectures of interest, and a discussion of the fate of the picture book.

And now...
Finally, released for your reading pleasure!

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child.

Anthony Esolen's new book describes the ways in which society and schooling are harming our children.  Yes, I know you have heard that before.  So have I, and I have seen it both as a student and a teacher.  But of the many, many books, magazine articles and lectures on the matter with which I have become familiar, this book sums up my thoughts most completely, and rather more eloquently (he even shares my distaste for the term "play date").  It's one of those books that I fill with scrappy bookmarks and quickly scribbled margin comments.  Professor Esolen's playful reversal--like Lewis' Screwtape, the author expounds upon the worst of  imagination-killers as though they were the most worthy methods--reminds us of our own complacency, of how the unnatural has become the norm and the natural the enemy, unnoticed.   Read this and see if you agree. (I suspect I have much more to say about this, and  I may discuss this in depth here at a later date.  Stay tuned!)

Even if you have no children, don't miss Professor Esolen's wonderful Ironies of Faith.  I think it would be an excellent guide for a small book club reading group.  Ah, to have the time and company!

Also, fans, new and old, of Professor Esolen's work may also enjoy the quite wonderful Touchstone magazine, and the companion blog, Mere Comments.

More published anecdotal thoughts on raising children:

Saving Childhood by movie critic Michael Medved

Weapons of Mass Instruction by education critic John Taylor Gatto

Why Gender Matters by Dr. Sacks (I don't agree with everything here, especially his ideas on giving "mature" teens birth control, but overall his observations on gender differences are sound).

And for the young man, grown and introspective:  The Compleat Gentleman by The Catholic Thing (website) editor Brad Miner.

Snow Books (from MacBeth's Opinion)

Interested in Snow?  Want to know more about it, find things to do in it, or find things to do with it?  You have come to the right place!

Here's a list of recommended reads for young snow-lovers everywhere, with natural history of the north, and a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure:

• Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
• White Snow, Bright Snow
• Katy and the Big Snow
• Building an Igloo
• The First Snow
• Snow Riders
• Wild Horse Winter
• The Tomten
• The Tomten and the Fox
• Snowflake Bentley
• Snowmen
• Snowmen at Night
• Sugar Snow
• Dear Rebecca, Winter Is Here
• All You Need for a Snowman
• The Snowy Day
• The Big Snow
• The Polar Express
• When Winter Comes
• Snow Ponies
• Winter Moon
• When Will It Snow?
• The Snow Lambs
• Snow Comes to the Farm
• Annie and the Wild Animals
• Alaska's Three Bears
• The Polar Bear Son
• Little Daughter of the Snow

Updated:  And let's not forget Owl Moon (as I did!)

After the Kinderhike: Fall Books for Toddlers

In November

Hello Harvest Moon

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Water Dance

Autumn Across America

Gift Books for the Paranoid Parent

Buy them for a friend, or put them on your own wish list.

Bon voyage!

Free Range Kids is a book about letting go of fear.  As parents, we are bombarded every day by media messages about the dangers of childhood (and adutlhood).  This book is an antidote to the mentality of fear that possesses us to keep our kids from experiencing the sort of childhood that children need in order to grow into adults who can function in society.  Childhood should be an adventure.  (Click on the book link to watch the video, too!)

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is full of suggestions to help you overcome the paranoid instincts of modern parenthood.

Backyard Ballistics is a guide to launching things and blowing stuff up.  'Cause you know they want to.

The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science (with a title as bad as this, buying the book is your first step to letting go).  Simple stuff, and mostly fun.

Feeling more relaxed?  Try Ransome's Pigeon Post for inspiration--read it aloud to the children.  It's not a "how to" book, but a story of children who camp by themselves, mine for (what they hope is) gold and try to refine what they find, deal with drought, battle fires, and have wonderful conversations with total strangers.  Check out Ransome's other books, too.

PS:  Don't forget Forbidden LEGO!!

Mom's Summer Reading, Updated

Just got Anthony Esolen's Ironies of Faith. Books about books are often my favorite books.

When Does a Library Cease to Be a Library?

Annika is at the library. I dropped her there, though she usually walks the 6 blocks, as it is a delightfully oppressive 101 degrees outside. Our library is commonly known as the coldest place in the village, with air conditioners pumping hard to keep the reading areas at about 55. No kidding. Annika will head up to the young adult reading area, where incredibly comfortable chairs are placed among the shelves, and where no young adults are ever seen lounging, unless they are my young adult children. I kid you not.

I love our library. I love the librarians, the volunteers, the pages who work there, and for the most part, I like the book selections that are available. I have been a "Friend" of the library from time to time, and when the children were younger, they participated in many programs, from story time for the youngest, to various crafts (filling in for the lack of craftiness here at home), to the babysitting class for 12 year olds that frightened Libby out of her wits with tales of choking babies and bleeding toddlers. When the children were very young, our library had a small concert series featuring a local quartet.

The stories were read by the paid librarians, but I believe the other programs were run by volunteers. As I understand, anyone may present a program at a public library, as long as the program is open to the public. And perhaps these are services that a library should provide.

In the next village, which no doubt received a massive state grant for its library, the facility includes a 300 seat theater, two smaller recital rooms, and more. Programs for everyone, from babies book time to senior driving refreshers are taught. Full theatrical productions take place. Professional musicians give educational concerts with pre-concert talks. Oh, and they have books, too. In fact they have one of the largest collections in the area.

But a typical library is not just a place to find books anymore. There are DVDs. Where our local library used to charge a nominal fee--usually a dollar--for borrowing a DVD, all media are now free. The librarians complain to me about grandmas dragging children out of the library with an armful of DVDs, while having told the children firmly that they may not take out books. I have witnessed this myself. I have seen children run to the shelves only to be told, "No books today!" No books?? Isn't this a library?

***

Related:

Just read this online at School Library Journal: Cuts Hit Library Serving Kids With Autism. It seems that New Jersey's Governor Christie has proposed to cut the state budget's contribution for libraries in NJ by 74%. Draconian, or not? Should states be funding local libraries? And what precisely needs to be funded? (A librarian once told me that all fines and fees go into the local village budget, just like parking tickets and meter money, not back to the library...perhaps that ought to change?) It seems as though the library ought to have few expenses: Staff, maintenance, and purchasing. Volunteers back up the staff and work on other programs, right?

The library in the SLJ newsletter provides services for an unknown number of autistic children. The library director claims, "Our work with individuals on the spectrum will continue despite our need to balance our budget." (Good on them!!) The folks working in this program are volunteers, many of them on the autism spectrum themselves. Heck, their book club for autistic teens doesn't even meet in the library...it meets at Panera. So, the program is run by volunteers, and does not meet in the library. How will the program suffer from cuts in the state budget?

The library in the piece has had to cut back in some areas, including staffing, but is dealing with the cuts in a reasonable way. It is clear from the emotional headline, though, that SLJ has a political agenda. But for those of us who do read past the headline, there really is nothing related to the autism service that will be harmed. So perhaps SLJ has ceased to advocate for reading, and is simply advocating for money, using people with autism as an emotional tool to push their politics. After all, if one can read, one knows that the headline distorts the truth. So, have libraries ceased to be places that encourage reading?

Summer Books, Mother's Version

Here's my personal summer reading list. At least, I hope to get through much of it, though the plan might change.

Right now, I am in the middle of The Brothers Karamazov, but, keeping with the rule of alternating some heavy reading with some lighter fare, I am also reading Heinlein's Time Enough for Love, and revisiting Malacandra in Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet for refreshment of the spirit.

For the rest of the summer, I have Evangelical is Not Enough, The Mote in God's Eye (recommended by Jimmy Akin), Drood, and The Intellectual Life (which will, no doubt, lead to a longer reading list).

Why Nature Study?

Nature Study

(Charlotte Mason's Cure for Tired Text-taught Tots)

• “Let [children] once get touch (sic) with nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through his life.” --Home Education, pg. 61
• “We must assist the child to educate himself on Nature’s lines, and we must take care not to supplant and crowd out Nature and her methods with that which we call education. Object-lessons should be incidental; and this is where the family enjoys a great advantage over the school. The child who finds that wonderful and beautiful object, a “paper” wasp’s nest…has his lesson on the spot from father or mother.” –Parents and Children, pg. 182
• “…It is unnecessary in the family to give an exhaustive examination to every object…” --Parents and Children, pg. 183
• “The unobservant person states that an object is light, and considers that he has stated an ultimate fact. The observant person makes the same statement, but has in his mind a relative scale, and his judgment is of more value be- cause he compares, silently, with a series of substances to which this is relatively light.” -- Parents and Children, pg. 183
  
  

Charlotte Mason's Observations

Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was a British educator and an observant woman. As a teacher, she spent much of her life watching children learn, and drawing, from her observations, many of the same conclusions we home educators draw today as we watch our own children learn. Nature study was a “must” for Charlotte’s students, and for those she influenced in their homes. She believed that children should be outside with a parent for 4-6 hours per day when they are young, and that older children (12 and up) should have at least one full afternoon a week devoted to outside activities. Meals should be taken out of doors, when possible. “Never,” she writes, “be within doors when you can rightly be without.” Today, at Charlotte Mason College (now part of St. Martin's College), the study of ‘outdoor education’ can earn you a master’s degree. Indeed, outdoor educations centers such as Frost Valley in NY, and PEEC in Pennsylvania, Hemlock Overlook in Virginia, Eagle Bluff in Minnesota, and many others, are popular ways that public schools bring a taste of the outdoors to their pupils. Ah, but as home-schooling families, we can make everyday an outdoor educational experience…

Charlotte’s image of the nature walk included the mother sitting on a large blanket and sending the kids off to find what they can find. They would return with their finds, or describe what they had seen to their waiting mother. This might work well for you. Others may use a blanket as a “home base.” I cannot help but walk with my children and find things. I don’t want to miss anything on our nature outings, and my enthusiasm is contagious. Either way is fine, I believe.

The kids love to find natural objects and learn from them what they can. They keep notebooks, recording their interesting discoveries. They make connections when they read about something they have seen on a nature walk. They develop a strong, respectful relationship with life and its Creator. Nature study becomes the basis for the study of all other sciences—geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy can all be observed in nature.

---

The Outdoor Life: Getting Started

Mountain Day

Mount Holyoke College has a lovely tradition: On a crisp October morning at 7am, the morning bells continue to ring past 7, signaling that classes are cancelled. Because many students choose to climb the local mountains on their day off, the day is called “Mountain Day.” I have carried this tradition home, though we try to have our “Mountain Day” once a month, as a special addition to our usual time spent out of doors. Our “mountain” is a local preserve with several different environments—fields, forests, pond, seashore, and even old ruins. Best of all, it is free!

Mountain day is not a substitute for getting out daily! The mountain day location is a special place, away from home, where we can observe the seasonal changes, wild life, plants, and weather. Mountain day is a treat, wildly anticipated by the whole family. Nevertheless, we still go out as much as possible, on a daily basis.

When you plan your “mountain day” getaway, try to find a place that fits this checklist:
Free, or low fee--perhaps there is a “family membership”
Nearby
Suitable for children
Naturalist available
Night access, if safe
Variety of environments:

• Seashore
• Pond
• Creek or river
• Field
• Forest
• Desert
• Marsh
• Swamp
• Tundra
• Rain forest
• Island

No place has all of these environments, or course, but many parks and preserves have several different areas to explore. Check with your local parks department for advice. They can also tell you any rules and regulations. Many preserves forbid collecting anything (a real let-down for unprepared kids). Other places will make exceptions for “schools.” Still other preserves require permission to use the area. While this may require filing forms and a short waiting period, restricted areas are great since they are never crowded.

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Your Own Backyard

This is not a cliché. Most back yards are teeming with wildlife of some sort. As a city dweller, I never cease to marvel at the fine variety of life in my yard. Spend time in your yard as you take meals, and see how many kinds of bird, insect, plant, etc. that you see.
If you keep a perfectly manicured lawn, with only one kind of grass (need a field guide to help you learn your lawn?), you can make your yard more attractive to wildlife. Hang a birdfeeder. Add a birdbath. Try piling up some old hedge clippings to make a brush pile. Dig in the soil.

You might consider starting a ‘succession corner.’ Choose a small area. Don’t mow, spray or treat the area. Watch. The grass will grow long, weeds will grow, and young trees might sprout. Different insects will arrive. After a few years, you might start a second succession area beside the first, and see how much faster succession takes place. For more backyard ideas, check out MacBeth's Opinion (a small bookstore, in association with Amazon.com), including a "Swallows and Amazons" page!

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The Nature Notebook

Charlotte encouraged her students to keep nature notebooks. The children themselves always do the drawings, and the notebook may include poems, narrations of the natural objects, and pressings of leaves and flowers. Any blank notebook will do, provided it has room for our young naturalists’ pictures. Sometimes they draw right on the pages of the notebook. Sometimes they draw on separate paper and glue it in later. Poems we find, and any other hand written work is added neatly.
The work in a nature notebook is the child’s work, and is not subject to correction. As the years pass, we notice natural improvement in the drawing. As the child becomes a more accurate observer, so his artwork reflects the change. He may never be an Audubon, but he will look back on his work with fondness. A nature notebook is a great habit (Charlotte liked habits) that can stay with us for life. Moms and dads can set an excellent example for the children by starting their own notebooks…I have! Need help getting started? Need hints on drawing natural objects? Try Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie. This wonderful book has more suggestions that I could ever think possible, including hints for "speed drawing." Also, I have enjoyed using watercolor pencils. Try Watercolor Pencil Magic for helpful hints on using these.

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The Nature Hike (or What Do I Bring?)

The daypack for a nature walk can be quite a load to carry; let the kids help. I like to bring plenty of equipment so that there are no missed opportunities. The saddest words on a nature walk are, “Oh, if only we remembered the binoculars!” or “I can’t go in the marsh because I’m wearing my good shoes!” Be prepared for anything your area might have to offer. Here is a quick checklist of items to pack:
General supplies for all fieldwork:

• bug boxes w/magnifying tops
• hand lenses
• nature notebook or paper
• pencils
• ruler
• dissecting kit
• compass/map
• binoculars
• stopwatch
• Ziploc bags
• old sneakers
• water and snacks
• field guides
• **flashlight**

Supplies for Wetland study:

• dip net
• shallow basin (light colored)
• buckets
• seine net
• plankton net

Supplies for Field/forest/desert:

• bug net
• bug cage
• leaf/flower press

Supplies for Geology:

• rock hammer
• gloves
• canvas bag
• goggles

Remember: Boots are always shorter than the water into which you wade.
Always tell someone your plan--where you are going, and how long you'll be gone!

after the rain

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Audio Books

Just in time for the Christmas giving season. I can't tell you how much I love my Audible subscription. So, if you want to try if for yourself, here's an offer: Audible Starter Kit: Get 3 Audiobooks, Plus a Free Phillips Spark 2GB MP3 Player. Go for it.

Thinking (out loud) About Picture Books

After reading this article in the New Yorker, I redoubled my efforts to sort out the best picture books in the house. And with a film version of a favorite in the theaters now, a thought came to me...which picture books on our shelves would also make fine films? Then, as I was considering this, the era of the film strip came flooding back to me...remember film strips? I recall that many of the books I loved as a child were shown to us via film strips in elementary school. It was complex technology. It required both a film strip projector and a record player, though I understand that later in the 70s cassette tapes were used.

A favorite first viewed via film strip is Millions of Cats. When I read this to my children, who were, it is now hard to believe, once very young, I realized that I was using the narrator's voice from the film strip! (For a bit of a reminisce, head to this site, where a blogger rediscovers the film strip in a library!) I wish the audio file were available somewhere. If anyone knows where it might be found, please let me know.

So, I'm starting to think of other books that might make good film strips. Some, having been featured on Reading Rainbow, have already received the page by page public read-through treatment. Some could use an update. Here's a list of the folks I think ought to be film strip readers, with apologies to audio book voice-over artists everywhere. This is a fantasy list, so some of the readers might have to make posthumous recordings. ;)


Millions of Cats read by Eartha Kitt
The Five Chinese Brothers read by David Carradine
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed read by Joshua Bell
Harry the Dirty Dog read by Clint Eastwood (so, that did not require much thought)
Pagoo read by Steven Jay Gould
Strega Nona read by Olympia Dukakis
Stella Luna read by Adam West
Curious George Takes a Job read by Steven R. Schirripa
The Story About Ping read by Larry the Duck
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel read by Mel Gibson

Any other suggestions?

Sort of Sorting the Shelves: Picture Books

Yes, with 4 teenagers in the house, I still have picture books on the shelves usually for one of three reasons. Sometimes, a picture book best says what has to be said. Sometimes, I had meant to get rid of a really twaddly book, but simply never got around to it. Sometimes, the books are well-worn and well-loved editions I wish to share with my grandchildren someday. Today, I found a few books in each of these categories, and some are worth mentioning.

A Prairie Boy's Winter is a book of play and nature and an activity or two that parents would never let their children indulge in today. These are tales I like best...for instance, when snow drifts are deep, we are always told to keep away--you might become trapped and die. In this book, the boys dig deep, jump in, and explore the snow drift as tall as trees. They make elbow-shaped tunnels, in through the top,and out the side. They dig in with shovels, and jump in with both feet. What fun.

My Season with the Penguins takes us on a scientific research journey through the Antarctic home of some penguins via the journal of a naturalist who watches penguins. The watercolor illustrations are the perfect example of a lovely nature notebook. Just be aware that the author covers the nice and not-so-nice aspects of penguin life (and death) in the wild.

Grub the Bush Baby is a photo essay following the toddler-hood of Jane Goodall's son, nicknamed "Grub". In a way, this is a tragic story, as it seems as if those magical years were the best of his life. When he reached school age, Grub was sent off, away from his parents, to boarding school. Just so you know, Grub is frequently seen running about in his birthday suit in the book.

There are others, too, perhaps familiar to many of us: One Small Square books, Holling C. Holling's books, and a wonderful illustrated version of the Just So Stories. And many more, of course. Keepers, all.