Dormant (Latent) Appetite for Knowledge

I have read Volume 3 at least twice from cover to cover, but only today did I actually grasp the following delightful anecdote from Chapter 20, given to remind us to avoid drilling our children on their understanding of the things they read.  We are laying a foundation for future connections.

As a girl of twelve or so the writer browsed a good deal on Cowper's poems and somehow took an interest in Mrs. Montague's Feather Hangings. Only the other day did the ball to fit that socket arrive in the shape of an article in The Quarterly on 'The Queen of the Bluestockings.' Behold, there was Mrs. Montague with her feather hangings! The pleasure of meeting with her after all these years was extraordinary; for in no way is knowledge more enriching than in this of leaving behind it a, so to speak, dormant appetite for more of the kind. Vol. 3 pages 223-224

I think she means dormant in the sense of latent:  (of a bud, resting stage, etc.) lying dormant or hidden until circumstances are suitable for development or manifestation (Google)

Later she says:

Not what we have learned, but what we are waiting to know, is the delectable part of knowledge.

2013-2014 School Plans

I am just about finished with school planning for this year.  The girls are reading AO Year 10 and Year 7.  Here are some details.

(For those who don't know, Year 10 focuses on the 1800s and Year 7 focuses on Medieval times.  The AO Years thread through the ages of Western civilization with detours into other cultures.)

We're adding Plutarch again after almost two years of neglect.  I wanted to do Scott and couldn't fit them both in, but with AO Year 12 focusing on current times instead of ancients, I realized I need to fit in Plutarch every year.  There are other important reasons for reading Plutarch every year, but sadly, those did not motivate me like the thought that the girls wouldn't get an in-depth introduction to ancient times.

We are going to read Coriolanus and Demosthenes.  I wanted to read Cicero too, but couldn't fit it in.  These look fun to me because Anne White has made new study guides for them (scroll through link above to find those).

We are continuing Sir Walter Scott.  We didn't finish reading Waverley together last year, so we are carrying it over.  Then I think we will read Quentin Durward.  I heard it contains archery, and it fits into Cornflower's medieval time period.  She will also be reading Ivanhoe on her own.

I want to add in The Everything American Government Book for both girls this year.  I will probably purchase it around Thanksgiving and add it at the beginning of second term.  This is a new book recommended by AO for Years 9-11.  Cornflower is only in Year 7, but we did Hillsdale's Constitution 101 last year, and she is chomping at the bit to attend Patriot Academy, so I think she can handle this book.

(Btw, if you decide to purchase any of the AO books mentioned, please go to AO and use their affiliate links to get to Amazon, etc.  This helps the Advisory pay website/forum expenses.)

We will continue the new edition of Be Ready to Answer, a departure from AO's devotional and worldview selections.  This book is by Michael Gowens, a Primitive Baptist elder. He does an excellent job dealing with the different religions and isms of our time.  I found that I need to proceed very slowly with the younger two on this book if we want to apprehend the ideas, so we are setting a time-not-a-number-of-pages for each week and reading even more slowly than normal.  We are in the middle of Chapter 8 (of 20 chapters), so I hope to finish the book this year.

One day of the week I hope to focus especially on homemaking and ladylike pursuits.  ;)  I'm not sure how this will go, but we have gotten away from the art of housekeeping in the last few years. Not surprising when it falls far down the list of things to learn, as it has lately.  The Warrior Poet doesn't feel this is a big loss, but I am increasingly aware of a lack in this area, so here we are.  A friend lent us The New Christian Charm Course last year and we haven't gotten to it yet.  We are also reading Home Comforts, an AO recommendation.

In addition, I'm thinking about us reading French Women Don't Get Fat.  I don't like the author's focus on weight loss, but I do like her focus on enjoyment and finding the best fresh foods every few days.  I want us to rejoice in our meals.  Our eating habits must change.  I had a really good thing a year or two ago with the Clean program, but I couldn't rope anyone else into joining me for long.  So I'm thinking about this book.  We should probably start with mindful enjoyment and move on to things like gluten free.

Also, our timeline, current event and quote notebooks have been too much business and not enough joy.  We just check them off the list.  We don't enjoy them, and often they are neglected.  Especially the timeline books.  I'm setting aside time and laying out fun materials to hopefully inspire all of us to relax and get into our notebooks.

That is the extent of our group work.  You will notice Bible reading is not on the list.  The girls are doing that on their own this year so we can take a thirty minute walk every morning.  It's time for them to do their daily devotions on their own.  I will be reading devotional and worldview books with them, and we attend church together and discuss the sermons and Bible studies. I scheduled out their daily Bible reading and loaded it into the Homeschool Tracker so no one forgets.

I've changed up Mariel's devotional and worldview books too.  We aren't doing How Should We Then Live? (We ARE doing the Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde study-- The Deadliest Monster-- which is on the AO Year 10 list.)  Schaeffer was pretty discouraging for us last year, so we are taking a break from him and reading Paul Copan instead.  Copan's up-to-the-minute apologetics seem pretty important to Mariel's life right now.  Together we are reading When God Goes to Starbucks, and she is reading Is God a Moral Monster? on her own.  For devotional books, I have her finishing The Jesus I Never Knew (started last year) and then Seeking the Face of God.  Along with her Bible reading.  I don't know if she will get through all of these.  The monsters, Copan books and Bible reading are a definite.  The others are negotiable.

Cornflower is following the devotional recommendations at AO Year 7, except I substituted Stepping Heavenward for The Pursuit of Holiness.

I've added poetry and scripture memorization back to their assignment lists too.  For some reason this is always a beating.  I don't know how it will go, but I've schedule six memorization assignments for each girl.  At the end of each memorization period, I want to serve a nice dinner and ask them to recite for the Warrior Poet.  Again, reaching for joy.  And grace.  I want them to be diligent, and I also want to respect their honest efforts.  And fun, relaxing family time would be nice too.  Ah, Utopia.  But surely we can achieve some sort of balance?

For narration and composition, Cornflower will attend a Lost Tools of Writing I course that I am teaching in my home.  Mariel has gone through that curriculum twice, so I hope to get LTW II by the first of the year.  I don't know.  She is going to be rewriting classic essays as well as practicing the dreaded SAT/ACT essay prompts, so I think perhaps we could do that all year and put off LTW II until 11th grade.

Once again, our math journey has taken a turn.  Last year the girls used ALEKS online, but they begged me for textbooks and a human being to help them understand concepts.  They are getting the University of Chicago math books and me for a teacher. Lord help us.  Algebra every day and me trying to explain it.  We can get through it if the Lord redeems our efforts.  This is another area in which we are naming time-not-pages in the assignment list.  The most important thing is that they understand the math they have worked through.  If they don't, it doesn't matter if they have Algebra, Geometry Algebra II, Trig, etc., on their transcripts.  They won't know them.  So my hope is to get through as much math with understanding as we can this year.

And I'm saying another special prayer over science.  Cornflower will have Apologia General Science.  Mariel will finish up Apologia Biology and move into a new curriculum-- Paradigm Accelerated Science-- which I hope will be a good fit for her creative mind.  My plan is for her to do Anatomy and Physiology after she finishes the last few modules of Biology.  Next year I hope for her to do the Integrated Physics and Chemistry course, and then her senior year to finish with either Chemistry of Physics.  We'll see.  I felt encouraged when I found this curriculum at the Rainbow Resource booth at the homeschool book fair this spring.  Hope, hope, hope.

We need to take a year off from formal foreign language, which is sad to me, but I don't think it will hurt either of the girls.  We plan to explore ASL as best we can on our own, and then take it up next year with a teacher.  Mariel studied Spanish last year, but it wasn't a good fit.  It took me awhile to accept this as a solution, but I'm feeling pretty good about it now.  Mariel still has two more years for foreign language after this year.  (Sadly, Latin has been a nonentity at our house, lo, these many years.  Cornflower may take it up in high school, but we are leaving that to her discretion.)

Mariel's geography focus will be the Middle East and Rome.  That strange combination is the result of me letting her choose one book while I chose the other.  Cornflower is focused on Europe this year.  They will do map drills at Seterra.

History and Literature are pretty much what is recommended in AO Years 10 and 7. :)  Okay, they won't read ALL the additional reading.  I generally keep a list of the additional readings for each student, and check off things as they read them.  So they will read some additional books from previous years as well as the current year, and put off others.

Their arts needs are being addressed by co-ops and extracurricular groups.  I'm teaching Shakespeare again this year at our co-op.  We will read Taming of the Shrew.  I love the other moms in our co-op and appreciate so much their careful preparation each year.  I especially appreciate that all I have to prepare is Shakespeare!

The girls will not have violin lessons this year, and while that makes me sad, it was the right decision for several reasons.  For one, they will have more time to devote to their other pursuits.  Violin practice takes up a lot of time.  Thankfully, they will still participate in orchestra, so violin won't be tossed completely to the wayside.

As far as life skills, in addition to the homemaking stuff, we are using the Dave Ramsey high school money management course.  Mariel has an outside job and Cornflower will be working on music readiness with young children at intervals.  There is so much that needs to be done in this house, I hope we will be able to do some home improvement projects this year.  Mariel is also learning to drive.

All in all, I hope this will be a quiet, profitable year for the girls and all of us.  I want to do the unseen things that reap future benefits.  My major hope is that we live in liberty and grace and joyfully help each other and others around us.  I'm going to post the following as a reminder.  (Some of this is paraphrased from our pastor's sermons and emails.)

Our theme this year is Liberty, Grace, and Jubilee.

Stand fast in the liberty of Christ, and by love serve one another. (Gal. 5:1 paraphrased)

Instead of working harder to do good, work harder to rest in Christ.

Work at not being works-minded, even as you do your work.

Trust GOD for ALL your righteousness

(NOT your self-improvement efforts, character, or due diligence)

Spend time every day concentrating on the glory of our completed salvation

in Christ Jesus.

Narration: Secrets of the Universe Ch. 1-2

LittleLa (age 11) wrote this narration last week:

Federal laws.  They're not the only kind.  There are natural laws, like the Law of Gravity.  Who voted on that law?  Nobody!  It's a law of nature.  Some people break federal laws, like speeding.  You can't break Gravity.  Every time you drop a ball it will fall down.  Not up, down.  Gravity is unbreakable.  

Scientific laws are just describing science.  Many scientists discover brilliant things because of one person, like Newton and Einstein.  Very rarely scientific laws do change because scientists find information that is more accurate and sensible.  Natural laws are mostly written in math equations.  This way it is easier for scientists to compute their experiments. 

Archimede's Principle: If you fill a tub to the edge with water, when you put an object in the water, the equal amount to the mass of the object will overflow out of the tub. 

I like this narration.  I can tell by the sentences that she was trying to summarize paragraphs.  This is a great exercise and can be difficult.  My favorite part is the point she makes about scientific laws.  We will have a bit of discussion to clarify that scientific laws never change, but man's understanding of them changes, and then man needs to bring his definition of the law into harmony with the actual law.  I also think she needs a better definition of natural law than she comprehended in this reading, so I will bring that to her attention next week.

She misspelled four words:  they're, experiments, accurate and equations. I corrected them here for ease of reading.  These words, along with any others she misspelled last week in written narrations, will be her spelling list for next week.  She will study the correct spelling until she can visualize it correctly with her eyes closed.  Then I will have her run around the outside of the house singing a song and after that I will give her a spelling test.  If she misspells them again, they go on the list again.

LTW: Review and New

Mariel and I are a writing class of two this year.  We are starting with Lost Tools of Writing I Lesson 6.  We made it to Lesson 8 last year, but I wanted to review the persuasive essay before diving into the comparison essay which starts in Lesson 9.

Today she chose an issue and began defining terms.  We are reading Little Women in group time, mainly for her younger sister's benefit.  Since Mariel has already read the book, she decided to use it for her first LTW essay.  I encouraged her to choose a very simple issue, something that seems small in the grand scheme of the book.  I have heard that smaller issues often produce the best thought.  Her issue is:

Whether Amy should have bought Marmee cologne.

Stay tuned.  ;o)

To Begin is Half the Work

Tuesday we will begin the new school year, I hope.  One or another of us has been sick with a virus almost the entire month of August. Two of the girls have horrid coughs, and the Warrior Poet is still suffering some effects of the virus.  It is currently my turn to deal with fever.  I usually recover more quickly than anyone else in the family.  I think we may actually begin school on Tuesday.

The fever that comes with this virus tends to disappear and then return.  I am using a fever-free moment to update the blog.

The quote in the title is from some Roman person.  Different websites attribute it to different authors.  I think Mary Poppins said something similar:  "Well begun is half done."  I have researched and planned and thought and prayed, and being that we're down with this virus, I have had much time for reflection.

Bible:  Last year we got bogged down in commentaries.  A kind preacher disrupted our descent into commentaries about halfway through the year.  This year I hope we will continue to do more Bible reading and less commentary reading.  Commentaries can be helpful, but one must be careful.

English:  I'm sort of dreading language arts this year.  The three girls are doing three completely different things and I know that will be hard on me.  Also, I can't shake the notion that Cornflower needs more of a challenge in this area.  I went through the same angst when Aravis was her age.  Aravis has started a rhetoric and critical thinking class at the college.  It looks like it will be good for her.  I am excited to get back into Lost Tools of Writing with Mariel by herself and see what happens.

Geography: I'm feeling ambivalent about geography.  We are going to use the Sheppard website for mapwork, which looks good, but I wonder if it will be too little, too late.  How much do my kids know about maps already?  Living geography is easy for me, and I can point to a spot on the map when we are reading. We have two big ones-- United States and World-- on our walls.  But beyond that, I feel a lack.  I'm not sure the Sheppard website will help with it.  I'm not sure what we are lacking, actually.

History:  The kids are each reading their own thread of history, which means I keep up with three time periods.  I love this.  I get excited making connections from different eras.  Aravis is studying Ancients this year, which I think will stretch my thinking, too.

Civics:  Again, I'm not sure how much they know and where they lack knowledge in terms of government and economics.  We follow the AO/HEO suggestions and have read through the Constitution.  Mariel will read through it again this year, and we are all taking the Hillsdale Constitution 101 course during our group time.  I feel like they need more, though.  Texas government, of course, but also knowledge of the political process, such a strange animal to me.  Four years ago we studied the political process, but I'm not sure how much they retained.  It's another election year, but I haven't geared up for it.  I need to think more about election year lessons or at least make watching the process a requirement.  Aravis signed up to help register voters in our area.  That will be a good experience for her.

Science:  One word.  Biology.  It will be our life this year.  (Get it?  Life/biology.  Ha.)  Aravis and Mariel are both studying different levels of biology.  Cornflower is reading natural science and learning the laws of physics.  We'll get through this just fine, I think.  I'm thankful none of our science this year contains math.

Life Skills:  I always feel lacking in this area.  Life skills can't usually be taught as step-by-step lessons.  They have to be experienced.  The girls do their own laundry and can clean the house and make a meal.  That's good.  This year, Mariel is making dinner two nights per week with Cornflower as her assistant.  Aravis just reminded me to drink lots of water, so she knows how to prod sick people.  Almost every situation has the potential for teaching life skills.  We did sign up for cotillion so the kids could learn etiquette and social dancing.  The older two girls have leadership roles in drama club this year.  Mariel is taking driver's ed at the end of the school year, and Aravis is studying personal finance.  If they don't grow in life skills, it won't be for lack of opportunity.

P.E.:  Oh dear.  P.E. is the red-headed stepchild of our homeschool.  I don't know how often we will make it to the Y this year, but it is something they need on their transcripts.  That's as far as I have gotten in the P.E. area.

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute; What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it...

 That is from Goethe.  We will, we will, if we can rid ourselves of this virus by Tuesday.

UPDATE:  I just realized I completely skipped math.  Oh well.  I think I need a nap.  I'll think about math later.

Classical v. Postmodern Sentence Style

I am looking at Dr. Einarsson's grammar for Mariel (age 14) this year.  I just read the first chapter and feel convicted.

Today, what we say does not have to be thoughtful and conclusive; it just has to be said now, while the microphone is still on... 

...the ideas of today seems to come out in a continuous flow of ongoing language.  Sooner or later the idea seems to be "out there," and then the word stream stops.  But this style, based on flow and quantity, is not the language style of yesterday.  In the past, the carefully structured sentence was the medium for encapsulating and precision-stating our thoughts.  Today, precision and structure seem to be less important than the ability to "wax eloquent" at the drop of a hat.

I'll learn a lot in grammar this year too, I hope.

Expectations 2012-2013

 We had a back-to-school dinner the other night.  We've been passing around a virus for the past three weeks and needed cheering up.  We aren't starting school until September 4th (good thing because two of my three students are still feverish) but I figured why wait?  We needed some fun and we all enjoy new pencils and erasers!  

During the evening, we went over this list of expectations.  (The other stuff we did was fun, don't worry.)  It's a pretty good exposition on what worked and what didn't last year.  The stuff that worked is not addressed in this policy, while the stuff that didn't work is, kwim?

Group and Mom/Student Lesson Policy

•         Be on time.  People who are tardy become my servants for the day.  Bwahahaha.  Being on-time begins with your evening routine the night before (see evening and morning routine checklists)

•         Bring supplies.  People who forget supplies will be given organizing chores.

•         Most work is due at the end of the day Thursday.  People who aren't finished by this time will be made to do schoolwork on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday until the work is finished.

•         Please take care of restroom visits, drinks, meals, etc., before or after.  You will be given two emergency passes at the beginning of the term.  If you still have both passes by Christmas, you will be given an extra $10 to use for Christmas gifts.

•          Some homeschool families do school in jammies.  This works for them, but not for us.  Come dressed and ready for the day unless you have my express permission to be in pajamas. (Express permission means you just asked me and I said yes right then.  In other words, no standing permission whatsoever.)

•         Come prepared with a cheerful attitude ready to take advantage of the educational opportunities God has granted you.

•         Cell phones should be turned off unless you have my express permission to have them on.  The only reason I will give permission is if we are waiting for a response from another teacher or student regarding study or extracurricular activities.  (If you need a calculator, use a calculator, not your cell phone.)

Independent Study Policy

•         The following rules apply during study time (7:30a-12:00p Monday through Thursday) as well as any time you are doing schoolwork that didn't get finished during study time. 

•         No checking email unless you have my express permission to check.  (See cell phone reason above.)

•         No Facebook, forums or Internet research/surfing unless you have my express permission.

•         Musical instrument practice may take place in bedrooms.  The living room piano may not be used.

Supplies

•         Pencil

•         Notebook

•         Schoolbook(s)--check your assignment list to see which books are required each day

•         Binder(s)

•         Art supplies

Outside Classes/Extracurricular Activities/Field Trips

•         Set supplies in the entryway the night before the activity.  (See checklists for specific activities)

•         Make your own lunch and fill/bring your own water bottle.

•         Dress appropriately for the weather and the activity.  Shoes are always required.

And always remember I love you!

2012-2013 School Year

I have neglected the blog lately.  I hope I will post more this school year.  (No promises!)  I do want to put out our plans for the new school year.  First, here are dh's priorities for this year.  (They change a bit every year.  I cannot find last year's list, nor do I remember it, but if I do, I will post it.  The link above is from two years ago.)

PRIORITIES

Bible

English

Geography

History

Civics

Science

Life Skills

P.E.

Once again, English is high on the list.  Yay!  Civics and history have been two and three for the last couple years.  Geography made a surprising third place showing, which means I need to get my mapwork act together.  

First, group work.  Aravis will be out of pocket most days and may not get to participate in much of this, so I have geared it mostly to Mariel and Cornflower.

Bible-- read straight through with narration.  We are currently in Joshua (OT) and just finished Revelations (NT) and will start again with Matthew.  I really want to do Psalms this year also.  I'm working out a plan for it.

Be Ready to Answer (new edition) by Elder Michael Gowens

Hillsdale College Constitution 101

Waverly by Sir Walter Scott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

It's (not that) Complicated by the Botkin sisters

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Words that Shook the World (book and CD of speeches with commentary)

I am also working on a short list of scriptures, poems, speeches, etc. for memorization.

This will be Aravis' final year of homeschool.  Joyful, thrilling and bittersweet all at the same time. She is studying the ancients.  Here are the books we have chosen, based partly on Cindy's list for her daughter.

The Christian Imagination by Leland Ryken

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Has God Spoken? by Hank Hanegraaff

Heroes of the City of Man by Peter J. Leithart

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Aristotle's Poetics

The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton

The Roman Way by Edith Hamilton

The Iliad

The Odyssey

Plato's Republic

The Portable Greek Historians

The Portable Roman Reader

The Blood of the Moon by Dr. George Grant

Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg

Vanity Fair by Thackeray

Middle March by George Eliot

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

Ben Hur

and some short stories (James Joyce, William Faulkner, Earnest Hemingway, Flannery O'Connor, Kurt Vonnegut...) 

I hope to get my hands on the King's Meadow Antiquity lectures when they are released. Aravis will also work through Dave Ramsey's college level personal finance course in terms 2 and 3.  She is taking English composition and biology with lab at the local college to round things out.

Mariel will be in her first year of high school.  Eek!  How exciting!  She is reading HEO Year 9, time period 1688-1815.

The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith (if we have time)
History of the American People by Paul Johnson (first year)
Churchill's Age of Revolution (might be a free read)
Founding Father by Brookhiser
Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
assorted source documents
One or two other biographies from the time period-- we have quite a few and I will let her pick.
Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
Map drills from Seterra and Sheppard websites
Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? by Maybury
Maybe The English Constitution by Bagehot, Common Sense and Rights of Man by Paine
Essays by Jane Haldeman Marcet
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
Ourselves (third year)
How to Read a Book (third year)
History of English Literature for Boys and Girls (third year)
Simond's American Literature
Two or three novels of her choosing from the Year 9 list
Finish Grammar of Poetry
Pope, Cowper and Wheatley
Dr. Robert Einarsson's Grammar (still wondering about this)
MEP Math (Years 8-9)
Apologia Biology
The Microbe Hunters (first year)
The Arts by Van Loon (might be a free read)
Spanish with Javamom
In His Image by Dr. Paul Brand (might be a free read)
Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson (first year)

Mariel is drawn to history.  I suspect she will want to read some of the other books in Year 9 as well, but I will let her pick and choose from among them and not require them as school reading.  This list looks long.  I may need to trim a few things.

Now for Cornflower.  My baby is going into middle school this year.  Hard to believe it!  She is reading Year 6, which contains one term of 20th Century and two terms of Ancients.

Story of the World Vol. IV
Augustus Caesar's World
Story of the Greeks
Story of the Romans
Genesis:  Finding Our Roots
Carry a Big Stick (T. Roosevelt)
Never Give In (Churchill)
The Story of David Livingstone
Map drills from Seterra and Sheppard websites
School of the Woods
It Couldn't Just Happen
Secrets of the Universe
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity
Archimedes and the Door of Science
Galileo and the Magic Numbers
MEP Math (Year 5 into 6)
Frost, Sandburg, Noyes
Age of Fable (third year)
Animal Farm
Black Ships Before Troy
The Bronze Bow
KISS Grammar workbooks (6th grade)

We are still doing the Fine Arts co-op, orchestra and drama club.  In fine arts, the kids will be reading Hamlet, listening to Haydn, Wagner and Copland, and studying the works of Titian, Waterhouse and Byzantine Gothic artists.  I think.  In art class they will be learning color concepts and techniques.  And, of course, they will sing hymns and folksongs.  Ahh.  The drama club play this year is "Night at the Wax Museum".  Aravis is directing and Mariel is doing set design.  Cornflower is finally old enough to audition.  :)  We hope to get to the Y a couple times per week as well.  Sheesh.  It sure seems like a lot.  The girls study pretty well on their own at this stage of the game.  I'm mostly the activity-and-assignment-facilitator.

Notes on Mr. Shakespeare's "As You Like It"

These are reading notes I did for a Shakespeare co-op class.  I'm just putting them out here in case anyone wants to use them.  The post is incredibly long, and for that I apologize, but it was faster to post everything at once than do twelve different posts.  Also, it might be more convenient for someone wanting to print the entire thing.

Act I Scene I

Characters (in order of appearance)

Orlando de Boys, son of Sir Rowland de Boys

Adam, his faithful old servant

Oliver de Boys, Orlando’s older brother

Dennis, Oliver’s servant

Charles, Duke Frederick’s wrestler

Vocabulary

to breed me well- to make sure I was raised well

mines my gentility- ruins my good birth

be naught- get lost

you are too young in this- you don’t know anything about (fighting)

physic your rankness- cure your insolence

shall acquit him well- will do well

Act I Scene II

Characters

Celia, the daughter of Duke Frederick

Rosalind, the daughter of Duke Senior

Touchstone, a fool in Duke Frederick’s court

Le Beau, one of Sir Frederick’s courtiers (an attendant)

Duke Frederick

Orlando

Charles

Vocabulary

righteously tempered- pure or true

lineaments- features

Nature’s natural- a fool

forsworn- lying

taxation- slander

of what color? what kind?

quintain- a post or object mounted on a post and used as a target in tilting

humorous- temperamental

Act I Scene III

Characters

Celia

Rosalind

Duke Frederick

Vocabulary

working-day: wearisome

hem: cough

curtal-axe: sword

Jove: Roman king of the gods (counterpart of the Greek Zeus)

Act II Scene I

Characters

Duke Senior, the older brother of Duke Frederick (and rightful Duke)

Amiens, a lord one of Duke Senior’s attendants

First Lord

Second Lord

Vocabulary

old custom: experience

forked heads: arrows

cope: argue

Act II Scene II

Characters

Duke Frederick

First Lord

Second Lord

Vocabulary

roynish: troublesome

Act II Scene III

Characters

Orlando

Adam

Vocabulary

priser: champion

Act II Scene IV

Characters

Rosalind

Touchstone

Celia

Corin, an old shepherd

Silvius, a young shepherd

Vocabulary

batler: washing stick

dugs: udder

peascod: peapod

thou shalt have to pay for it of us: we will pay for it

mend your wages: raise your wages

Act II Scene V

Characters

Amien

Jaques, a lord, one of Duke Senior’s attendants

Vocabulary

I’ll end the song—sirs cover the while: I’ll finish the song while you set the table

in despite of my invention: although it isn’t imaginative

an if he will come to me: if he will only come to me

Characters and Vocabulary

Act II Scene VI

Characters

Orlando

Adam

Vocabulary

conceit: vanity, pride

desert: wild, uncultivated area

Act II Scene VII

Characters

Duke Senior

First Lord

Jaques

Orlando

Amiens

Vocabulary

discord in the spheres: disorder in the universe

dial: watch

wags: moves

chanticleer: a rooster from Aesop’s Fables

sans intermission: without stopping

my only suit: my only request

bob: joke

pard: panther

wise saws and modern instances: both old and new rulings (legal precedents)

effigy likeness or image of a person

limned: outlined in clear, sharp detail

Act III Scene I

Characters

Duke Frederick

Lords

Oliver

Vocabulary

I should not seek an absent argument… you present: I wouldn’t look for him with you present

Till thou canst quit thee: till you clear yourself (of charges)

Act III Scene II (Part A)

Characters

Orlando

Corin, the old shepherd

Touchstone

Rosalind (as Ganymede)

Celia (as Aliena)

Vocabulary

parlous: perilous

instance: example

fells: fleece

civet: a type of wild cat

perpend: understand

content with my harm: satisfied with my ill-fortune

the right butter-woman’s rank to market: they plod like dairymaids on their way to market

medlar: a type of fruit that was eaten rotten

half-ripe: partially wise

scrip: a small bag

more feet than verses would bear: in poetry, a foot is a certain number of syllables contained in part of a verse (For example, the word “upon” is two syllables. Its rhythm is short-LONG. It is an iambic foot.)

atomies: specks

holla! Whoa!

Act III Scene II (Part B)

Characters

Celia (as Aliena)

Rosalind (as Ganymede)

Orlando

Jaques

Vocabulary

cipher: one having no influence or value

penury: extreme poverty

cony: rabbit

quotidian: commonplace

(Begin at: “’Tis he; slink by, and note him.”)

Act III Scene III

Characters

Touchstone

Audrey, a goatherd

Jaques

Sir Oliver Martext, a country vicar

Vocabulary

Aside: a stage direction that indicates speaking privately (to oneself or the audience)

feign: pretend

a foul slut: a dirty, sloppy woman

I thank the Lord I am foul: Audrey is thanking the Lord she is unattractive?

wainscot: wooden paneling

horns: represent strength and honor; also sometimes indicate a husband’s loss of honor due to the unvirtuous behavior of his wife

bawdry: sin

Act III Scene IV

Characters

Rosalind

Celia

Corin

Vocabulary

dissembling: pretending

Judas: the apostle that betrayed Jesus with a kiss

verity: honesty, truth

concave: empty

tapster: tavern-keeper

puisny tilter: young, unskilled knight

Act III Scene V

Characters

Phebe

Silvius

Celia (as Aliena)

Rosalind (as Ganymede)

Corin

Vocabulary

cicatrice/impressure: a scar left by a leaf or seed on a plant

Thou hast my love: you have my friendship

earst: earlier

carlot: peasant

Act IV Scene I

Characters

Rosalind (as Ganymede, and eventually as Ganymede playing Rosalind!)

Celia (as Aliena)

Jaques

Orlando

Vocabulary

censure: ridicule

emulation: rivalry

politic: crafty

nice: fussy

rumination: thought

humorous: moody

blank verse: non-rhyming poetry in iambic pentameter (most of this play is written in blank verse)

I’ll warrant him heart-whole: I guarantee he is not in love

jointure: offer

leer: face

graveled:

suit: courtship

die by attorney: die by proxy

videlicet: namely

I might ask you for your commission: I might ask what right you have

casement: window

Act IV Scene II

Characters

Jaques

Lords

Act IV Scene III

Characters

Rosalind

Celia

Silvius

Oliver

Vocabulary

this is a letter of your own device: you wrote (devised) this letter

eyne: eyes

perlieus: outskirts

sheepcote: shepherd’s cottage

bottom: valley

osiers: willows

Act V Scene I

Characters

Touchstone

Audrey

William, a country boy in love with Audrey

Corin

Vocabulary

flouting: jeering, mocking

cover thy head: William has taken off his cap to salute Touchstone and Audrey; Touchstone bids him put it on again.

ipse: (Latin) he

trip: hurry

Act V Scene II

Characters

Orlando

Oliver

Rosalind (as Ganymede as Rosalind)

Phebe

Silvius

Vocabulary

thrasonical: boastful

incontinent: without control

I can live no longer by thinking: I cannot pretend anymore

Act V Scene III

Characters

Touchstone

Audrey

Two Pages

Vocabulary

woman of the world: married woman

Act V Scene IV

Characters

Duke Senior

Amiens

Jaques

Orlando

Oliver

Celia

Rosalind

Silvius

Phebe

Touchstone

Audrey

Hymen, the mythological god of marriage

Jaques de Boys, brother to Oliver and Orlando (the other Jaques)

Vocabulary

purgation: being cleansed of an accusation, esp. by a trial of fire, water or combat (ie., if you survived the trial, you were declared innocent)

copulative: that which unites or couples

sententious: abounding with sentences

bear your body more seeming: watch your posture

addressed a mighty power: gathered a great army

good wine needs no bush: in Shakespeare’s time, it was customary to drape branches of ivy in tavern windows as an advertisement for wine.

Where Do You Find all the Books?

Yesterday, a friend asked me this question in relation to the AO/HEO books we use to educate our kids at home.  This post is a list of recommended strategies for gathering living books.

Many Charlotte Mason educators consider their libraries part of the legacy they will leave their children and purchase the highest quality books they can afford.  Our family homeschools on a shoestring.  I have often bought the least expensive 'average' condition book, but it is worthwhile to get a high-quality hardcover  if you find one at a good price.  

Before shopping for used books, it is helpful to know the jargon.  Thankfully, Abebooks has a glossary of used book terminology and abbreviations.  Keep this page open and use the "find" function on your computer to locate any terms in a listing that you don't understand.

My first stop when looking for books is AddAll.  This website searches the Internet for the lowest price.  AddAll doesn't actually sell you books, but directs you to book sellers online.  Here is a brief list of book selling websites I use:

Amazon Marketplace 

Half.com

Abebooks

Christian Book Distributors

Paperback Swap is an interesting concept.  Users post books they are willing to trade and receive a credit for each book they mail to another user.  The credits are used to choose books from other users.  You can keep a wish list on the site, and they will notify you when books come available.  Twice I have gotten rare, out-of-print AO books for the price of shipping.  I have also exchanged much twaddle for living books. I currently have almost nothing I'm willing to swap, so I just buy credits when my wish list books come up.  Credits are $3.79 apiece.  Receiving credits for books mailed is generally less expensive, as the U.S. media mail rate for books under 1 lb is $2.47.  Usually, one credit gets you one book.  See the website for more information.

(I cannot recommend eBay because I do not like shopping that website.  I get too wrapped up in the competitive aspect, which causes me to overbid.  It is just better for me not to go there.  :)  Your experience may be different.)

I prefer to shop for books online because I can do specific searches and keep myself from getting sidetracked by other goodies that look wonderful but are not on my list.  Shopping for books in real life is often hit-or-miss, which is dangerous for a bibliophile.  When I leave the house to shop for books, I want to come home with books.  If I enter a brick-and-mortar store with a specific book in mind, I will very likely emerge, not with the book I need, but with four or five others that look scrumptious.  This is fine for a family with discretionary income, but for a family on a tight budget, it can seriously mess with next year's educational prospects.  

Having said that, here are some real-life places I like to shop for books:

Half-Price Books

Homeschool book fairs (usually have a couple booths of used and out of print books)

Homeschool support group/co-op used book sales

Barnes and Noble (We view this store more as a museum we visit to remember what new books look like, but they have a nice collection of reasonably priced classics in hardcover.  Some are abridged, so do your homework.)

As a homeschool buyer of many years, I can honestly say it is less expensive in the long run to purchase books on the purchasing list online, even at slightly higher prices (shipping, you know) than to purchase ten amazing books just discovered at a brick-and-mortar store or homeschool used book sale.  The exception, of course, is if you find a thrift store or flea market practically giving books away for under a dollar.  These places exist.  One of the thrift stores near us sold books for 25 and 50 cents for years.  If you find a store like this, shop every week until they come to their senses.  ;o)  Libraries sometimes literally give books away, too.  Here are a few places to check for these free or almost-freebies:

Thrift stores

Flea markets

Libraries

Garage sales

Half-Price Books warehouse is another place to get free or almost-free books.  These are clearing-houses for books that do not sell in the stores.  Homeschool moms qualify as teachers at the warehouse in our area.  If you are a teacher, you may attend their clearance events in which they give away books for free or almost-free.  You have to sign an affadavit stating you will not attempt to resell the books.  I got some of my best books at one of these events.  But it can be a mad rush of people jostling for books, so beware.  This is the reason I only went once!  Also, bring boxes and a hand truck and prepare to stay to the bitter end.  People take entire shelves of books, sort through them, and put back what they do not want.  Sometimes what they do not want are classic works of natural history and science.  You can find great things if you are patient.

Borrowing books can also be an option if you know other CM homeschoolers in your area.   Many CMers are protective of their books, and with good reason.  (See "building a legacy for their children", above.)  Borrowers do not always return books, and lenders do not always remember who has their loaned books.  I have been on both ends of this trouble.  I lost several lent books over the years, some of which I just realized were missing this year when I needed them for my youngest daughter's schooling.   I had to repurchase them.  But I am not innocent, oh no.  Only last week I almost gave away a book I borrowed over three years ago! 

With all its pitfalls, borrowing and lending can be a great way to share books if a few rules are followed:

1)  If someone lends you a book, respect the honor conferred upon you and return it as soon as possible,  

2) Only lend books you don't mind losing, and

3) Keep records of borrowing and lending so you do not forget.

The library can be a great borrowing resource, too.  Our library expanded into a new building (and a new purchasing budget!) a few years ago and actually requested that patrons make book purchase suggestions.  Homeschoolers took them up on this opportunity!  Even if your library is not asking, you can request that they look for certain books when they have a purchasing budget.  The worst they can do is say no.  We live in a large metro area and have cards to three different library systems.  If one library doesn't have what we need, another may.  Also, many people use inter-library loan, and, while I haven't ever used it, I have heard that it is a good way to borrow rare books.  The drawback to using the library is that the books must be read more quickly than is usual in a CM education. 

Purchasing books for Kindle and other eReaders is a new trend in CM homeschooling.  It is affordable and convenient.  You do not have to own a Kindle to use a Kindle book.  You can download them onto your PC.  Also, quite a few classic books are available to download for free on the Internet.  Some of these books are indicated with hyperlinks on the Ambleside Online website.  At our house, we use a lot of free-on-the-Internet books for the cost-savings, but we prefer paper pages and hard covers and purchase as many hard copies as we can afford.  We have a running joke that when the electrical grid goes down, we want to be like the monks of the Dark Ages, preserving beauty and knowledge with our paper books... not that we think the grid will go down any time soon.  ;o)  Doom and gloom aside, here is a sampling of links for downloadable ebooks:

Ambleside Online (online books indicate with hyperlinks which lead to other websites)

Project Gutenberg

A Celebration of Women Writers 

The Literature Network

The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project

Amazon (do a search for "free kindle books")

These are a few strategies I use to find books for my kids' education.  What book-finding tips would you offer a lately-come-to-CM mom?

Singing

I was a vocal performance major in college and now I teach piano part-time.  Oddly, I do not post much about music.  I think it is because I see how much I do not know, yet I'm supposed to know this field.  I'd hate to steer someone wrong.  I normally post about things I am trying to learn.  I don't know why I feel less like a learner in music, but I do.  Ugh, the expert hat.  I despise it.

Also, I LOVE music and I cannot explain it.  I mean, I cannot explain music.  Oh, but I love it so much.  How can I talk about it?  There must be a way.

I teach a sol-fa class in our CM co-op.  I thought since I don't write much about music, I would post a couple of lessons I taught on vocal production.  The following info was taught in two parts.  I used The Sciences (physics portion) and Secrets of the Universe as well as my own vocal background to make the lesson plan.

These are narration questions.  I wanted to see how much the kids already knew.  After they explained what they knew (I was impressed), I cleared up misconceptions and filled gaps using the notes in italics.  After discussion, we did warm-ups and tried to feel our bodies working to produce music.

What is the difference between noise and music? 

If the vibrations of a voice, a violin or piano string--anything--come at even intervals, then they make a musical note. If they come irregularly, the sound is usually a mere noise. Music is pleasant to hear, and noise is not.  Each string vibrates regularly just so many times in a second, no more and no less. The middle C on a piano is a wire just long enough to vibrate 261 times every second, and all of its vibrations are alike.

How do we get high sounds and low sounds? 

The shorter a string is the quicker it vibrates, and you will notice that the highest notes of your piano come from the shortest strings. It is the same with drums; the small drums give the highest notes, the large drums the lowest.

How do our bodies make sound come out of the mouth?

We actually have a musical instrument in our bodies.  Inside our throats we have a frame called the larynx.  (Picture of throat anatomy.)  Sometimes it is called the voice box.  It houses the vocal folds.  (Picture of vocal folds.)  The vocal fold part looks sort of like a harp, with the folds being the strings in the middle.  The vocal folds get thicker or thinner to help us sing different pitches.  When we sing, we breathe out air through the vocal folds which makes them vibrate.  The folds move apart to let us breathe, and move closer together when we speak or sing.  Singing is forming the vocal folds-- "strings"-- into the right thickness and position so that the vibrations sound the correct pitch.

How do we make the vocal folds vibrate?

Below the rib cage we each have a muscle called the diaphragm.  (Picture of diaphragm muscle.)  When we move this muscle down, it removes pressure from our lungs, and they fill with air.  This should happen automatically.  When we sing, sometimes we think we need to force air into the lungs, but we do not.  Because nature abhors a vacuum, we really just need to open our mouths, open our lungs by lowering the diaphragm muscle, and the air will rush in.  Standing straight and tall while doing this also helps.  The shoulders should be relaxed.  They are on vacation do not need to help. :)  

Once we get a breath in this way, we let the air seep through the vocal folds, making the 'strings' of our 'harp' vibrate evenly.  We control how much air we let out with the diaphragm, which moves up and puts pressure on the lungs, causing air to flow out.  Because we are standing straight and tall, the lungs have plenty of room for air. We control how quickly or slowly the diaphragm moves up and releases the air through the vocal folds and out the mouth.  The air flows out of the lungs and into the throat, through the vocal folds (causing vibrations) and out the mouth.  Singing!

There is a bit more to it, of course, such as using the cavities in the head and the shape of the mouth, tongue, etc., to form proper tone and vowels/consonants.  But I haven't gotten that far with this class.

Schoolwork (Term 2, Years 5, 8, 11)

This is for me-- an exercise in perspective.  Every so often I get frustrated.  My house never really gets clean and I wonder why.  The kids and I have a hard time finishing our AO readings and I wonder why.  I always feel rushed and I wonder why.  When I detail our schoolwork, I realize how much I am either overseeing or directly guiding, and reasons become evident!  I wonder.  It is so much, but time is short.  The girls are growing older.

Update:  A FB friend helped me see that I need a bit more explanation on this post.  This is just a list of what we are doing right now for school.  I wrote it to help myself see the school choices we make in our household.  These choices necessarily kick out other options, such as thoroughly cleaning the house, visiting friends  or having ample down time.  If we want those options, we have to kick out some of these other things.  Sometimes I think I can do everything.  But I can't.  I bet you can't either.  ;o)  This is my list.  Make your own list and look at what-all you are doing...

Group Work

• We finished Ephesians today and are beginning Philippians.  We are pulling out ideas on serving God because he loves us and we love him.
• Proverbs:  We have been making wisdom/foolishness lists, but changed things up this week.  Now the kids are giving short joint narrations on select proverbs.  I'm combining ideas from theater improv, impromptu speech, and progym maxim.  I call it "maxim improv" and treat it like a game.
• Emma by Jane Austen.  After we are done with Emma, I want us to read a Scott novel-- perhaps Kenilworth.
• The Holy War by John Bunyan
• LittleLa decided she was tired of sitting on the sidelines, so she has joined us in Lost Tools of Writing I.  I started her on Lesson 1.  She has just completed her first ANI.  The other two girls are finishing Lesson 6.  I am debating whether to stay on Lesson 6 for awhile, or to get through Lesson 7 before stopping down and honing skills.  Lesson 7 is the *Complete* Persuasive Essay.  We are beginning to get overwhelmed by the work, though.  I want the kids to internalize processes before we add more.
• We try to go to the YMCA for yoga twice per week.  (My personal goal is once per week.)
• We belong to a small group that meets for fine arts every couple weeks.  The kids are currently learning about the Russian Nationalist composers and the art of Van Gogh, as well as taking classes in sol-fa and applied art, and reading Shakespeare's As You Like It and the poetry of Alfred Noyes. 

Group Work (Minus Aravis)

• We are almost through "Field and Wild" in Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley.  It is a great chapter.  If you are struggling to get through the book, hang on.  "Field and Wild" is worth it.  In a little while, I'll post a quote about thinking v. guessing.  After we get finished with MHLW, I want to start The Sea Around Us.  None of us has ever read it through, although we have tried.  I just got a young person's version of the book from pbswap.  It looks like the same text, but lots of pictures, diagrams and maps.  Yay!  
• I just started KISS Grammar with the two younger kids after years of Winston Grammar.  Although the kids know their parts of speech from nouns through prepositional phrases, we started at the beginning of KISS.  I like his in-depth explanations of verbs.

LittleLa's Work (AO Year 5)

• Together we are reading This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall, the portion about the 19th Century.  We are comparing La's other history reading to the history found in TCOO.
• We just began Kim.  For now, we are focusing on setting and characters.  The plot hasn't yet thickened. ;o)  Okay, I guess the plot of Kim is thick from the start!  But it is hard to understand the book if you don't have some framework of culture, geography, etc. 
• We also share the reading of The Sciences by Edward Holden.  We read what he wrote, summarize it, and then go on How Stuff Works or another website to get the updated version.  Sometimes we do the experiments.  My success rate with the experiments is low, but at least she is getting a good introduction to all the sciences.  We are currently in the physics section.
• Her independent readings include Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster, Book of Marvels by Richard Halliburton, The Usborne Complete Book of the Human Body, Bulfinch's Age of Fable, Passion for the Impossible (biography of Lilias Trotter) and the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
• We do dictation and copywork twice each per week, and I give spelling words once per week based on words she misspells in her narrations.  I am not satisfied with our dictation efforts.  I think something needs to change, but I don't know what.   La is also working through a notetaking book and a free online Spanish program.
• Four days per week we do 45 minutes of MEP Math.  Sometimes she has additional work to finish on her own.
• She also takes violin and piano lessons and plays in an orchestra.

Mariel's Work (HEO Year 8)

• Together we read Ourselves by Charlotte Mason and How to Read a Book by Adler/Van Doren.  We have discussion and she applies what she learns to her life/reading.
• Her independent readings include Christopher Columbus, Mariner by Samuel Eliot Morrison, English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand, Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel, I Promessi Sposi, Secrets of the Universe by Paul Fleisher, The Case for Christ Lee Strobel, The New World by Winston Churchill, Jansen's History of Art, and the poetry of Robert Burns.  Mariel is studying the Renaissance and Reformation.
• Four days per week we work on MEP math for 30 minutes.  She usually has some work to finish on her own.  The last week or two we set MEP aside and worked exclusively on math problems in her physical science book.
• She is working through Apologia Physical Science this year.  I have her applying SQ3R as her narration, then she does the On Your Own questions, labs (with friends) and study guide before taking the test.
• She is working through Grammar of Poetry, but that has slowed down the last few weeks.  
• She just started the Essays of Francis Bacon.  In each essay she gives his thesis and then either refutes or confirms it based on her own reading and experience.  I had Aravis outline and rewrite these essays when she did Year 8, but I like this new idea better.  Mariel can rewrite Lamb's essays next year.
• Mariel also takes violin lessons and plays in the orchestra.  She is taking a break from piano.  And she studies Spanish with Javamom.

  Aravis' Work (HEO Year 11)

• Aravis and I work together once per week.  We are calling her a junior (11th grade) this year.  She is studying the 20th Century.  During our together time we read Paul Johnson's History of the American People and Ourselves (Book 2: Self-Direction) by Charlotte Mason, and discuss some of her other books as well as time management and future plans.
• Her independent readings include A Short History of Western Civilization by Sullivan, et al, Brideshead Revisited, Economics in One Lesson (Hazlitt), Here is Your War (Ernie Pyle), Six Easy Pieces (Richard Feynman), Testament of Youth, The Chosen, The Men Behind Hitler, The Microbe Hunters, Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, History of Art, Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl, and On Writing Well.  She wants to read all of these and is a quick reader, but perhaps she needs more chapters per week of fewer books.  A couple of the books are leftovers from an earlier term, but she was excited to begin the new books, so a couple of 'reading slots' are doubled up in this list.  
• She is almost done with Is God a Moral Monster? and is about to start When God Goes to Starbucks (both by Paul Copan).  The Starbucks book deals with everyday apologetics.  The moral monster book discusses questions of God's righteousness in the Old Testament.
• Aravis started the year doing Apologia Physics, but after a few modules we suspended that study until after she finishes trigonometry, which she is taking at the college.  She will take up physics again in March and work through the summer to finish. 
• She is working through Intermediate Logic by the Nances, but that has recently slowed down.  She did Introductory Logic a couple of years ago.