Nature Study Monday {Identify that bug!}

One of our latest finds was a really big spider. While we don't try to ID every bug/spider/plant/what have you, that we find, every now and then (especially when someone asks about a blog post!), we do. Using our recently mounted specimen as an example, I'm going to walk you through what I learned about spider identification. You will probably already have figured out these simple steps on your own, or could have if you'd tried, when using the internet to ID one of your nature study finds. But, just in case you haven't ever done it, this is how to start.


step one:

g.o.o.g.l.e.

This might include something as vague as bright green bug; though, i recommend you pick something a little more specific if you can, geographical area, size, anything you might guess about it... beetle, moth, etc. Depending on how specific/general you are, this *can* be a time consuming step. Don't worry, it'll get easier the more often you do it! :)

This time, I googled spider identification because frankly, I had no idea where to begin. I came up w/ the following super helpful sites with ID tips (and lots more less helpful sites besides)...

Spider.us
Bugguide.net

{If you own field guides, you can check THEM first. I usually do. But, for a long time, I didn't own the right ones and I certainly didn't know how to use them. That takes practice.}

step two:

Check your go-to sites for local identification. Wait, you don't have any go-to sites yet? Well, to start, google 'pacific northwest bug identification', or enter wherever you are. Bookmark the most helpful sites so you can go back there time and again. Local guides are probably going to be your best bet, apart from the really big famous sites. There will be links to info that will help you narrow down your search.

For example, I found: http://www.latinamericaninsects.net/
Here's a non-comforting site I ran into. I became even more uncomfortable when I noticed that the very poisonous spider talked about there (made it into Guiness Book of World Records?), looks similar to mine very own dead one currently sitting on my dining room table for display. eek!

{If you have field guide books, pull those out if you haven't already! I really prefer the books, but have found that they are somewhat limited (especially when you live somewhere other than N.America). The good thing about the books though, is they are specific to your region, and usually walk you through the steps to identification and classification. I like that.}

step three:

Using the above steps you'll probably latch onto some leads in the direction you want to go. If not, you can check out some of the following sites that will ID the critter for you!

spiders:
spiders.us - check out their ID guide and then the forum.
arachnoboards.com
bugguide.net (spider page)
American Museum of Natural History - spider research
The World Spider Catalog

bugs:
bugguide.net
reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug

One thing I learned about identifying spiders that I never would have guessed is, they have eye patterns specific to their families. Which might seem normal to you, but certainly didn't occur to me. In our family, three have brown eyes, two greyish-green, one hazel and one blue, so this wasn't a no-brainer... I never would've guessed it was a deciding factor for spiders!

Another interesting tidbit is that most spiders found in North America are harmless; which is good to know if you live there. Of course, South America is NOT so tame.

Well, chances are some of you could probably teach me a thing or two about identifying insects and other invertebrates... please feel free to leave any helpful hints in the comments! ;)



This has been another Nature Study Monday, and is linked to January's NSM post, where you too can link to your nature study posts to share in the month of January. My goal is to post about our nature studies at least twice a month (1st & 3rd Mondays), but you can link up anytime to any of the NSM posts to share! Click here to see other posts.

thoughts on self-education.

a self-education is an education that is…
not interest based; not 'self-ish' education, for example, caring to learn only that which is appealing.
not all-inclusive of self, to the exclusion of others. not 'self-y' education, learning only that which is useful to self.
not education of another's self, i.e., one self educating another self. not parents *educating* those little selves born unto them.*

"...external application is not capable of nourishing life or promoting growth.
life is sustained on that which is taken in by the organism, not by that which is applied from without."
v6p24

the self & the process...
a child is a person. in the same indisputable way that every adult is a distinct person.
a person is made up of body (tangible) and mind (intangible... 'mind' is the term CM used, for the sake of working with the idea, she includes a person's spirit in this 'intangible' part)
the mind + the body makes up each person's very own self. this is the self we're concerned with in 'self-education.' each person responsible for his own self's education.
the mind needs food just like the body, and in the same way that we cannot make another body eat, even with violence, we cannot force feed another mind. either a body will eat, or it will not. either a mind will eat, or it will not.
mind food = ideas.
nourishment {idea} is gotten through many means. mainly, by many good books. still, ideas of invention & discovery may also be obtained through: studies in science, natural beauty, nature study, dance, art, etc. but those ideas necessary for 'life' (character & conduct) are obtained primarily through, literature, both written and 'oral literature'.
a body will eat something. it will eat what is available and it will eat what is good. which is why parents (teachers) must make the best food available in quantity and with variety, and limit the junk. and the same goes for mind food.
once food is taken in, we don't have to remind a body what to do with it. we don't have to tell the stomach to digest. and we don't have to tell a mind what to do with an interesting idea. it is taken in, appropriated and assimilated. on the other hand, we DO have to tell a mind what to do with tasteless or random material or lists of facts in bulk for memorization. it must take it in, and spit it out (tests!), hopefully never to have to be repeated. that's called forced feeding. and i don't know about you, but that has never gone over very well with my kids. that goes for food AND learning.

...when they have the idea {nourishment} to hang their facts {the less palatable stuff when given in isolation} on, many times the kids can't get enough. they want to know everything they can. they don't waste time memorizing lists, they skip straight on to the imagination, act it out, tell about it, ask questions, and they are perfectly delighted with what they know.
{twaddle would be like frosting... it tastes good and usually looks good, w/o an ounce of nutritional value.}




is the light beginning to dawn?
there is no education but self-education.

we know very little when we start, but we know where to find out more… "we must open books to children, the best books; our own concern is abundant provision and orderly serving."

children should not be dependent on teachers - because, in fact, a teacher can't make anyone learn - but on books. many good books. teachers are meant to be table setters. facilitators. guides. philosophers. mentors. friends.

children (and adults) will learn what they will learn themselves.

tools for self-education.
a person. (at any age who has taken to ideas. education 'officially' beginning around the age of six. though, usually long before that little self is partaking of the feast the world 'unofficially' sets before him.)
curiosity. (this is inborn and ever-present, unless previously put to death by boredom or some other social evil. can be resurrected with much patience on the part of the thoughtful educator.).
ideas. (not workbooks. not lists. not bare facts presented encyclopedia britannica style. ideas are presented in literary form through  
good books. (this is to education what good food is to nutrition.)
things. (birds, blocks, tools, wood, clay, flowers, etc., because a due relation with these is also fitting for him. and will also evoke new ideas.)
attention. (this happens automatically when learning something of interest, but as a practiced habit, it serves us well when the material isn't the very MOST fun thing available on the planet. encouraged by using the best books, allowing only one reading and by maintaining brevity of lessons.)
narration. (this is what pegs all those interesting ideas to the bulletin-board of the mind, and develops orderly, sequential thinking which later transfers, at least in part, to communication skills.)

the key to self-education. 
learning to know.
not for good grades. not to check off a list. not to please mom. or dad. or grandma.
but reading and doing and knowing because 'studies serve for delight'.

benefits of self-education.
delighted students.
delighted parents.

"Parents become interested in the schoolroom work, and find their children 'delightful companions.' Children show delight in books (other than storybooks) and manifest a genuine love of knowledge.." v6p29

"I should like to dwell on the enormous relief to teachers, a self-sacrificing and greatly over-burdened class; the difference is just that between driving a horse that is light and a horse that is heavy in hand; the former covers the ground of his own gay will and the driver goes merrily. The teacher who allows his scholars the freedom of the city of books is at liberty to be their guide, philosopher and friend; and is no longer the mere instrument of forcible intellectual feeding." v6p33

*as we know, self-education *can* potentially happen without a teacher. truly however, that doesn't make our position irrelevant or even less important. even though educators we are, and educate we must, here we're talking about the more important aspect that must be present for learning to take place, and that is: self-education. which of course, you have already realized if you have read this far... :)

helpful reminders:
don't forget that the CM blog carnival is coming up.
as it just so happens, the topic of the carnival is: self-education.
yeah, i know. good timing, huh? ;)

helpful links:
read the portion of CM's Series (volume 6, chapter one) that this post is based on here.
for this weekend only get a free audio (mp3) download of this section of Charlotte Mason's volume 6 of the Original Homeschooling Series (read by me!) right here.

Artist Study: Ruisdael

Jacob van Ruisdal.

Van Ruisdael lived from 1628-1682 and is often considered the greatest Dutch landscape painter. His father was a frame maker and artist, Isaak de Goyer, who later called himself Ruisdael. Jacob was the nephew of the noted painter Salomon Ruisdael, who also had a son named Jacob! I know, confusing, right? Well, it was a long time ago. In the book I read, the author spent a whole chapter on the whole family name thing. Seems  there is some doubt as to who painted all the paintings. One thing that adds to the mystery is, only some of the paintings attributed to our Ruisdael are actually signed by him. Either way, until we know more, we'll trust that the people who know, do in fact know what they're talking about, and we'll study the paintings as-is by Ruisdael... somebody or other.

But without a doubt, all the paintings are fabulous. Add to the interest for us, we've read this book (see link below), AND we have good friends from the Netherlands (also Holland, and there IS a difference)! who recently kindly sent us a package from there! I could say a lot about how we adored their yummy sweet stuff, but will refrain from speaking about the salty-licorice... ;)




View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds by Ruisdael.


A text describing bleaching grounds...

And just for fun, here's a map of old Haarlem before the war with the Spanish... with city walls, moat and bleaching grounds inside the city walls.

    The picture below is comparable to Ruisdael's.  I wonder if this is the same shown from the same vantage point he used!



helpful links:
learner.org on Bleaching Grounds
wiki on Haarlem
Great Artist Series book, includes bio on Ruisdael.
Artist Study @ Fisher Academy
Artist Study: What we do

Nature Study Monday - Link up. {Mounting an Insect}

In just a few words, but with lots of pictures which are worth more, I'm gonna show you our latest nature study project. We did in fact find this inside our house, but that's nothing new. Thankfully, it was already dead. For one, we were spared the drama, and two, we got to mount him instead of smash him! ;)

Enjoy!

 Feel free to link up your nature studies posted in the month of January. I'd love to see! Just leave your link in the comments, and snag a button if you'd like! :)

Psst... you didn't forget did you?!

I have been somewhat negligent in sending out info & reminders, but we are still up and running with the...

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival in 2013! 

The very first carnival of this year will be posted this upcoming Tuesday, so please submit your posts today. or tomorrow. or the next day until 5 o'clock. :) 

Simply send your links to charlottemasonblogs (at) gmail (dot) com!

See you again real soon! 



P.S. You can find all the nitty-gritty about the CM Blog Carnival schedules and links and all such similar stuff, at any time HERE. Of course, I haven't updated the page in a while, but will do so very, very soon! ;) Just as soon as my parents leave, and we get back into a somewhat normally irregular routine!! ;)

And the winner is...!

I know. I said I'd announce the winner to the giveaway for the last CM blog Carnival on Saturday, December 15th. And yes, I am aware that it is very LATE on Saturday, but I'd just like to point out that it is in fact, still Saturday, so at least I'm not too late!! ;) I wanted to give everyone enough time to get any last minute entries in... uh huh. That's exactly it. But you don't want explanations, you want to know who won! SO...

Out of 75 total entries...



I'm excited to announce...



the winner is...

Liz from Living Books Library who submitted the post, Our Favorite Christmas Story Ever!

I got to meet Liz (and her husband) and daughter Emily at ChildlightUSA this summer.
And they've sent me books! So, it's especially fun that I get to send them something in return!!
Fun, fun!

::

Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!



::


What I've learned about having a giveaway...

• It's fun to give things away, but it makes you feel kind of sad that you can't give everyone something, especially at Christmastime.
• CM discouraged prizes and rewards, but I don't think she ever talked about blog giveaways, so I think I'm okay.
• It seems like someone who took the time to enter more than ten times would win (Catherine!). I drew a couple of names after I drew the winner just to see what the likelihood would be, and didn't draw one of the frequent commenters until the fourth and fifth draw! weird. Wanna know the names I drew after? Jessica, Lanaya, Karen in Kansas City, and finally, Catherine! 
• Only a very few people took advantage of the opportunity by actually seemingly trying to 'win'. I wonder if that is because it's not that interesting of a prize, or because it requires too much effort, or for some other reason. It makes me very curious about the psychology of a thing like this. 
• I'd like to do it again because it's fun, but...
• It's probably just as fun to surprise someone you already know randomly with a gift in the mail. :)

Christmas Past

A quick look at some Christmases past...

 :: 2009 ::



::


 :: 2010 ::




:: 2011 ::

  ::



:: Today, 2012 ::



Breaking all tradition, we were super late this year in getting our humble Christmas decor & Basket of Delights all set out. Things were way out of control these last couple weeks, with early Thanksgiving, our 16th anniversary, Micah's rivertrip, repercussions (sickness), etc. But here we are finally, with our Christmas spirit on.   The books were pulled out in force all afternoon. Yay! AND, best of all, my parents come to visit in just 8 days!!!!!!  we. cannot. wait.   I hope you too are all enjoying everything good about this holiday season so far! 
P.S. Don't forget tonight is the last chance to enter in the giveaway. :)

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: Holidays Edition, 2012!

Happy Holidays! 

for those who celebrate, and 

Happy Normal Days! 

to everyone else! ;)

So normally around this time of year, the fun begins. Of course, at our house we have fun ALL year... yours too, right? ;) Excitement always picks up a little more around Thanksgiving, since that's my favorite holiday (mom's rule)! Then, as we piece together our plastic tree (oh, for the days when we cut down our own...), start marinating our eardrums in Christmas-y tunes, and we set out to follow the trail to Advent, it really starts getting exciting. It's during this time of year more than any other, our days are filled with more meaning than usual as we take time to remember what's good, better and best.

I can't wait for y'all to read the posts this time around. so. much. great. stuff.
And if you can't stop thinking about possibly receiving a 2013 ART calendar for Christmas, let me remind you, 'Don't open til...' you've read to the end of the post where there are more details.
C'mon, you can do it! Just a little bit of 'I am, I can, I ought, I will' practice. :)


happy holiday posts.
Bobby Jo shares... So Very Thankful
Patti shares... about how they celebrate Advent.Catherine shares... Making the Most of the Holiday Season.
Patti shares... Celbrating the Birth of Christ.
Liz shares... Our Favorite Christmas Story Ever.
Sarah shares... Christmas is Coming.
Nebby shares... A Charlotte Mason Christmas {aka Handicrafts}.
Cynthia shares... The Ultimate Guide to Christmas Nature Study.
Nancy shares... On Christmas Traditions and Books.
Bobby Jo shares {again}... At Home with Books: Christmas time.
Carol shares... Room at the Inn.
Jen shares... How we are celebrating Advent this year
Heather shares... Lessons in Holiday Giving.


happy every day posts.
Barb shares... Taking An Autumn Hike AND Making Time and Space for Creativity.
Lanaya shares... Tractor Refinishing Handicraft.
Angela shares... Reading Lessons
Celeste shares... Squirrel Signs
Dana shares... Our Favorite Christmas Books
Yours truly, shares... O Christmas Tree! (a post from the past)

Thank you all SO much for submitting posts and for taking the time to read/comment!
It might look compact, but there are a whopping 19 posts here for your holiday reading enjoyment!! That's lots! I'm so thankful for all of you who make the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival go. I know that the carnival is such an encouragement to many who don't have a CM group close by, or don't have much time to get out of the house. Thanks for taking the time to share with us!! ;) We hope to see you at the carnival... next year!!


This is the last CM blog carnival of the year. But, we're not sad, because 2013 is a whole new year and we'll fill it full of learning, fun and CM education blogging! :)

AND because we have a fun giveaway planned which will take place as follows...

Now, for the merry-Christmas-maybe-get-a-gift-to-put-under-your-tree part!
(please read carefully, as a few things have changed)

Drawing will be held on Saturday December 15th
The winner will be announced the very same day! :) That way y'all will have exactly 4 whole days to comment on the other carnival posts, and the calendar will still make it in time to be tucked under the tree!! more time = more comments = more chances to win.

• Every blog post submitted to the upcoming Holiday edition of the CM blog carnival (all CM-related posts welcome!) – will automatically earn 2 entries!! - EXPIRED.
  
• Leave a comment on any of the above carnival posts AND come back here to this post to tell me you did it  - earn up to 19 entries!  I mean, why not, right?!
  (P.S. to be eligible, remember to comment elsewhere and come back and tell me each time in a separate comment, which you will put on this very, right here Holiday edition carnival post. these comments are what I will draw from which will make the drawing oh-so-easy for me. oh, and if you don't have your e-mail address linked to your comment, I won't be able to contact you, and I'll have to draw another name!)
• Blog about the giveaway (include linked picture from this post), & leave a link to the post in the comments of this here post – worth 2 entries!! ...this is intended to make the carnival more famous!
  
• Link to the giveaway post on fb AND/OR pin the giveaway pic to pinterest, (and leave a comment in this here post) – worth 1 entry!
• "Like" (if you haven't already) the Fisher Academy fb page or subscribe to Fisher Academy by e-mail – this doesn't earn any entries, but it IS a great way to stay up-to-date with the CM Blog Carnival! :) 
• (P.P.S. I forgot to say this before, so I'll say it now, US mailing addresses only. If you live overseas, don't worry, you can still play, but if you win, I won't be able to send it directly to you. If you have a family member (or other US address) that will receive mail for you, please feel free to participate!) 

So. There you have it. There are many chances to win! I leave it up to you, if you'd like to participate to win on purpose, or if you simply want to take it easy, submit your post and read and comment on the carnival as usual. Either way, you are VERY welcome, and you might just end up being that one extra happy person to receive the calendar for Christmas!

Reminder! LAST CM Blog Carnival of 2012 {AND giveaway!}

Alright. It's been WAY too long since we've had a little freebie fun around here! I've been wanting to do a giveaway for months now (a year?!), but have just been WAY too busy.
But, now I say, enough is enough. We won't wait any longer. We've got to have some end of the year fun!

The upcoming and LAST CM Blog Carnival of 2012 will be hosted right here @ Fisher Academy, and we're gonna go ahead and celebrate and make it even MORE fun by giving away a really cool CHRISTMAS gift! Again. (see info below)

Plus, there are TONS of other things worth celebrating. Counting backwards some of the bigger events of the year, we have... the 2012 Holiday season (now upon us); a whole 'nother year's worth of Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival posts; AmblesideOnline's forum debut; 200+ friends connecting with Fisher Academy; old and new friends connecting in persona at ChildlightUSA conference, plus about a million personal things we could all probably name off... and I could just keep on counting!

It's totally a year worth remembering.

In celebration of a year's worth of living, I'll be giving away a really cool art calendar as a kind of earnest money on this coming year, that I'm certain will be just as good. Who knows, maybe it'll be THE year of all years that Jesus comes back?! Wouldn't THAT be amazing.



So before this year's over, one happy person will be the proud new owner of a 2013 Art Calendar! OR if you don't want to wait, you could buy yours here: Art 2013 Gallery Calendar (Page a Day Gallery Calendar)!

Because we're in the midst of celebrating the 2012 holidays, and because we're talking about the last CM blog carnival of 2012, and because it would be so much fun if lots of people participate, I'll draw and announce the winner on the day after the carnival, December 12^th (just in time to get or regift the calendar for Christmas!!), on 12/12/12!!  Wow. cool.
Read the following carefully to know how you can go about trying to win. :)

Earn one entry for each of the following... (earn up to SIX entries!)

• Every blog post submitted to the upcoming Holiday edition of the CM blog carnival (all CM-related posts welcome!) – will automatically earn 2 entries!!
• Leave a comment on any of the carnival posts AND on the CM blog carnival post which will be posted @ Fisher Academy on December 11^th - earn 1 entry!
  (P.S. to be eligible, remember to comment elsewhere and come back and tell me in your comment on the Holiday edition carnival post on 12/11. Oh, and if you don't have your e-mail address linked to your comment, I won't be able to contact you, and I'll have to draw another name!)
• Blog about the giveaway (include linked picture above), and leave me a link in the comments of this here post – worth 2 entries!!
• Link to this giveaway post on fb AND/OR pin the giveaway pic to pinterest, (and leave a comment in this here post) – worth 1 entry!
• "Like" (if you haven't already) the Fisher Academy fb page – this doesn't earn any entries, but it IS a great way to stay up-to-date with the CM Blog Carnival! :)

So. There you have it. There are many chances to win! I leave it up to you, if you'd like to participate to win on purpose, or if you simply want to take it easy, submit your post and read the carnival as usual. Either way, you are VERY welcome, and you might just end up being that one extra happy person to receive the calendar for Christmas!

UPDATE:
Drawing will be held on December 12th (the day after the carnival)
Drawing will be held on Saturday December 15th and the winner will be announced the very same day! :) That way y'all will have more time to comment on the other carnival posts!! more time = more comments = more chances to win. ;)



Coming soon!Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival Holidays edition,December 11th @ Fisher Academy
 

Quoted from last year:  

"You might want to post what Charlotte Mason-y things you do during holidays... maybe you could teach us about how Charlotte Mason might have had us use our holidays.  You might post about whatever holiday traditions you have in your family!  If you have a favorite holiday post you'd like to direct us to... do it!  It's up to you :)  Seems to me that you could include Thanksgiving and/or Christmas holidays! Or any other holiday during the months of November/December for that matter!  The only stipulation you must keep in mind however is, that this is a Charlotte Mason blog carnival!  Which of course we all know just makes it that much better fun! ;)"

Submit your carnival post here.
 Have I ever told you how much we LOVE our Art Calendar?!


Do I look like I love it?! Or, do I look WEIRD?! ...don't tell me. The calendar sits on our table, and the kids change it daily.
It is also useful for copying the day's date :)

Hymn Study: Dear Lord and Father of Mankind

Scheduled in October...  Sung in November... Posted in December... :)

Highschool Math! {HSHS carnival edition #4}

Is anyone else shaking in their boots thinking about how to do math with older kids?! Today we'll have a look at how to handle math in the upper years. Thanks to others who have gone ahead, those of us who are just coming into the highschool years have much help and encouragement.

"...math appeals directly to the mind and, although it's as challenging as scaling a mountain, it can be just as rewarding. Good math teachers know not to drown lessons in too many words."

Charlotte Mason

Willa shares what her 4 grown homeschoolers did for mathematics in the homeschool and what her current high schooler is doing. With or without outside help, your students can be successful in college prep math!

How do you keep maths interesting when the high school years look like screeds of formulae to be memorised? The only answer I could come up with was similar to what we've done in the primary years; follow the child's lead and pace, but give the topic breadth with living books and other fun activities.  Catherine shares with us, Does math have to get boring during the teen years?

Many parents fear homeschooling through high school because of math. This article is for them. Lori Havens discusses the concerns that homeschooling parents have about high school math (and science), and shares how these fears are common, sadly, but unfounded. Get a dose of encouragement and reality from this veteran homeschooling mom, who considers herself barely average (at best!) in math, with one son now successfully graduated from college, the other now a student in electrical engineering at one of the top 5 engineering schools in the country!

I share very briefly about one way to use narration in math in, Keeping a Math Notebook.

Sue explores the questions, Do high schoolers really need to learn higher maths skills? If they do learn maths, what contributes to their success? And can structured maths courses play a part in the education of unschoolers? in When Will I Use All This Maths, Mum?

Updated!! (somehow these posts were originally omitted, please accept my apologies):

Erin shares how they strive to foster math thinkers in their home and search for the balance between meeting expectations and yet supporting each child in their varying talents, in the Maths Equation.

Sally talks from the perspective of the non-math person about different curricula for different students, and her friend Anne-Marie talks from the perspective of the math person about the same in Homeschooling High School Math.

And then on another note, we have some more general encouragement from our friends...

Jimmie Lanley shares her daughter's recovery from a spinal fusion surgery, Jimmie realized yet another layer of how wonderful homeschooling is in The Beauty of Homebound Homeschool.
This free printable notebooking page is designed for listening to presentations or speeches. Great for co-op classes. She shares, Keeping it Real You are Not Alone in your Homeschool Struggles about the chaos I see sometimes in my home also happens in the homes of others.

Connie shares some Encouragement of a Friend. I would like to submit one of my posts that was a part of the HomeSchool High link up. It had lots of views~ the encouragement to encourage one another resonated well with my readers and on social media.

As the end of the term comes to a close, I take a few minutes to record the achievements my son has accomplished. Recording these things as we go along makes the building of a narrative report card much easier at the year's end. Barb shares Homeschool Grades versus Achievements.


Charlotte Mason talks more about Mathematics.

"Arithmetic and Math don't appeal to most children, either, no matter how intelligent. Most children are baffled by math, although they may love reasoning out questions of life in literature or history. Since so many dislike those subjects, maybe we should take that as a hint and stop putting so much pressure on those subjects. It would make sense to push grammar and math if children's reason was waiting for us to develop it. But when we see that they have plenty of ability to reason in other subjects, we have to face the fact that they have plenty of reason. They have as much ability to reason as they have ability to love. They don't need us to give them subjects to develop their reason. Our job is to give them lots of material for their reason to work on. If their reason gets sharper, it will be a side effect as they learn their other subjects. (...)  A child who understands how immutable the laws of math are will never divide 15 pennies between five people and give them the wrong amount. He will understand that math answers aren't arbitrary, they're logical, and even a child can use reason to come to the right answer. Math can be enjoyable for a person who loves perceiving a law of nature and figuring out the law behind why things work the way they do. But not every child can be a star wrestler, and not every boy 'takes' to math. So perhaps teachers should make it their duty to expose the child to as many interests as possible. Math is just one subject in education, and it's one that not everyone excels at. So it shouldn't monopolize too much time in the school day."

Read the quote above in its context here (scroll down to page 151ff).

More helpful math-related links:

• MEP is a K-12 math program designed and used in Europe available free online here.
• Brandy hosted a 'Math Week' series on Afterthoughts last month, have a look!

This has been a highschool carnival post! Hasn't it been fun?! Please check in here for more of the same! The next Homeschool High School Carnival on January 1st will be hosted by Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home. The suggested topic will be Finding our Stride... You are most welcome to join us. Thank you to all our contributors and to our readers for taking the time to read and comment:)

Geography: Discovery of Muscovy

In this term of AOy8, my boys are reading the Discovery of Muscovy. I know next to nothing about it (the book or the history contained therein), except that Muscovy is related to Moscow and that in searching I turned up a bunch possible resources. One thing is certain, we're making the most of the opportunity to study Russia in our map drills for this term.

Without having pre-read the book, I'm putting together a list of potentially helpful links, albeit slightly ignorantly. Maybe if you've used/read the book, you can be of some help in indicating which of these might be the most helpful. This post will hopefully change as we go along. I'll toss the unhelpful things and perhaps add more along the way :)



So, without further ado...

Helpful links:
The actual map we will hopefully be able to use the most alongside the reading. Links to other maps to print and use for drill (including blank) here.
Wiki entry on the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1340-1547) and Tsardom of Russia (1547-1721).
A cool looking map here.
Maps showing progression/expansion of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy. Click the years on the left sidebar to see changes.


Cool old looking illustrated map (pictured above).
Online bio of Ivan the Terrible.


Site for general info about Russia (including historical and modern facts).
Some helpful wikis: Tsardom of Russia and Anthony Jenkinson (Muscovy Trading Co., 1529-1610)

Shakespeare: King Lear

This play is one of the few of Shakespeare´s that can be pinpointed exactly as to when it was written. Isn't it cool to know that this play was performed for King James and his Court in the Christmas holidays of 1606?! And here we are nearing the same time of year ourselves! Interestingly, written into the play, there is a probable reference made by Gloucester to several eclipses that took place in 1605! A story familiar to many of the time, it is taken from a well known fable that was commonly inserted into an undocumented period of English history (which we read about last year in Birth of Britain), is actually referred to in Spenser´s Fairie Queen (which we are reading this year!! ...connections galore!), and had already been made into a play prior to Shakespeare´s version.

Despite the fact that the commentary I read said this play is a particularly difficult one, I still think this is going to be one of my favorite plays so far. It may even come to be a close rival to Cymbeline. The consequences of unchecked pride and unbridled anger are brought to our attention by means of a captivating story. I can´t wait to get further!

I´ve worked out three options for scheduling the play over a 12-week term. See/print the alternate schedules here. We'll read the play in 9wks. We'll include an intro, informal play & movie, if I can find a good version. Here's the schedule we'll follow:

Week 1: Intro: (read Lamb's? draw character map)
Week 2: Act 1, Scene 1
Week 3: Act 1, Scene 2 - 4
Week 4: Act 1, Scene 5 – Act 2, Scene 2
Week 5: Act 2, Scene 3 – 4
Week 6: Act 3, Scene 1 – 6
Week 7: Act 3, Scene 7 – Act 4, Scene 3
Week 8: Act 4, Scene 4 – 6
Week 9: Act 4, Scene 7 – Act 5, Scene 2
Week 10: Act 5, Scene 3
Week 11: Informal play
Week 12: Perform recitations chosen from selected excerpts OR watch movie of play (if applicable).



helpful links:
King Lear on Librivox.org
King Lear on youtube.com (1971 version) - Parents should preview, I have not.
AO Shakespeare Rotation
Site that highlights monologues from Shakespeare's plays - men's parts, women's parts - (thanks, Nancy!)
Shakespeare: Cymbeline
Shakespeare: for all ages
What's so great about Shakespeare?
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bard? (...seeing local performances adds immensely to the Shakespearean experience)

Now, here's a beaut!

This guy was seriously huge. and SUPER interesting. really awesome color, too! We haven't figured out what he is yet, though, so if anyone has an idea, do share ;)
 

:: UPDATED! ::

i'm SO glad you all inspired me to look him up! he wasn't super easy to find, even though y'all were right in identifying him as a click beetle. i wasn't totally sure based on my field guide's description, but the online pictures helped to narrow it down a LOT. there are a ton of click beetles. i never would've known it. he's not overly photographed though, as the only "green click beetles" i found initially were here and here. but after all is said and done, i even found a book written about them! woot! i did not however feel inspired by the title to read it: Larvae of Alaus myops, A. oculatus, Chalcolepidius porcatus, Hemirhipus apicalis and generic larval characterization... but you can download it here. :) you're welcome. ;)

in the end i was able to narrow it down by googling "elateridae green" (the slightly less scientific terminology of green click beetle was not successful), and later narrowed it down to Chalcolepidius porcatus, though he might be a Chalcolepidius virens, wiki info:

Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class: Insecta (Insects)
Order: Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family: Elateridae (Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles)
Genus: Chalcolepidius
Species: C. porcatus OR C. virens

::

Linking up again here for November...


Click on the butterfly to link up your own November nature study posts to share!
To join in the fun, just leave your link in the comments & snag the button too if you wish. :)



Oh! and don't forget...
CM Blog Carnival coming up soon!



Coming soon! *oops!* edit: carnival will be hosted @ SeeJamieBlog :)

• Submit your posts by clicking on the carnival button above :)
• Deadline for submissions is Monday, November 26
• As always all posts on any CM-related topic are welcome and will gladly be included.
• Completely optional topic for discussion: Principle #20, concisely rendered thus:  We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties and joys of life.

It's a jungle in here!

That's right. It's a jungle IN here... meaning, in my house.
We live in the jungle, and sometimes we've found it's difficult to keep the jungle outside the house.

We've found tarantulas, centipedes, lizards, rats, and get this... the latest find was a snake, INSIDE our house. So, you can imagine my dismay at people's terrified state when having been called upon to kill a spider that's like a whole inch in diameter!
No really, I understand.
I used to be that way.

:)

So, wanna see the snake? He was just a little guy (40ish cm).


Oh, and they say he's blind... which might even make you feel a little sorry for him. But he isn't really. I was happy to discover he was nonvenomous and that he is helpful. He eats stinging ants and their larvae. So, he's one of the good guys. Now that you know a little more about him, would you like to keep him as a pet? 

I thought about it.

But my husband forbade me. Yes, that man who brought home a baby alligator. Yep, he's the one. That, and our pets don't tend to fare well for some reason (except the parrot, he's good now that he's in a cage). So, after we got a real good look, we let the not-really-blind snake go.

Oh, and here's who I found last night near the bathroom...


He's pictured slightly bigger than life size, at 9cm-ish.
He's missing some legs, but don't let him fool you or make you sorry for him.
He's full grown, he bites and he's poisonous.
I smashed him flatter than a pancake!

  It's FUN to share and encourage each other with nature study!
That's why I'm linking up again this month, with Nature Study Monday: November.
Please feel free to share your nature study posts this month on your blog,
and then link them up by clicking the button below:   


Helpful Links:
The low-down on the Blind Snake, aka Typhlopidae. More here.
Interesting facts on the Blue Legged Centipede, aka Scolopendra polymorpha
Nature Study Monday: November Link-up