Posted in Book Reviews

I just got the new AG-of-the-year book, Jess. It's actually pretty good.

The gist of it is that Jess, age 10, and her parents are going to Belize to work on an archeological dig. It's her first time out of the country, away from her older siblings, and homeschooling, among many other things.

I know some folks were wondering how the book would be, so here goes. :)

Her homeschooling was done by agreement with her classroom teacher, who agreed the travel was a good idea. The teacher sent the assignments in manageable chunks, and Jess emails the assignments back. It's really not touched on much more than that. When good opportunities come up, though, her parents do count it as part of her 'schooling', such as the chance to raise a baby parrot. Her PE is climbing the pyramid and hiking and playing soccer, quite reasonably.

There are good family values, I think. Jess is realizing how much she appreciates her older brother and sister, now that she's away from them. She and her parents are loving, though Jess does get lonely since they are occupied with their work. She makes a new friend, Sarita, a Belizean/Mayan girl, and observes the encouragment and love in her family. Sarita's mother even nurses the baby openly, which startles but pleases Jess.

The girls go on a tour with Sarita's dad, a guide, and the folks he's guiding and have quite a few adventures. They even discover new ruins. Some suspense here and there, but a pretty mild story over all. I kept expecting some devious twist, like the nice tour couple were going to be the artifact thieves, but they weren't.

Jess is a pretty introspective character, which I liked. She's really learning while on this trip.

So .. no worries! It does a nice job of portraying one way to homeschool, and endorses positive family relationships. A nice light read and a keeper for AG fans.

As for our week... yucko! Since Maddy was still sick, and though she had gotten better, started to get worse again, I called the doc. A couple kids in the MDO nursery had RSV, so I was concerned. Unfortunately they can't do that test in our doctor's office, so we were told to go to the Pediatric ER for testing. Not the way I envisioned our Valentine's Day. We were there FIVE hours, almost! They checked her for flu and pneumonia as well as RSV. Good news ... no flu or pneumonia. Bad news ... Maddy does have RSV. Yikes. She hasn't been that sick! Miserable with congestion, yes, and not sleeping because of it. Although -- she was so traumatized by the ER that she slept the whole night, which was nice. They gave us a prescription for Albuterol (the little inhaler thingy) and a mask to attach to it. Maddy, of course, hates it. We've been running the humidifier in her room at night and doing all the other stuff we can think of. She can't return to MDO till she's fever free -- no problem -- and cough free for 24 hours. The cough will be a problem. My kids tend to congestion anyway, with allergies and whatnot. Well, we'll see how it goes. I sure wouldn't want anymore little ones to catch it. Of course, now I hear they've got flu going around as well. We may just take the rest of the semester off!

(editing to add ... I talked to my sister, who babysat Ted while we had all those tests done. Her kids have been congested, as well as the ones she babysits on a regular basis. When she mentioned to their mom that Maddy had RSV, she had her kids tested just to see. Turns out they all have it too! Not from Maddy, I don't think, but wow is this thing going around!)

We haven't done too much more with Papa Piccolo except the coloring pages I printed. We also caught some ice skating on TV. Ted now really wants to learn to ice skate. He hoped the snow flurries we actually finally got would stick so he could skate. I don't know how to explain to him that, in Alabama, we are never going to get enough snow to permit something to freeze well enough for skating. If I had a chance to take just Ted, though, I might take him to the ice rink, just once.

In spite of flurries over the weekend, yesterday was warm enough for short sleeves. We played outside, and even went to the park. Maddy the Fearless tried to climb to the top of the jungle gym. I don't care how well she can climb ... a 13 month old does not belong at the top of a slide! Fortunately it's one of those new playground thingies that Moms and Dads can climb too, so I could let her play a bit with me right behind her. Ted is trying to learn the rock climbing wall on it, and doing very well. It's angled, which helps. Even if he slips he can catch himself. My heart stops every time though!

Checking out Booksamillion, we saw the $3 calendar sale. I relented and picked up the Kite calendar that looked so intriguing. There are 3 days on a page, and each page contains instructions for using the previous page to make a mini kite. They're more complicated than I thought, but pretty neat. We'll have to try to fly the first one, now that we made it, and see how it goes. Because of the way the instructions are, you do have to make them in order. It's a nice $3 though.

So that's what we're up to right now. Ted and I have slacked off the workbooks a little, though we had a little sight-reading practice yesterday, using word families. He's good at the -AT words (cat, hat, sat) and wanted to keep going. I guess that's a good sign.

Happy Thursday, All!

Posted in Book Reviews

I'm in pain right now, and that reminded me I wanted to review some books before I returned them to the library.

How does that make sense? Well, it's due to one of the books that I'm in pain. LOL

First, though, I want to start with a different title. It's What the Rest of Us Can Learn from Homeschooling by Linda Dobson. This is a great title to loan to skeptical or unaware friends and family who want to know why you do what you do. It takes all the best parts of homeschooling and explains how parents of children in school can apply the same principles to enhance their children's education. It was quite a good read. Actually, the subtitle is "How A+ Parents Can Give Their Traditionally Schooled Kids the Academic Edge." Of course it looks at homeschooling in a positive light, as it's written by one who homeschooled, but it never gets preachy and insists the reader homeschool too. It just explains how to take some of the ideas and apply them in your own life. It talks about learning styles, finding time for play, peer groups and learning, field trips, studying ... a whole range of topics. Well worth recommending when you're tired of answering the "Why" of homeschooling.

Another book I picked up, because the covers were similar and I thought they were part of a series (they're not) is Help for the Harried Homeschooler by Christine Field. This is a great homeschooling overview as well, but for homeschoolers. It addresses learning styles, teaching styles (unschooling, unit study, etc.), burn-out, and more. Written from a Christian perspective, this will be a very refreshing read when we need a reminder.

Too bad these are due today.

Lastly, the book that led to my current pain ... The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner. I'm starting to think that anything Trish Kuffner writes is probably worth getting. I already have her Picture Book Activities and have read others here and there. This book (and there are others for other ages) focuses on simple amusements for your toddler made from things around the house, or out and about. They're grouped by categories such as Rainy Day, Kids in the Kitchen, Water Play, and lots more. Some are ideas you may have already seen, but some are brand-new (at least to me). The idea that got me in trouble? Putting a crib mattress on the floor as an indoor trampoline. Now, Ted loves to bounce. He must bounce or rock. He can't help it, so we try to limit what furniture he wreaks havoc on. (This is the child who actually broke his infant bouncy seat from rocking it too hard ... and it was NEW when we got it!) Ted loves to bounce on his bed (toddler size) and now Madeline can climb up with him. Accident waiting to happen, yes. She did fall off a few times, in fact, though not due to bouncing. So after reading this, and thinking Who would ever do such a crazy thing?, I found myself doing it. I put the mattress on the floor, and away from any painful furniture edges, and let them go to it. Ted LOVES it and Madeline can just slide off rather than be knocked off. Unfortunately, yesterday I bent over to retrieve a toy at the same time Ted made a spectacular bounce. His head connected with my mouth. Now he has a knot and I have a puffy lip and a very painful tooth that is trying to reconnect itself. Ah, well. Other than this, the ideas are fairly safe and enjoyable. Just be sure to look out below!  :)

Posted in Book Reviews

Thanks to the new movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there are tons of new books about Narnia, and more old ones making a reappearance. I picked up a few before the holidays and read them in my spare time. Here they are:

A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe: Exploring C. S. Lewis's Classic Story by Leland Ryken and Marjoried Lamp Mead

This is excellent! It is exactly what it says, a READER'S guide. If you love to look at character development, allusions, and other great literary elements, this is the book for you. Each chapter corresponds to a chapter of LWW, and discusses a major literary device that can be seen there. For example, chapter one talks about great beginnings. Chapters eight and nine talk about images of good and evil. Chapter twelve talks about genre. Don't think this is a dry book, though ... these authors have a great passion for Narnia and insist that you already read and love LWW before even beginning their book. This would be a great addition to any literature course, or a wonderful pleasure read for anyone who likes to dig a little deeper. I highly recommend this one.

Inside The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Myths, Mysteries, and Magic from The Chronicles of Narnia by James Stuart Bell, Carrie Pyykkonen, and Linda Washington.

This book is primarily about LWW, though it does have mentions of the other Chronicles. It's a nice book with a little bit of everything. I'd recommend it as independent reading for your upper elementary or older Narnia fan. It didn't contain a lot of information I didn't already know, but as I am a total Narniaholic, that's to be expected. It has quizzes, bits of history, explanations of Logic (complete with logic puzzles!), religious allusions, pop culture references, and 46 uses for a handkerchief. Fun for new Narnia fans, but not necessary for those who already have an extensive collection of fan writing. It is a nice light read, though, while still being informative.

I think I found both of the above books at Wal-Mart, though they are available lots of places.

Here's a couple that are old favorites:

Companion to Narnia by Paul F. Ford.

This is the must-have Narnia reference work. I understand there's a new revised edition but I am not sure what the changes are. My edition has great maps, and is arranged as a dictionary of EVERYTHING mentioned in the books. It has lots of interesting details and is heavily cross-referenced. There are also Narnia timelines and descriptions of the differences between the American and British editions. Some entries are short and dictionary-like, while others are positively encyclopedic. Wonderful! And the foreword is by Madeleine L'Engle. Ever wonder what all the gizmos in Coriakin's house are (from Voyage)? Find out here.

Journey Into Narnia by Kathryn Lindskoog.

This is another one that's so good, others use her as a reference. This has some essays on Narnia and Lewis's beliefs, chapters about each Chronicle including discussion questions and prayers, and even a story by E. Nesbit that's believed to be one inspiration for the Wardrobe. Before all the new books hit the market recently, this was the one best book to have, next to Ford's Companion, and it's still an excellent addition to any collection.

And here's my new favorite:

Roar! A Christian Family Guide to the Chronicles of Narnia by Heather Kopp with David Kopp.

After spending money on the first two books reviewed, I later spotted this gem on the shelf. With a cover price of $20 I was reluctant to purchase it, since I'd just gotten two, but it kept catching my eye. So about a week ago I broke down and spent my Christmas money on it. It is THE BEST thing I have purchased in many months. (For those who want to check it out, there's an accompanying website, www.roarofnarnia.com .) This is a great family and parent guide to all seven books. There's a nice (and suitably edited for younger readers) biography about Jack (Lewis), a Narniac's Creed that would be suitable as a church liturgy were we in Narnia, dictionaries, quizzes, some activity ideas, essays on things of concern (like magic and the prevalence of wine in the series), and chapter by chapter discussions of each Chronicle. Lots of Bible verses and food for thought abound, and the essays written by one father about his children's reactions to the stories are delightful.

If you can only get one Narnia guide, get Roar! If you can and wish to have more, any of these books would be a great choice. These are the next best to being in Narnia personally.

Happy reading!

   Kristen