I almost feel like I shouldn't clutter up the blog with this stuff, and just put the books on a page all their own. Anyway...
I recommend _The Devil in the White City_ by Erik Larson and _Wicked_ by Gregory Maguire. The first is a true story about the building of the Chicago World's Fair and the second is the not so true story of life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I only wish that three small sections had been cut from the final editing, then I could read it to the kids! OK, maybe that's pushing it, but it really is a wonderful retelling of the Wizard of Oz from the Witch's POV.
Did I mention that I finished L'Engle's _Many Waters_? I really enjoyed that one as well, more than her other books definitely. The twins are pulled back to Noah's time.
The central library has an entire wall devoted to children's books on tape/CD. I happened to pick up one labeled for the 2004 Middle School reading list, called _The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm_ by Nancy Farmer. It took too long to listen in the car (everywhere I go around here is about 8 minutes away) so I borrowed the book and finished the story at home. A fun read set in 2194 Zimbabwe. I've picked up _The House of the Scorpion_ also by Farmer and would like to read her other works as well.
Monday, May 9, 2005
Bagpipe
We're right next to Ft. Myer in Arlington. My life would be JUST FINE without the daily bagpipe practice. Scales on bagpipe are... difficult to listen to. When they get the scale wrong I just want to claw at my ears.
Though I don't mind at all the bugle three times a day. Reveille at 6, Taps at 11 and another one at 10 I haven't figure out yet. It might be Retreat (end of the workday, but 10 is a little late, no?).
If you're curious about bugle calls, what they're called and what they sound like, Virginia Tech has a great page of Bugle Calls.
Though I don't mind at all the bugle three times a day. Reveille at 6, Taps at 11 and another one at 10 I haven't figure out yet. It might be Retreat (end of the workday, but 10 is a little late, no?).
If you're curious about bugle calls, what they're called and what they sound like, Virginia Tech has a great page of Bugle Calls.
Mother's Weekend
A quick disjointed overview of the weekend. Not much time, and I'd rather be napping while the boys are quiet.
Saturday was a beautiful day. Finally, the cold has released its grip and we can enjoy the warm weather for days on end.
Unfortunately, Ian's flying lesson was canceled Saturday morning (repairs on the plane) so that bummed him out. But I had breakfast in bed, courtesy of Nicholas who came up with the idea and the others who helped concoct a bowl of Kix, bread and butter, and apple slices along with a glass of milk and a glass of water. We meandered through the farmer's market to buy some bread and chocolate milk before heading to Woodbridge to ice skate with Katherine's oldest friend, Erin. They've been e-mailing all during our tour in Manila and have been talking on the phone since arriving back. We couldn't resist Borders for a bit even though we didn't purchase anything. The kids chose stuffed animals and put on a puppet show for me on the little reading stage. At grandma's house we finally gave grandpa his birthday gifts and grandma her mother's day gifts. My mom was performing in Brahms' German Requiem Saturday night so we ate some of their food for dinner and left the birthday cake mess for my dad to clean up.
We drove back to Arlington where I dropped off the family, changed my clothes and returned to Springfield so I could attend the concert and surprise my parents. I miss a lot when we're overseas and now there's no reason to. I am, afterall, in the neighborhood. It was an excellent concert at a Baptist church given by the Springfield Chorale. I arrived late though, after taking a wrong turn, so stayed in the back. The performance took just over and hour and I was home shortly after 10.
Sunday morning we lazed around until about 10:30, then metroed downtown to St. Matthews Cathedral. My parents met us there and we enjoyed a wonderful Mass in a stunning and colorful church. A block away we had brunch at the Beacon hotel where a table was set up in it's own alcove for us. The restaurant was loud enough that kid noises didn't matter, but swanky enough to really be a nice treat. The brunch buffet was excellent too, I highly recommend it.
On the way back we all stopped at Ballston. Rebecca needed new dress shoes, so grandpa bought her some before we had a little ice cream.
It was time to say goodbye so they took the metro back to their car and we hoofed the rest of the way home. The weather was gorgeous and no one minded the long walk. We were glad we hadn't bothered trying to get a seat at the Cheesecake Factory!
At home, it was present time. Present make me moderately uncomfortable. I think it's the expectation that now that I've received something, I feel I owe equal or better gifts to them next time around. Ack. The girls had gone into Bath and Body Works and came back with wonderful hand cream and body wash. The boys helped daddy with a couple digital photography books, and Ian bought me great tea with an awesome tea cup. I really appreciated all the times they told me Happy Mother's day and how good they were all weekend. We piled on the couch to watch "Unfortunate Events" and daddy read their bedtime stories.
It was a really nice weekend and I hope that the rest of the family enjoyed it as much as I.
Saturday was a beautiful day. Finally, the cold has released its grip and we can enjoy the warm weather for days on end.
Unfortunately, Ian's flying lesson was canceled Saturday morning (repairs on the plane) so that bummed him out. But I had breakfast in bed, courtesy of Nicholas who came up with the idea and the others who helped concoct a bowl of Kix, bread and butter, and apple slices along with a glass of milk and a glass of water. We meandered through the farmer's market to buy some bread and chocolate milk before heading to Woodbridge to ice skate with Katherine's oldest friend, Erin. They've been e-mailing all during our tour in Manila and have been talking on the phone since arriving back. We couldn't resist Borders for a bit even though we didn't purchase anything. The kids chose stuffed animals and put on a puppet show for me on the little reading stage. At grandma's house we finally gave grandpa his birthday gifts and grandma her mother's day gifts. My mom was performing in Brahms' German Requiem Saturday night so we ate some of their food for dinner and left the birthday cake mess for my dad to clean up.
We drove back to Arlington where I dropped off the family, changed my clothes and returned to Springfield so I could attend the concert and surprise my parents. I miss a lot when we're overseas and now there's no reason to. I am, afterall, in the neighborhood. It was an excellent concert at a Baptist church given by the Springfield Chorale. I arrived late though, after taking a wrong turn, so stayed in the back. The performance took just over and hour and I was home shortly after 10.
Sunday morning we lazed around until about 10:30, then metroed downtown to St. Matthews Cathedral. My parents met us there and we enjoyed a wonderful Mass in a stunning and colorful church. A block away we had brunch at the Beacon hotel where a table was set up in it's own alcove for us. The restaurant was loud enough that kid noises didn't matter, but swanky enough to really be a nice treat. The brunch buffet was excellent too, I highly recommend it.
On the way back we all stopped at Ballston. Rebecca needed new dress shoes, so grandpa bought her some before we had a little ice cream.
It was time to say goodbye so they took the metro back to their car and we hoofed the rest of the way home. The weather was gorgeous and no one minded the long walk. We were glad we hadn't bothered trying to get a seat at the Cheesecake Factory!
At home, it was present time. Present make me moderately uncomfortable. I think it's the expectation that now that I've received something, I feel I owe equal or better gifts to them next time around. Ack. The girls had gone into Bath and Body Works and came back with wonderful hand cream and body wash. The boys helped daddy with a couple digital photography books, and Ian bought me great tea with an awesome tea cup. I really appreciated all the times they told me Happy Mother's day and how good they were all weekend. We piled on the couch to watch "Unfortunate Events" and daddy read their bedtime stories.
It was a really nice weekend and I hope that the rest of the family enjoyed it as much as I.
Subtitles
Yesterday we watched the "Series of Unfortunate Events" movie. Jonathon stayed out for a good part of it, he didn't like Jim Carrey's character so he'd leave whenever the bad guy came on.
One character is a toddler who doesn't speak words but can be understood by her siblings. For the rest of us, we have subtitles. They don't stay up that long, but Rebecca caught them anyway. She has come such a long way in her reading the past couple months that she's now reading easy chapter books to herself and slogging through _Lassie Come Home_. Her 20 minutes a night for quiet reading isn't difficult because I've been picking easy readers (young Cam Jansen, Amelia Bedelia) and she loves that she can come out at the end of her reading time having completed two whole books. Now to get the boys reading. Nicholas is getting better at sight words but Jonathon doesn't know anything beyond "N-O! no! Y-E-S! yes!".
Our math theme last week went very well with the boys favorite being marshmallow math, related to M&M math. This week we're doing a food theme. Sunday is the Taste of Arlington I'd like to go to, and we have a farmer's market each Saturday, so we have books on where food comes from, recipe books and books on how people round the world eat the same foods (though sometimes those foods look different). I'm hoping to one day this week have the boys help me pick something to cook/bake and then work together from the shopping to the finished product.
We're continuing with Virginia history, Colonial history and Williamsburg/Jamestown as well in preparation for our trip to Williamsburg on the 21st. Rebecca had received the Felicity set of American Girl books a while back from grandma and we completed the last book in the read-one-chapter-aloud-each-night-method last week. Felicity is a Colonial Williamsburg girl and has grand adventures while the patriots rev up towards the Revolutionary War.
One character is a toddler who doesn't speak words but can be understood by her siblings. For the rest of us, we have subtitles. They don't stay up that long, but Rebecca caught them anyway. She has come such a long way in her reading the past couple months that she's now reading easy chapter books to herself and slogging through _Lassie Come Home_. Her 20 minutes a night for quiet reading isn't difficult because I've been picking easy readers (young Cam Jansen, Amelia Bedelia) and she loves that she can come out at the end of her reading time having completed two whole books. Now to get the boys reading. Nicholas is getting better at sight words but Jonathon doesn't know anything beyond "N-O! no! Y-E-S! yes!".
Our math theme last week went very well with the boys favorite being marshmallow math, related to M&M math. This week we're doing a food theme. Sunday is the Taste of Arlington I'd like to go to, and we have a farmer's market each Saturday, so we have books on where food comes from, recipe books and books on how people round the world eat the same foods (though sometimes those foods look different). I'm hoping to one day this week have the boys help me pick something to cook/bake and then work together from the shopping to the finished product.
We're continuing with Virginia history, Colonial history and Williamsburg/Jamestown as well in preparation for our trip to Williamsburg on the 21st. Rebecca had received the Felicity set of American Girl books a while back from grandma and we completed the last book in the read-one-chapter-aloud-each-night-method last week. Felicity is a Colonial Williamsburg girl and has grand adventures while the patriots rev up towards the Revolutionary War.
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
The past few weekends.
Apr 15-Apr 16: American History Museum, Air and Space Museum
Apr 23-Apr 24: Maryland Science Center, scrapbook fair
Apr 30-May 1: Saturday dawned a gray, drippy day and we spent it as a family day at home. My mom came over for the morning and stayed for lunch, a homemade spinach lasagna. For a good chunk of the morning, all the girls worked on scrapbooks, leading Nicholas to beg for a book of his own. He did make a page with some extra supplies and one of his own photos, so he's well on his way. After mom left we wandered downstairs to the indoor pool where the temperature of the water would have been fine if the room was actually warm. Some other kids came down while we were there, so they all played together, but I couldn't get out of the water fast enough. It was time to go when everyone was shivering. It was still an ugly day, so the kids took warm baths, drank hot cocoa, put on PJs and watched The Princess Bride. Sounds like a day in the middle of winter, doesn't it? But no, practically May and I'm still wearing a sweatshirt every day to combat the chill.
Sunday we attended the Memorial Mass for Fred Franke at Marymount University. The kids were very well behaved. They should have been, we prepped them beforehand. Every little sound is magnified in the tiny MU chapel and there were only a couple dozen people there so it was imperative that they stay almost silent. They made us proud. After the service was a small reception at the Main House where we met Fred's mother, saw his photography and listened to friends and classmates tell stories about Fred. II can't say that it was a good time, but it was pleasant and comfortable to meet up with college friends and shares some time together even under a sad occasion.
You know, Marymount is an itty bitty campus. It's a lovely campus, but it's "cozy."
Back at home, we took advantage of the pleasant weather and walked down to Clarendon to the Container Store (mom, they have car trash containers!) and across the way to the Whole Foods for some broccoli. Jeff came over for some dinner so we ordered a little Indian food from Delhi Dhaba to go along with a pot pie, some broccoli, bread and other random foods. Jeff has never complained, he'll eat just about anything we put in front of him. He's such an easy guest. We're going to miss him greatly when we head out again.
Apr 23-Apr 24: Maryland Science Center, scrapbook fair
Apr 30-May 1: Saturday dawned a gray, drippy day and we spent it as a family day at home. My mom came over for the morning and stayed for lunch, a homemade spinach lasagna. For a good chunk of the morning, all the girls worked on scrapbooks, leading Nicholas to beg for a book of his own. He did make a page with some extra supplies and one of his own photos, so he's well on his way. After mom left we wandered downstairs to the indoor pool where the temperature of the water would have been fine if the room was actually warm. Some other kids came down while we were there, so they all played together, but I couldn't get out of the water fast enough. It was time to go when everyone was shivering. It was still an ugly day, so the kids took warm baths, drank hot cocoa, put on PJs and watched The Princess Bride. Sounds like a day in the middle of winter, doesn't it? But no, practically May and I'm still wearing a sweatshirt every day to combat the chill.
Sunday we attended the Memorial Mass for Fred Franke at Marymount University. The kids were very well behaved. They should have been, we prepped them beforehand. Every little sound is magnified in the tiny MU chapel and there were only a couple dozen people there so it was imperative that they stay almost silent. They made us proud. After the service was a small reception at the Main House where we met Fred's mother, saw his photography and listened to friends and classmates tell stories about Fred. II can't say that it was a good time, but it was pleasant and comfortable to meet up with college friends and shares some time together even under a sad occasion.
You know, Marymount is an itty bitty campus. It's a lovely campus, but it's "cozy."
Back at home, we took advantage of the pleasant weather and walked down to Clarendon to the Container Store (mom, they have car trash containers!) and across the way to the Whole Foods for some broccoli. Jeff came over for some dinner so we ordered a little Indian food from Delhi Dhaba to go along with a pot pie, some broccoli, bread and other random foods. Jeff has never complained, he'll eat just about anything we put in front of him. He's such an easy guest. We're going to miss him greatly when we head out again.
Last Friday we went to ASFS
The girls attend the Science Focus school here in Arlington and on Friday my mom, the boys and I went to see Katherine and her classmates put on a puppet show. The shows were cute, various interpretations of a comic involving a cat and a frog, but what I didn't know was that immediately following was the 3rd-5th awards ceremony.
Third quarter report cards came out last week and both girls did very well. The only surprise was Katherine's O(utstanding)s in Listening and in Personal Organization. Huh?? If anyone recalls, in Manila both of those areas were her difficult zones. She's either growing up or the requirements are different here.
There were no surprises for Rebecca. Her spelling Stinks but her logical thinking is exceptional. Her reading is improving, her math is right at grade level, but she can't tell time. P.E. is not her forte.
Katherine received all As and Bs for grades, with Os and Ss for efforts. As a result, at the awards ceremony she received a certificate for achieving the Honor Roll. I'm glad that grandma pays attention to the school calendar!
Looks like I've reached the point of needing a scrapbook to hold school awards.
Also related to school, we're in Virginia and at the end of May every student in the state takes the Standards of Learning tests, aka SOLs. The acronym's other meaning may apply better to us because Katherine is getting a crash course in everything taught the past 2 1/2 years. The SOLs cover material from 1st and 2nd grades in VA. She was almost in tears with frustration last night trying to absorb the differences between direct and representational democracies. And she cannot keep the Tiber and Niger rivers straight.
In Manila the classes covered zero American History or Explorers and completely different language arts. There are 5 different exams at the end of the month and it's going to be interesting. She'll do fine in Reading, Writing and Math, but Science and Social Studies will be hard.
Third quarter report cards came out last week and both girls did very well. The only surprise was Katherine's O(utstanding)s in Listening and in Personal Organization. Huh?? If anyone recalls, in Manila both of those areas were her difficult zones. She's either growing up or the requirements are different here.
There were no surprises for Rebecca. Her spelling Stinks but her logical thinking is exceptional. Her reading is improving, her math is right at grade level, but she can't tell time. P.E. is not her forte.
Katherine received all As and Bs for grades, with Os and Ss for efforts. As a result, at the awards ceremony she received a certificate for achieving the Honor Roll. I'm glad that grandma pays attention to the school calendar!
Looks like I've reached the point of needing a scrapbook to hold school awards.
Also related to school, we're in Virginia and at the end of May every student in the state takes the Standards of Learning tests, aka SOLs. The acronym's other meaning may apply better to us because Katherine is getting a crash course in everything taught the past 2 1/2 years. The SOLs cover material from 1st and 2nd grades in VA. She was almost in tears with frustration last night trying to absorb the differences between direct and representational democracies. And she cannot keep the Tiber and Niger rivers straight.
In Manila the classes covered zero American History or Explorers and completely different language arts. There are 5 different exams at the end of the month and it's going to be interesting. She'll do fine in Reading, Writing and Math, but Science and Social Studies will be hard.
Just put the boys down for a rest.
Periodically I get fed up with the boys and their boyish behaviour (jumping off the back of the couch, needling each other, generally being unpleasant) so I call for a rest-time. Nicholas goes to the girls' room and Jonathon goes to the boys' room, and the timer keeps track of a random length of time. Today, it's 55 minutes, because I felt like it. And because I wanted to catch up here and 20 minutes wouldn't cut it. Call me selfish, go ahead. I can take it.
This week's topic is Math. There are some fabulous books, a TIME-Life series for Children, called I Love Math. Clever title, I know. But each book has a different focus (say, the body or a zoo) and over about 60 pages it covers multiple math facts with that topic. For example, the Zoo Math book has pages on estimating a large number of flamigoes, measuring lengths of animals that are all curled by up using a string and ruler, solving a mystery that asks time questions, and a story about a mouse in a rainforest who solves math word problems to escape various creatures trying to eat him. Inside the front and back covers are board games to play that teach odd/even and addition.
Another series we're using this week is called MathSmart. They are short books that each cover a single topic in a story form. The one I have in front of me is about counting to 100 and guides kids with a number line along the top of the pages. This series is broken up into levels of difficulty but they're all for the K and under crowd.
What's nice about both series are the adult guidance portions either at the bottom of the pages or at the back of the book. They outline what the kids should be getting out of each page along with supplimental activities.
On-line, the site primarygames.com has a section of math games rated for different levels. The boys have spent a good deal of time this morning moving from one page to the next for counting, adding, completing patterns and matching shapes. If you prefer printable materials, enchantedlearning.com has a large section wth printable number lines, subtraction worksheets, sorting activities and many others. I'll probably head there when we finally get around to doing money. Just a warning, many resources there are for site members only. If you're a homeschooler, it's probably worth the minimal yearly fee to have access to everything though.
Most of what we're covering this week is reinforcement for the boys. They are familiar with the concepts but need regular daily practice with telling time, remembering left from right, using a ruler, patterns, recognizing a hexagon and all the other aspects of Math. It's fun though and they enjoy it quite a bit.
This week's topic is Math. There are some fabulous books, a TIME-Life series for Children, called I Love Math. Clever title, I know. But each book has a different focus (say, the body or a zoo) and over about 60 pages it covers multiple math facts with that topic. For example, the Zoo Math book has pages on estimating a large number of flamigoes, measuring lengths of animals that are all curled by up using a string and ruler, solving a mystery that asks time questions, and a story about a mouse in a rainforest who solves math word problems to escape various creatures trying to eat him. Inside the front and back covers are board games to play that teach odd/even and addition.
Another series we're using this week is called MathSmart. They are short books that each cover a single topic in a story form. The one I have in front of me is about counting to 100 and guides kids with a number line along the top of the pages. This series is broken up into levels of difficulty but they're all for the K and under crowd.
What's nice about both series are the adult guidance portions either at the bottom of the pages or at the back of the book. They outline what the kids should be getting out of each page along with supplimental activities.
On-line, the site primarygames.com has a section of math games rated for different levels. The boys have spent a good deal of time this morning moving from one page to the next for counting, adding, completing patterns and matching shapes. If you prefer printable materials, enchantedlearning.com has a large section wth printable number lines, subtraction worksheets, sorting activities and many others. I'll probably head there when we finally get around to doing money. Just a warning, many resources there are for site members only. If you're a homeschooler, it's probably worth the minimal yearly fee to have access to everything though.
Most of what we're covering this week is reinforcement for the boys. They are familiar with the concepts but need regular daily practice with telling time, remembering left from right, using a ruler, patterns, recognizing a hexagon and all the other aspects of Math. It's fun though and they enjoy it quite a bit.
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