Ties that bind

Music continues to be the tie that binds us together in this house...at least, it binds Mango & Vespera in a way that words and actions and gifts and all the other parent-child things never could. Music is the bridge between them, a powerful emotional bridge.

A few nights ago, after Mango got his guitar for his birthday, Mango & Vespera both took out their guitars and played together in the living room (while Mane played the xylophone and I made dinner). The tune was simple and sweet, as they are both beginners. Simple and sweet.

Another tie that binds? Food. Vespera made tamales for Mango for his birthday. Mango's reaction? "I never knew she liked me so much!" I cracked up. How can it be that this silliness is so totally true? If someone makes food for you, especially your favorite, time intensive food, it is such a true demonstration of affection.

I sent Vespera off with corn pancakes and sausages before she left the house the other night, and I felt so satisfied, so totally warm and content to know she had eaten some good food. Truly, I must be turning into Ma Ingalls.

Archiving my old quote of the week...

"I don't want to eke out my life like a resource in short supply. The only selfish life is a timid one. To hold back, to withdraw, to keep the best in reserve, both undervalues the self, and undervalues what the self is.

Here's my life - I have to mine it, farm it, trade it, tenant it, and when the lease is up it cannot be renewed.

This is my chance. Take it."

~ from The Powerbook by Jeanette Winterson

Very Last First Time

This week Mane and I are doing a unit study around the book, Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews, using our Five in a Row curriculum. For future reference, we refer to this as "rowing" a book. My guess is that we'll be on this one for two weeks - one week to study oceans & tidepools, another week to study the tundra & Inuit people.

Today we talked briefly about the tide. Did you know that in Northern Canada the ocean freezes on the top & people can walk around under the ice on the ocean floor when the tide goes out? That's what Very Last First Time is about. A little girl, Eva, goes out to gather mussels on the sea floor, and this is the first time she's gone alone. Of course, because it is the first time, there will never be another first time. Thus, the title: Very Last First Time.

Aside from "rowing," Mane & I worked on memorizing Luke 2:52, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people." Just as Jesus was growing up, so Mane is growing up, and so Eva, in the story, was growing up.

And we cracked nuts with a nutcrackers, a LEVER, just as Eva used her shovel as a lever to pry the ice open.

We played Math War:



And, Mane practiced reading by taping words on index cards to objects all over the house!

It's been a busy day in the homeschool house. Hmmm...our homeschool needs a names. Thinking... Thinking...

New Sidebar List

And for a friend who was reading my library list a few weeks ago, I thought I'd create a list of our favorite children's books. We own many of our favorites (thanks to great thrifting & generous grandparents), and so they are not included on our library list.

So, here's for you, Friend...a list of favorite children's books. Check out my sidebar!

Children's Book List 2007

These are the children's books we checked out from the library in 2007 in alphabetical order. I realized the other day that the list is not complete because I couldn't find the title of a book I know we checked out in March! Wish I could find that title... In any case, you can certainly see the themes we followed last year!

* A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
* A Flag for Our Country by Eve Spencer
* A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart by David A. Adler
* Across the Alley by Rishard Michelson
* Amazing You by Gail Saltz
* And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens
* Celebrate the 50 States by Loreen Leedy
* Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller
* Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende & Harry Devlin
* Dolls Kids Can Make by Sheila McGraw
* Easter by Jan Pienkowski
* Fly, Bessie, Fly by Lynn Joseph
* Groundhog Stays Up Late by Margery Cuyler
* Happy 4th of July, Jenny Sweeney! by Leslie Kimmelman
* Happy Birthday, America! by Marsha Wilson Chall
* How Do Birds Find Their Way by Roma Gans
* How Nanita Learned to Make Flan by Campbell Geeslin
* How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
* I am a Dolphin by Darlene R. Stille
* I Am Too Absolutely Small For School by Lauren Child
* I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakite
* I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
* In Rosa's Mexico by Campell Geeslin
* Inch By Inch by David Mallet
* Madeline Says Merci by John Bemelmans Marciano
* Magic Tree House Research Guide: Pilgrims by Mary Pope Osborne & Natalie Pope Boyce
* Miriam's Cup by Fran Manushkin
* Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
* Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
* Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip With Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
* Moses by Ann Keay Beneduce
* Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott
* Night Driving by John Coy
* One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
* Pablo's Tree by Pat Mora
* Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer
* Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen
* Snow by Manya Stojic
* Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz
* Story of a Dolphin by Katherine Orr
* Swimming With Dolphins by Lambert Davis
* That Pesky Rat by Lauren Child
* The First Christmas Stocking by Elizabeth Winthrop
* The Glorious Flight by Alice & Martin Provensen
* The Journey: Stories of Migration by Cynthia Rylant
* The Night the Moon Fell by Pat Mora
* The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
* The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
* The Seasons and Someone by Virginia Kroll
* The Scrambled States of America by Laurie Keller
* The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote by Tony Johnston
* The Tooth Fairy by Peter Collington
* This is the Rain by Lola M. Schaefer
* This Way Home by Lisa Westberg Peters
* Tiny Tortilla by Arlene Williams
* Tooth Fairy's First Night by Anne Bowen
* Tulip Sees America by Cynthia Rylant
* When the Root Children Wake Up by Audrey Wood
* When Winter Comes by Nancy Van Laan

The 2007 Book List

This is the list of books I read in 2007, as they were listed in my sidebar, which means that each book was added to the top of the list as I finished it:

* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Rowling
* Jesus Has Left the Building by Paul Vieira
* Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
* Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
* Ready, Set, Count by Marlene Barron
* Ready, Set, Read & Write by Marlene Barron
* Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto
* Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
* Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
* A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
* Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
* Chronicles of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
* Passsionate Marriage by David Schnarch
* Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
* The Gluten-Free Bible by Jax Peters Lowell
* I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
* The Blue Jay's Dance: A Birth Year by Louise Erdrich
* Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
* When God's People Pray by Jim Cymbala
* The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
* The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen
* How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
* The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Joe Jones by Anne Lamott
* Good Harbor by Anita Diamant
* Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
* Anne's House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
* Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery
* Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
* Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
* Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

ESL

ESL: That's "English as a Second Language," for those of you not in the know.

Funny Story -

Background info: Vespera's first language is not English, but she speaks English nearly perfectly, including idioms. Novio also speaks English as a second language, and, although he's learning VERY quickly, his English does not include figures of speech.

So, Novio was over last week, and Vespera said to him, "You rock my world!" : )

I was walking by and said, "Wow. That's a really nice thing to say."

Novio replied, "Yes, if you know what it means."

So, I found myself standing there explaining to my teenager's boyfriend what she meant when she said, "You rock my world."