Giving thanks.
When it comes to being thankful, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the goodness and love in our lives. A few immediate thanks that come to mind (with a few attributions):
- "Micah sleeping in her high chair". (Max)
- "Our new baby that is coming". (Max)
- Sunshine and the scent of crackly leaves.
- The beautiful home my mother has shared with us.
- The kindness of strangers in various parking lots and check-out lines all over Tuscaloosa.
- That new can of bright blue paint in the garage.
- Living in a neighborhood that loves animals.
- Max's exuberance.
- The inspiring courage of the Prophet Micah, Martin Luther King Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Theresa, and the black churches of the South.
- All the fresh vegetables overflowing from baskets in our kitchen.
- The way in which my husband toils to provide for us.
- The community at Grace Church.
- The comfort and power of forgiveness.
- No morning sickness.
- The possibility of a new life and new lives.
- My extended family, including the Atlanta clan, the Ohio segment, and the isla of Birmingham.
A few fun ways + recipes to spend all the extra family-time....
Johnny Appleseed's Thanksgiving verse (also a coloring page)
Cranberry sauce with maple syrup recipe
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott - a perfect tale to share with the family when you can steal a little couch time
Animal sewing cards - to keep the little ones bemused during all the cooking
A history of pumpkin pie - for the curious
Printable Thanksgiving toys and thingamabobs from the Toymaker
Leaf rubbing for the nature notebook.
The cashew family (Anacardiaceae) is a group of about 600 species of plants, most of which are tropical in distribution, although some occur in the temperate zone. The cashew family contains many types of sumac, which you can view and explore in this printable brochure.
Almost all members of the cashew family are trees or shrubs, though some are vines. Many species have foliage, fruits, or bark on the stems and roots that contain acrid, an often milky resin, and saps that are irritating or poisonous if touched or eaten. The leaves are typically compound, with at least three if not more leaflets per leaf. The flowers are small, five-parted, insect pollinated, and arranged in compact inflorescences. The fruits are either a one-seeded drupe or a many-seeded berry, and are generally eaten and dispersed by birds or small mammals.
Open nature notebooks. We found the tree above at the Arboretum yesterday, and have decided that it must be the Chinese pistache, or Pistacia chinensis. It still seems funny to imagine its kinship to cruel poison ivy, but we humans have some ugly brothers as well. Off to leaf rubbing, tracing, and classifying we go. Here is a close-up of the Chinese pistache leaves (and Micah's old-man hair).
Saturdays that feel like Sundays and require Sunday playlists.
Our hat basket waits stocked by the door to cover little heads in cold weather. I know Suebee and Pops would be proud to see Max and Micah picking their own hats to wear before each outing! Especially when their choices are so individually delicious. As for Sunday music on a Saturday, I relish the weekends when we hibernate and overdose on family time. My family is sacred to me. Nothing brings me joy more than the moments between whining, dirty diapers, boo-boos, and hurt feelings when we are all four together. Okay, four and a pint...
I'LL FLY AWAY - The Avett Brothers
AMAZING GRACE - Sufjan Stevens
JESUS WAS A CROSSMAKER - Frida Hyvonen
WHEN THE DEVIL'S LOOSE - A. A. Bondy
SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE - Etta James
THERE WILL BE NO DIVORCE - The Mountain Goats
LET THE MYSTERY BE - (The Eichelbergers might know this...)
JESUS GONNA BE HERE - Tom Waits
Babies and magnolia trees.
I wanted to climb it, but just as I grabbed a branch and swung up my legs, I got one of those sharp uterine pains which mark various stages of pregnancy. In this case, I'm about 10 weeks into this unplanned adventure...
Max is elated- "Mommy, my prayer came true!! I prayed for a family of five!" - while I am a little nervous (it seems so soon, my back, blah, blah, blah...) but excited.
A golden stroll near the train trestle on a golden fall day.
There's no better way to describe it than to say, "golden".... It was that. After watching a documentary about Dietrich Bonhoeffer the night before, I felt strangely light, as if even the slightest wind is part of God's plan to bring that little leaf right beside the ant seeking a mid-day shelter. So much beauty it takes my breath away.
Even big boys have to be carried sometimes... when there are so many lovely, luminous puddles begging to be conquered in crocs with socks.
Like father, like son. Watering the plants is fun.
The barge depot, where the barges resemble harmless sea turtles.
Max and Micah watched Patrick talk to a homeless man for almost half an hour. Due to the thunderstorms the night before, all his clothing was soaked. We noticed how carefully he laid it out to dry. Patrick discovered that this man was a mathematician who had wandered to Tuscaloosa via New Orleans. His interest in infinite set theories led the discussion to God. The homeless man noted that he didn't recognize Christians from Purpose-Driven-lifers anymore, that Jesus' love is not present in modern self-helpisms in the way that it is present in the Bible.... A good man, the wandering stranger who comes into our lives for a brief moment yet leaves us somehow hungry.
Max shares freeze-dried fruit with Micah.
Patrick makes the dread "ugly face", which The Little Dragon duly imitates. How I love my sweet ugly family....
Max earns his Bobcat badge.
Max has been enjoying Tiger Cubs this year- even more so after finally getting his uniform and earning his Bobcat badge, awarded at the pack meeting on Monday night.
He enjoyed painting Patrick's face at the pack meeting while I chased Micah around the halls in the circles.
Max lost his first tooth!
Here is how my husband described the event to his brother, Bradley, in an email:
Max lost his first tooth this morning. He was eating a waffle and came up to me with something small and white in his hand asking me what it was. I thought it was gristle or something (like you find in a hamburger) and thought it was strange it'd be in his waffle. "Was that in your waffle, Max?" I asked him looking at the thing in his hand. "I don't know, it's hard." I took it from his hand and, by golly, it was a tooth. I looked at Max and said, "Max! You lost your first tooth!" He smiled. Right there in the front bottom row was a missing tooth and a bloodied mouth. I ran him to the mirror to look. He screeched with glee and ran to tell Mommy and Micah. I got him a gold $1 coin to put under his pillow tonight.
Inside the piano.
Max watches the inner workings of a piano that Patrick took apart and put back together. Once a week, Max takes piano lessons which he anticipates and raves about. I am so happy for him- and grateful to my mother for adding music to his life in this way.
Little Micah, always eager to follow in Max's footsteps, has designated herself his primary accompanist. Here you can see the world of music from Micah's mini-vantage point...
Lisa visits and takes over the science lessons for the day.
It is always wonderful to see my friend, Lisa Channell, who also happens to be Max's godmother and one of the people who really encouraged me during my pregnancy with Max. She stopped in for a visit from Chicago last weekend, and spent the afternoon chasing dogs in the yard and conducting science experiments with Max.
Max's first football game.
Gary surprised Patrick a few weeks ago with tickets to the Alabama v. LSU game, so Patrick and Max attended their first football game at the Bryant-Denny Stadium. It took Max a little while to adjust to the chaos and hairspray (note the serious expressions on his face), but by half-time, he was having a blast.
Apparently, it was an exciting game to see. Max also fulfilled a Tiger Cub requirement to attend a sports game and learn the rules.
Since Patrick and Max had 8th row seats, Max got a close-up view of the action. But not close enough to distract him from the books I packed in his backpack just in case his feelings for football turned out to more closely approximate his mom's...
He's reading one of his favorite books, The Knight's Handbook.
Game over. Alabama won. Roll Tide!
Possibilities over patterns.
I'm not good at sewing with patterns yet- the natural rebel in me prefers to experiment with fabrics and cuttings until something exciting emerges. Better than a pattern is the inspiration. And here are a few I've stumbled across today...
Potato sack ruffled linen dress
Happy birthday to my dear dad who is turning older than I'm ready to imagine.
Since my dad has mentioned that I don't make CDs for him anymore, I thought I'd do the unbeatable- create a playlist and skip the cost of postage + the uncanny likelihood that I'll get my act together and mail something. Happy birthday sweet dad. Just right-click and save as on each tune and then you can burn your own CD from this playlist intended to brighten your afternoons and sweeten your nights. Te iubesc.
Swept Away (Sentimental Version) - The Avett Brothers
A Sunday Smile - Beirut
With Every Wish - Bruce Springsteen
One (U2 cover) - Vanessa Paradis
St. Judy's Comet - Paul Simon
Lonely Old Lies - Neko Case
Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats
Am iubit si-am sa iubescu - Dona Dumitru-Siminica
Romanian tales by Ion Creanga atop an anniversary.
Today is our wedding anniversary, and we are celebrating in small, special ways. Patrick took over the homeschooling for this morning, and I love watching him interact with Max on the topic of Gilgamesh and immortality. There is so much wisdom and beauty in the past.
We look so stunned. And cold...
For homeschooling this week, a few Romanian tales lovingly transcribed by another mother:
The Bear Tricked by the Fox by Ion Creanga
And a little treat for art, a story exercise on an Edward Dulac painting:
Music for a rainy day.
Just right-click and press "save as" to download any mp3s you might appreciate...
Old-fashioned storyteller visits Tuscaloosa Monday night.
Mark your calendars...Storyteller Molly W. Catron will be sharing stories on this coming Monday evening at 8 p.m. in the upstairs portion of Smith Hall (the Natural History Museum). If you haven't had the opportunity to experience an old-fashioned raconteur with your family, this might be it.
Molly has been telling stories for over twenty years. She lives on a farm in East Tennessee with husband, Wayne, a herd of goats, three cows, three dogs and a bird. She is Nana to three granddaughter and two grandsons and loves to play the guitar, make jewelry, sew, and sit on the porch. You can listen to a few of Molly's stories for free here.
If you'd like to keep current on local storytelling events, join the Facebook group, Storytelling Club. Julie Guthrie will keep you abreast of all storytelling-related events in the Tuscaloosa area.
Homeschooling: The Virtue of Compassion.
Compassion is "fellow-feeling" - the ability to feel for others. Compassion is a human emotion prompted by the pain of others. More vigorous than empathy, the feeling commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering. Compassion acknowledges and respects the suffering of others. It often leads us to be merciful rather than critical.
THE LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI - St. Francis's compassion for others was rooted in his love for God's creation. Known to call the moon, "Sister Moon," and the sun, "Brother Sun", St. Francis took a vow of poverty and dedicated his life to serving and loving God. He traveled around Italy with fellow friars begging for alms to care for lepers and the sick. St. Francis even preached to animals, as well as human beings. His fellow feeling filled him with love and reverence.
Story - St. Francis Speaks to the Birds
Story - Saint Francis and the Wolf
Prayer of St. Francis by Sarah MacLachlan
THE FABLE OF THE LION AND THE MOUSE This fable by Aesop shows how showing mercy to the weak, one way of demonstrating compassion, can have practical benefits as well as moral ones.
The Lion and the Mouse Notebooking Page
ANDROCLES AND THE LION This fable by Aesop also shows how the compassion of a slave saves a lion.
THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN In this parable, Jesus emphasizes the importance of cultivating compassion for those who are seemingly different from us. Jesus shows that every man is our neighbor.
Coloring Page with Bible verse
COMPASSION IN POETRY Compassion is such a rich and wonderful virtue that many poems have been written with compassion at their core. Discuss how these poems present different visions and aspects of compassion. Use them for copywork and memorization.
"If I could stop one heart from breaking" by Emily Dickinson
"In the Long Run" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
COMPASSION IN DAILY LIFE To explore how compassion appears in our daily lives, or the difference between compassionate and uncompassionate responses, I created this worksheet offering a hypothetical example for Max.
"Compassion is a keen awareness of the interdependence of all things." (Thomas Merton)
Additional resources:
- Clare and Frances, the movie
- The Good Samartian Sunday School lessons
- Quotes about compassion (for creating your own copywork pages)
G.K. Chesterton on fairy tales.
SOME solemn and superficial people (for nearly all very superficial people are solemn) have declared that the fairy-tales are immoral; they base this upon some accidental circumstances or regrettable incidents in the war between giants and boys, some cases in which the latter indulged in unsympathetic deceptions or even in practical jokes. The objection, however, is not only false, but very much the reverse of the facts. The fairy-tales are at root not only moral in the sense of being innocent, but moral in the sense of being didactic, moral in the sense of being moralising. It is all very well to talk of the freedom of fairyland, but there was precious little freedom in fairyland by the best official accounts. Mr. W. B. Yeats and other sensitive modern souls, feeling that modern life is about as black a slavery as ever oppressed mankind (they are right enough there), have especially described elfland as a place of utter ease and abandonment - a place where the soul can turn every way at will like the wind. Science denounces the idea of a capricious God; but Mr. Yeats's school suggests that in that world every one is a capricious god. Mr. Yeats himself has said a hundred times in that sad and splendid literary style which makes him the first of all poets now writing in English (I will not say of all English poets, for Irishmen are familiar with the practice of physical assault), he has, I say, called up a hundred times the picture of the terrible freedom of the fairies, who typify the ultimate anarchy of art -
"Where nobody grows old or weary or wise,
Where nobody grows old or godly or grave."
But, after all (it is a shocking thing to say), I doubt whether Mr. Yeats really knows the real philosophy of the fairies. He is not simple enough; he is not stupid enough. Though I say it who should not, in good sound human stupidity I would knock Mr. Yeats out any day. The fairies like me better than Mr. Yeats; they can take me in more. And I have my doubts whether this feeling of the free, wild spirits on the crest of hill or wave is really the central and simple spirit of folk-lore. I think the poets have made a mistake: because the world of the fairy-tales is a brighter and more varied world than ours, they have fancied it less moral; really it is brighter and more varied because it is more moral. Suppose a man could be born in a modern prison. It is impossible, of course, because nothing human can happen in a modern prison, though it could sometimes in an ancient dungeon. A modern prison is always inhuman, even when it is not inhumane. But suppose a man were born in a modern prison, and grew accustomed to the deadly silence and the disgusting indifference; and suppose he were then suddenly turned loose upon the life and laughter of Fleet Street. He would, of course, think that the literary men in Fleet Street were a free and happy race; yet how sadly, how ironically, is this the reverse of the case! And so again these toiling serfs in Fleet Street, when they catch a glimpse of the fairies, think the fairies are utterly free. But fairies are like journalists in this and many other respects. Fairies and journalists have an apparent gaiety and a delusive beauty. Fairies and journalists seem to be lovely and lawless; they seem to be both of them too exquisite to descend to the ugliness of everyday duty. But it is an illusion created by the sudden sweetness of their presence. Journalists live under law; and so in fact does fairyland.
If you really read the fairy-tales, you will observe that one idea runs from one end of them to the other - the idea that peace and happiness can only exist on some condition. This idea, which is the core of ethics, is the core of the nursery-tales. The whole happiness of fairyland hangs upon a thread, upon one thread. Cinderella may have a dress woven on supernatural looms and blazing with unearthly brilliance; but she must be back when the clock strikes twelve. The king may invite fairies to the christening, but he must invite all the fairies or frightful results will follow. Bluebeard's wife may open all doors but one. A promise is broken to a cat, and the whole world goes wrong. A promise is broken to a yellow dwarf, and the whole world goes wrong. A girl may be the bride of the God of Love himself if she never tries to see him; she sees him, and he vanishes away. A girl is given a box on condition she does not open it; she opens it, and all the evils of this world rush out at her. A man and woman are put in a garden on condition that they do not eat one fruit: they eat it, and lose their joy in all the fruits of the earth.
This great idea, then, is the backbone of all folk-lore - the idea that all happiness hangs on one thin veto; all positive joy depends on one negative. Now, it is obvious that there are many philosophical and religious ideas akin to or symbolised by this; but it is not with them I wish to deal here. It is surely obvious that all ethics ought to be taught to this fairy-tale tune; that, if one does the thing forbidden, one imperils all the things provided. A man who breaks his promise to his wife ought to be reminded that, even if she is a cat, the case of the fairy-cat shows that such conduct may be incautious. A burglar just about to open some one else's safe should be playfully reminded that he is in the perilous posture of the beautiful Pandora: he is about to lift the forbidden lid and loosen evils unknown. The boy eating some one's apples in some one's apple tree should be a reminder that he has come to a mystical moment of his life, when one apple may rob him of all others. This is the profound morality of fairy-tales; which, so far from being lawless, go to the root of all law. Instead of finding (like common books of ethics) a rationalistic basis for each Commandment, they find the great mystical basis for all Commandments. We are in this fairyland on sufferance; it is not for us to quarrel with the conditions under which we enjoy this wild vision of the world. The vetoes are indeed extraordinary, but then so are the concessions. The idea of property, the idea of some one else's apples, is a rum idea; but then the idea of there being any apples is a rum idea. It is strange and weird that I cannot with safety drink ten bottles of champagne; but then the champagne itself is strange and weird, if you come to that. If I have drunk of the fairies' drink it is but just I should drink by the fairies' rules. We may not see the direct logical connection between three beautiful silver spoons and a large ugly policeman; but then who in fairy tales ever could see the direct logical connection between three bears and a giant, or between a rose and a roaring beast? Not only can these fairy-tales be enjoyed because they are moral, but morality can be enjoyed because it puts us in fairyland, in a world at once of wonder and of war.
Chesterton, G. K. All Things Considered. London: Methuen, 1908, 1915.
Making a book of virtues.
Virtues define the character of a person, as well as his ideals and possibilities. Is it so wrong to hope my children's sense of virtue is a moral-laden, as opposed to a value-laden, one? Inspired by former Education czar William J. Bennett's books on virtues for children and adults, Max and I will be creating our own book of virtues over the coming year. The book will contain:
- Copy work of quotes about virtue
- Memory work of poems and thoughts on virtue
- Biographies of virtuous people and saints
- Songs and music about virtue
- Coloring pages and art projects on virtue
Since Bill Bennett's list of virtues concentrates on qualities associated with the Protestant work ethic, Max and I added a few Christian virtues to his hardworking list. The ones we selected were inspired by the Beatitudes and various verses found in the Bible. In the list below, our virtues are written in green, while Mr. Bennett's virtues are written in brown.
- Perserverance
- Courage
- Responsibility
- Compassion
- Self-discipline
- Honesty
- Friendship
- Humility
- Selflessness
- Generosity
- Peace-making
- Honor
- Agape
- Faithfulness
- Gratefulness
- Tolerance
- Reverence
- "Awakening the Moral Imagination: Teaching Virtues Through Fairy Tales" by Vigen Guroian, an inspiring paper.
- Virtue biography printable - Blank sheet for use in making biographies for virtue book. Includes space for drawing, quotes, and life story. Max and I use these for our individual biographies.
- Handwriting paper - Always comes in handy.
- Letter templates - Use your imagination.
An almost full moon and a beautiful night.
Yesterday afternoon, we received a surprise visit from dear Connie Robertson, who brought a six-pack of cupcakes for Max. He was thrilled to see her and even asked if he might be allowed to "walk her to her car because she is a lady".
Then, our lovely neighbors from almost-across the street dropped by with a trunk-load of Halloween decorations which they wanted to give to us. Max was dancing on his tiptoes; he loves decorating for any holiday on the calendar. Honestly, we didn't have Halloween decorations apart from our sweet pumpkin, so Patrick and Max started decking the dogwoods with pumpkin lights and skeletons. I am constantly overwhelmed by the kindness of others.
After decorating the house and our own bodies, we loaded our costumed selves into the car to attend the fundraiser at the Arboretum. I was dressed as a Romanian sheperdess, while Patrick played Pocahontas. Micah started off as a pirate and gradually turned in to a pumpkin as the evening got colder, while Max wore his dragon costume. Out of the 30 kids who competed in his age group, Max won second place in the costume contest!
Typical Maxer, he took his fancy umbrella and gardening gloves- a prize I confess to coveting- and raced off to join the hayride. When he returned, all red-cheeked and dragon-tailed, he exclaimed:
"Mommy, I saw a vampire! And he didn't want to eat me because vampires don't eat people- they just suck their blood!"
Micah look relieved. After downing two burgers and one hot dog, "relieved" is not quite the word to describe my feelings at the time.
You can see Patrick following Max along the Haunted Trail above (along with that gorgeous big golden-leafed tree that struck my fancy...)
We ended our evening without the little ones, who slept snugly on a pallet in the den with their babysitter, Angie. Since our neighbors hosted a costume and dessert party, we walked to their home and enjoyed a little adult company.
Believe it or not, we still woke up early enough to forget about daylight savings time and arrive at Sunday School an hour early as the church musicians straggled in for their rehearsal.
Homeschooling hurrahs.
Max's cradles his homegrown salt crystals.
So our first quarter of homeschooling is over, and I need to to drop our folders and reports by Grace Church for official viewing. As I look back over the quarter, I find myself simultaneously thrilled and unsettled by our studies, which included:
- Helen Keller Unit Study - 2 weeks
- Rocks and Minerals Unit Study - 2 weeks
- Biographies
- Local History Workshop - 2 week workshop
- Piano lessons - once a week
- Nature Journal - various local plants described using Charlotte Mason style
- 50 States - our ongoing exploration of all 50 states, as enabled by the free tourist packets we ordered in the mail for each state. Since we never know what state might be coming in the mail, it is an exciting surprise.
- Land Use and Stewardship Unit Study - 2 weeks
- Insect Workshop at Capitol School
- Hen-Rearing Home Economics (unfortunately cut short by the tragic death of "The Ladies")
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Multiplication (tables and memorization)
- Introduction to Division
- Poems Which Describe Unit Study - 1 week
- Phonics Dictionary
- Handwriting Level One Workbook
The unit studies generally combined elements from all the humanities and liberal arts, even when the focus was on a science-related topic.
After chasing butterflies for a quarter, I have a better sense of what would benefit Max and best prepare his mind for making virtuous use of ideas. What we will be incorporating in the coming quarter:
Boomerang, the NPR for kids. We prefer the programs Schmave's Elevator, American Journey, Money, The Big Idea, Interviews, Now We're Cooking, The Natural Wonder, Book Beat, Free episode available here.
The Well-Trained Mind, a wonderful trivium-based learning plan suggested by Bethany Michelson (to whom I am much obliged). After having forked out the outrageous $39.95 for the book, I have not been disappointed. In fact, I restructured our curriculum along classical style and look forward to our first experiment with classical education this coming quarter.
In addition to Language, Spelling, Writing, Math, Music, Art, and Science, Max will also be conducting a biweekly study of Virtues and Ethics, based mostly on William J. Bennett's books with a few virtues, like agape, generosity, humility, honor, and kindness that Mr. Bennett seems to have overlooked.
For MATH, we will be feasting on the following:
- Living Math, an approach to math which does not compartmentalize mathematical concepts from the study of history, ideas, and culture.
For SCIENCE, our weekly repast will include:
For LANGUAGE, we'll graze at:
- Muse Magazine subscription as supplemental reading.
- Calliope, a study of etymology which focuses on ancient mythology.
- Greathall Productions, various recordings of classics to inspire an appreciation for storytelling.
For HISTORY, always, in a sense, our main course, we'll dine on:
- The Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer
- Calisphere
- Exploring Ancient World Cultures
- Milieux: The Costume Site
- Color Me Egypt Coloring Book
- Cleveland Museum of Art coloring pages for Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece coloring book (PDF format)
- Greek mythology coloring pages
- Ancient Rome coloring pages
- Near East: The Cradle of Civilization
- Ancient Egypt Virtual Temple
- The Ancient Aztecs
For MUSIC, our appetites will be whet by:
For ART, we will savor:
- WebMuseum, Paris, a source for various works of art and their histories
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
- LaunchPad magazine
- Archkidtecture
- Inside Art
- The Incredible Art Department
- Make An Artist Book
Flowers and sweet potato recipes.
Thanks to the Michelsons for the lovely bouquet that has stayed fresh to brighten this gloomy day.
And thanks to Tori Gleason's advice, we will pick up our first delivery of fresh, organic veggies from Grow Alabama tomorrow around noon. I am so excited about trying new recipes with veggies. Here is one of the many recipes posted at the Grow Alabama website:
Warm Sweet Potato Salad
1/2 cup olive oil
3 red onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs honey
1 tbs finely chopped orange zest
1 tbs finely chopped fresh thyme
3 sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2-thick slices
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat 3 tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions slowly, turning often, until golden brown and caramelized. Add mustard and vinegar and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add honey, orange zest and thyme, stir to combine. Let cool.
Preheat grill, Brush the potato slices on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the potatoes on each side for 3 to 4 minutes or until just cooked through. Place potatoes in a bowl and fold in onion mixture.
Aztec homeschooling unit.
Thanks to a marvelous book sale at Hudson's Dirt Cheap, I purchased 15 educational books for Max at the lovely price of $1.49 per book. One of these books, Projects About the Ancient Aztecs, by David King, inspired us to begin our very own unit study on Aztec civilization. A basic list of sections for this Unit Study is included below, followed by an informal presentation of our meanderings.
- Introduction to the Aztecs
- Aztec civilization and agriculture
- Aztec cities
- Aztec calendars
- Aztec food
- Active learning- This section includes a list of activities, projects, worksheets, and online explorations which offer an active learning component to various sections of the unit study.
INTRODUCTION TO THE AZTECS
Mythology tells that the Aztecs began as wandering tribes in the north or northwest part of Mexico. This territory, called Aztlan, is the source of the name Aztec. Today we refer to the people as Aztecs, but they called themselves Mexica or Tenochca.
The ancient tribes wandered for many years. In the 1200s they began to settle in the Valley of Mexico, which is in the central part of the country. The area rises about 7,500 feet above sea level. It is surround by tropical rain forests, but the high altitude gave the region a mild climate.
Nahuatl was the language spoken by the Aztecs. Many words we use today came from this ancient language. Aztec words include Acapulco, Mexico, avocado, chocolate, and tomato. The Aztecs developed a form of picture writing. Some pictures represented ideas; other pictures stood for sounds. They did not develop an alphabet, so their writing was limited in what it could express.
Aztec civilization flourished for around 200 years between 1300 and 1520 CE. Through conquest and trade, the Aztecs came to rule over much of the land that is now Mexico.
Activities:
AZTEC CIVILIZATION AND AGRICULTURE
The key to the success of this civilization- the particularity which allowed the Aztecs to build amazing cities- lay in new farming techniques and a skilled agriculture. Through the creative use of new farming techniques, the Aztecs were able to grow an abundance of food. In fact, they had a large enough surplus of some crops, like corn, that they could trade for farm products that did not do well in their valley, like cotton and tropical fruits.
Aztec agriculture involved the following methods and techniques:
- Chinampas- Chinampa is a method of farming that used small, rectangular areas to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Mexican valley. Chinampas were essentially artificial islands created for the crops. An area was staked out in the lake bed, usually about thirty by two and a half meters. Once the area was fenced off, the farmers layered it with mud, sediment, and decaying vegetation until it was above the level of the lake. Trees were also often planted in the corners to help secure the area. These islands then provided rich soil for crops with easy access to water. The farmers used channels between the islands to get to each area by canoe.
- Crop rotation - The Aztecs rotated their crops to keep the soil from becoming depleted. Such good stewardship of their land ensured land could be relied upon in the future.
- Terracing- The Aztec farmers practiced terracing to provide more usable land. In terracing, walls of stone were created in hillsides, then filled in to create deeper soil that could be used, even if the land wasn't flat.
- Irrigation canals - Although the climate was dry, Aztecs tapped into a supply of small, shallow lakes by building irrigation canals to spread the water to their farm fields.
- Family gardens- People also often created their own gardens to grow fruits and vegetables for their families, although commoners were expected to give tributes to the nobles of their land, according to the societal hierarchy
Activities:
- Play Wheeler Dealer simulation game to explore how Aztecs traded.
AZTEC CITIES
The fact that agriculture ensured a reliable food supply for the Aztecs allowed them ample leisure time to construct remarkable cities and temples.
The Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was built on an island in the Lake Texcoco. Today, this is the sire of Mexico City, the modern capital of Mexico. The Aztec Indians had already built one of the most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere by. the time Columbus made his first voyage to the Americas. Archaeologists believe that the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan may have had a population of over 200,000. This was larger than any city in Spain or England during the same time.
How did the Aztecs, a wandering peoples, find a place to settle, farm, and create magnificent cities? The Aztecs believed they were born in the bowels of the earth and entered the world through seven caves. At first, they settled in Aztlan, a still undiscovered city that archaeologists believe was somewhere along Mexico's northwest coast. About 1100, however, the Aztecs left Aztlan and headed south, settling for short periods in various cities ruled by their neighbors. By the 1300s, they had reached the marshy shores of Lake Texacoco in the broad Valley of Mexico. They found the best land already occupied by more powerful immigrants who had arrived earlier. So they settled for an empty island in the middle of the lake, serving as mercenaries for more powerful tribes for more than 50 years and learning how to coax food from the wet soils. To survive, they even harvested algae and dried it into cakes.
Eventually, however, the servant Aztecs rebelled against their masters, and seized power themselves. Acting on a tribal prophecy, they began building a city on the island after seeing an eagle perched on a cactus. The city, called Tenochtitlan, soon became the capital of a vast empire that blossomed in the early 1300s. It boasted grand canals, enormous market squares, and gaudy temples, and was inhabited and fueled by a wealthy class of priests, warriors, traders, and tax collectors, who directed a highly organized society. More than 300,000 people lived in the city alone.
Activities:
- Take an online field trip to Teotihuacan, the ancient city of the Aztecs which now lies beneath Mexico City.
- Watch an online film about Aztec cities and architecture.
AZTEC CALENDARS
Aztecs used two calendars-- one for farming and another for religious ceremonies and festivals. The farming calendar divided the year into 365 days and told farmers when exactly to plant each crop. This calendar was known as the xiuhpohualli, the counting of years. This was a 365 day year, of course very helpful for planning your farming and predicting the weather. There were 18 months, each 20 days long, or 4 (5 day) weeks. Then to bring the year up to 365 days there were 5 "unlucky" days added. Each year would also be divided into 4 seasons.
The religious calendar, known as the tonalpohualli, divided the year into 260 days. Priests used this calendar to keep track of religious ceremonies and rituals which the Aztecs believed determined the good fortune they would have in the coming year. The rituals were all divided up among the gods, which the Aztecs thought was important because a balance needed to be maintained among the gods. Aztecs believed that problems, including droughts, storms, forest fires, etc, to be a result of imbalance in nature's forces.
There were 20 signs, and 13 numbers. Like a gear within a gear, each of the 20 signs would be assigned each of the 13 numbers. 13x20=260, the total number of days in the "sacred year". The 13 day period is a kind of Aztec week. Not only was every day ruled by a god, each of the weeks were also ruled by a god - the one associated with the first day.
To keep track of these two calendar cycles, one giving directions to farming families and the other planning palace events, a huge calendar stone was constructed in the Great Temple. That stone measured 12 feet in diameter and weighed 24 tons.
These two cycles together formed a 52 year "century", sometimes called the Calendar Round.The calendric year began with the first appearance of the Pleiades asterism in the east immediately before the dawn light.
Every month had its name, and the days of the month were numbered from one to twenty. The days of the last month, Nemontemi, were numbered from one to five. The box at the top of the stone contains the stone's year of creation, in this case 1479 CE. The Aztecs constructed this stone from potter's clay.
Activities:
- Find out how your birthday, and the birthdays of your parents and friends, might be represented on an Aztec calendar.
- Make your own model stone calendar using home-made dough and paints.
AZTEC FOOD
The Aztecs are credited with domesticating the wild turkey. In fact, corn and turkey were the two main foods used for religious purposes in sacred festivals.
Of the various crops grown by the Aztecs, maize (or corn) was by far the most important. Aztec diets centered around it. Maize was grown across the entire empire, in the highland terraces, valley farms and also on the chinampas.
Women ground maize into a coarse meal by rubbing it with a grinding stone called a mano against a flat stone called a metate. The Aztecs made tortillas from the corn meal.
Other crops that the Aztecs relied upon were avocados, beans, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chia, amaranth and chilies. These crops were also grown everywhere. Crops that were specific to the lowland regions were cotton, fruits, cacao beans and rubber trees.
Activities:
- Make your own tortillas.
- Drink a cup of hot cocoa in honor of the Aztecs.
AZTEC PICTOGRAMS AND WRITINGS
The Aztecs did not have a written language in the modern sense. However, they did have a means of writing that used pictures.
An ideogram is a character or symbol that represents an idea or thing without expressing the pronunciation of a particular word or words for it. Another word for an ideogram is an ideograph. For example, a circle or disk can represent the sun. If an open eye were drawn inside the circle, its meaning changes. Because the open eye represents being awake, the ideogram represents the concept of day.
A few examples of ideograms in our environment include traffic signs, walk/don't walk signs, school crossing signs, and lodging signs (image of person lying on a bed). Can you think of any more ideograms in our world?
After you are satisfied that students have grasped the concept of ideograms, let them create original ideograms. First, brainstorm a list of words (start with nouns and verbs) that can be easily represented by pictures and symbols. Give students paper and pencils and let them sketch many different ideas.
Next, ask each student to pick one ideogram to recreate in color. Give students time to share their work. Make the conclusion of this activity into a game in which students have to figure out what each ideogram represents. Bind the pictures into a book, or mount them into an Aztec-style codex.
This glyph signified the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan.
The following ideograms and glyphs include important objects to the Aztecs, as well as place names:
Activities:
- Pursue a deeper knowledge of ancient Aztec scripts and writing.
- Print and color this depiction of an Aztec conquest. Then add your own subheadings and translations beneath each image.
- Create your own ideograms. First make a list of words and then draw pictures to represent each one. Keep your key on hand as you create a letter to a family member using your ideograms. Then see if they can understand your letter without using the key.
ACTIVE LEARNING AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Create your own Aztec timeline using your notes and online resources, including an Aztec Timeline, a timeline of Aztec emperors, and the history of Mexico.
- Explore the archaeological digs and discoveries of the Aztec city, Yautepec, online.
- Journey with PBS through the lives of Aztecs, Fierce Wanderers.
- Listen to the Aztec Requiem.
- Watch a video of various Aztec cultural artifacts, historical events, and visual aspects of Aztec culture.
- Take an online field trip to the Museo del Templo Mayor, a museum in Mexico City which includes archaelogical findings and ruins from Aztec cities.
- Aztec Mythology Unit for 4th and 5th graders.
- Aztec Folk Literature Lesson Plan (PDF).
- The Conquest of Aztec Civilization Lesson Plan (PDF).
- Mexico Lessons focusing on Aztec history.
- Try the Amazing Aztecs Cyberhunt.
The Thiele boys, snails, and puppy-dog tails plus the ultimate compost mixture.
The Thiele boys are always a joy. When they visited last week, Jack helped dig a fire-pit while Max and Andrew decided to start working on a composting mix of their own special concoction.
In its final form, this fabulous fertilizer recipe consisted of the following:
- Jalapeno peppers plucked by Micah from Patrick's garden
- Flour
- Soil dug by Jack
- Sand
- Water
- Random grass stems and twigs
- A worm discovered by Andrew Thiele
Its pungent odor was savored by all who chanced near our front door steps that afternoon. My husband, however, thought plants might appreciate it more than guests so he spread it over some wildflowers in our yard.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Micah concentrated on keeping the dogs out of the sandbox.
All's well that ends well.
Yesterday with Micah.
Let's just say it involved two separate incidents with concrete and brick steps. And two separate visits to the emergency room. And two exhausted but relieved parents.
It's good to be out there.
National Wildlife Federation is teaming up with the movie Where The Wild Things Are to launch the national Be Out There campaign to connect kids and families with nature at home, at schools, and in their communities. A few neat links for homeschoolers and parents:
- Where the Wild Things Are Activity Guide for you and your sweet ones
- Where the Wild Things Are Guide for Educators and Parents (and parents who educate)
- Poster
- Let your kids take Ranger Rick's Green Zone Pledge.
- View all the exciting activities and plans created by other parents who are out there.
Go Waggaloo.
Go Waggaloo, a new album by Sara Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie, has beautiful, happy sounds for children. Joined by her husband Johnny Irion, their two young daughters, and a host of other family and friends including Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Tao Rodriguez Seeger, Guthrie presents thoughtful yet playful recordings of traditional songs and new compositions.
The album includes three songs featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie never before put to music and eight songs written by Sarah Lee and family. Go Waggaloo continues the Guthrie song-making tradition forged by Sarah’s grandfather, Woody Guthrie.
You can download a free song from the album and print a copy of the 36-page booklet, for children of all ages at the Smithsonian Folkways website.
Local History Workshop.
Homeschoolers and history-interested parents can still enjoy the Resources page. Also, we will post videos showing a few of the speakers and activities when the workshop wraps up in October.
So far, you can see most of the schedule online at the website above (though this doesn't provide much information about the nitty-gritty). The young historians will learn various skills, including primary source research, cartography, timeline construction, constructing secondary sources and narratives, interpreting archival materials, exploring
They will also have the opportunity to be part of a Living Tuscaloosa Timeline on the evening of Friday, October 15th in which they will act out a character from Tuscaloosa history. A few of the persons we will be discussing include:
- Local family members
- Dinah Washington, "Queen of the Blues"
- Professor Hudson Strode, Renaissance scholar
- Samuel Minturn Peck, Alabama's first poet laureate
- Roland Harper, botanist
- W.S. Hoole
- Johnny Shines, blues musician
- The Tuscaloosa poets associated with the Southron literary journal
- John Beecher, poet, businessman and activist
- Amelia Gayle Gorgas
- Carl Carmer, journalist and author
- Rick Bragg, living journalist and author
- Chief Tuskaloosa
- T. Y. Rogers
- Byron Arnold, folk song collector
- Peter Bryce, doctor
- Millard and Linda Fuller, founders of Habitat for Humanity
- John Drish
- George Edwin Starbuck, poet
- Robert Jemison, Jr.
As the workshop progresses, I'll share some of the many interesting handouts and materials compiled for the benefit of our creative participants.
A few, for starters:
- An excerpt from "What Is Tuscaloosa" by Ben Windham, which we will use as a journal prompt for our own impressions of Tuscaloosa.
- Dinah Washington Biography Handout
In addition, the following have been used to frame and develop various activities and learning opportunities:
- "How Can I Use Oral History in School?"
- Children and Elders Sharing Stories: Lessons From Two Online Oral History Projects
- Oral History in the Classroom
- Oral History Activities
- Oral History Instruction Guide from the Virginia Folklife Association
- Maps and Globes Lesson Plans
- University of Alabama Digital Archives
- University of Alabama Hoole Special Collections Library
- Using Manuscripts and Archives, an online tutorial from Yale
- The Archivists Toolkit
- Bibliomania, a classic. No pun intended.
- Digital Archive of American Architecture
- Southern Mosaic
- US News Archives on the Web
- The Alabama Indian Tribe
- Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
- "The Alabama-Coushatta Indians" by G.E. Moore
- Regional overview of American Indian clothing styles for southeast region
- Alabama Archaeology: Prehistoric Alabama
- "Yellowhammer: An Alabama Folk Tale"
(The image above is kept in the University of Alabama Hoole Special Collections Library, which can be accessed online through the Digital Collections. It shows a creek near "Lake Lorraine", which must have become Lake Lurleen or must have been eradicated by the construction of the Tombigbee Waterway.)
Max and Micah on the slides.
Sometimes slides + sunshine = grimy knees + big grins. I love these times.
Sunday in the park with Patrick.
Sound so much better than "Sunday in the Park with George".
Of course, I'm not posing for an oil painting either....
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