What comes to mind when you hear this title:
The Cookie Incident
Write it!
Inspired by this pin. Image by eyeliam (cc)
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Archive for September, 2014
Harry Potter kick
Hi Julie,
My kids are on a big Harry Potter kick. My 9 year old daughter has written several Daily Prophets for our reading pleasure, including tidbits such as:
Self Stir
The cauldron shop is now selling self stirring
cauldrons as well as pure gold silver and patterned that
sing and warn you if your potion is poisonous
Don’t trip grip
shoes that tie themselves don’t let you
trip and hurry you up. Even come fancy
Pop wiz fly
the new candies make you puke bleed sing fly wiz and more
hats that make your head disappear and portable swamps
all for sale now.
Hogwarts Express
Parents are to be reminded to send children to platform
9 and 3/4 by leaning not running unless very careful
Again?
Professor Rich tried again to find a way to stop the
crusio curse and is again in Saint Mungos for serious
injuries. more on page A2
The Daily Prophets were entirely my daughter’s own idea. How or where she got the tabloid format, I have no idea.
My more mathematically inclined son drew maps of Portkey sites, coded and numbered. Then wrote lists and lists of times of departures and arrivals like a bus schedule! It’s interesting to see where both kids take an idea on their own. They have played magic school, practiced their spells, written letters (delivered by owl stuffies), read every book, watched every movie etc etc.
What I find even more magical is that they are 9 and 11 years old and can still play this imaginatively and this seriously with an idea. Talk about being hooked. I want to read them the Narnia series but don’t dare start it until this one runs its course.
I have to leave you with one more bit of delightfulness. Attached is a picture of our Mandrake (I couldn’t resist when I saw the pattern on Ravelry – you have to have props after all) reading his newspaper (invented jointly by both giggling children as a surprise for me one morning). The featured headlines are:
Mr. Howard A. Mandrake insulted by wizards
Raspberries growing well
Screams for charity go well
SPORTS
Sandspit Roots beat the Leaves 3 to 2 in soccer
STOCKS
Mandrake dollar down 0.32 cents
to fall at $0.972 Elven dollars
Human farms doing well Over 7000 humans cultivated
Young Mandrake needed for Military!
Plants for sale
red tag days start at 1.99 per plant!
Mrs. Elizabeth had a baby!
Root dollies now carved
Kind regards, Linda
Image (cc)
Movie Wednesday: Enjoy it with loved ones!
Watch a film today with your kids!
Movies are just as important as the novel was in its hey-day. Movies are not a sub-standard art form that only the poorly educated enjoy. On the contrary, film today is just as important as literature and we would do well to enjoy it and study it, rather than to shun, condescend to and disapprove of it. —from Brave Writer Goes to the Movies
Need help commenting meaningfully on plot, characterization, make-up and costumes, acting, setting and even film editing? Check out our eleven page guide. Also, tell us about a film you and your kids watched together (along with a pic if you have one) and if we share it on the blog you’ll receive a free copy!
Image of WALL-E figures by Morgan (cc cropped)
Poetry Teatime: Mindfulness practice
This is our first year implementing the Brave Writer Lifestyle. Today was our first day, and the Poetry Tea was a huge hit with my son. We did our baking the night before so that we could easily transition to other activities. Elliot helped by boiling water for tea, setting the table, choosing the linens and picking several poems to read aloud. He enjoyed adding milk and sugar to his tea and stirring it with a spoon– I think he drank at least four cups between bites of banana bread and ginger snaps.
We took our time and savored the experience. It felt like a rare occasion to share this time together, which was different than our normal routine. Less utilitarian. Less objective driven. His reading of Longfellow’s Day is Done melted my heart, especially the line:
Then read from the treasured volume
the poem of thy choice
and lend to the rhyme of the poet
the beauty of thy voice.
I once began our school time by reading a poem, but this experience was better. Pairing poetry with tea calls for a slowing down, like a mindfulness practice to center us. It also gives the learner more responsibility to select a work, to create an atmosphere and to actively participate in a simple yet timeless tradition. I didn’t feel like I was presenting information to be absorbed, hoping that he would finally understand the value or the meaning behind the words. The meaning came from the sharing.
Thank you for the direction that the Brave Writer Lifestyle offers. For the first time in four years, I’m no longer anxious or stressed about teaching writing. Even if we struggle sometimes, we’ll look forward to our tea.
Banana Bread Recipe
The banana bread recipe was adapted from our Betty Crocker Cookbook, but I reduced the sugar by 1/3. It is also lactose free.
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter or margarine (we use lactose free Smart Balance with flaxseed oil, but coconut oil would add a tender texture!)
2 large eggs
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup almond milk or water
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour (could substitute with gluten free flour and xanthan gum)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)
Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom only of mini loaf pans (this recipe makes four mini loaves).
Combine sugar with all the wet ingredients. Gently mix. Stir in dry ingredients but do not over blend. Too much stirring makes the result tough. (less is better, keep it lumpy!)
Bake mini loaves 30-35 min until golden brown and almost split on the top. Cool completely before slicing so that the bread does not get crumbly. Store in a ziplock for up to four days…as if they would last that long!
Serve with your favorite tea and poems.
Sincerely,
Jenny
Visit our Poetry Teatime website!
Take advantage of fall
For those of you in the northern hemisphere, fall is about to be underway. Energy for activity and education surge in the fall. It’s the “back to school,” “new books” syndrome where the re-enchantment of education is awakened.
Take full advantage of this moment. I liked to plan my most ambitious projects for fall—the report, the scaled model of a fortress, field trips, the brand new curricula that requires me to read the notes and learn the system, the long read aloud novel.
Fall energy isn’t just found in you. Your kids have it too. Summer’s heat is behind you and fresh air and bright skies are inviting. Take some of your schooling out of doors. Have picnics, go to parks for recreation, take walks in the woods or on the beach, go hiking in search of birds or to identify trees. Reward hard work with outdoor activity—even kicking a soccer ball in the backyard every day is a great way to keep the energy going in fall.
In our neighborhood, bonfires are popular and a great way to have family time in a fall evening. Memorized poetry can be shared around a bonfire, or someone might play a guitar and sing alongs can be encouraged. Perhaps teach your kids American folk songs like “O Susanna” and “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
Candle-dipping, pumpkin carving, star-gazing—all awesome in the fall.
Cross-posted on facebook. Image by Philippe Put (cc text added)
