Candles

candle

One of our Brave Moms mentioned the power of candles to calm the atmosphere and induce her children to copywork. Her post on Scratch Pad reminded me of the power of candles in the homeschool!

We’ve used them in the following three ways:

  • For copywork (light one in the middle of the table)
  • For teatime (several tea lights look gorgeous with teatime)
  • For quiet hour (I used to light a candle in the living room for half an hour of quiet reading every day. The whole house had to be quiet until I blew out the candle.)

Candles soothe children and adults alike. Let us know any other creative uses for candles in the homeschool!

Posted in Brave Writer Philosophy, Copywork Quotations, General | Comments Off on Candles

Tuesday Teatime: Secret of the Andes

Here are a couple of photos of our tea time table and my two girls, who love tea time.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

In the photos with the girls, we had homemade scones, books of the girls’ selection and “Secret of the Andes.” It was in September, and we’d only been doing tea time for a couple of weeks. The photo without kids shows our first tea time ever. I set it up as a surprise for the kids and we had to have store-bought cookies; it was a rushed sort of day and I was just determined that we were going to do tea time, even if I had to take a short cut.

This week we’re adding something new to tea time. We’ll still do some reading, of course, and discuss what we read, but we’re adding in some art appreciation, too. We’ll look at some art prints and do some observation and discussion Charlotte-Mason-style; each month we’ll switch packets of art prints within a group of 10 or so families. Each packet features a different artist or style, and I’m looking forward to learning a little about art as we linger over our tea and having another source of inspiration for writing ideas. Plus, it will save me from getting hoarse when the kids say, “read more, Mumma, read MORE!”

My girls are 8.5 and 5, by the way.

A Brave Mom

Posted in General, Poetry Teatime | Comments Off on Tuesday Teatime: Secret of the Andes

Little House Copywork Idea

My daughter (9) and I are reading the Little House books. She is choosing to do copywork from On the Banks of Plum Creek. We discovered that we could also Xerox the pictures (they are ink drawings) and she could color them to go with her copywork!

She used our Prismacolor colored pencils to color them in. Gorgeous!

At the end of the book, we will combine her pictures and copywork into a bound product (Kinko’s binds for cheap). She’s enjoying the whole process and I thought I’d pass on this idea to other kids who enjoy the books and the idea of coloring.

Posted in Copywork Quotations, General | Comments Off on Little House Copywork Idea

Friday Freewrite: Television

What would happen if there were no television? Why would this be good? bad?

Posted in Friday Freewrite, General | Comments Off on Friday Freewrite: Television

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The most recent version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” features Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. It’s just been released on video in the last month. If you’ve not seen this movie, it would be a good one for kids who don’t mind fantasy and who can tolerate weirdness. (I mention this since as a kid, I couldn’t handle either very well.)

One of the benefits of a newer version of the film is that there is an older version that can also be viewed for comparison! The 1970s version of the same story (which is a novel by Roald Dahl) is called “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and stars Gene Wilder.

If you read the book and watch both versions, you are now practicing a principle that I like to call “multiple exposures.” One of the best ways to increase your facility in the ability to analyze literature, art, music, even nature is to encounter the same story, song, style or setting in multiple interpretations.

How is Johnny Depp’s interpretation of Willy Wonka different than Gene Wilder’s? Which is truer to the book? What characteristics do they each choose to emphasize?

Now consider the actors who plays Charlie in each film. What choices do these actors make in how they portray Charlie that work? Which don’t work?

Which movie is more faithful to the original novel? Do you prefer one to the other? Why does either (both) of them alter the story for the sake of the movie? Does it work?

Notice the artistic conception of the factory and the costumes and Charlie’s home. What do the films have in common with each other and what is different? Do you like the Oompa Loompas better in one than the other?

Don’t turn this into a report. Simply converse using some of these questions as dialog openers. This is the kind of questioning that lays a foundation for skills like compare and contrast. It helps to be intentional about noticing the choices both writers and directors make in telling the same story. Over time, these skills translate into comparing and contrasting ideas, and making critical judgments in writing.

It’s always a good idea to read the novel on which a film is based too. And just so you know: I don’t think it matters one whit if you see the movie before reading the book or not. I never cared to read the LOTR series or any Jane Austen until I had seen them in film. My enjoyment of those books was not diminished at all.

Sometimes film catalyzes an interest in reading and sometimes reading catalyzes an interest in viewing. Both are good. 🙂

Posted in General, Wednesday Movies | Comments Off on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory