Rescued Book #19: Rabbit Hill

Let’s face it, there are a lot of good books about talking animals –Charlotte’s Web, the Freddy the Pig series, The Wind in the Willows, and Winnie-the-Pooh (I’m counting talking stuffed animals too).  Now I’d like to add another book to the list.  It doesn’t seem to get as much attention even though it won the Newberry Medal in 1945.

Rabbit Hill

Lawson, Robert. New York: Viking, 1944.  128 pp.

Mother & Father Rabbit, Uncle Analdis, and Little Georgie are all a little anxious about the arrival of a new family to the abandoned house.  The last owners were not good stewards of the land—especially the garden where the rabbits looked for food. Of course, there are more than just rabbits living on the hill—we meet deer, fox, squirrels, field mice,  a woodchuck named Porkey, and a skunk named Phewie (I still can’t read that without a giggle).

This is a great read aloud for little ones—everything moves at a slow and gentle pace.  There may be a few moments of anxiety—Georgie is chased by a dog, Willie the mouse falls into a rain barrel; they are resolved quickly so no one will be kept awake wondering what happens next.  Little Georgie is hit by a car, but it happens “off camera” as it were—just the mention of screeching tires and an engine roaring off again.  Georgie is quickly found by the new owners and tended to in the house.  By this point it’s clear to the reader that they care for the little creatures on their property and everything will turn out all right, but Uncle Analdis is a crotchety old rabbit who worries his nephew is being tortured.   In the end, the folks erect a St. Francis of Assisi statue in the garden and lay out food for the animals who in turn agree to protect the garden.  It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside (but I still cringe when I see a squirrel taking off with one of my green tomatoes).

Mr. Lawson wrote Rabbit Hill near the end of World War II and I’m sure his theme of “can’t we all just get along” was the hope of many.  My copy was discarded by the Indianapolis Public Library.

You can find a list of all my Rescued Books here.

Review: Apologia Christian Worldview Curriculum

 

Do you ever get that odd feeling as your vacation draws to an end?  Your still relaxed and enjoying your trip, but there’s a little sadness because you know it’s going to end soon.  I’m feeling that way now, because we’re coming to the end of our worldview studies with Apologia Educational Ministries.  The  fourth and final book in the What We Believe series is What on Earth Can I Do? ($39.00).  We were introduced to the series when we reviewed book #2 Who Am I?  I was so impressed with it that I purchased the first book so we could “catch up.”  And we reviewed book #3 Who is My Neighbor in 2012 (I’ll link to my other reviews at the bottom).  If you’re new to the series, please check the other books and consider using them in order (the authors recommend this for the most effective teaching).  In addition to the text book we received:

What On Earth Can I Do Notebooking Journal  ($24.00)
What on Earth Can I Do? Junior Notebooking Journal ($24.00)
What on Earth Can I Do? Coloring Book ($8.00)

The hardback textbook contains eight lessons:

1. Your Story or God’s Story
2. Who Put You in Charge
3. Will You be Found Faithful?
4. Where is Your Treasure
5. Where Does Your Time Go?
6. Whose Life is it Anyway?
7. Why Isn’t it Easy Being Green"?
8. What Will Happen When the Master Returns

The overall theme of stewardship is taught with fictional stories, Bible excerpts, references to pop culture and historical figures, vocabulary and scripture to memorize. Chapters always begin with The Big Idea to introduce the topic.  Three bullet points called What You Will Do summarize the remainder of the chapter. Next comes what my Schnickelfritz calls the “Not-so Short Story.”  The first 4 chapters tell the serialized story of two children stuck in London during The Blitz.  The final 4 chapters focus on a family living on the Serengeti.  There is an opportunity to discuss the story while answering the Think About It questions, then kids will prepare for the meat of the lesson by studying Words You Need to Know and memorizing the Hide It In Your Heart verses. The lessons end with a call to action called What Should I Do and a Prayer. 

Then it’s story time again.  This book greatly fleshes out some of The Parables of Jesus: The Prodigal Son,  The Talents, The Generous Vineyard Owner, The Rich Fool, The Great Banquet, The Wheat & the Tares, The Landlord’s Son, and The Mustard Seed.  What Jesus told in a few verses have been expanded to give historical facts and cultural backgrounds that the original audience would have known. The stories are 4-8 pages in length.

The curriculum can be used with kids in 1st-6th grades, obviously it may have to be read aloud to younger kids.  To accommodate different levels of handwriting skills Apologia provides two different coil-bound workbooks: the Notebooking Journal for ages 10 and up  and the Junior Notebooking Journal for ages 6-9. I love that both have a place for the student to write their names on the cover in the “Written By” box.  That truly gives them ownership of a place to practice penmanship, take notes from the text, write out prayers and praises, and scrapbook service projects.  You’ll also find word searches,  crossword puzzles, mini-books (think lap booking), and coloring pages (in the Junior edition).  For the very young kids, you may prefer to just let them color in the coloring book while you’re reading or working with older kids.  The pictures relate back to the stories and parables.

Jr. vocabulary is just fill in the blank

After the story, older students have comprehension questions while Jr. notebook-ers color

Jr. crossword puzzles have much fewer words and larger spaces to write

Both journals contain a suggestion syllabus working through each lesson in two weeks, with assignments 3 days per week.  For the most part the reading will be the same for both older and younger students (I did notice a few days being off by a page or two) so you could just read it aloud to all your kids.  With several years’ experience under our belts, I’ve found this pace to be too fast to maintain.  We prefer making worldview studies a daily activity and alternate between reading days and journaling days.  Some days I even break the reading into smaller portions –the parables and short stories are long enough on their own so I don’t require any other reading those days. 

While he’s old enough to do his own writing, I sometimes act as his scribe so he can concentrate on forming complete thoughts and working through complex ideas.  This is usually on days we’re analyzing the parables. On days when he’s writing prayers and praises, etc. I allow him privacy to share thoughts and concerns with his Savior.

We’ll be saving the rest of What on Earth Can I Do? for next year’s schoolwork.  Then I’ll be storing the series away for any grandkids that may come along –that’s how much a blessing these books have been to our family.  Now, as I promised, here are links to my reviews of earlier books in the series.

Who Is My Neighbor Review

Who Am I Review

E is for Elephant Rocks

Well, here we are on Memorial Day weekend—the kick off to all things summer and you’d like to do something outdoors.  Why not take a hike with the family?  Get a little fresh air and exercise, see the flora and the fauna.  What about some giant red granite boulders that have eroded over the year and somewhat resemble giant pink elephants?  That’s how Elephant Rocks State Park earned it’s name.

The granite in the area has been quarried since 1869.  If you visit St. Louis you may see it in the city hall, or the piers of the Eads Bridge spanning the Mississippi River, or even under your feet as cobblestones on the wharf or Lacledes landing. The granite has been used in buildings from coast to coast and is also frequently used for cemetery headstones.

In 1967, the area became a state park.  Two big positives----1) It’s a state park so it’s FREE (homeschoolers love that word). 2) The main 1-mile trail is handicap accessible—paved for wheelchairs and the signage includes braille.  There are spurs off the trail that lead to the top of the mountain or overlooking one of the original quarries (now filled with water).

In a lot of state parks and nature sites you’re warned to stay on the trail and don’t touch the flowers and plants.  Here the main attraction are granite rocks—you can’t really hurt them.  Climb over them – try to make them roll (nobody has succeeded so far). 

The only possible downsides to the park: 1) If you’re a young Earth creationist you probably want to skip the signage and teacher’s resources which is filled with “billions of years.”  Just enjoy the scenery as God created it.  2) It’s in the middle of nowhere—about 90 minutes south of St. Louis, 50 miles being rural roads.  If you’re going to drive this far, make it your destination.  You can’t camp at Elephant Rocks, but just 15 minutes away is Johnson Shut Ins State Park with camping, lodges, and some of the best swimmin’ holes in the state.  I’m sharing that now since I have something else picked for my J post.

Think you might like to visit?  Check out this video…

 

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Rescued Book #18: The Illustrated Junior Library

We’re expanding this week!  Rather than talk about a single book, I’ve got a whole series to share with you. You’re probably already familiar with the individual stories: Little Women, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Jungle Book, etc. but haven’t seen them in this format. 

I have to confess that my apprehension in moving to a Kindle and the world of eReading was that I’d miss books like those in the collection…hardbacks with cloth covers and the title in gold lettering on the spine.  What makes the series more remarkable is that they were designed for young adults, hence the title “The Illustrated Junior Library.” 

First published in the 1940’s by Grosset & Dunlap, these books didn’t “talk down” to their audience—simplifying words or shortening long passages.  These books are all unabridged (with the exception of the Three Musketeers, I don’t know if it was for length or content).  Dotted throughout the text are black and white sketches and every one in a while you’re rewarded with a full color illustration.

My first IJL titles came from my stepfather.  He’d saved Black Beauty, Little Men and the Jungle Book from his childhood.  Since then I’m always looking for other titles to add to my collection.  Now I have Little Women, Tom Sawyer, Gulliver’s Travels, and Swiss Family Robinson on my bookshelves. 

If you’re only exposure to these classics is through movie adaptations and watered down kiddy versions then you’re missing a lot.  Let’s look at Swiss Family Robinson.  Yes, I love watching the Disney film with my son but the term “based on the book” should probably be “loosely based.”  Mr. Disney left out a son and added a love triangle and a boatload of pirates.   Director Ken Annakin admitted in a 2002 interview “What we did was more or less throw Wyss’ book away.” 

Johan Wyss was a Swiss minister and he wrote the book to teach his own four sons about family values and self-reliance.  You remember the scene in the movie where they ride the ostrich and other animals in a race?  In the film, this holiday was to disperse some tension from all the preparations for the pirates.  Here’s the reason for the fête in the book. 

I turned my thoughts, as I lay waiting for sunrise, to considering what length of time we had now passed on this coast, and discovered, to my surprise, that the very next day would be the anniversary of our escape from the wreck. My heart swelled with gratitude to the gracious God, who had then granted us deliverance, and ever since had loaded us with benefits; and I resolved to set tomorrow apart as a day of thanksgiving, in joyful celebration of the occasion.    

It’s these God-honoring passages that get tossed first in the abridgements.

Here is a list of titles in the Illustrated Junior Library series (this came from my 1950 copy of The Jungle Book, so other titles may have been added).

• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Adventures of Pinocchio
• Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Aesop’s Fables
• Alice in Wonderland
• Andersen’s Fairy Tales
• Arabian Nights
• Black Beauty
• Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
• Grimm’s Fairy Tales
• Gulliver’s Travels
• Hans Brinker
• Heidi
• Jo’s Boys
• Jungle Book
• Kidnapped
• King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
• Little Lame Prince
• Little Men
• Little Women
• Robinson Crusoe
• Swiss Family Robinson
• Tale of Two Cities
• Treasure Island

The good news for collectors is that many of these books have been reprinted since the 40’s.  My copy of Tom Sawyer was published in 1977 and Treasure Island is from 1994, but they are still crafted like books that deserve to be cherished.

You can find a list of all my Rescued Books here.

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D is for Daniel Boone Home

This week’s ABC Blogging Across Missouri destination may come as a surprise to most folks – Daniel Boone in Missouri?  I thought that guy was from Kentucky.  (If you said Tennessee, then your thinking of Davy Crockett. Your confusion is natural as Fess Parker portrayed both men while wearing a coon skin cap).

Well,  Boone is famous for blazing the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and exploring and settling what is now Kentucky but he wasn’t born there, he didn’t die there, and at the time of exploration the territory was part of the Virginia colony.

In 1799, Daniel Boone and many of his adult children’s families went west in search of some elbow room.  He was 65 at the time and the Spanish government offered him the position of “syndic” (a judge or justice of the peace) in the Upper Louisiana Territory.

Does that come as another surprise –that I wrote Spanish and not French?  Well, at the end of the Seven Years’ War (the French and Indian War in North America), France secretly negotiated to give its land west of the  Mississippi River to Spain before being force to cede it to England in defeat.  The Spanish controlled the land from 1762 to 1802.  Napoleon reacquired the territory in 1800 (although he continued to let Spain administer it) before finally selling it to the United States in 1803.

Boone was evidently kept busy with his syndic duties –he received a special dispensation from the Spanish Governor not to be held to the requirement of clearing and farming the land grant, he built only a small cabin for he and his wife and eventually moved into son Nathan’s home.  This is in fact the building referred to as the Daniel Boone Home today.

He held court under a tree very near the Missouri River in what’s now St. Charles county.  By all accounts he was wise and fair.  In one case disputing the ownership of a cow, he had to side with the plaintiff which meant taking the animal away from an old widow.  Boone did what the law required and then gave the widow a better, healthier cow from his own herd.

 

The stone structure you visit today as the Daniel Boone Home was built between 1803 and 1810. It’s four stories tall if you include the attic (the lowest level holds the kitchen and could be considered one of the first walk-out basements). 

According to the historical plaque the walls are 2 1/2 feet thick, made of blue limestone. Can you see the black spots on either side of the windows?  Those are rifle holes in case of Indian attack.  Daniel Boone carved the five fireplaces out of black walnut.

It was here that Daniel Boone died Sept. 26, 1820.   He was surrounded by family and spoke kind words to everyone.  He was buried next to his wife Rebecca a few miles away near Marthasville, MO.

The property is owned and operated by Lindenwood University.  Since my visits as a schoolchild, they’ve added a historic village with a one room schoolhouse, mercantile, a chapel and gristmill.  Every fall they host Pioneer Days with historical music and games and you can listen to a Daniel Boone re-enactor share his adventures.  In the summer they hold a week-long day camp for 10-18 year olds to learn blacksmithing, Dutch oven cooking, tomahawk throwing, black powder rifle, and animal tracking. 

The tour for the home and village is $12/adult, $10/senior, $6/ages 4-11. 

If you’re in the area and willing to take a little drive you can stop by the Judgment Tree memorial (a new tree has been planted) and the original gravesite.  In 1845, a delegation from Kentucky excavated some of the larger remaining bone fragments to bury at a monument in that state.  By today’s standards, it’s not a big controversy but they might not have taken the right remains.  The graves weren’t marked with headstones at the time of internment…someone else may have been buried next to Rebecca and Daniel had to be placed at her feet… the slave that pointed out the graves to the Kentuckians may have purposely misled them to one of a black man.  At best, both state can claim to have a part of the man.  A local historian may have put it best—Kentucky may have his bones, but his heart remains in Missouri.

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Review: Micro Business for Teens

I think most parents would agree that education isn’t just about how many facts and figures we can cram into those little heads.  We teach our kids to give them tools and guidelines that will benefit them in their future endeavors – be it business, medicine, or running an organized home.   That’s why I jumped on the chance to review Micro Business for Teens. I’m sure my son’s college admission or first job offer won’t pend on whether or not he can list all the presidents in order, but for him to be able to state he started and managed his own business….well, that may open a few doors.  If not, he has the tools to start another one.

We received three eBook PDF files:

• Starting a Micro Business
• Running a Micro Business
• Micro Business for Teens Workbook

 

I was familiar with the term “small business” as both my father and grandfather had their own companies, but not “micro business.”  In case you’re in the same boat, let’s go over some of the characteristics and why they work for teens.

• Simple and fast to start up—Immediate gratification, not months and months of planning.
• Usually only one worker—no complications of payroll tax, Social Security Administration or unemployment to worry about.
• Sole proprietorship—no contracts, partnership negotiations, or lawyers to file incorporation documents.  Also makes closing a business much simpler.
• Little start up money needed—starting a microbusiness shouldn’t mean taking on debt
• Usually home-based—no need to rent space, easy to move (when the teen goes to college)
• Low risk—you don’t have to be the next Bill Gates or create something entirely new, it can be a time-proven option like mowing lawns or babysitting
• Manageable—teens still need time for school and socializing.  A micro business should be similar to working a part time job.
• The worker can learn while earning—a teen can earn money and learn time-management, marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, etc..

Now about the specific books

 

Starting a Micro Business ($4.95 eBook, $9.95 pbk)

Seven chapters in sixty pages.  After learning what a micro business is (basically the points I made above), the teen will spend time getting ideas for a business, learning what possible problems might be encountered, writing a business plan, finding ways to finance the business,  find links to research common businesses for teens, and finally be encouraged and motivated through the process.

Throughout the text, you’ll find boxes with brief examples of teens who have started their own business to show it really is possible.

 

 

Running a Micro Business ($4.95 eBook, $9.95 pbk)

This slightly more complicated subject is covered in eighty pages, broken into nine chapters.  This is the day-to-day stuff vital to any going concern: Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Bookkeeping,  Software, Legal Names, Insurance, and Time Management.

There are some great tools here to help define a target audience,  how to record transactions, and how to reduce risk with insurance.  These can be very complicated subjects and in some case the author suggests that you confer with a lawyer or accountant or read a third book (not part of this review) Money and Taxes in a Micro Business.

 

 

 

Micro Business for Teens Workbook

($9.95 eBook, $14.95 pbk)

This 102 page book has chapter that correspond to those in both the Starting and Running eBooks (the Legal Names & Numbers are Reducing Risk chapters from Running a Micro Business have been combined).

Most chapters begin with a fill-in-the-blank exercise to review the chapter.   Then come blank forms to brainstorm business ideas, write a business plan, determine start up costs and the cost of your product or service,  record helpful websites, books and mentors, create a sales presentation, To Do lists, hour by hour schedules, etc.

 

 

The series is designed for 10-18 year olds, so my Schnickelfritz is on the younger end of the spectrum.  I chose to read it aloud to him so I could add more explanation (I was an accountant in my former life and took many business courses).  We loaded the eBooks as documents on the Kindle Fire and printed out pages as we needed from the workbook.  He stuck with me through the brainstorming and creative activities of coming up with a business, but lost enthusiasm when we started to learn how to run a micro business.  As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.  I wouldn’t call him lazy, but he’s not driven to earn money right now.  He’s too young for a car.  He’s content with the games and books he has now– I can’t even get him to name two or three things he’d like for his birthday or Christmas.  I’ve thought of creating a need – like making him pay for his karate lessons, etc.  For now, I’ll just hold onto the books – everything I read was very sound advice, and see if a business drive develops with another year or two of maturity.

I hope you’ll indulge me for just a moment while I pull out my soapbox.  I’ve heard from more than one source that Common Core is designed to churn out compliant workers with no creativity, critical thinking, or entrepreneurial  skills—and yet the unemployment rate for this year’s college graduates may be as high as 16.8 percent.  If they’ve been groomed for one thing and that thing isn’t available, what are they to do?  Thank goodness for home schooling and curriculum like Micro Business for Teens to help prepare our kids for productive and fulfilling futures.

 

Rescued Book #17: Centerburg Tales

Have you ever seen a long lost friend years, maybe decades later, and felt that instant sense of reconnection?  They same thing can happen with books – at least for this bibliophile.  I love it when I spot a book from my childhood that I can share with my son.  That’s the case with this weeks book….

Centerburg Tales

McCloskey, Robert.  New York: Viking, 1951. 191 pp.
Centerburg Tales and its predecessor, Homer Price take us back to a kinder, gentler time in America.  Boys and girls play jacks and spin tops around the town monument—the toys courtesy of the Whoopsy-Doodle Breakfast Food Company when you mailed in a cereal box top.  They go and watch serial movies on Saturday mornings and on other days they’re willing to listen to a town elder spin his tall tales of days gone by (while enjoying a donut at the local diner).
Homer and his family live in the town of Centerburg, Ohio.  I don’t know if it’s because his parents are so busy running the campground where they live, or because they’re too grounded but McCloskey chooses to focus on the more colorful members of the family like Grandpa Hercules and Uncle Ulysses (notice a theme here…Homer, Hercules, Ulysses?).  There’s also the town sheriff (hangs out at the donut shop of course) and his spoonerisms—that’s where you juxtapose your consonants like “Smoley Hoax” instead of “Holy Smokes.”
The chapters of both books make their own stand alone stories: a rich matron loses her diamond bracelet in the donut making machine, Homer thwarts a gang of robbers with his pet skunk.  The Centerburg Tales are a little more far fetched…the top secret Experiment 13 seeds turn out to be Godzilla sized ragweed plants…the whole town is paralyzed because they can’t get the lyrics of a really obnoxious song out of their heads.  Here they are below searching the library for a cure…

As whimsical and charming as the stories are the pictures.  If the style seems familiar, you’re probably recognize the work of Robert McCloskey.  He wrote and illustrated the childhood classics Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal.    If you buy your own copy of the book, do yourself a favor and get the hardback so the illustrations will be bigger (my Schnickelfritz loved to study them while I read).  If your child is too young to read to themselves, you might also consider the audiobooks – the narrator does wonderful voices.

My copy of Centerburg Tales was discarded by Parkwood Elementary school.  I hate to think what modern rubbish they needed to clear the shelf space for when they got rid of this treasure.
You can find a list of all my Rescued Books here.

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