Special Guest--Beyond Bluestocking, Part 1

First, let me offer a sincere apology for my absence.  Holidays, illness, semester finals . . . it was a bit much to keep up with and offer a quality post.  I did have a bit of time to investigate other blogs and found a gem.

Beyond Bluestocking is a new friend and wonderful thinker, one who contemplates any number of things on any given day.  She says:

Calvinist or Arminian? …..Is Charlotte Mason’s philosophy on education better than the Classical method? …….. What on earth shall I cook for dinner?  These are some of the questions that occupy my time. In my spare time, I homeschool my four children, love my husband, occasionally clean my house, read lots, play with my new EOS 1000D, and try to gain a technical knowledge worthy of my I’m-so-in-love-with-it Macintosh G4 power book.

The Bluestockings were a group of women who wanted more education, more literary involvement. I love books, I enjoy politics, learning is like a drug, and I like the idea that women have talents and skills.  I am a bible believing, old paths, literal six day creationist Christian, with conservative political leanings, a desire to see families strengthened, a thirst for truth, a mild redneck flavour to my view of life, and an inclination to share.  I want not to be lured into thinking that education of itself is worthy of worship. Hence, the goal to go beyond the feminist mindset I had been raised with.  I wanted to remind myself that while education is important, there is something more, something better!

Her book reviews are based on this philosophy and a sound knowledge of her childrens' interests, capabilities and limits.  Hailing from the land down under, Australia, she offers to broaden our library a bit.  She has kindly agreed to let me share some with you.


I have been madly pre-reading in attempts to find, and stockpile, appropriate books for the four little Bluestockings to while away the hours of our upcoming travel.  After listening to The Scarlet Pimpernel on Librivox (Karen Savage does a fantastic job of reading!), the Chicklette(my daughter) begged me to read The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, so she could take both books on holidays. This was no great hardship.  While the historical characters are not strictly drawn, these books are a gentle, amusing, although sometimes improbable, introduction to the Reign of Terror, post the French Revolution. I’m not sure if a boy would enjoy them so much: for my girls, it was just enough dashing adventure and suspense,with a slender thread of romance woven through, to keep them asking for more.


Wolf by the Ears, by Ann Rinaldi, is the story of Harriet Hemmings. Born to the slave mistress of Thomas Jefferson, she is fair skinned with red hair, and is raised in a hazy no man’s land, between slavery and privilege.  The book details her struggle to come to terms with the reality of her slave status; the truth of her parentage; and the frightening reality that should her master, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of independence, die, she could be sold to pay his debts.  This was an interesting read, but given the adult themes (not so much the slavery, as the relationships) I have given it a 16 years rating for our household. 

Hope you find these as interesting as I did.  There is more Beyond Bluestocking to come!

Holiday Gift Ideas—Games, Part 2

Today’s recommendation is also for high school students. My Word Coach is another game for college bound high school students, though you need not wait until junior/senior year to start it. This game is designed primarily to build the player’s vocabulary. There are both DS and Wii versions, though the DS version is $20 cheaper. The games were released in 2007 and have multiple save slots, allowing for more than one player. My Word Coach players take a placement test to determine their level and are then given a daily point goal. Correct answers in the training games award points. When the goal is reached, players are encouraged to wait and play the next day. Here are the training games in My Word Coach:

* Missing Letter –provide the missing letter in a given word.
* Split Decision – match a word to correct definition in shortest possible time.
* Word Shuffle – match definition with the right word (multiple words and definitions).
* Pasta Letters – spell the scrambled word (definition given as clue).
* Block Letters – select blocks to spell words from the chalkboard list (Tetris-like game).
* Safecracker – spell the mystery word faster than the computer opponent (definition given)

This game won’t help much if purchased right before the SAT; however, with weeks of daily work, usually only 15-20 minutes a day, the benefits are more than worth the purchase. I recommend the DS version because use of the stylus in spelling games uses muscle memory to reinforce the learning. The more ways we learn something, the more sense we use to learn it, the more deeply the knowledge is absorbed.

Holiday Gift Ideas—Games, Part 1

What games do you get as gifts for a student? If I let my boys pick, it will be nothing but blood, battles, and skateboarding. Here is one alternative for high school students.

There are many “My Coach” games for Nintendo DS and even some for Wii. Top of my list to consider is My SAT Coach. It was released last September and is a single player game for the DS. One thing to mention right away is that there are no extra save spots. Only one person can play this and their progress is recorded automatically. If anyone else plays it that will “taint” the original player’s scores. So buy it for one person. My SAT Coach is designed to help people learn and/or to improve their SAT test scores. Here is the key feature list for the game:

* Build Knowledge - Practice key skills and subjects in all the different subsections of the SAT test or gauge your knowledge by taking a sample test from The Princeton Review
* Follow-Up - Track your overall progress in all SAT topics including arithmetic, geometry, algebra, critical reading, writing and vocabulary
* Prepare - Engage in a series of mini-games that will help you increase your level of judgment, confidence and time management - everything you need to boost your SAT score. Learn about helpful methods and mental approaches to reduce stress and ensure you are physically and mentally prepared
* Mini-Game Drills - Train yourself in mathematics to elude the tricks of the SAT. Train yourself in vocabulary and grammar. Learn helpful methods to improve time management and reduce stress
* Personal Follow-Up - Track your progress in quizzes and follow recommendations to boost your strengths and minimize your weaknesses

The biggest drawback is the game does not tell you how to solve the problems. If you don’t know an Algebra problem, it won’t tell you how to solve the problem. It will only give you the right answer. Remember, this game is primarily for improving test taking skills, not on improving the student’s knowledge in a subject area. There are training sections for each part of the SAT and the player can take the whole SAT, with opportunity to save between sections. Here are the different sections:

• CRITICAL READING - Quiz yourself on Sentence Completion and Passage-Based questions.
• MATHEMATICS - Math quizzes--Arithmetic, Basic Algebra, Geometry and Miscellaneous--are located here.
• WRITING - writing portion of the SAT--Sentence Errors, Improving Sentences and Improving Paragraphs
• TAKE THE SAT TEST - Do the real thing! The SAT takes 3 hours and 45 minutes, but don’t worry, My SAT Coach lets you save between sections.
  POSITIVE/NEGATIVE – Identify whether each word has a positive or a negative connotation
• MATH ACE - Quiz to help improve timing and think quickly in general math.
• ALGEBRA BLITZ - Quiz to help improve timing and think quickly in Algebra.
• ELIMINATION – game with training for eliminating wrong answers in all sections of SAT (math, critical reading, and writing).
• GRAMMAR CRACKER – timed game where area is highlighted and player must identify the type of grammatical error-- Verb Tense, Idioms, Subject Verb Agreement, False Comparison or “No Error”.
• DEFINITION DECODER – Timed game where the player chooses which of two words the given definition is describing.

For the student who just needs practice before the real thing, this is good way to do it. Games run about $20 new and many game stores sell used ones for much less.

Williwaw!

by Tom Bodett

This is another good adventure story. It's an adventure I think many kids, if not all, have at least once in their lives--trying to cover their tracks when they've disobeyed. This one takes place in the wilder parts of Alaska.

Ivan and September Crane are 12 and 13. While their father, a fisherman, is at sea, they are trusted to keep their Alaskan home running, instead of going to stay with the dreaded Aunt and Uncle in the town across the bay. There are only two conditions: do not take the skiff out on the bay to go to town, and do not hook video games up to the battery for the short-wave radio--their only means of communications.

It's the fall and weather in the bay is unpredictable at best. Ivan struggles to obey the game restriction, but decides just once won't hurt. He manages to fry the radio, the short-wave, and his game. September is furious and Ivan is devastated. When they decide to use Ivan's savings to repair the radios, they break the second restriction and travel to town. Their ill-fated adventure begins.

This book reminded me so much of my own brother and sister. Those of us who have siblings or who grow up close to someone, know that it is difficult to describe the treasured turbulence in that relationship--you want to kill them and you would die for them. Ivan and September are just like that. I chuckled so many times as I read, seeing myself and my own boys in these two. My college friend Reba recommended this book, saying her children, boys and girls, loved it and read it many times. I can see why.

"Eww. Brown rice!" (Ivan)

"I told you," September said, grabbing the steaming dish from the stove top. "Besides, it's good for you."

Ivan plopped down in his chair and leaned unhappily on the table. "Who told you that?"

September thought a moment. "I guess Mom did."

"Oh." Ivan spooned some rice onto a plate and got quiet. He didn't remember as much about their mother as September did, and it bothered him sometimes. "Well, it still tastes bad."

"Don't you know that everything that tastes bad is good for you?" September tried to make a joke to move the subject in a new direction.

"You think skunk cabbage is good for you? How about baneberry?"

Leave it to Ivan, thought September, and was about to rise to the silly argument, when their VHF radio crackled across the kitchen.

True to life, Ivan and September's efforts are thwarted at every turn, and it is fun (as a parent) and painful (as a previous offender) to read this. I am glad they fail even while I silently root for their ingenuity. I can do this because ultimately, they just don't want to disappoint their father, losing his trust.

I think kids like this book because Ivan and September are so independent. Sure, they have chores--but they drive their own boat, fill the tank, fool their one cranky neighbor, navigate the bay by themselves, and impress the new kid in town and get invited to his party. They struggle with some of the same temptations and fears our kids do.

While TC and his mom dished out cake, September and Ivan helped pass it around. September relished the job. She met more kids in ten minutes than she'd met in the last ten years. Each table had a ring of friendly faces. Hello, I'm Norman. Thank you, I'm Laura, What's your name? I'm Angela. Can I have the piece with the flower?

Williwaw! is for younger children. The siblings talk, tease, and argue much of the story, and there are some descriptive sections which almost beg for an audience greater than one.

Ivan looked back. All he saw was a wall of water shimmering like black silk. September pegged the motor, and they shot up the face so fast he felt his insides compact. From the crest he saw the town far beyond the angry white tops of the waves lined up behind them like an advancing army. His guts floated into his throat as the skiff fell into the next trough.

Even though deceased, the mother is a strong presence in the story. The childrens' memories of her and her songs are frequent and influence them as much as their father. Their father, Harry, their grumpy neighbor, even the mother at the party . . . the few grownups in the story are strong, watchful guardians. They offer a little advice but mostly observe this difficult journey to maturity.

Tom Bodett, author and long-time Alaskan resident, is on public radio and PBS. He can also be heard on Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Saturday Night Live and National Geographic Explorer. I like him best as the kind and welcoming voice for Motel 6. Thanks Mr. Bodett, for this wonderful story.