FHE Series: Election Year (January Update)

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are using our family time on Monday nights to take advantage of this time in history and teach our children how the Political Process works, how to wisely choose a candidate and what their responsibility is. 

We want to keep our study short, simple and fun.  We have plenty of time for a deeper study in the coming years as they mature in their educational pursuit, but we want to jump on this teaching opportunity.

For the basics of how our government works we are using Checks and Balances (a thematic unit from The Old Schoolhouse), and a variety of other resources which I’ll list as we use them.

Our entire family is participating and sharing in teaching the material.  It has been a great refresher and we’ve all learned a thing or two already. Here is what we’ve covered so far. 

How is your knowledge of how our government runs? Can you answer the following questions?

• How is the Federal Government Organized?
• Why is it organized this way?
• Who is in charge of the Executive Branch?
• What  is the role of the Executive Branch?
• What are the President’s responsibilities?
• What are the Vice President’s Responsibilities?
• What are the qualifications for both the President and Vice President?
• How is the President of the United States elected?
• What is the Electoral College and how does it work?

We are keeping notes of the things we’ve learned in our Election 2012 notebook so we will have an easy and quick reference tool as we watch what is taking place in this year’s election.

Schoolhouse Rock – Three Ring Government

 

 

Schoolhouse Rock – I’m Gonna Send Your Vote to College

(Electoral College)

We didn’t cover everything I had hoped to in January, however we’ve enjoyed what we’ve learned and the children are very interested in the politics of the day.  Mason drew and colored in a map showing which states went to what party and Mattie was completely giddy watching the Florida Primaries.  We’ve decided we are going to have an Election Party complete with fun foods, and a map we can color in as the votes are reported. 

Today Feels Good

Today feels good, despite the fact that is is cool and rainy and thundering.  We are back to our school routine and have had a wonderful day! 

We  reviewed Butterflies (Life of Fred) for Math, the children completed another day in their scripture journals and they are both engrossed in their reading time.  Of course Mattie is always engrossed in a book or four.

Mason, my reluctant reader, is reading but he is still reluctant about choosing a new book.  I just remind myself of the improvement he has made.  I never dreamed he would read the entire Harry Potter series in a few months time, but he has.  He is now reading The Ordinary Farm on our Kindle.  I hope the story sucks him in.

We made hoagie bread for our own “Subway” sandwiches for lunch and Mason has just raved about them ever since. 

I had the children write  lists of 5 things they are interested in.  Mattie’s list consisted of gerbils, rabbit raising, hamsters, ferrets, and horses – No surprises there.

Mason listed Minecraft (a game where he builds a world, mines for ores and such), creative books, completed house, food, and fun activities.  We had wonderful discussion about what he meant by each thing listed.

I’m off to watch The Secret Garden with my children.  Mattie read the book and so we are following up with the movie.   It’s just another wonderful addition to our day.

Autumn Reading Log

I’m a bit behind in posting our Autumn Reading List, but here it is.  I’ll have to get the Winter list up soon.  Mattie already has a stack for me.  She is a reading machine.

Mason’s Book Log

• Fablehaven (Book 1) in progress
• Harry Potter - Year 7
• Harry Potter - Year 6
• Harry Potter - Year 5

Mattison’s Book Log

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• Anne of Green Gables
• How to Train Your Dragon
• ND: The Double Jinx Mystery
• ND: The Message in the Hollow Oak
• B&YT: When the White Dove Descended
• The Secret Journal of Brett Colton
• ND: Mystery of Crocodile Island
• DIOM: Tears of a Dragon
• DIOM: Circles of Seven
• DIOM: The Candlestone
• Dragons in our Midst: Raising Dragons
• Floors
• ND: The Clue of the Velvet Mask
• AG: Molly's Story Collection
• ND: Password to Larkspur Lane
• SAJS: The Mystery of the Mona Lisa
• AG: Felicity Story Collection
• AG: Kit Story Collection
• Emma Dilemma, the Nanny, and the Secret Ferret
• ND: The Clue of the Broken Locket
• AIOP: Annison's Risk
• Jeffery's Ghost
• The Code Busters Club Book 1
• Spy Cat
• AIOP: Glennall's Betrayal
• Harry Potter: Year 6
• The Ghost of Honeymoon Creek
• The Mystery Girl
• AIOP: Draven's Defiance
• Emmy and the Rats in the Belfry
• Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat
• AIOP: Fendar's Legacy
• ND: Mystery of the Glowing Eye
• ND: The Sign of the Twisted Candles
• The Quiet Little Woman: A Christmas Story
• Plymouth Pioneers
• The Mayflower Adventure
• SAJS: THe Caper of the Crown Jewels
• Dangerous Natural Phenomena
• Miniature Horses
• Weather Experiments
• Your Sheep: A Kid's Guide
• AG: Samantha Story Collection
• OP: Darien's Rise
• SAJS: Peril at the Grand Prix
• ND: The clue in the Diary
• Odyssey Passages: Arin's Judgement
• ND: The Mystery at Lilac Inn
• ND: Case of the Sneaky Snowman
• ND: The Bungalow Mystery
• ND: Nancy's Mysterious Letter
• The Magical Ms. Plum
• Emma's Dilemma and the New Nanny
• SAJS: The Puzzle of the Missing Panda
• SAJS: The Search for the Sunken Treasure
• SAJS: Pursuit of Ivory Poachers
• Ferrets Cool Pets!
• Weather
• Learning to Care for Small Mammals
• Iguanas Cool Pets!
• Learning to Care for a Bird
• SA Jack Stalwart: The Secret of the Sacred Temple
• The Water Horse
• Fablehaven (Book 4)
• Fablehaven (Book 3)
• Fablehaven (Book 2)
• Harry Potter (Year 4)
• Fablehaven
• Surprises According to Humphrey
• In Grandma's Attic (Book 1)
• Friendship According to Humphrey
• Emma Dilemma, the Nanny, and the Best Horse Ever
• Quarter Horses
• AW: Horses
• Good Job, Kanani
• BCC: The Guide Dog Mystery
• BCC: The Deserted Library Mystery
• BCC: The Honeybee Mystery
• Nancy Drew: The Secret in the Old Attic
• Emmy and the Home for Troubled Girls
• The Stallion of Box Canyon
• Audio: Dragon Rider
• Your Goats
• The Three Detectives and the Knight in Armor
• The World According to Humphrey
• The Missing Doll
• NC: Pet Rabbits
• NC: Donkeys
• NC: Farm Birds
• Honeybees at Home
• Adventure According to Humphrey
• King Arthur & the Magic Sword 3D
• Gooney Bird Greene
• Your Rabbit

Read Alouds

• Redwall
• The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
• The Tale of Two Castles

Book Log: The Book of the MaidServant

I just finished The Book of the Maidservant by Rebecca Barnhouse.  From the the first sentence I could hear the voice of Johanna, the maidservant of Dame Margery Kempe; that is what committed me to read this book.

Dame Margery, a renowned medieval holy woman wails morning, noon, and night for the suffering of the Virgin Mary.  She boasts of her favor with God, yet she shows no compassion for the suffering around her.

She tells Johanna that she is accompanying her on her pilgrimage to Rome as her maidservant.  During this journey they travel with various others either on a pilgrimage of their own or by happenstance.  Not long into their travels, Johanna feels the sting of betrayal yet she does not yet know that that is what it is.  She soon finds herself not only maidservant to Dame Margery, but to the entire group, and the injustice seems to multiply from there.

Before long Dame Margery has outworn her welcome and the group is constantly in conflict. Unfortunately for Johanna she is right in the middle of it.  What will happen to this group of pilgrims? Will they make it to Rome? What will happen to Johanna?  I’ll let you read and find out.

Recommendation:  I really did enjoy this book, as I mentioned Rebecca Barnhouse did an excellent job capturing the voice of Johanna.  Even though I’m not catholic and don’t fully understand all the catholic references,  I was still able to follow the story and get a feel of the influence of this religion during the medieval times.  This is an excellent addition to a middle ages reading list for older children and adults.

As I read this book  I found myself pondering the conflicting behaviors of Dame Margery.  It caused me to reflected on what a disciple of Christ looks like versus what a disciple should be. 

Throughout the book, characters are regularly offended by Dame Margery and her holier-than-thou air.  So much so, that her conflicting reputation proceeds her and her virtue is regularly questioned.  At another point in the book, Johanna escapes from a man who plans to have his way with her.  The servant who comes to her aid is possibly murdered, we don’t actually know what happened.  Based on these events I feel this book would be appropriate for readers in the upper grades, probably grade 8 through adult.  My youngest two will have to wait a few years before they will understand just what is going on in this story.

An interesting side note is that this book was inspired by the fifteenth-century text The Book of Margery Kempe, thought to be the first autobiography in English.  There is a really interesting note from Rebecca Barnhouse about how this influenced her writing of this book.

If you read The Book of the Maidservant, I’d love to hear what you think.  Happy Reading!

FHE: Election Year Focus (January)

Being an ELECTION YEAR, I want to take advantage of this time and teach my children how the Political Process works, how to wisely choose a candidate and what their responsibility is.  Because I want my husband in on this study, we will  be using our Family Home Evening time each week to learn about this important topic.  We want to keep our study short, simple and fun.  We have plenty of time for a deeper study in the coming years as they mature in their educational pursuit.

Since we will be figuring out our study as we go, I expect it might get messy at times.  We are not using a set curriculum, but setting up stepping stones leading to our goal mentioned above.

As resources we plan to use whatever we find that suits us.  We will be using the original source documents (The Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.), and we will be recording things we think are important in a spiral notebook. We will watch debates and speeches after the fact to avoid the opinions of the media so we can form our own opinions based on our yardstick.

Here are areas I’d like to touch on in the coming months.  As our study progresses, I will share the resources we used.  If I find I don’t have much time for my postings, I will update in 100 words or less. 

January: The Political Process (5 weeks)

• Prep – Introduction and Notebooks
• How The Political Process Works – School House Rock * and other resources
• Our Responsibility – Words of the prophets + other inspiring quotes
• Our yardstick – The Founding Documents

February: The Constitution

March: The Bill of Rights

April: Words of the Prophets

May: The Issues

June: The Candidates

July: Putting the Pieces Together

August: Choosing your Candidate

September: Let your Voice be heard/Share what you’ve learned

October: Support your Candidate/Cause

November: – Election Day!

I have stepping stones for each month that I will share as time goes on.

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*This is part of our “fun factor” all the videos on this DVD are included in the 30th edition DVD which is a better deal and you can also view them for free on youtube.

Our Newest Learning Tool: The Kindle

I have wanted a Kindle for quite a while, but would not indulge until my Living Room was painted. 

I am happy to report that my living room is painted (along with my dining room, front bathroom and hallway).  We knocked that out the week of Christmas.  Crazy, I know. 

And guess what was under the Christmas tree?  A Kindle.  Just the one I wanted.  The children let me use it on occasion.  =)

So far it’s a huge hit! We can toss it in a bag and out we go.  My shoulder thanks Amazon. Really.