Mt. Hope Academy @ The Live & Learn Studio ~ October 2012

{ Voices of Ancient Egypt by Kay Winters }

::  Crying Out For Judgment by Matt Bianco @ Circe Institute:

"One of the young men was describing Prince Henry the Navigator, and asked whether Prince Henry was a leader. Here is where the magic happened...First, they tried to define what it means to be a leader. They got stuck when they could not agree about whether or not a leader had to be leading toward that which is good, or simply towards that which he perceives as good."

And:

"I want you all to recognize what you have accomplished here today. We live in a society, a culture that has us convinced that the end of education is to know the right facts. That is not the end of education. What you just discussed, that is the end of education. You are called to pass judgment on history and to learn from it. Knowing the right facts is not the end; it is the means. It is the means to be able to judge history, to wrestle with definitions for leadership, good, true, beautiful, right, and wrong; it is a means to knowing God and to making Him known."

::  Andrew Comes to Austin by Hannah @ Here in the Lovely Woods (My friend Hannah had the privilege of sitting at the feet of Andrew Kern for a couple days. I would be insanely jealous if I were not registered for The Two Andrews in Tigard, Oregon on December 5th.)

“The reason a book or work of art is great is not because people like it so much, but because it contains so much truth. We were made to worship, to admire. Something in us recognizes truth and beauty for what they are, and finds them deeply satisfying. We believe the truth can be known.”

And:

“Paul offers the solution: "All things are yours." Meaning that all these things -- including literature and art and music, even springing from a pagan mind -- are a gift from a generous and creative God. We can learn from them. But the danger is in US belonging to THEM. In setting those things up as false gods, as our sources of identity and superiority over others, as addictions or sources of strife.”

::  What drives an editor crazy? @ Literary MacGregor:

‘Sixth: Please notice I didn’t write “sixthly.” From a strict editorial viewpoint, there is no reason the word “firstly” or “secondly” exists. To number a list as “first” or “second” is to adverbialize them. To add “ly” is to adverbialize them. Therefore, why in the world would you adverbialize an adverb? Why write “firstly” when all you really need to write is “first”? Besides, if it’s a long list, can you really defend “thirteenthly”?’

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I’m considering a curricula series for this month. I’d love to tell you a little more about what we are using and how. Would that be of interest to anyone?

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Classical Conversations (Cycle 1, Weeks 4-7) Foundations: One morning each week. Memory work in timeline, history, science, Latin, English grammar, math, and geography. Includes weekly hands-on science projects/experiments, fine arts projects, social time, and public speaking. Essentials: (Levi) One afternoon each week; includes grammar, vocabulary, writing, public speaking, and challenging math games. (We are also reviewing the corresponding weeks of memory work from Foundations cycles 2 and 3 at home.)

Faith:
God Our Provider (CD) (Bible memory songs)
The Children’s Illustrated Bible (reading through together, again)
Telling God's Story- Year 2 (lessons 6-12)
Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God (daily family devotions, only managed a few)
The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments (corresponds with Long Story Short)
The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (for me!) 
(Luke and Levi: weekly hymns on piano)
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions (Levi and Luke-IR)
Buck Denver Asks… What’s in the Bible? Vol. 8: Words to Make Us Wise (Psalms, Proverbs, & the Writings—DVD)
Buck Denver Asks… What’s in the Bible? Vol. 9: God Speaks! (Isaiah, Jeremiah, & the Prophets—DVD)

Math:
Teaching Textbooks (Leif: 3, Levi and Luke: 5)
Life of Fred (All boys: Elementary series, Levi: Fractions and Decimals & Percents. For fun free reading.)
Beast Academy (Luke: level 3, just getting started)
CC math memory work (skip counting)
Challenging math games in Classical Conversations Essentials (Levi)
MathTacular DVDs

Science:
CC weekly science memory work (parts of plant cells, major groups of vertebrates and invertebrates, reproduction)
CC weekly science projects and experiments (including crayfish dissection)
Science in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods
Science in Ancient Mesopotamia by Carol Moss
Real Science 4 Kids Biology (ch )
Biology Connects to Language (RS4K) (connects vocabulary from science text to Latin and Greek roots! Love it!!)
The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia (corresponding selections)
The Story of Science series by Joy Hakim (history-integrated science studies, ch 2 )
Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day by Fulbright (Levi-IR)
Crash Course Science (YouTube Videos)
Life Science (Rock N Learn DVD—perfect content: plant and animal cells, characteristics of animal groups, life cycle of a butterfly, parts of a plant/flower, food chains, and more)
The Magic School Bus Bugs: In a Beehive, Gets Ants in Its Pants, and Butterfly and the Bog Beast (DVD)
Popular Mechanics for Kids: Gators & Dragons and Other Wild Beasts (DVD)
(various Magic School Bus and Sid the Science Kid episodes on DVD, especially human body)
On Beyond Bugs! All About Insects (The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
Butterfly Battle (The Magic School Bus Chapter Book)

P.E.
Swim team practice 3x week + 2 swim meets

Fine Arts:
CC drawing and music theory
The Story of Classical Music (CD, disc 1)
13 Sculptures Children Should Know (LOVE this gorgeous series of books, LOVE the timeline across the top of each page)
IEW Poetry Memorization
Piano practice
Draw. Write. Now. Book 1
How Artists See Feelings by Colleen Carroll
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Anna Harwell Celenza
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Moulin Rouge and the City of Light by Robert Burleigh
Mousterpiece: A mouse-sized guide to modern art by Jane Breskin Zalben
Rembrandt (See and Do Children’s Book) by Ceciel de Bie & Martijn Leenen

Language Arts:
Classical Conversations Essentials of the English Language (Levi in class, Levi and Luke at home) 
IEW writing (theme-based: Ancients, Levi in CC Essentials class (Luke listening in @ home)) 
IEW Poetry Memorization
Writing With Ease (Leif: level 1, Luke: level 3)
CC grammar memory work (list of prepositions)
All About Spelling (reviewed phonograms and rules, Level 3: lessons –17)
Paragraph Town (MCT) (Levi-re-read independently for review)

Latin:
Latina Christiana I (reviewed lessons 1-5, lessons 6-8)
CC Latin memory work (Noun Endings-1st, 2nd, and 3rd Declensions)

Spanish: 
None (sigh)
 
Geography:
CC geography (Middle East/Europe/Africa/Ancient Empires, tracing on various dry-erase maps)
Geography Songs (workbook map and song on CD)
Geography games (free online)
Draw. Write. Now. Book 7—drawing the continents (blobbing)

History/Literature/Historical Fiction: 
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World video series on YouTube (Pyramid in Giza 1/7)
Crash Course World History (YouTube Videos)
The Story of the World: Ancient Times (Ch. 3-9)
Note-taking/Narrations from notes
IEW Ancient History-Themed writing assignments (Ziggurats, Gilgamesh, Ancient Egypt 3-paragraph research essay)
Creating our own history timeline (Add-a-Century Timeline) integrating all subjects
SOTW Vol 1 Resources @ Tending Our Lord’s Garden (using the notebooking pages for narrations)
YouTube videos corresponding with SOTW chapters at SOTW Video Links
CC weekly history memory work (7 Wonders, Roman Republic, Fall of Rome, Hinduism/Buddhism)
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (corresponding selections)
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (corresponding selections)
CC Timeline Cards (memorizing)
Famous Figures of Ancient Times (movable paper figures to cut, color, and assemble—made Pharaoh Cheops/Khufu of Egypt, Sargon…)
Various Ancient Egypt projects/crafts
The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim (read aloud chapter 2)
Hieroglyphs by Joyce Milton
Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs by James Rumford (another great picture book)
Science in Ancient Egypt by Geraldine Woods
Mysteries of the Mummy Kids by Kelly Milner Halls
Voices of Ancient Egypt by Kay Winters (lovely)
Pharaoh’s Boat by David Weitzman (also lovely)
Mummies and Pyramids (Magic Tree House Research Guide) by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne
Secrets of the Mummies by Harriet Griffey (Eyewitness Readers, Level 4)
Pyramid by David Macaulay
An Egyptian Pyramid (Inside Story)
I Wonder Why Pyramids Were Built and Other Questions About Ancient Egypt
How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Harland (fun!)
100 Things You Should Know About World Wonders
Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt by Joanna Cole
Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green (chapter book, Luke and Levi-IR, literature)
If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge by Marc Aronson
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (historical fiction—Ancient Egypt, 248 pp, Levi-IR)
Lugalbanda, The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War: An Epic Tale From Ancient Iraq told by Kathy Henderson (literature)
Ancient Mesopotamia: The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians by Virginia Schomp
Science in Ancient Mesopotamia by Carol Moss
Mesopotamia (DK Eyewitness, spectacular as always)
The Life and Times of Hammurabi by Tamera Bryant
Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean (literature)
The Gilgamesh Trilogy by Ludmila Zeman (gorgeous picture books, literature)
Joseph by Brian Wildsmith (gorgeous picture book)
One Grain of Rice by Demi (a mathematical folktale from India, literature)
Once A Mouse by Marcia Brown (Indian fable)
India (DK Eyewitness)

Levi’s Free Reading:
The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain (historical fiction—Ancient Rome, 814 pages)
The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare (his pick off the shelf)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
On the Far Side of the Mountain
Frightful’s Mountain
Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney
The Five Little Peppers Midway by Margaret Sidney
The Secret of the Ginger Mice (The Song of the Winns) by Frances Watts
Boxcar Children Beginning by Patricia MacLachlan
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
The Serpent’s Shadow by Rick Riordan
The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody
Shaking the Nickel Bush by Ralph Moody

Luke’s Free Reading:
Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
(not sure what other chapter books he read this past month)

Miscellaneous Picture Books:
The Tooth Mouse by Susan Hood
No Dogs Allowed! by Linda Ashman
”S.S.” Gigantic Across the Atlantic by Peter Selgin
Over At the Castle by Boni Ashburn
Madlenka by Peter Sis (love Peter Sis and his fanciful way of seeing things!)
William Shakespeare: The Tempest retold by Ann Keay Beneduce
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway (Africa)

Miscellaneous:
Book Detectives (parent-child literary analysis book club)
Lego Robotics League meetings
Football Games