Spring Recital 2013  

P.S. The lady in the background is my piano teacher, Mrs Meinershagen. 

The Incas

Book of Marvels

Dear Priestesses,

You do not know me, but I am a friend, an Inca citizen. I was in Machu Picchu, Peru, when the Spaniards attacked, and saw you flee. I have no idea why the Spaniards took over, but there is a rumor that all they wanted was our gold. I am amazed at the Spaniard’s greed of gold. Why, they seemed amazed that we use it commonly! The metal is widely used here because we have so much of it. Priestesses, the reason I call is to tell you that Machu Picchu, our city of granite that equals the Aztecs in greatness, is in great danger, the Spaniards are in war mode, they are killing everyone, you left just in time! However, I doubt if you will remain hidden for long. Why if the Spaniards were able to find the trail, you would be ruined! So, I advise you to be on the lookout, and take great care of yourselves. I am too, fleeing the country. Sadly, I do not think that I will be able to make my escape, for I have started quite late. Right now I look back on Machu Picchu, our city of gold gleams in the sunset, the shining granite reflects the light, making it even brighter, a golden light on our mountain. Praise the sun-god! Let him grant me a safe journey! But here, I must end, for I see the Spaniards following closely. Travel safely, and may the sun-god always be with you!

Until we meet again,

A Loving Friend 

Narration versus Questioning

This is an excerpt from Mrs.Linda Fay's "Narration versus Questioning", to read more, you can visit her blog at: charlottemasonhelp.com.


NARRATION is the very heart of Charlotte Mason's philosophy. It is more important than nature, art and music study because it is a powerful way of learning. Mason learned it from the great classical educators such as Quintillian and Erasmus, who lived before her time. Realizing that this proven method had died out in British schools, she set about to revive it.

Quite simply, it is the art of ‘telling back’ what you just read or heard from a book. It seems simple--almost too simple to be of great value in the schoolroom, but don't judge too quickly. Karen Glass aptly explains the benefits of narration:

“Do not be deceived by the superficial simplicity of this method! When you read a story, paragraph, or chapter to a child and ask him to narrate what he has heard, powerful mental "wheels" must spring into motion. The knowledge that he has passively gathered must now be sifted and sorted. His mind must recall the beginning, and then "what comes next," event by event. He must be sure the order of his knowledge is correct, and that nothing important is omitted. Then, he must find words to give shape to his knowledge. It is not uncommon for children to imitate the vocabulary and style of the author himself. Nevertheless, by using the words to tell "his" version of the story, he makes them his own.”

Personally, I've done the research and have tested it extensively on my own children and I stand amazed at the results. I contemplated titling this post NARRATION CHANGED MY LIFE! It's kind of humorous, but it really is true. It has not only greatly simplified my planning and lightened my workload, but it has enabled my children to really learn their subject matter. Whenever I evaluate my children, I notice that their greatest knowledge and amount of love for a subject always comes from the passages they narrated aloud earlier in the year. Usually, if they didn't narrate to me, then later, they couldn't recall what they read very well. Not only that, but frequent narration has caused their verbal skills to surge remarkably and this has naturally transferred over into their writing. Narration has taught them to organize their thoughts and speak with clarity and style. I challenge those who have never tried this method to look into it.

The Panama Canal

Book of Marvels

Do you know what a man-made canal is? A man-made canal is a big strip of land cut out to make a ditch that boats can pass through. For example, the Panama Canal. This canal was dug to make the 2-week journey around South America a shorter, 9-hour trip through South America. Come, let us go and take a trip to this famous canal. As we arrive at the main entrance, boats of every kind are crowded up. Honking, and beeping, busy as bees. However, when we get out further in the canal, the boats thin out and we can see a beautiful landscape. Even though it might seem like, since the Panama Canal is man-made, this canal would only be a stream going through a bunch of mountains and precipices, the Panama Canal is actually a very beautiful place. Over time, jungles have been able to grow, and cover the banks of this canal. Now, there are many native inhabitants. Monkeys, Parrots, Flamingoes, Cranes, and many different creatures! We can see birds fly through the air, monkeys swing through the trees, and alligators sunbathing on the banks. I have never been to the Panama Canal, but reading Mr. Halliburton’s “Book of Marvels” has really inspired me to see it for myself! 

Yucatan

Book of Marvels

If we look on a map, we can see a small peninsula jetting out from Mexico, this peninsula is called Yucatan. More than five hundred years ago, Yucatan was a great and wonderful nation. A people named the Mayas used to live there, but it has been long uninhabited since. Let us go there for ourselves, to see the remains of a great nation. As we board the plane to Mexico, I begin by telling you of the Maya’s religion. The Maya’s whole religion was based on if their crops grew well, or not. If the crops failed to grow and the rain ceased to pour, Yum Chac, the rain god was not happy with the Maya’s. Therefore, the Mayas would dress the most beautiful of all fourteen-year-old girls in lovely garments, decked with jewels and gems. And, prepare a handsome escort, in the like manner. Then, in a ceremonial procession, the bride of the sun god, for that was what the poor girl was to be, would be flung down, into a holy pit of water, seventy feet deep, while the escort jumped down after her. These unfortunate souls could have possibly escaped, however being covered in jewels, they were much to heavy to try and swim up. As we leave our plane, we head straight for the holy temple, a masterpiece. This magnificent temple is many stories high, a deathly jump for any fourteen-year-old girl. The path to this temple is a causeway, nearly a fourth of a mile long, guarded by statues of feathered serpents. As we climb the many stairs of the temple, we can see in our mind’s eye the sun god’s bride being escorted up the temple stairs. Drums gong, priests chant, the Mayas hold their breath as the bride is flung into the pool of death, and they are saved from starvation.       

Christophe's Castle

Book of Marvels

You may remember, from your history books, the American Revolution War. This war was fought, because the Americans wanted to be free of British rule. Well, many years ago, Haiti was ruled by France, these Haitians wanted to be free of French rule. Therefore, the people of Haiti started their own Revolutionary War. In the end, the natives won the battle, and a great king rose up from them. This king’s name was Christophe. Christophe wanted to show other nations, that Haiti was a tough, and powerful nation. To do this, he forced hundreds of his people to carry heavy bricks up a towering mountain. With these bricks, he was able to start a huge fort. However, Christophe was not a man to be slowed in his work because of others. Each time he caught someone lagging at his work, Christophe would either shoot him, or, if he thought that death was too merciful, put him in prison! The people of Haiti detested him, however since he was too powerful, they could not rebel against Christophe. When they learned, however, that he had been paralyzed in his lower half, the natives rushed upon the castle that he, his wife, and his children lived in. Christophe knew that it would be better to die, than to suffer torture. Knowing that, he killed himself. His tower was ruined, and his son, killed. This just goes to show how terrible a person can be, and we can all learn a lesson from it.    

Popocatepetl

Book of Marvels

Let me take you on a trip to the mountain Popocatepetl, known for not only it’s big name, but also it’s big size. This mountain is located in Mexico, in the beautiful land, which used to be the Aztec’s. However, before we start on the long journey upwards, I must tell you that climbing this mountain is not for the faint of heart! I can only take the strongest, and bravest. What, you all want to go! All right then, up we go! When climbing up Popocatepetl, you must wake up very early. For, if you go up in the daytime, the sun melts much of the snow, making it very hard to climb. Also, we must take our sunglasses, for when the sun is high in the sky, in shines terribly on your face. Now we are finally ready, lets go! The first few miles up are quite easy, but as we get higher, the air gets thinner, and grows cold. We stop constantly to take breathers as we ascend the mountain. We have come up many miles, through the blistering wind we are barely able to see the top. As we near the summit, harsh winds blow us cruelly back, we stop every 10 seconds to gasp the thin air. Finally, we reach the summit! After so many perilous hours, we have reached our destination! Now, we pay no mind to the thin air and cold winds, the sight of which we earned is to great, it pushes all other thoughts out of our heads. After several minutes, we tumble back down to the base of the mountain, exhausted, but well pleased with our journey, forever to remain in our minds.