Friday, June 28, 2024

Some Middle School Weather Studies

Eric Sloane's Weather Book
by Eric Sloane

This book was included in the revised lesson plans for Level 4 (eighth grade) science at Mater Amabilis, which are a great improvement over the older plans. I bought it for Second Daughter to use a couple of years ago, when the revised plans were new.

First Son did a weather study using a different book by the same author, Eric Sloane, called Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather. You can find my original post on that book and the Sabbath Mood Homeschool plans here, but overall, the Weather Book is a better fit for an introduction to the study of weather. It's more straightforward and better organized.

Two years ago, I decided not to buy the suggested weather kit for Second Daughter. (First Daughter had already finished Level 4 and ended up missing out on studying weather officially in Levels 4-6.) Now the kit seems to be difficult to find. It's no longer listed on the company's website, so perhaps they have decided to stop making it.

For Second Son, therefore, I'm going to go back to the Sabbath Mood Homeschool plans I used with First Son, just for the activities. I also already own most of the supplies for them, so I should be able to pull together a set of lesson plans that don't take too much of an additional investment. If I were looking at Level 4 for my oldest child or didn't already have the Sabbath Mood plans, I would be very tempted by the Home Science Tools weather experiment kit. It looks more expensive than the Sabbath Mood plans at first, but when you factor in all the equipment you need, you might end up at a similar price point. The activities would be different, but I think they'd meet the needs of a Level 4 student. Plus, the Home Science Tools kit is more open-and-go than the Sabbath Mood activities.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links. Links to Sabbath Mood Homeschool and Home Science Tools are not affiliate links.

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

May 2023 Book Reports

 


The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro - My book club selection for the month, a beautifully written novel of a man searching for meaning in his life and failing to understand what is most important. We watched the movie together, which was fun. I highly recommend book club movie nights. (purchased used at a library book sale)

Eldest and Brisinger by Christopher Paolini - the second and third books in the Inheritance series. Fun reads, and fun to discuss with my youngest son. (First Daughter's purchased copies)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Monday, June 24, 2024

April 2023 Book Reports

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines - This was one of my book club books, and one of my favorites for the year. It revealed a world I didn't know in a beautiful way. I would like to read more books by the author. (purchased used)

Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome - This is the fourth book in the Swallows and Amazons series and my absolute favorite so far. The children from the first three books are joined by a Dorothea and Dick Callum, who blend right in with the world of adventure and imagination. They spend the whole winter vacation planning a race to the Pole. It's almost ruined by an extended illness, but instead ends with more excitement than anyone expected. I was delighted! (purchased copy)

Persuasion by Jane Austen - It had been years since I last read Persuasion, so I decided to join in when the Close Reads podcast read and discussed it, though of course I was still a few months behind. Anne Elliot is Austen's most mature protagonist, and one of my favorites. Her quiet consideration of others is an inspiration. Frederick Wentworth is a bit of a fool, but he's my favorite love-interest in Austen's books. He admits when he's wrong, and he's willing to do what is right even when it's hard. As a side note, I own and read the Clothbound Classic copy linked. It's gorgeous, but be warned that the design on the covers comes off when the books are handled. When, for example, you are reading them. I don't mind, because it shows they've been read and loved, but I wasn't prepared for it. (received as a gift)

The Doctor's Sweetheart and Other Stories by L.M. Montgomery - This was a continuation of my reading of books off my shelf that I thought would be light and enjoyable. (It was a tough spring.) I hadn't read this since I was very young. It was fun to revisit the stories, most of which I'd forgotten. (received from a member of PaperBackSwap)

What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World by Jake Meador - link to my post (purchased copy)

The Peacock Spring by Rumer Godden - This is another Godden book set in India, concerning a young woman who believes she finds love. It's a book of thwarted love, abandonment, and suffering, though beautifully written. Some older teens might appreciate it. (received from a member of PaperBackSwap)

Eragon by Christopher Paolini - Second Son chose this series for me when I asked him his favorite book. This is the first of four in a series (with a fifth recently added in a later story arc and another book of short stories). Eragon finds a dragon egg and is catapulted into the heart of his world's events. I enjoyed this book, but at one point I thought to myself, "It almost seems like a teenaged boy wrote this." Then I found out, a teenaged boy did write it. He benefited greatly from an editor after his family had first self-published it. (Later books in the series improved.) There are elements of all the great dragon and magical stories - Narnia and Lord of the Rings, for example - but Paolini creates characters that aren't always good, though they want to be, and who are willing to sacrifice their safety and happiness for the good of...Good. Read them all. (First Daughter's purchased copy)

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat - This is a middle grade novel of mystery and adventure. A young girl must shape her own future and decide what she's willing to sacrifice for what she believes is right. Highly recommended. (library copy)

The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar - A new mother descends into post-partum depression and struggles to resurface. This book is disturbing in all the ways it should be and confusing for the reader (as it must be for a new mother in this situation). I'm not sure I enjoyed it exactly, but I think there are benefits to reading books like this, an important reminder to be compassionate and supportive for new families and new parents. Not recommended if you are currently pregnant or nursing a baby. (library copy)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Friday, June 21, 2024

Reframing Our Experiences: The Expectation Effect

The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World
by David Robson

The brain interprets visual signals based on what it believes is being perceived. Sometimes, it adjusts what you perceive based on the signals, but sometimes, "its predictions may be so strong that it chooses to discount some signals while accentuating others." (p. 13)

This book surprised me on every page. It's not just that we are deluding ourselves, or, rather, that are brains are deluding us, but that our brains actually create physiological changes in our bodies in anticipation of a physical response that creates the physical response. That seems confusing, but the evidence is there. If, for example, you believe you will have a headache in the morning, your brain may literally initiate physiological processes in your body that manifest as physical pain. You do have a headache, but perhaps it's only because your brain has caused it.

Friends, I have had headaches daily since I had Covid in December 2020. Years of headaches. I tried medicines, but the side effects were worse than the headaches, so I've just muddled through. Reading this book hasn't cured my headaches, but I started reminding myself every time I felt like my head hurt that this pain is temporary, that I will not always have headaches. And honestly, I think they've gotten better. Whatever part of these headaches is caused by my belief that I'm going to have a headache - I want to be done with that part.

This book provides examples, evidence, and recommendations for how to reframe our experiences to expect better outcomes. It doesn't promise better outcomes, but gives us the opportunity to imagine and anticipate them, encouraging our brains to work for our best interests across social situations, our education and career goals, and our physical and mental health.

I almost believe this book is essential reading. I intend to add it to our health curriculum.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. I borrowed this book from the library and later purchased a copy at regular price. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

March 2023 Book Reports


The Drovers Road Collection by Joyce West - link to my post (purchased used)

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn - I don't always love novels written in letters, but this one was excellent. As an additional challenge, the plot of the story requires certain "letters" (like p, z, q, and so on) be avoided as the story goes on. I can't imagine how difficult it was to accomplish it! I thought it was excellent and passed it right on to my teenage daughter who agreed. (library copy)

The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure by James Dashner - This series was recommended as a fun dystopian series, but I did not enjoy them that much. The whole plot seemed unlikely and so many of the scenarios contrived. I didn't bother reading any of the other books. (library copies)

Therese by Dorothy Day - link to my post (purchased copy)

Talking with God by Francois Fenelon - This is one of the spiritual books recommended in the Mater Amabilis high school plans for religion. I read it ahead of my older daughter. It's a good book on prayer, but not my favorite. My older daughter felt the same way. I probably won't assign it to the other kids, though it will be on the shelf if they choose it for themselves. (purchased used) 

Apologia Pro Vita Sua by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman - link to my post (purchased copy)

Mission to Cathay by Madeleine Polland - This is a lovely fictionalized account of the first Catholic mission to mainland China. It would appeal to a wide range of ages, even into the teens. (purchased copy)

Round Building, Square Buildings, and Buildings that Wiggle Like a Fish by Philip M. Isaacson - This is a fantastic book for introducing architecture to young students. It's full of gorgeous photographs illustrating the concepts explained in the book. My kids were a little over the age range, but they enjoyed it anyway. I read it aloud as a break from more traditional picture study. (PaperBackSwap.com)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Monday, June 17, 2024

January 2023 Book Reports

Somehow I skipped January 2023, so it's coming after February. Oh well.

The Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan - link to my post (borrowed copies; link is just for the first three in the series)

Flying Home and Other Stories by Ralph Ellison - I picked this book up thinking I might be able to substitute a few stories from this book for Invisible Man in our high school literature course. I appreciated the stories, but decided against using them in our course. (library copy)

Family Sabbatical by Carol Ryrie Brink - This is the sequel to Family Grandstand. Susan, George, and Dumpling are off to France where their father is on sabbatical. Adventures abound. I'm not sure we enjoyed this one quite as much as the first one, perhaps because of the absence of a certain enormous black dog, but it was a fun family read-aloud. Be prepared - there's one traumatic loss of a toy and the book reveals there is no Santa Claus (if you're the kind of family that does Santa). (purchased copy)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.

Thursday, June 13, 2024

What Are Christians For?: Radical Christian Life in Modern America

What Are Christians For?: Life Together at the End of the World 
by Jake Meador

My husband and I bought this impulsively when we came across it at one of our favorite local bookstores. He was intrigued by the title and back cover; I was intrigued by the photo and bio of the author. He doesn't look like a man from Nebraska.

Meador explores how Christians in America have shaped and been shaped by the political landscape of our country. He suggests our faith has been watered down and compromised and asks, What would it mean to live by the Gospel when we vote and craft laws in modern America?

Wealth, comfort, and prejudice have too often conditioned and modified the calling of the Christian religion in America. (p. 12)

He says:

It's the way our vision of the Christian life has too often been implicitly conditioned and defined to leave the characteristic idols of the Western world untouched, unscathed, and unchallenged. (p. 13)

The author is speaking from a Protestant viewpoint. In the Introduction, he points to a priest he knew who lived the kind of radical and whole Christianity for which Meador is advocating. But I think the Catholic faith in America has mostly followed the same path, that of convincing ourselves we don't need to feed all the poor, or feed them the same way we'd eat, or give them the same health care we have, or build housing for them too close to our houses.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with all the historical roots Meador proposes for our current political and social climate, but I appreciate being challenged to question our complacency.

In critiquing industrialism our goal should not be to reach back to some pre-industrial era but rather to do what all Christians must do: to assess the health of our society and its history according to Christian ideas of morality and justice. (p. 53)

We should look at our economy and political landscape with a more critical eye. It's not that advances in technology or medicine are inherently bad, but they are also not inherently good.

A Christian approach to technology, in contrast, allows us to treat each technological development individually, asking each time why the tool is needed, what values it will impart to its users, and how it will shape the imagination of society more generally. (p. 60)

The fifth chapter, "The Unmaking of the Real: Wonder Among the Institutions," spoke on issues that probably most impact our life. He talks specifically about education here, even referencing Charlotte Mason and her educational philosophy (in the same paragraph that also mentions John Senior). He contrasts their ideas about wonder, life, and atmosphere, with that of most American schools.

From an early age we learn to interpret the world with the aid of institutions, and we learn that life is chiefly a matter of consumption rather than making. (p. 85)

Modern education (and technology) separates us from the world rather than immersing us in it. 

After laying out how we got where we are and how Christians in today's world are (inadequately) responding to our culture, Meador gives recommendations on how we can better live our vocations as Christians right here and now. Taken together, these recommendations promise to be difficult and to make us uncomfortable (in multiple senses). 

This book is one of the most convicting books I have read. Highly recommended if you want to be challenged to truly live as Christ is calling in the modern world.

I received nothing in exchange for this post. We purchased the book at a local bookstore at full price. Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Conversion of the Heart and Mind: Apologia Pro Vita Sua

by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman

This book is recommended for Level 6 Year 2 in the Mater Amabilis high school religion plans (twelfth grade). It's one of the three books currently in the lesson plans of readings by modern saints. St. John Henry Newman is one of our family's patron saints, so I was excited to read this book.

St. John Henry Newman threw the English religious world into turmoil when he, a revered intellectual and leader in the Anglican church, converted to Roman Catholicism, a faith viewed with particular patriotic contempt. In the years after his conversion, Newman struggled through the loss of many friends and skepticism from many in his new faith. 

Finally, in response to a personal attack on his integrity and that of his new faith, Newman decided a thorough response was necessary, one which meant sharing the development of his faith from childhood through his rise in the Anglican church and his eventual conversion. He gathered as many of his personal letters and writings as he could and published it all in an astoundingly short amount of time. The result, through a couple of revisions, is Apologia Pro Vita Sua. The edition I read is that edited by Ian Ker, which contains much of the original content, such as the pamphlet from his most prominent accuser which prompted the book.

Newman spent years reading and praying, on the brink of converting but hesitating. His Apologia offers some explanation for his reticence.

I could not continue in this state, either in the light of duty or of reason. My difficulty was this: I had been deceived greatly once; how could I be sure that I was not deceived a second time? I thought myself right then; how was I to be certain that I was right now? ... To be certain is to know that one knows; what inward test had I, that I should not change again, after that I had become a Catholic? (p. 206)

So, like the rest of us, he decided to write a book (Essay on Doctrinal Development) and, if he felt the same way when he was done, he'd become a Catholic. 

And I hold this still: I am a Catholic by virtue of my believing in a God; and if I am asked why I believe in a God, I answer that it is because I believe in myself, for I feel it impossible to believe in my own existence (and of that fact I am quite sure) without believing also in the existence of Him, who lives as a Personal, All-seeing, All-judging Being in my conscience. (p. 182)

Newman's early years as a Catholic were difficult ones. Many of his friends and family abandoned him. Many Catholics were wary of him. His first endeavors as a Catholic ended in failure or mediocrity, but he never looked back and trusted always in the Lord who had been leading him all along.

I read the book and the appendices. I assigned the book itself to my oldest when he was a senior. He struggled at times with all the different groups of people, because Newman writes to an audience who knew all the people and all the controversies. I think there might be benefit in reading the papers and essays going back and forth in order, so you would read what others wrote and then how Newman responded, but it's hard to always sort that out in the book. (If you've read Charlotte Mason's books, you'll find the same sort of essay writing here; where the author is obviously responding to something or someone specific, but modern readers are a bit in the dark.) The Introduction of this edition of the Apologia also has some background, but I hadn't thought to assign it to my son; that might be a good idea. It's really only a problem when Newman is describing the activities of the Tractarians and the responses to his conversion. When Newman is writing about himself and his own thoughts, the book is clear.

When my son was reading it, we paused reading a few chapters in to read Joyce Sugg's John Henry Newman: Snapdragon in the Wallwhich was helpful in providing Newman's basic background and some context for the Apologia. I plan to assign Sugg's book to my future kids, but it could also be a good family read-aloud.

If your high school student struggles a little with dense texts, you could assign Sugg's book and some excerpts of the Apologia. That would still provide an excellent foundation for learning about Newman's life.

A friend of mine especially loves reading St. John Henry Newman because he wrote in English. For those of us used to reading the words of saints through a translation, it's a great blessing to read such rich and beautiful prose in our own language. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even if it was sometimes a challenge.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. I purchased this book. Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.

Monday, January 29, 2024

Be the Good: Therese

Therese
by Dorothy Day

I read this with my book club and did purchase the Well-Read Mom edition from Ave Maria Press. The design of this book is beautiful - lovely cover, good margins, nice quality paper. I do think it's odd that it seems to be only available through Ave Maria Press's website. I stopped by a local Catholic bookstore to find a different book in the Well-Read Mom edition and was told they were not allowed to carry it in stores, even though they wanted it and had people asking for it. It would be so nice to be able to buy all the book club books from a local brick-and-mortar store. I've linked the one from the same publisher which you can find online, which seems to have everything except the Well-Read Mom portions.

Surprisingly, my favorite parts of this book were the forward and the afterward. In these, Robert Ellsberg (in the foreword) and John Cavadini (in the Afterword), draw a direct connection between Dorothy Day's advocacy for peace and St. Therese's little way. 

From Therese, Day learned that each sacrifice endured in love, each work of mercy, might increase the balance of love in the world. She extended this principle to the social sphere. Each protest or witness for peace--though apparently foolish and ineffective, no more than a pebble in a pond--might send forth ripples that could transform the world. (p. ix)

Dorothy Day wrote that St. Therese's shower of roses, her spiritual force, and presumably the works offered by all those who try to follow her little way, rise up against the fears and horrors of the twentieth century.

We know that one impulse of grace is of infinitely more power than a cobalt bomb. Therese has said, "All is grace." (p. 192)

John Cavadini continues in a similar way. He says these blessings challenge the lie that Love will fail.

If I had encountered this idea before, that St. Therese's Little Way was more than just a way for us to grow in virtue, that it could combat the evil of the world one little good deed at a time, I had forgotten it. As a homeschooling mother who does little more than one little good deed at a time, this is an important lesson.

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links.

Friday, January 26, 2024

February 2023 Book Reports



A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh - Based on a recommendation from a good friend, I requested this book from another member at PaperBackSwap.com. I don't read many mysteries, but this was a fun little book to distract me at the end of stressful days of unpacking at a new house. (PaperBackSwap.com)

They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth - This book is one of the many historical fiction reprints from Bethlehem Books. I wanted to love it. I chose it to read because I wanted something relaxing and easy during our move. Sadly, I think it hasn't aged very well. There were far too many remarks about how women shouldn't be too smart or too educated. The delightful heroine was chastised for bothering to learn French, painting, and how to play an instrument. I'm fully in support of learning how to bake bread and cook well, but there's also value in culture. Worst of all, the young men of the Gardner household practically abuse her with practical jokes from the beginning of her time with them, when her parents have only been dead a few weeks. I was a little horrified. There is one delightful chapter on the raising of silkworms, but it is not enough to redeem the book for me. (purchased new)

Judith Lankester by Marjorie Hill Allee - Judith's mom frees the slaves and moves the family to her father's Quaker home. Judith is angry and resentful; she wants to return to her grandmother's house and a life of ease. Instead, she moves in with another Quaker family and begins to learn how to care for herself, a home, and a family. It's a sweet story of growth and virtue. (purchased new)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck - I was excited to see this on the book club list, because it had been on my shelf for many years, but I hadn't yet read it. Now that I have, I can fairly confidently say, I do not like reading books by John Steinbeck. He's brilliant and writes beautifully, but it all seems to have such a sardonic unhappy tone. This book is supposed to be a kind of retelling of the story of Cain and Abel with two sets of brothers in two generations, but the man who is supposedly the best person anyone has ever met is a dreadful father, and I just can't believe a person is truly good who so completely fails at his primary vocation. I spent most of the book angry at him. Everyone should read one or two books by John Steinbeck; he's a master novelist and an influential American literary figure, but I will not be seeking out any more of his books myself. (purchased used)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon, Bookshop, and PaperBackSwap are affiliate links.