An Earth Science Tour of the United States: The Earth in Turmoil

The Earth in Turmoil: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and their Impact on Humankind

by Kerry Sieh and Simon LeVay

The Earth in Turmoil covers plate tectonics and its ramifications for earthquakes and volcanoes in a readable but thorough way. The events and locations explored are all in the United States, mainly the West coast, Basin and Range, and Hawai'i, but also chapters dedicated to Yellowstone, the New Madrid Fault, and the Northeast. They always remind readers of other places in the world with similar physical conditions and phenomena.

Through the course of the book, the authors explore the history of geology and earth science, describing theories proposed, experiments conducted, and papers from a variety of scientists around the world. They provide excellent diagrams, maps, and drawings to illustrate geological principles like the recycling of the lithosphere and how volcanoes are produced by a subducting slab, to name a few from the first two chapters.

This solemn, silent, sailless sea--this lonely tenant of the loneliest spot on Earth--is little graced with the picturesque. [Mark Twain in Roughing It, describing Mono Lake, quoted in The Earth in Turmoil]

All these descriptions and explanations are woven into the chapters through stories from people who experienced earthquakes or survived volcanic eruptions, stories which make the events come alive for the reader in a way the scientific descriptions alone never could. The authors also show how first person accounts and other primary source documents can allow the dedicated scientist to develop a more comprehensive picture of earthquakes or other events, even when modern scientific instruments were not around to measure anything at the time. 

This book was published in 1998 and takes into account new research and events right up until their print deadline. A lot of time has passed since then in human terms, so there are some chapters for which I'd recommend searching recent events online to see if there's new information.

The book is out of print, but seems reasonably easy to find used. I'm probably going to assign it as our earth studies reading at some point in high school. I've been looking for one to cover plate tectonics and this one seems to be the best mix of stories of real people and essential geological information without being an actual (expensive and dense) college textbook.

One thing to note, if you have a sensitive student, the purpose of the book is to develop the relationship between knowledge of the earth's forces that results in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and how humans use the land and spaces affected by those forces. Someone anxious about the chances of massive eruptions or earthquakes may find some of the risks outlined upsetting. In fact, the authors often comment on the psychological ramifications of experiencing extended times of frequent earthquake activity.

On the other hand, the authors sometimes explore how those risks translate into public policy, laws, and insurance coverage, which can be useful and fascinating information for anyone interested in politics, environmental law, or urban development. Given the current conditions as I write this in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the discussions of the balance between scientific forecasts of risks and impacts of those forecasts on businesses and daily lives (especially in the chapter on Mammoth Lakes and Long Valley) were fascinating and relevant.

Sam Walker, who owns a brewery and a restaurant and has been chairman of the chamber of commerce, told us that relations between the townspeople and the USGS scientists had improved greatly in recent years. A lot of the misunderstanding, he told us, was caused by inaccurate reporting of what the USGS people had said. If the USGS said that an eruption was a possibility, some TV station or other would announce that lava was flowing down the street. 

The last chapter explores these ideas of risk assessment and policy in the most detail. 

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

Finally - Actual Crystals!

One of the activities in the Mater Amabilis™ Mountains and Volcanoes study in Level 1A Year 2 (third grade) is to grow a crystal. We tried some different kits and methods with First Son, First Daughter, and Second Daughter, with varying degrees of success.

This year, I purchased the 4M Crystal Growing Experimental Kit and it was far and away the best kit we've ever used. Second Son (the third grader) used it to grow enormous crystals. It actually got away from us. Then later in the year, First Son (the tenth grader) used it to grow a second set of crystals for his geology term.

There's enough left for another set but I don't know if it'll still be around in three years when First Daughter is ready for tenth grade geology. We may have to use them up just for fun before then.

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

Level 3 Geology: A Two Year Plan

Mater Amabilis™ recommends a two year study of geology in Level 3 (sixth and seventh grades) with A Doorway of Amethyst by Mary Daly in year one and The Practical Geologist by Dougal Dixon in year two, each read once a week. First Son read A Doorway of Amethyst (which I wrote about on the blog) but he never finished The Practical Geologist. I ended up cutting it out when we joined a drama club and needed an afternoon off for rehearsals.

In the Facebook group, there was a suggestion to combine the two books over the two years as they cover many similar subjects and I decided to tackle that for First Daughter. In the course of discussions, one of the other members recommended The Field Guide to Geology by David Lambert. After checking it out from our library, I decided I liked it better for Level 3 than The Practical Geologist.

The two texts complement each other well, covering many of the same general subjects but with additional explanations or illustrations on different topics. The Field Guide to Geology has extensive illustrations on nearly every page showing just about every feature mentioned in the text. A Doorway of Amethyst often provides more explanation, often making concepts easier to understand. A Doorway of Amethyst includes detailed discussions of the Catholic view of Creation and the relationship between faith and science. The chapter on the Williston Basin is one of my favorite readings of Level 3.


I initially developed a two-year plan using The Field Guide to Geology as the organizing text, including readings from A Doorway of Amethyst as they were related. After two years, the student has read all of both books. I also included a few sections of The Practical Geologist. In the Mater Amabilis™, I shared a document of these plans. I also shared a spreadsheet that correlated all three texts by topic so you could pick and choose topics and texts to create your own plan.

I did make a few small changes to the plans as we used them with First Daughter in Level 3 year 1. I eliminated all the readings from The Practical Geologist when I decided to move that text to a term of high school (which First Son will do next year in tenth grade). Because there was a whole section of The Practical Geologist in year two, I adjusted the readings and moved one unit from the end of year 1 to the beginning of year 2. I also split a few of the early readings that seemed long to me.

Many of the readings lend themselves to a written narration. First Daughter and I found a notebook with lines on the front and blank pages on the back which was perfect for making notes and referencing diagrams she could sketch right into her notebook. There are a few options with alternating (or half sheets) of ruled and blank pages, but the one with a cover of rocks was too perfect for geology.

So here are the readings as we did them in year 1 and as I anticipate them in year 2. (Join the Facebook group to see the original plan and the spreadsheet correlating the three texts.)

Year 1

1 - A Doorway of Amethyst - Introduction pp 1-2. Narrate.

2 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 12-19 (Introduction, Earth in space, How everything began, Birth of the solar system) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 8-10 (Origin of the Solar System to the end of the chapter). Narrate.

3 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 20-23 (Our layered planet and Earth’s size and shape) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 3-4 (Depths of the Earth, stop before “What is rock? What is it made of?”). Draw a sketch of the inside of the Earth in your "rocks" journal. Narrate (oral or written).

4 - The Practical Geologist pp 16-19 (The evidence for the theories). Narrate.

5 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 24-27 (Earth’s building blocks 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 4-6 (“What is rock? What is it made of?” Stop before Heat from within). Narrate and/or explain how minerals like quartz differ from compounds like water and sugar.

6 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 28-29 (Energy and Earth) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 6-7 (Heat from Within, stop before Earth’s magnetism) AND p 11 (To see convection cells). Narrate and/or explain why the Earth’s interior is hot.

7 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 30-31 (Earth as a magnet) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 7-8 (Earth’s magnetism). Narrate.

8 - Unit 1 Exam – Tell what you know about the inside of the earth.

9 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 32-39 (Introduction, Earth’s changing surface, The ocean floor, Oceanic crust). Narrate.

10 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 40-43 (Seafloor spreading, How seafloor disappears) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 13-14 (stop before Ocean crust: four layers). Narrate.

11 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 44-45 (The continental crust) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 14-16 (Ocean crust: four layers through Continental crust; stop before Why we think they move). Narrate.

12 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 46-49 (Clues to continental drift, How continents evolve) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 16-18 (Why we think they move through How to build a continent; stop before Mountain vocabulary)

13 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 50-53 (Mountain building, Rocks recycled) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 18-19 (Mountain vocabulary and Mountain building). Narrate.

14 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 50-53 (Mountain building, Rocks recycled) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 18-19 (Mountain vocabulary and Mountain building). Narrate.

15 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 20-22 (Rocks and minerals through the end of the chapter). Narrate.

16 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 54-61 (Introduction, Rocks from magma, Fiery rocks formed underground, Volcanic rocks) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 25-26 (stop before Volcanic structure). Narrate.

17 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 62-65 (Anatomy of a volcano, Volcanic landforms) and A Doorway of Amethyst pp 26-27 (Volcanic structure; stop before Lava has many shapes). Narrate. Optional - Explore Volcano World for fun.

18 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 66-71 (Volcanic products, Hot water, gas, and mud, Fiery rocks of other worlds) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 27-30 (Lava has many shapes, Near the Deep Hot…, Extraterrestrial Geology, Exotic Waters, Etymology of the word "lava"). Narrate.

19 - A Doorway of Amethyst p 32-33. Make the globe on page 33. Explore the Digital World Tectonic Activity Map.

20 - Unit 3 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about volcanoes and volcanic rocks.

21 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 72-75 (Introduction, Rocks from sediments). Narrate.

22 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 76-79 (Rocks from fragments 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 35 (Sediments; stop before Coal and limestone). Narrate.

23 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 80-83 (Rocks from chemicals, Rocks from living things) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 35-37 (Coal and limestone, Conglomerates, Sediments; stop before How sediments forms) and p 43 (How to identify common sedimentary rocks). Narrate.

24 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 37-39 (How sediments form; stop before The geologic column). Narrate.

25 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 39-41 (The geologic column). Narrate. Optional: complete the lost geologic drill log exercise on pp 40-41.

26 - Unit 4 Exam – Example: Write what you know about sedimentary rocks and/or the geologic column.

27 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 84-89 (Introduction, Rising and sinking rocks, Tilting and folding rocks) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 45-46 (Rock types and their ages, Metamorphic rock is bent; stop before Six faults). Narrate.

28 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 90-91 (Breaking rocks: joints and faults) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 46-47 (Six faults; stop before Many parts; one earth). Draw and label the six fault types for your notes. Narrate.

29 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 92-95 (Earthquakes, Bombs from space) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 47 and 49 (Many parts; one earth, Earthquakes, Asteroid marks; stop before Ways to metamorphose rocks). Narrate.

30 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 96-99 (Rocks remade 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 49-51 (Ways to metamorphose rocks, Metamorphic rock families). Narrate.

31 - Unit 5 Exam – Example: Write what you know about rocks that have been deformed or altered and/or about metamorphic rocks.

32 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 100-105 (Introduction, Rocks attacked by weather 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 54 (Hadrian’s Wall). Narrate.

33 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 106-107 (Soil from rock) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 55-56 (Agents of change; stop before Soil: four horizons). Narrate.

34 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 108-109 (Types of soil) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 56-58 (Soil: four horizons, Soil types). Narrate.

35 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 110-113 (Mass movement, Slopes) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 60-62 (Gravity erosion). Sketch the different kinds of gravity erosion for your notes. Narrate.

36 - Unit 6 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about soil and/or erosion by weather or gravity.

37 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 114-119 (Introduction, Running water, Water comes and goes) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 65-66 (Erosion by water, The water cycle). Narrate.

38 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 120-123 (How rivers form valleys 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 68 (Why rivers run downhill, Widening the river, When rivers meet faults). Narrate.

39 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 124-127 (Where rivers shed their loads, Rivers revived) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 69-70 (Rivers: therefore sediments; stop before Drainage Patterns) and p 72 (Rivers changing their beds; stop before Plateaus and Ridges). Narrate.

40 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 128-129 (Rivers underground) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 67 (Underground waters). Narrate.

41 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 130-131 (Drainage patterns) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 70-71 (Drainage Patterns). Narrate.

42 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 132-133 (Plateaus and ridges) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 48 (Hogbacks) and pp 72-73 (Plateaus and Ridges; stop before Lakes). Narrate.

43 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 134-137 (How lakes form, Vanishing lakes) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 73-76 (Lakes, Vanishing lakes, A hole is forever—almost, Karst landscape, Caverns). Narrate.

44 - Unit 7 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about the water cycle, rivers, and/or underground water.

45 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 138-143 (Introduction, The sea in action, Sea attacks the land) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 79 (Waves and coastlines; stop before Rising and falling seas). Narrate.

46 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 144-145 (Drowned coastlines) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 79-81 (Rising and falling seas; stop before Causes of Waves). Draw and labels different kinds of coastlines for your notes. Narrate.

47- The Field Guide to Geology pp 146-149 (How sea builds land, Shores risen from the sea). Narrate.

48 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 150-151 (Where coral grows) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 81-82 (Causes of Waves). Narrate.

49 - Unit 8 Exam – Example: Tell me what you know about how the sea builds and destroys land.

50 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 152-155 (Introduction, Glaciers and ice sheets) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 93-95 (Rocks with Scratches; stop before Gathering the rocks). Narrate.

51 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 156-157 (How ice attacks the land) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 95-96 (Gathering the rocks, Glacial scratches; stop before Erratics). Narrate.

52 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 158-161 (Debris dumped by ice 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 96 (Erratics). Narrate.

53 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 162-163 (Around an ice sheet's rim) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 97-98 (Glacier, Louis Agassiz). Narrate. Independent reading - The Ghost Lake: The True Story of Louis Agassiz (on your Kindle)

54 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 164-167 (Wind the eroder, Windblown deposits) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 98-99 (Dunes, Loess, through end of chapter). Narrate.

55 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 168-169 (Lands shaped by wind and water). Narrate.

56 - Unit 9 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about how glaciers, ice, and wind shape land.


Year 2

1 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 170-173 (Introduction, Relative dating: using rocks) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 86 (Fossils in geology; stop before Biologic dating – fossils). Narrate.

2 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 174-177 (Relative dating: fossils 1 and 2) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 86-87 (Biologic dating—fossils; stop before Pre-Cambrian life). Narrate.

3 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 178-181 (Clocks in rocks, The geologic column) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 109-110 (The geologic column; stop before Major Geologic Periods). Narrate.

4 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 182-183 (Early times). Narrate.

5 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 184-185 (The age of former life). Narrate.

6 - Unit 10 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about the record of Earth’s history and how we know what we know about it.

7 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 186-189 (Introduction, The Age of Visible Life) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 87-88 (Pre-Cambrian life; stop before The Paleozoic). Narrate.

8 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 88-89 (The Paleozoic). Narrate.

9 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 190-191 (Cambrian period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 110-111 (Major Geologic Periods: Cambrian). Narrate.

10 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 192-193 (Ordovician period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 112 (Ordovician). Narrate.

11 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 194-195 (Silurian period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 112 (Silurian). Narrate.

12 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 196-197 (Devonian period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 112-113 (Devonian; stop before Carboniferous). Narrate.

13 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 198-199 (Carboniferous period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 113 (Carboniferous). Narrate.

14 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 200-201 (Permian period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 113-114 (Permian; stop before Mesozoic: Triassic). Narrate.

15- A Doorway of Amethyst pp 102-104 (The Mesozoic Era; stop before The Mesozoic ends). Narrate.

16 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 202-203 (Triassic period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 114 (Mesozoic: Triassic; stop before Jurassic). Narrate.

17 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 204-205 (Jurassic period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 114 (Jurassic; stop before Cretaceous). Narrate.

18 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 206-207 (Cretaceous period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst p 104 (The Mesozoic ends, Buttercups and magnolias, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic) and pp 114-115 (Cretaceous; stop before Cenozoic: Tertiary and Quarternary). Narrate.

19 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 208-211 (Paleogene period, Neogene period). Narrate.

20 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 212-213 (Quaternary period) AND A Doorway of Amethyst pp 115-116 (Cenozoic: Tertiary and Quarternary etc.; stop before Evolution – evidence for design). Narrate.

21 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 91-92 (The merry trilobite, Geologic eras & things, Songs of Zoic times). Narrate.

22 - Unit 11 Exam: Tell what you know about the Age of Visible Life.

23 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 116-117 (Evolution--evidence for design). Narrate.

24 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 163-166 (Appendix 2: Evolution; stop before Philosophy vs. Science). Narrate.

25 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 166-168 (Appendix 2: Philosophy vs. Science through the end of the appendix). Narrate.

26 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 119-121 (The Williston Basin). Narrate.

27 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 123-125 (The Williston Basin in North Dakota; stop before Cretaceous). Sketch and label this part of the column for your notebook.

28 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 125-135 (Cretaceous; stop before Jurassic). Sketch and label this part of the column for your notebook.

29 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 135-137 (Jurassic; stop before Triassic). Sketch and label this part of the column for your notebook.

30 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 137-143 (Triassic, Paleozoic, Mississippian; stop before Devonian). Sketch and label this part of the column for your notebook.

31 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 143-149 (Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, The Cambrian, Pre-Cambrian). Sketch and label this part of the column for your notebook.

32 - Williston Basin Exam – Example: Tell what you know about the Williston Basin.

33 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 216-223 (Introduction, Mapping rocks, Finding minerals and fossils, Extracting and displaying finds). Narrate.

32 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 224-227 (Useful minerals, Gemstones). Narrate.

33 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 228-233 (Oil and gas, Geological prospecting, Mining). Narrate.

34 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 234-237 (Working with rocks, Man-made rocks). Narrate.

35 - Unit 12 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about how people find and use rocks and minerals.

36 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 238-243 (Introduction, Remote sensing 1 and 2). Narrate.

37 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 244-247 (Landsat, Global positioning system). Narrate.

38 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 248-251 (Mapping the surface, Ice cover). Narrate.

39 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 252-253 (Volcanoes). Narrate.

40 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 254-257 (Earth's gravity field, Earth's magnetic field). Narrate.

41 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 258-261 (Faults and earthquakes, Seismic monitoring). Narrate.

42 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 262-265 (Satellite laser ranging, Prospecting). Narrate.

43 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 266-271 (Ocean surface topography, Seafloor profiling, Ocean flow). Narrate.

44 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 272-277 (The Ring of Fire, Acoustic monitoring, Submersibles). Narrate.

45 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 278-281 (Monitoring the atmosphere, Ozone mapping). Narrate.

46 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 282-283 (Future developments). Look up one of the “planned Earth observation missions” (which should already be completed or underway) and report on its findings.

47 - Unit 13 Exam – Example: Tell what you know about how the earth is monitored.

48 - The Field Guide to Geology pp 284-289 (Introduction, Great geologists 1 and 2).

49 - A Doorway of Amethyst pp 151-160 (Geologist & Catholic).

50 - Choose a geologist to research. You will write a report or prepare a presentation on the life and accomplishments of your choice.

51 - Find out about your geologist's early life.

52 - Find out about your geologist's education.

53 - Learn why your geologist chose his or her career.

54 - Read about your geologist's contributions to the field.

55 - Start combining what you've learned into an outline.

56 - Start writing your paper or presentation.

57 - Prepare a posterboard for the homeschool expo. Finish your paper/presentation.

I received nothing in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are my own. The texts and the notebook were all purchased. Links to Amazon are affiliate links. 

Geology and Faith: The Seashell on the Mountaintop

The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius who Discovered a New History of the Earth

by Alan Cutler

Through an unexpected sequence of events, I pre-read this book I was considering for First Son next year (tenth grade) even though there's plenty of this year's pre-reading I haven't done (and may never do). Its excellence has cemented my decision to add a term of geology as our earth science in tenth grade.

He [Steno] showed that the earth had a history, revealed in its own rocks. As a result, the static world assumed by both the scientists and churchman of his day gave way to an evolutionary one. And with that idea came unlimited possibilities.

This biography of Bl. Nicolaus Steno (1638-1686, beatified in 1988) describes his life of science, his life of faith, and how each influenced and fostered the other. As with the best of scientists, faith and reason were so intertwined as to be nearly impossible to unravel.

"In various places," wrote Steno, "I have seen that the earth is composed of layers superimposed on each other at an angle to the horizon."

It is an amazing fact of the history of science that before Steno few European writers had thought this fundamental observation worth mentioning.

Steno's book De solido inaugurated a new science, that of geology. The three tenets he proposed and explained in this book, superposition, original horizontality, and lateral continuity, remain the main principles of the science, ones so instrumental they are general presented in the first chapter of any geology text, even for young students. (I've read a few, so I'm speaking from experience.)

The geological concepts are explained clearly in the biography, so anyone could read it without any scientific preparation. For geology students, however, its principles will echo what they have read in textbooks and, perhaps, reveal the great intellectual leap Steno made to establish them. Once they have been pointed out, it's shocking to imagine they weren't always obvious.

The author is respectful of Bl. Nicolaus's religious beliefs.

Such intimate mingling of science and religion seems strange to us today, but the distance that we now put between the two realms would have seemed equally strange to scientist's of Steno's generation. Most of the prime movers of the seventeenth-century scientific revolution were deeply religious. Conflict between true science and true religion was impossible in their minds because both ultimately came from God. Despite his problems with Rome, Galileo remained a devout Catholic until the end of his life.

Cutler describes Steno's conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism, which surprised many of the scientists of Steno's day. While considering such a drastic step, Steno read, studied, talked with friends, and compared theological viewpoints. In the end, it was a leap of faith (as it always is), but he spent much of his time afterward carefully explaining his views to his contemporaries.

Conditioned by the familiar story of Galileo's persecution by the Catholic Church and by the modern-day clash between scientists and Protestant fundamentalists over evolution in the classroom, we often assume antagonism between religion and science is inevitable. But as much as their methods and ideals differ today, over the history of both there has been easily as much cross-fertilization as conflict. Until very recently, religious and scientific arguments were advanced by both sides in every important scientific controversy. Too often what filters down to us in the history books are the scientific arguments of the winners and the religious arguments of the losers. Thus the picture of a long-standing rift between the two.

It's refreshing to read a scientific biography that gives such balanced thoughts on faith and religion. It's not that there is a conflict between faith and science, but there is an assumption that there is by many in the scientific community and, consequently, in the ones writing biographies. I think this book would be a great supplement to a foundation that prepares students to enter the world where they will encounter this assumption in science classes and books.

Though First Son (and presumably my other children in later years) will read this along with a text in geology, there is quite a bit of geology in the text so it could serve as a geology component of a survey of earth sciences, especially for students who do not intend to focus on scientific studies after high school.

I received nothing in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are my own. Amazon links above are affiliate links.

Grit and Luck: The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt

by William Nothdurft with Josh Smith

This book begins with a vivid description of destruction raining down on dinosaurs from above.

The second extinction of the dinosaurs from the Bahariya Oasis began shortly after midnight. It came from the sky. It began with a barely discernible disturbance in the air, a distant rumble that insinuated itself into the quiet of the night and quickly grew in intensity to a deafening roar. Then, suddenly, the sound became sight and the dark became light as the sky itself became fire. Moments later the roaring was punctuated by a stunning explosion that shattered the still night air. Then another. Then dozens more, until the earth shook and the ground split.

I anticipated my son being immediately transfixed. This book is recommended for Earth Studies in year 1 of Level 5 (ninth grade) in the beta Mater Amabilis™ high school plans, currently found only in the high school group on Facebook. I think it would also work in the second year of Level 5 which includes a study of Africa.

Early in the book, while talking about Dr. Stromer, the German in Egypt, the author describes a feeling that appears often in Charlotte Mason's geography book that we're also reading this year.

He was an unreconstructed colonialist snob. His journal makes it clear that he regarded the Egyptians he hired as inferior beings--ignorant, dirty, greedy, devious, even dangerous. The great irony, one that no doubt would have been lost on a Victorian-era aristocrat like Stromer, was that he depended upon these people utterly--to manage the camels, to guide him through the desert and keep him safe, to cook for him, and to carry burdens.

The book tells the story of one group of paleontologists who sought the original site of a German scientist's discoveries in Egypt before World War I. He was never able to return and, surprisingly given his success, no one else had either. It's a fascinating and fast-paced report of what life is actually like for graduate students and fellows planning an expedition and suffering through it's excitement and disappointments. Allison Tumarkin, a graduate student in the group, wrote in her journal:

Okay, now I know I'm really in the field. My clothes are covered in plaster, my hands are permanently Vinaced, my skin is cracking from plaster burn, my knees and shins are covered with bruises and every other word out of my mouth seems to be an expletive. We have so many inside jokes at this point it's like we've invented our own language. How could anyone ask for more?

There are a few descriptions of interactions with local Egyptians (in addition to the Egyptian scientists who participated in the expedition). Ken Lacovara, who could play the drums a little, talked about the differences between how American play drums and how Egyptians play drums. One evening, he had the opportunity to join in a community event.

For Americans, music--especially jazz--is a form of self-expression. For Egyptians, though, playing in a large group, it's more an expression of solidarity and camaraderie. But it was great fun anyway; I couldn't hold a conversation with these guys, but at least we could speak in music.

There are a few moments in the book that convey the thrill and amazement of field studies. Ken Lacovara talked about a rock he found with a colleague, Jen Smith:

When Jen and I looked at that rock, we were looking literally at a ten-second snapshot of part of the history of the world, a moment almost a hundred million years ago--one frame of the movie--preserved for all time. 

This is a marvelous book of popular science for high schoolers, especially those interested in paleontology. It combines bits and pieces of paleontology (of course), geology, geography, culture, history, scientific methodology, and the culture of science. First Son is only a few weeks in, but he's enjoying it tremendously.

I purchased this book used and have received nothing for this honest review. The links above are affiliate links to Amazon.

Poetry in the Sea: The Sea Around Us

The Sea Around Us

by Rachel Carson

This is one of the nature books recommended for Level 5 Year 1 (ninth grade) by the beta Mater Amabilis™ plans (available in the high school facebook group). If you have read books from Mater Amabilis™ through elementary or middle school, you will encounter passages recalling A Book of Discovery and A Doorway of Amethyst, among others. These are fresh in my mind as First Daughter enters Level 3 this year (sixth grade) and it's lovely to consider how these connections will grow and develop over the years, creating a rich background for any future studies.

I have the Special Edition linked above with a beautiful forward by Ann Zwinger and a chapter added at the end by Jeffrey Levinton with updated scientific information (as of 1989).

Though originally published in 1950 and revised in 1961, the scientific information in the book is not generally outdated. Often, Carson described observations rather than formulating theories. When she does talk about theories, there are often competing ones described and an admission that they just didn't know the answers yet. Levinton's chapter at the end provided some scientific updates but I don't remember anything striking me there as out-dated either. His writing is not nearly as lovely as that of Carson.

Carson begins before there was even an ocean, exploring how the earth formed and eventually water precipitated out and rained down. She explores in thought and word the ocean's surface, it's hidden depths, islands erupting, tides, and climate.

[Islands] are ephemeral, created today, destroyed tomorrow. With few exceptions, they are the results of the violent, explosive, earth-shaking eruptions of submarine volcanoes, working perhaps for millions of years to achieve their end. It is one of the paradoxes in the ways of earth and sea that a process seemingly so destructive, so catastrophic in nature, can result in an act of creation.

She easily brings the ancient life (and death) of the ocean creatures to a modern life, encouraging by her words excursions to seas long expired as well as the current sea-shore.

You do not have to travel to find the sea, for the traces of its ancient stands are everywhere about. Though you may be a thousand miles inland, you can easily find reminders that will reconstruct for the eye and ear of the mind the processions of its ghostly waves and the roar of its surf, far back in time. So, on a mountain top in Pennsylvania, I have sat on rocks of whitened limestone, fashioned of the shells of billions upon billions of minute sea creatures.

In the last paragraph of the book, she writes:

For the sea lies all about us. The commerce of all lands must cross it. The very winds that move over the lands have been cradled on its broad expanse and seek ever to return to it. The continents themselves dissolve and pass to the sea, in grain after grain of eroded land. So the rains that rose from it return again in rivers. In its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life and receives in the end, after, it may be, many transmutations, the dead husks of that same life.

My father was a bit unnerved that I chose a book by Carson for First Son to read. He believes her Silent Spring was the beginning of policies that have endangered millions of people who now die of malaria. First of all, there's very little of environmental hyperbole in The Sea Around Us. (Frankly, there's more of that in Levinton's chapter than the whole rest of the book combined.)

Secondly, Carson never advocated eliminating pest control entirely, though I'm sure some of her acolytes did. I researched a little about the use of DDT today and learned that some countries are indeed using it because other measures were not as successful at curbing mosquito populations and malarial infections. It seems like most medical communities, however, are concerned about its effects not just on the environment or birds but on the health of people themselves. (Some countries spray it only inside houses, on all the walls.) It seems likely that DDT in these cases prevents deaths from malaria but may be causing other health problems, so it seems prudent to continue to seek for other methods of addressing malaria.

All that to say, this is a book you can read even if you think Carson was completely wrong about DDT, but my own opinion is that DDT is detrimental and we should be continually seeking out other methods of controlling mosquitos and the spread of malaria.

In the Introduction, Ann Zwinger quoted Rachel Carson's speech after accepting the National Book Award:

"The winds, the sea, and the moving tides are what they are," she said. "If there is wonder and beautify and majesty in them, science will discover these qualities. If they are not there, science cannot create them. If there is poetry in my book about the sea, it is not because I deliberately put it there but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out the poetry."

I think it's likely there are lots of academic publications about the sea or the tides that lack poetry, but this book certainly does not. It's absolutely delightful.

I purchased this book used. I received nothing for this review. The links above are affiliate links to Amazon.

Homeschool Record: Our 2015-2016 Poetry

We read from a book of poetry about once a week just for beauty and enjoyment as part of our cultural studies loop.

Just for the blog record, here are the books of poetry we read during the 2015-2016 school year (6th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade, pre-kindergarten).

The Dragons are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky, pictures by Peter Sis - This is a whole book of poems in the voice of different dragons. Some are silly or clever. The children enjoyed them all. The illustrations were adequate for the poems, though I prefer other illustrators to Sis. (library copy)

The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems edited by Donald Hall - This is a wonderful anthology covering nearly all of America's historical periods. The illustrations vary, matched with contemporary poems. (library copy)

Is It Far to Zanzibar? Poems about Tanzania  by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Betsy Lewin - A delightful collection of poetry sharing life in the African country of Tanzania with wonderful illustrations.  This is a great book to include if you're Reading Around the World and want to cover Africa. (library copy)

Carnival of the Animals with new verses by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Mary GrandPre - We were revisiting poetry by Jack Prelutsky because my children enjoy his poems tremendously. This particular book is fun because it celebrates the Carnival of the Animals with new lyrics. It includes a CD of the music by Camille Saint-Saens. (library copy)

Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up by Lisa Westberg Peters, pictures by Cathie Felstead - I loved this quirky book of geology poems, illustrated with bold colors and swirls. (library copy)

Goodnight Songs by Margaret Wise Brown is a book of twelve quiet poems illustrated by twelve different respected children's book illustrators like Jonathan Bean and Melissa Sweet. Tom Proutt and Emily Gary set each of the poems to music, available on the included CD. My children listened to the poems when I read them, enjoying the illustrations, but the younger ones loved the CD. They even asked me to add a couple of the songs to their playlist on Spotify. (library copy)

The Children's Own Longfellow, poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which I wrote about here. (library copy, but now we have our own copy from  PaperBackSwap.com)

America the Beautiful in the Words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - an older book with photographs of different American scenes to illustrated some of Longfellow's poetry. The kids were not as interested in this book. (library copy, one which they no longer have)


The Cuckoo's Haiku: and Other Birding Poems by Micheal J. Rosen, illustrated by Stan Fellows, provides about seven poems about different birds for each of the seasons. I am not a good judge of haiku, but the illustrations are lovely examples of nature study journals. I loved this book of poems. (library copy)

My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins - We finished the year with this book as a complement to First Daughter's third grade state study. We didn't quite finish it and picked it back up in the fall. I like this collection of poems that highlights a few characteristics of the areas of the United States. We've checked it out from the library numerous times, but now we have our own copy thanks to PaperBackSwap.com.

The History of the World through a Volcano: Krakatoa

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded by Simon Winchester

About five years ago, Kansas Dad and I saw something about Krakatoa in a documentary we were watching, so I added this book to my reading list. So of course, it was finally time to read it.

In the aftermath of Krakatoa's eruption, 165 villages were devastated, 36,417 people died, and uncountable thousands were injured--and almost all of them, villages and inhabitants, were victims not of the eruption directly but of the immense sea-waves that were propelled outward from the volcano by that last night of detonations.

In this book, Winchester weaves together a story of geology, plate tectonics, biology, Dutch colonialism, Javanese culture, Islamic militarists, art history, and, of course, Krakatoa.

The detonations were heard (and recorded in official reports) 2,968 miles away, on Rodriguez Island.

And the 2,968-mile span that separates Krakatoa and Rodriguez remains to this day the most prodigious distance recorded between the place where unamplified and electrically unenhanced natural sound was heard and the place where that sound originated.

It is not a book entirely friendly to Christianity, but the small slights were not too bothersome.

I had considered sharing this book with First Son, as a reward at the end of two years of geology. There is an excellent introduction to plate tectonics and description of the forces that account for the violent volcanoes found in the Indonesian islands.

Suddenly a Hadean nightmare is created miles beneath the subducted continental crust: Immense volumes of boiling, gaseous, white-hot magma, alive with bubbles, energy, and restless muscle, seethe in vaults and chambers of unimaginable size and temperature. The Promethean material searches ceaselessly for some weakened spot in the crust above it. Every so often it finds one, a crack, crevice, or fault, and then forces its way up into a holding chamber. Before long the accumulating pressure of the uprushing material becomes too great, and the temperature too high, and the proportion of dissolved gas becomes too large, and it explodes out into the open air in a vicious cannonade of destruction.

Later he explains specifically what happens when continental plates collide with oceanic plates. The oceanic crust, being heavily, is pushed under the continental crust, taking with it just the right amount of water. This water allows the rocks of the mantle to melt at a lower temperature, and decreases the density at the same time which opens a path for that partly melted rock to escape, which then melts even more rocks.

 Then, with the dissolved carbon dioxide and water vapor suddenly turning back into gas and frothing out of solution, the whole mass rushes up and out as a torrent of phenomenal explosivity into the unsuspecting open air: as a gigantic and classical subduction-zone volcano.

Over the last several years, I've read a number of descriptions of subduction-zone volcanoes with First Son and First Daughter. This book described them in a manner both more exciting and more clearly than anything I've read before. Unfortunately, it's surrounded by chapters and chapters of other topics which, while I found them interesting, First Son may not entirely enjoy.

After describing all the effects of 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, the author asks why such things happen. He answers with a description of earth's perfect placement in the universe for the development and support of life.

And then there are the volcanoes--just the right number, of just the right size, for our own good. The deep heat reservoir inside the earth is not so hot, for instance, as to cause ceaseless and unbearable volcanic activity on the surface. The amount of heat and thermal decay within the earth happens to be just perfect for allowing convection currents to form and to turn over and over in the earth's mantle, and for the solid continents that lie above them to slide about according to the complicated and beautiful mechanisms of plate tectonics.

I also rather wish the author had provided endnotes or footnotes, rather than a general bibliography. There were a few times I would have liked a bit more clarification or to look at another source for a fact, but they weren't identified that way.

If you want to learn about the eruption of Krakatoa, you can probably find more succinct descriptions in other books. If you want to delve deeply into the world of 1883, including extensive history of its development, in addition to a complete history of Krakatoa's emergence as a volcano eons before, this book is the one for you.

My Favorite Picture Books: Rocks in His Head

Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst, pictures by James Stevenson

Based on the true story of the author's father, this book is a fantastic addition to a geology study. He loved rocks from the time he was a young boy, collecting and studying them his entire life. Every few pages the phrase "rocks in his head" repeats, to which her father always agreeably replies, "Maybe I do."

There's a little history (the rise of the automobile and the Great Depression) in addition to the geology, but most importantly is his humility and quiet perseverance. His rocks give him a steady joy, even when faced with struggles. In this end, his dedication to his passion and his never-ending quest for more knowledge earn him his dream job.

Second Daughter has been inspired to not only collect rocks after reading this book, but to search through myriads of library books to identify her rocks and label them. Now she and First Daughter have rock displays on their dressers.

Reading Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth and Enjoying Geology

Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth: A First Book About Geology
by Herman and Nina Schneider, with illustrations be Edwin Herron

A fellow member of the Mater Amabilis facebook page mentioned this book coming back into print last summer and I immediately asked our library to purchase it. They did! When I skimmed it, I knew I wanted First Daughter to read it in the coming year (in third grade) because we were planning a trip out West and this book would be a wonderful introduction to the landscapes that would soon surround her. She's an avid reader who loves more subjects to check off her list, so I just added it to Mater Amabilis Level 1A Year 2. She was already scheduled to read Mountains and Volcanoes. I wrote about our plan for Mountains and Volcanoes before First Son completed it here. I simplified it for First Daughter since she was also reading this book, but thought they complemented each other well and left both in her lesson schedule.

First Daughter read a handful of pages from this book once a week. She would verbally narrate to me and often did activities suggested in the text. Most of the activities were straightforward and easy to complete with materials we had in the house or in the dirt outside, though a few would have been improved with a trip to the garden section for a few things.

This book delightfully explains geological themes such as the water cycle, erosion, underground water, minerals, mountains, coastal areas, oceans, earthquakes, volcanoes, precious stones, and metals. Through it all is the idea that the earth is ever-changing as tiny particles are slowly or, more rarely, dramatically broken down and incorporated anew.

Over and over again, water keeps making its journey from the clouds. The water you used to wash your hands this morning is millions of years old, and it has made millions of journeys to and from the clouds, and has traveled millions of miles. Perhaps, long ago, it turned a water will in a mill in Vermont, or it was churned into white foam by Columbus' flagship, or floated off the coast of Greenland, part of a huge iceberg, or shone as dew on a lilac leaf. It may have pushed a few grains of sand on to the banks of the Nile River in Egypt, or dripped off Abraham Lincoln's hat as he walked alone in the rain. You might have rolled it into a snowball or seen it steam out of a pot of soup. It might have been in the mud puddle your dog played in last week. But each time, the warm sun lifted it, and made it pure, and sent it up into the clouds, ready to fall again, clear and fresh, upon the earth.

The text and illustrations clearly explain and show the geological concepts. My daughter narrated the pages well and was able to identify some of the ideas at a visit to a local water center at the end of the school year.

As I mentioned, First Daughter read this book in third grade, but I think it would be appropriate at a range of levels. Second Daughter (age 7 and in first grade) would have understood the book if I had read it aloud to her. First Son (back when he was in third grade) probably would have needed me to read it aloud to him. I would be comfortable assigning this book through fifth grade, and perhaps even some sixth graders would benefit from it. (I often wondered if First Son would have struggled a bit less with A Doorway of Amethyst this year if he had read Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth first.)

You are part of the earth's story. In your blood is iron from plants that drew it out of the soil. Your teeth and bones were once coral of the sea and tiny, beautiful sea animals. The water you drink has been in clouds high over the highest mountains of Asia and in lovely, misty waterfalls in Africa. The air you breathe has blown and swirled through places of the earth that no one has ever seen. Every bit of you is a bit of the earth, and has been on many strange and wonderful journeys over countless millions of years.

We enjoyed this book in addition to Mountains and Volcanoes. I will probably include both for Second Daughter when she is in third grade, but if I could only choose one, it would be Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth.

For those that might be interested in using this book, here are the page breakdowns we used. There are assignments for 25 weeks because we took Advent off. If you live in areas allowing for outside exploration to complement the studies (you know, by a mountain or a coast, etc.), those weeks might also be used for field trips. We visited a local spring one week (as part of our nature study) where the water table was visible, for example.

Part One: The Land Torn Down
3-10
10-15
16-22
23-28
29-34
35-40
41-47
49-55
55-59
61-66
67-73
73-80
81-84
85-91

Part Two: The Sea Filled In
95-101
102-106

Part Three: The Land Built Up
109-116
116-122
123-134
135-141
142-147
148-154
155-161
161-166

Part Four: Man and the Earth
169-171

Sixth Grade Geology with A Doorway of Amethyst

A Doorway of Amethyst by Mary Daly

A Doorway of Amethyst is recommended at Mater Amabilis for sixth grade, Level 3 Year 1. As far as I know, it's only available at the Hedge School (linked above). Mary Daly is also the author of Genesis 1, which I wrote about here. Her ideas about Creation and the intersection of faith and science are apparent in all of her writings.

I was excited for First Son to study geology this year. He has very little exposure to this subject and we're planning a camping trip out west for later this year.

This book was one of the more challenging ones for First Son this year. The text is rather dense with definitions and new vocabulary introduced quickly. At only twelve chapters, I had planned to read half a chapter a week, once a week, and still finish in only 24 or 25 weeks, but it was quickly apparent he wasn't able to ingest that much new material in one sitting. I adjusted our schedule a little bit so he was still usually reading half a chapter a week, but spread over two days each week. His "narration" consisted in a written page of notes and drawings for each reading. His pages of notes were often his favorite part of geology, as he was free to make silly drawings and goofy jokes

There are crossword puzzles in many of the chapters, sometimes more than one per chapter. At first, I asked First Son to complete these puzzles as extra practice with the vocabulary, in addition to his written notes. He found them very difficult and I sometimes agreed. Every once in a while, the answer would be a geological term even I couldn't find in the text. They were easier if I provided a list of the answers, but after awhile, I simply dropped the crosswords and was satisfied with his note pages.

In addition to the crosswords, most chapters have a review section at the end with suggested projects, questions, or activities for further exploration. Usually we skipped these, but they could be useful in showing work in a portfolio or for those who do not use narration. There is also an extensive list of internet resources, none of which we used because I didn't really pay attention when someone mentioned them, but hopefully I'll remember them next time around.

First Son improved dramatically at his comprehension of this textbook over the course of the year. I believe this was a combination of practice, maturing, and a decreased level of stress once we set aside the crosswords and I spread the readings over two days a week.

The book is spiral bound, which makes it easy to hold open and lay flat. The illustrations are in full color and clearly illustrate the geological formations. There are some mispellings and typographical errors in the text, but usually it was still understandable. First Son was quite disturbed at a mistake on the date for the Jurassic era on one table, but it was easily corrected with a quick search online.

Most important to know is that the text is overtly anti-Creationist and specifically Catholic. In chapter 11, the author describes Glenn Morton's paper on the geologic column found in the Williston Basin of North Dakota (which may have once been online, but it doesn't seem to be at the time I'm writing this review). This paper specifically counters those who believe all sediments were laid down during a great flood. Apparently, he was ostracized by his former friends when he began to question his faith in the flood and wrote this paper partly to explain his scientific understanding of the geologic column and to bolster the faith of those who choose to believe in God who created the world over a great length of time. Mary Daly writes:

Our Catholic faith does not teach that we must believe that the Flood of Noah actually covered the entire earth, only that there was a flood of very great extent, that it was God's doing, that it changed real history, and that God saved some number of men who "walked with him" for the purpose of deepening his covenant with mankind.

Chapter 12, "Geologist and Catholic," is a brief history of the most important geologists over the history of the field, including the most important who were not Catholic.

There is also an appendix on Evolution in which the author leads the reader through an exploration of Roemer's table of vertebrate development (published in 1933). I failed to find this table available online, but it's an interesting one showing eras on the left and evolution from the bottom to the top (earlier times to more recent times). It "shows how various backboned animals emerged in the geologic record," beginning with the jawless fish. For each type of phyla, there is a branching off relatively early in its existence and then...nothing. No new families.

According to Mary Daly, Roemer's belief in Darwinian evolution is not supported by his own representation of evolutionary history because it "exhibits evolution as a process both lawful and directional" which suggests it is directed by a "mind" and suggests mankind was the final and intentional result.

Evolutionary creativity has wholly collapsed through the phylum chordata, and since evolutionary creativity has always been greatest in the youth of any class of creatures, not in its final speculation, there is no scientific reason to expect a new surge of creativity.

She continues later:

National evolution certainly appears to be over. For whatever reason, or without any reason, it stopped when mankind arrived, and seems destined to continue, if at all, only under the designing hand of mankind.

While the appendix on evolution could be skipped, the theories developed in that section underlie the entire book. I asked First Son to read it and narrate it orally. We had a fantastic discussion of Darwinian evolution, science, theories, faith, and how preconceived notions of all kinds cloud our ability to study the world and discern truth, a discussion that did not depend on agreeing with the author on all of her points. (I actually think I do agree with the author, though I hesitate to be quite so explicit in dismissing the views of those who may disagree with me as unreasonable. I may think they are unreasonable, but I don't like to say so directly.)

We will definitely use this resource again when my other children.

Links to the Hedge School are not affiliate links. I purchased this copy of A Doorway of Amethyst.