Category Archives: Homeschooling

Much Ado

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Group of Four is engaging in some Shakespeare again, this time it is Much Ado about Nothing. At our house we began by reading through the Charles and Mary Lamb version of the story to give everyone an idea of what to expect when we watched. B7 and A11 sketched the characters as I read to help keep the relationships in order. When Group of Four met last week we watched the movie version directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring both Branagh as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. It is a very enjoyable version which amused and inspired the young actors.

Earlier this week, the group participated in a workshop run by the Company of Fools for a group of thirty or so homeschooled students. The workshop ran all day and covered many aspects of acting, zeroing in on Much Ado about Nothing for several of the activities. The workshop was run by two of the “fools”, one an actor, the other a designer. I was very impressed by the way they worked with the children and the activities which kept everyone engaged all day.

They started with warm ups for voice, body and imagination. Following this they were taught a technique for learning lines by giving every word an action. Every word, not just the big words or the “easy to think of an action” words. Using this method they all learnt a section from Titus Andronicus. In pairs they then used the same method to learn and present a line from Much Ado.

Getting into character was the next focus and time was spent on facial expressions, body movements, walking styles and a little dialogue. The only costumes used all day were hats and the group spent time looking at a large collection of hats, working out why a particular one suited a particular character from Much Ado. Then of course they wore the hats and became the characters. After lunch the activities were a little longer as the children used scenes from Much Ado to create tableaux, posters and skits.

At Group of Four next week all the children will be acting in one or more scenes which the moms have cut and pasted together. We have chosen those scenes which really amused or impressed the children or classic scenes which just must be done. Our house will be filled with Shakespearean language once again as lines are practised and inserted into all sorts of conversations.

2008 so far

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Before 2008 even started we had one sick girl, but as she had done nothing but rest for two days straight and was feeling a lot better, we all attended a New Year’s Day dinner at a friend’s house. By the end of the night I was not feeling at all well and headed straight for bed, where I stayed for days. One child, then another, became sick, slept beside me during the day and then after a day or so was well enough to be up and about. I was not. After a week had gone by I was not recovering and L13 had relapsed so we visited the doctor, who prescribed more rest and some medication for me.

Two weeks into 2008 I am now up and about but still taking things slowly. L13 is still recovering. She was up on Saturday for a rehearsal and played on Sunday at two Seniors homes before playing her solo at our studio recital. Both girls played their solos beautifully, making us particularly proud as they had both battled sickness over the previous two weeks. I think the effort required to play on Sunday took a lot out of L13, so it will be a little longer before she is at full strength again.

All the while my cousin has been coming and going, showing herself around the city when Andrew (the well one) wasn’t available to accompany her. She did get a bit sick herself, but found a cheap flight to Florida for a few days which warmed her up and took her out of our plague ridden house for a while. She is off to Toronto and Niagara today, so hopefully by the time she returns we will all be able to do something together.

As you can imagine my school preparations did not get done but we are easing into school work again, beginning with the basics. For years now Friday afternoons in January and February have been spent cross-country skiing. Hopefully we can do that again this year. While I was lying in bed I did read an excellent book, which I hope to review soon. I also searched through The Book Tree for books to add to the children’s reading lists for this year. So life is getting back to normal and I have been told by several people, especially my husband that pneumonia can take a while to recover from, so I will try not to be impatient.

Two days at the museum

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Ottawa does museums very well. My favourite is the Museum of Civilization, over the river in Hull and we were there twice last week. On Friday we spent the day there to review what we have covered so far in Canadian history. Currently we are looking at the development of settlements and the many groups of people involved in those settlements. The museum has a fantastic exhibit called the Canada Hall which traces Canada’s history from the Viking explorers to modern times. Even though we have been through the exhibit many times we only allowed ourselves to get as far as the Coureur de Bois’ shack this time. As we looked in the hospital we noticed it was Jeanne Mance’s Hospital, that we had read and written about the previous week. There were a few other moments where names and locations suddenly meant more than they had on previous visits.

Face to Face, a new exhibit on the top floor features a variety of Canadians from various periods and people groups. We wandered through, pausing the longest at Samuel de Champlain’s display to see what we could recognise from our studies. Our plan is to spend a day at the museum every month or so to reinforce and complement our studies at home. After lunch we went to the library in the museum and were able to choose a couple of videos to watch. Both fitted in perfectly with the topics we have just covered: The Voyageurs and Rendevous Canada 1606 both films from the National Film Board.

The following day we were back at the museum again as Stellae Boreales was performing in association with the new Glenn Gould exhibit. Although the audience was small the concert went well and was a good rehearsal  for their fundraising concert on November 30th.

Citizenship test

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We finished our citizenship unit at Group of Four today. Over the past few weeks we have split the group into age 7-10 year olds and 11-13 year olds to cover as much  as possible. Using the material provided online by Citizenship and Immigration Canada we have covered government, symbols, aboriginal peoples, geography, resources,  some history and the rights and responsibilities of a Canadian citizen. To close the unit we picked questions from one of the online practice tests and made quizzes for the children. If you would like to test your knowledge the test is here.

At the close of the session we presented the Canadian citizens with a reaffirmation certificate which states that they “…having reflected on the values, rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, have demonstrated their commitment to Canada by reaffirming their citizenship.” L13 and A11 were not presented with certificates as they are not citizens yet and will not be until their mother and father fill out pages of forms and proceed a little further along the path to being Canadian citizens themselves.

A trip to the milliner

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This year we are studying Canadian History with our friends N,P & H. As we are up to the Fur Trade at present N investigated the possibility of visiting someone who could give us the benefit of their experience in hat making and research. The result was one of the highlights of our school year so far.

Ruth Mills is a milliner who lives ten minutes from here. She kindly agreed to talk to us about the process of making hats from beaver pelts and about hat making in general. Her expertise has often been sought in making reproduction hats for museums, tv shows and re-enactments of historical events.

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On arriving in her basement studio, we were given a introduction to her work. Several vintage hats and bonnets were on display and Ruth explained who wore them, during what time period and how they were made. Sitting on small hat stands were some of her own creations also, one which she let the girls try if they wanted to.

Following our mini photo shoot with the fascinator we moved into the part of Ruth’s studio where all the creating happens. Sitting on the table were five different hat blocks, each with a piece of buckram beside it. Ruth proceeded to explain to us all how the children could make the crown of a hat out of a piece of buckram. It took a little time to find a hat block to suit everyone’s taste but once that was done, they wet the buckram and began to pull it over the hat blocks. As it is pulled it needs to be fastened with pins and pulled some more, always working to decrease the number of wrinkles and pleats around the base of the crown.

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Before we left Ruth spent some time showing us and giving the children samples of a range of materials she uses to make hats. She used a scrap piece of fur felt to demonstrate the steaming method she uses to stretch and shape felt hats. Seeing the raw materials for different styles of hats was very interesting. We all have much more of an idea of the process involved in making a hat and the children all have a crown ready to finish and decorate in their own style. When we finished Ruth took a few minutes to show us photos of reproduction hats she has made for clients including one in the Museum of Civilization that we have walked past many times. Next time we are there we will view it with a new appreciation of the research and care that went into its construction.

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Citizenship

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I requested applications this week so Andrew, the girls and I can become Canadian citizens. That is the first step. We will receive our package, complete with applications for adults and minors, the booklet A Look at Canada, and all other necessary information for our application.

In order to become citizens we need to meet certain requirements, fill out forms, pay fees and pass a test. The group of four has decided to help us pass the test by doing a citizenship unit. Wondering if their own knowledge might not be enough to pass the test, they were all happy to study with us and increase the children’s general knowledge about Canada, its history, people, resources, geography and government.

We are not relinquishing our Australian citizenship, by the way, we will have dual citizenship, a privilege B7 already enjoys.

An apple a day

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As summer slips away we are enjoying cooler nights, crisper mornings but warm sunny days. This pleases me as I am in no hurry for summer to end. I had to get jeans and a sweatshirt out last weekend, but I wasn’t happy about it. Signs of the season change are all around us: leaves changing colour and falling, pumpkins in the fields and road side stands and of course Halloween madness in the stores. It is also apple picking time.

img_3514crop.jpgLast year we picked apples with my parents at an orchard a fair way out of town. It was a pleasant drive and we came home with bags of Lobos. This year we chose an orchard closer to town so the group of four could all pick together. Macintosh and Empire were available . Everyone took a quarter bushel basket but I soon realised that I didn’t actually want that many apples!

On arriving home I filled the fruit bowl and made some apple sauce for supper but we hardly made a dent in the load. Apple crumble, apple pies and more apple sauce are all in the plan for the next week and of course morning, afternoon and bedtime snacks are covered also. I have never dried apples but I might look into how to go about it.

 

On location

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A friend called me yesterday to see if we would like to watch some filming that was going on at her place. She and her husband own a farm, twenty minutes away from us, where they keep horses. Several weeks ago, she had let me know that they were considering letting a tv series do some filming using their horses, barns and beautiful farm scenery.

When we arrived they were just redoing a scene with one of the horses. Two girls were standing by the horse talking about a boy, when the boy turned up and whipped off his cap to reveal…a girl! A peak into the tent where the monitors were gave me a glimpse of what the viewers will eventually see. While the crew prepared for another scene, we were taken on a short tour of the horse barn, the adjacent enclosures and the farmhouse, built in 1885. The lovely white farm house is surrounded by red geraniums and blue lobelia and makes a beautiful backdrop for filming.

We returned to the corrals where the actors and crew were rehearsing another short scene. After many repetitions of the scene with out cameras we watched several takes before we had to leave. The action was taking place outside the corral with a horse behind them, which was apparently not the original plan. The actors and crew, who had no horse experience, had tried the scene in with the horses several times only to find that the sudden appearance of the girls spooked the horses every time. We were there for a couple of hours during which time they may have completed one three or four minute scene. It was a very interesting glimpse into the world of tv.

Feasting in the tropics

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Last time I updated you about B6’s travel he was in Australia making lamingtons. He has clocked thousands of kilometres since then. In Egypt he familiarised himself with some hieroglyphs and used them to write a message in his travel journal. Then it was off to Ghana and South Africa, over the ocean to Brazil, Peru and Venezuala, a quick trip to Guatemala to see the quetzal and then down south to the Antarctic. I know that the Antarctic isn’t a country, but it was requested by the traveller so we are counting it. We were amazed by the story of Shackleton, his ship, The Endurance and his crew’s ordeal struggling to survive after the ship was crushed by pack ice.

Today he ended up in Trinidad and Tobago, a dramatic contrast to the Antarctic for sure. We read a little and browsed some pictures but he didn’t have any inspiration for his travel journal until I suggested he draw the tropical smoothie we were going to make. A picture was not the end product however, he created the whole recipe. Each ingredient was listed or drawn and then he drew diagrams for the 17 steps in his method! By this time it was lunch time so he made it. It was fabulous!

Here is his original recipe, which he named Super Banana

img_2779crop.jpg 1½ bananas, sliced
juice of 3 oranges
1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks
1 peach, peeled and cut into quarters
2 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
3 ice cubes

1. Crush ice cubes in blender
2. Add all fruit and orange juice to blender ( I have written that instruction in just eight words but I wish you could see his twelve detailed pictures of fruit being sliced, peeled and added to the blender jug)
3. Blend until smooth
4. Pour into chilled glasses
5. Enjoy

At B6’s suggestion our evening meal was from Trinidad too. We found the recipe in the back of the book I borrowed from the library and, as I happened to have almost all the ingredients I decided to give it a try. It was called Trinidad Pelau.