Book #15

We listen to a lot of audio books in the car while driving.  One series that we started listening to last year was the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  We just finished the 5th book--The Chessmen of Mars.  In this story John Carters daughter, Tara, gets lost in a storm, then kidnapped, then escapes only to get caught again, then finally rescued. 

It had a slow start, but when we started meeting more characters it got interesting.  There were creatures that were only heads, but would attach themselves to bodies.  They believed that the mind was more powerful than the body.  Then we met another race of martians who played Jatan (I'm not sure if that is spelled right--when I listen, I have to guess at a lot).  Jatan is a little like chess, but these martians played it live and to the death.  We learned about love along side Tara.  And we learned about courage and chivalry. 

I've enjoyed the books.  One one hand I'm glad that we listen to it because I wouldn't be able to pronounce the names, on the other had I wish it was a different reader. 

Book #14

Our homeschool group book club has 2 choices for books--one a little easier and one a little harder.  It is my responsibility to lead the discussion for the harder book, so I always choose to read that book aloud.  If there is time we will read the easier book, too, or I will give that to the kids to read on their own.  This month I did things a little backward.  King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian was the easier book for March, but I read it first.  Now I hope we have time to finish the harder book. 

The book is a story about a young slave, Agba, who is a horse boy for the Sultan in Morocco.  He sees a horse, Sham, born and has great hopes for him (a lot of it based on superstition).  He takes care of the horse and goes with it to France when the horse and 5 others are chosen to be a gift for the king.  Unfortunately the king doesn't want the horses and that starts Agba and Sham on many adventures.  The twist to the story is that Agba can't speak, so he is never able to speak up for himself or his horse.  I wondered how different the story would have been if he could talk.  Although there were many trials, Agba never left Sham's side, and in the end Agba saw Sham fulfill his destiny.  

Book #13

What is Leadership?  According to Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward, the authors of Launching a Leadership Revolution, leadership is “the influence of others in a productive, vision-driven direction and is done through the example, conviction, and character of the leader.”  They believe that a leader empowers, helps others to fix problems and serves others.  The book is educational.  It teaches the reader how to master the skills needed to become a true leader. 

I follow the homeschooling philosophy found in A Thomas Jefferson Education called Leadership Education.  When I try to explain to people what the philosophy is or how we teach and learn in our home, I struggle to make it come out right.  I say that it builds leaders, that it teaches how to think instead of what to think, that it uses classics instead of text books and brings us face to face with great people from history.  I get a few confused looks, but people will mostly let me do what I want to do.  Even though I have faith in the philosophy and am following the keys, I question my understanding of how to train a leader.   I also wonder if I am capable of being a true leader.  This book, though, has given me additional insight on what a leader is and does and aligns with what I already know. and believe.

Mr.’s Brady and Woodward teach that there are steps to becoming a leader and even certain skills that must be learned before one can climb those steps.  A person must be hungry (be motivated), be hone-able (teachable and changeable) and be honorable. 

They then introduce the Cycle of Achievement—the importance of having a vision, setting goals, making a game plan, working to achieve goals and seeking counsel.  This is kind of like having a mission, then making goals to fulfill that mission and using a mentor to help and guide. 

After learning these foundational qualities, a leader is ready to climb the steps.  The authors introduce 5 levels of influence(the steps to becoming a leader)—learning, performing, leading, developing leaders, and developing developers of leaders.  They say that a leader never leaves the skills of the previous step as they move to the next--"a leader picks up new abilities while accumulating and expanding his or her influence."  I love the idea that a leader should always be learning and that a job of a leader is to train more leaders. 

I have many areas where I am a leader (some by choice and some by calling), and I am at different steps in each area.   As I read I saw areas where I could improve and become a better leader.  For example, I am a reader and am constantly learning, but I think an area where I need work is performing.  I want the things I learn to lead to action.  "Proper thinking is the foundation of proper actions, and proper actions are what give birth to performance."  The book is filled with historical examples of leaders who went through the steps. 

 

A leader's visions outlive them.  They do things that change the world.  I've learned that the best way to change the world is start with yourself.  Then help those around you change.  I am changing the world--one person at a time. 

Book #12

Pericles, a play by Shakespeare, is the first full play that I’ve read since high school.  Last summer the kids and I had a “Shakespeare month” where we read kid-versions of several plays and watched kid-version videos.  This was great exposure to the language and the stories, but it hardly prepared me for this play. 

I remember a comment from my dad—“Shakespeare is meant to be watched, not read,” so I thought I would start by watching the play.  The play is less than 100 pages, but the video was almost 3 hours long.  The director of the video added what Shakespeare left out—how the actors were to act and move (I’m not an actor, so I don’t know what the technical term is).  When I began reading the play, I was able to picture what was going on and understood the story a little bit better. 

The story starts with young Pericles solving a riddle about the incest between a king and his daughter.  Instead of being turned off by this information, Pericles wants to marry the daughter.  The king wanted to kill Pericles for his knowledge, though.  When Pericles runs away his boat is caught in a storm and he washes up on land and somehow gets invited to dine with the king and his daughter and other knights.  It seems as though the king doesn’t recognize Pericles because he allows/encourages Pericles and his daughter, Thaisa to marry. 

After their marriage, Pericles and Thaisa must return to Tyre, Pericles’ homeland.  On the way Thaisa dies in childbirth.  They put her body in a trunk and throw her overboard.  She washes ashore and the people who find her bring her back to life and she lives in a temple as one of the goddess, Diana’s, helpers. 

The baby is a girl.  Pericles names her Marina and takes her to Tarsus to be raised by Cleon and Dionyza.  Because of jealousy, Dionyza plans to have Marina killed, but the attempt is unsuccessful, and instead she is kidnapped and taken to be a prostitute on another island.  She is rescued by the governor of the land. 

Poor Pericles thinks his wife and daughter are dead.  He is miserable and mourns his loss.  He is reunited with both at the end and they all go to the land of Thaisa’s now-dead father to live. 

I think I understood the story, but I didn’t understand the meaning.  The incest confused me and so did how the king treated Pericles the second time they meet.  I don’t know what I was supposed to get out of it or the reason it was chosen for my class.  I hope that continued exposure will help me gain a better understanding of Shakespeare. 

***Disclamer--Doing a little research (history, author, plot line, etc.) before reading a book is important.  I did a little research after I read the book and wrote this post and realized that I made a big mistake.  It made me laugh.  If I paid more attention to names I would have realized the mistake on my own.  The first king and princess that Pericles met were not the same people that he eventually married.  After Pericles discovered the secret of incest and was chased away by the king, the king's palace was struck by lightening and they died.  When I went back and looked, I saw that their names weren't even similar.  I think this is the fault of the movie.  The charachters looked the same, so I made an assumption and failed to pay attention to the name.****

Book #11

A few years ago we read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.  It was a 600 page book, but half of the pages were wonderful pencil illustrations.  We loved the story and the pictures.  Recently, while paroozing the shelves at the library, we found another book by Brian Selznick--Wonder Struck--and decided to read it.  It had the same layout--600 pages with 1/2 being pictures. 

I don't remember much about the other books, but this one contained 2 stories--one in writing, the other in pictures.  The pictures tell a story about a young deaf girl who runs away to New York City.  You get the impression that she isn't happy with her life.  The written story is about a boy who looses his hearing after being struck by lightening.  He runs away to New York to try to find his dad.  He hides in a museum and finds more than he expected.  The stories finally come together near the end, but I'm not going to give away the connection.  We liked both stories and loved looking at the pictures. 

Just a sample of the art work from the book.

Book #10

I enjoy reading books that take a familiar story and give it a twist or let the reader see the same world from a different character's point of view.  My most resent read was Entwined--the story of the 12 dancing princesses.  The book was shared at a homeschool book report fair and both Braedi and I were interested.  Braedi read it first and then told me I had to read it. 

When I was just a few chapters into the book, Braedi asked me if I liked it.  I struggled to find the right answer.  I tried to explain that I just finished reading one of the most talked about, well-written books and then to go to a fun, simple book was a bit of a disappointment.  I told her that I liked the story, but it wasn't as good as Les Miserables.  But it's not fair to compare the two books.  Entwined was good for it's own reasons. 

Entwined is a story about family struggles, about love, about sisters, about protecting, about dancing, about courage, about promises, and about magic.  It was enjoyable.

Book #9

The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite read alouds.  We read it every year and get more out of it every time.  It is a unique story about choices and what life would be like if we didn't have choices and didn't know we didn't have choices. 

Jonas has just been given the assignment of being the new Receiver--a very honored job in the community.  His job is to receive the memories.  As a consequence, Jonas learns that having choices made for you isn't all it's cracked up to be.  He and the Giver decide there has to  be a better way of doing things and come up with a plan to make a change. 

I love seeing the change in Jonas as he processes the new memories.  At one point he learns that there are more colors than just gray.  He wishes that he could choose a different colored tunic to wear.  Then the Giver says that he might make the wrong choice.  Jonas thinks about this.  He later says, "Oh, I see what you mean.  It wouldn't matter for a newchild's toy.  But later it does matter, doesn't it?  We don't dare to let people make choices of their own. . .What if they were allowed to choose their own mate?  And chose wrong?. . .We really have to protect people from wrong choices."  Even as he says this he feels frustrated and doesn't understand his feeling.  Probably he is recognizing the faultiness behind that idea.  It is Satan's way of twisting God's plan and making it look good.  Yes, we don't want people to make bad choices, but making the choice for them is not the right answer.  Jonas now has a tough choice to make and I think he made the right one. 

Book #8

I have been intrigued by personalities lately.  I just finished another personality book.  This one was written to help parents understand their children.  Personality Plus for Parents by Florence Littauer introduces parents to the four types of personalities (Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic), helps them identify their own personality and that of their children, and then gives tips on how to interact and deal with the different strengths and weaknesses of each. 

As I read, I recognized traits that each of my kids have.  Some are easy-going, others strong-willed.  A few are goal-driven where others need constant reminders.  I have a few perfectionists and one that likes to be the center of attention.  I also see that some of my kids are full of energy while others are calm and relaxed.  My eyes were opened to ways that my personality compliments and clashes with their personalities.  I learned that I need to let them be who they are, but that I also need to help them build up their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. 

These personality books have helped me understand my family better.  I "get" why they act the way they do, now I just need to work on "allowing" those behaviors and traits. 

Book #7

It's not very often that the kids and I read biographies, but that was the genre of our most recent book.  At the end of last year we read My Brother Sam is Dead and were introduced to Benedict Arnold.  I was intrigued and was able to talk my kids into reading a book about his life.  We read The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery by Steve Sheinkin.  The book contains the story of Arnold's life through journals, histories, and letters. 

The main reason I wanted to read this book was to discover the reason for Arnold's treason.  Turns out it was pride.  Arnold fought for the Americans in the Revolutionary War.  He marched to Quebec to stop the British, tricked his way into winning the Battle of Valcour Island, and valiantly fought and was wounded at the Battle of Saratoga.  He moved up the ranks to General.  But, he was not well liked by a lot of people and he never got the praise that he felt he deserved.  Because of this he decided to work something out with the British to help them end the war.  Luckily for us, his plan failed. 

Arnold wanted to make a name for himself--a good name to erase the bad reputation his father and grandfather left behind.  Unfortunately, the name he left isn't remembered for good.  We all know that someone who is a traitor gets the nickname of "Benedict Arnold".  The author says at the end of the book, "If Arnold had died from his wounds at the Battle of Saratoga, we would think of him today as one of the all-time great American heroes.  Aside from Washington, we'd say, he did more to win our Revolution that anyone. . .Sure, we'd say Arnold was unstable, tormented, a loose cannon.  But he'd be our loose cannon.  We don't say any of that, and it's all Arnold's fault." 

Book #6

I am part of a Gathering Project with some friends--a book club where we read and discuss books about leadership skills and that deal specifically with the philosophies found in Thomas Jefferson Education.  Our book for this month was How Children Learn by John Holt.  John Holt is educator who is a proponent of homeschooling and unschooling. 


I found this book very interesting.  It contradicted a lot of what I was taught in my education classes.  But after 7 years of homescooling, I use a lot of things that go against what I learned at school.  John Holt's biggest idea is that children (people) can't be taught, they learn things on their own.  I've noticed this in my home--when one of my kids doesn't want to learn something there is nothing I can do to make them.  I can build an inspiring environment, I can provide fun activities, I can mentor, I can set the example, but I can't make them learn.  Learning is up to them. 

John Holt says that if we leave a kid to his own vices, he will discover and learn on his own.  The critic in us might ask, "How can you be sure that this method works?"  He says that we can't be sure.  But after many years of observing kids in different environments he says we have to have faith.  "This faith is that man is by nature a learning animal. . .Therefore, we do not need to 'motivate' children into learning, by wheedling, bribing, or bullying.  We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning.  What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can into the school and the classroom; give children as much  help and guidance as they need and ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way.  We can trust them to do the rest."

John Holt shares a lot of stories and experiences about how children learn to talk, write, read, do sports, draw, and discover new things.  He shares his mistakes, his epiphanies and his insights into the mind of a child.  If you have ever been curious about child learning, this book is a great place to start.