AusRead Month 2016: Magpie Island by Colin Thiele; Illustrated by Roger Haldane

Magpie lived in the open countryside of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. He would fly high into the early morning air and swoop down the sky like a jet plane and then invigorated by his downward rush, he would stand upon a high branch and pour out his joy in song. Looking to the south west, Magpie could see where the trees dwindled away and the Nullarbor Plain began.
One day Magpie and his fellow magpies saw a giant bird come sailing out of the Nullarbor, and as it cast its dark shadow over the land, Magpie joined his companions as they gave chase to the proud wedge-tailed eagle who just kept flying higher and higher.

One by one the other birds gave up the pursuit - all except Magpie, who continued squawking and snapping and following the great bird, the north wind speeding him along. When at last he stopped chasing the eagle and looked below to the earth, he found the wind had carried him to the coastline and soon he would be out over the sea. He began to panic and tried to turn back into the wind but before long he was exhausted. As he began to lose ground, the wind took him and carried him far out to sea.

Magpies are land birds and are not built for roaming across the sea, but the Magpie in this story reaches an island and finds himself marooned with penguins, bull seals and ferocious terns - a Robinson Crusoe Magpie.
Sad and lonely, Magpie didn't have it in him to sing his lovely songs. The island was no place for a land bird. But one day a young boy on a fishing trip with his father saw Magpie, and a year later the fishing vessel returned bringing a mate for the lonely bird.

Colin Thiele (1921-2006) was a wonderful Aussie author who wrote mostly for children. If I were to ask any of my children to name the book that they liked best out of the hundreds we've read to them over the course of twenty plus years, they would all agree it would be Thiele's book, Sun on the Stubble. His books are realistic and unsentimental, but he had an ability to inspire sympathy for the people and the animals he wrote about. After reading Magpie Island you come away with a love and appreciation for these garrulous, dive-bombing birds that can be so aggressive during their breeding season.





Magpie Island was written for a younger audience than Storm Boy, but like Storm Boy, it is sad in places (Magpie's mate is killed when she flies into a plane). The book fits well into a term of Year 1 or 2 of AmblesideOnline (my daughter was 7 when we did Year 1) and it offers an opportunity to learn not only about the South Australian Magpie, but also the geography of the region.

'He lived high and free in the open countryside in South Australia where a big triangle of land called Eyre Peninsula pushes out into the sea. He was young and happy. He had been hatched in a wide scraggy nest made of sticks that were as hard and knotty as knuckles. His mother had laid two eggs in it; beautiful eggs they were, with spots on them, and touches of lovely colour - blue and grey and lilac. Magpie hatched out in three weeks.'

58 pages, including illustrations in colour and black and white.

Points of interest:

*  Magpie Island could have been one of the many islands off the South Australian coast.

*  The Australian Magpie has one of the world's most complex bird songs and a lifespan of about 20 years.

*  The white-backed magpie (Gymnorhina tibien hypoleuca) is on the official emblem of the State of South Australia. It is a close relative of the black-backed magpie found mostly in eastern Australia.

*  Over 15 whaling sites have been identified in coastal South Australia. The author briefly mentions previous whaling activities in the book.

*  The book's illustrator, Roger Haldane, had a background in commercial fishing and his family pioneered the tuna fishing industry at Port Lincoln. He drew on his broad knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Eyre Peninsula's for his illustrations.

 The Eyre Peninsula is the triangle of land on whose point Port Lincoln is found:

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

The Man in the Brown Suit is the fourth book I've read by Agatha Christie, the 'Queen of Crime.' I read Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile years ago and wasn't inspired enough to read any more of her novels but a couple of my children really liked The Secret Adversary so I eventually decided to read that. This is the first of Christie's Tommy & Tuppence books (she wrote five starring these two characters) and the setting involves the World War I sinking of the Lusitania. I did enjoy this book, probably because Hercule Poirot wasn't in it. I really don't like his character and it was interesting to read that even Agatha Christie got fed up with him and his idiosyncrasies.

I was trying to decide on a title written in the 20th Century as part of the Back to the Classics Challenge. I had a few books in mind but the other week I decided to clean our floor to ceiling bookshelves and discovered a whole lot of books that I'd forgotten or hadn't read yet. They included a row of Agatha Christie titles. 

I've always wondered why she has been so hugely popular - her books have been translated into over one hundred languages and she is the best-selling novelist of all time. I really didn't think Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile were notable at all. The Secret Adversary gave me some hope that I might actually enjoy some other titles.

Then along comes The Man in the Brown Suit and I think I've totally changed my mind about Christie. 

Published in 1924, this book was a pleasure to read. Fast paced and delightful - and no Hercule Poirot. 

Anne Beddington, an attractive young woman, is left orphaned and penniless when her archaeologist father dies. When she witnesses the accidental death of a stranger who falls and is electrocuted on an Underground platform, she also sees a man in a brown suit examine the body, pronounce him dead,  and then quickly leave. As she turns to go also, she sees the 'doctor' break into a run, dropping a piece of paper as he does so. With this piece of paper and its cryptic message, Anne embarks on a journey which takes her all the way to South Africa on a wild adventure. With a backdrop of political intrigue and murder, stolen diamonds, kidnappings and threats on her own life, Anne determines to solve the mystery of the man in the brown suit.

The book is written by two narrators: Anne, and Sir Eustace Pedler, MP and it is a thrilling story. I really enjoyed the humour sprinkled throughout this book, which was in keeping with Anne Beddington's personality, and the conclusion of the story was novel and unexpected.

It's an excellent introduction to Agatha Christie for ages around 14 years and up.

The Secret Adversary is a good introduction to Agatha Christie for a younger reader as it lacks the romantic elements of The Man in the Brown Suit.

'I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays and have things arranged for them that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.'

Agatha Christie 

 

The BBC archives have a short video from 1955 in which Agatha Christie talks about 'her lack of formal education and how boredom during childhood led her to write 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles', which was completed when she was still in her twenties. She outlines her working methods and discusses why it is much easier to write plays than novels.'

 

This book is my entry in the Back to the Classics: 20th Century Classic category.

Ambleside Online Year 2 with an 8 year old

Moozle started AO year 2 just as she turned eight years of age. I basically followed the Ambleside Online recommendations with some adjustments to suit our situation and location. (I wrote about her Year 1 here.)
It was a big year for our little girl with the sadness of seeing her Grandad for the last time, the excitement of her older sister and brother both getting engaged within a couple of weeks of each other and the experience of being a flower girl for the very first time when her big sister got married about 6 weeks ago. And now she's anticipating being a flower girl again at her big brother's wedding early next year.

This is the Word document I made as a guide to schedule each week, changing chapters numbers etc as needed. Bible, Maths, Copywork and Piano were done everyday. Occasionally I had to remind her to get these done before lunch. I go over the maths lesson with her beforehand, check her copywork, and listen out when she does piano practise. Although her reading ability is very good, I read most of the scheduled books aloud.

Maths

We continue with A Beka and have just begun their Grade 3 Arithmetic but this year I added Singapore Maths 2A.  I'm using the material put together by Our Father's World which includes teaching suggestions and ideas for hands on activities which I don't have for A Beka (their teaching manuals for home educators are horribly expensive.) A Beka moves very quickly and I've used some Rod & Staff alongside with some of her siblings but I thought Singapore might suit her better.

Reading

Reading presented a challenge this year only because her reading has just taken off and she reads so quickly. My husband couldn't believe she'd read a book properly in so short a space of time but she can tell us all about what she's read.

Some of her free reads:

The Little House Books - I've only let her read the first five as I think the others are more suitable for older readers content-wise. I'd read the first few in the series aloud to her a while back. 

Redwall books:

Swallows & Amazons books 

Wulf the Saxon and The Young Carthaginian by G.A. Henty 

The Sugar Creek Gang series by Paul Hutchens (see my post here for more details)


The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian (I'd read these aloud last year) and The Horse and His Boy.

The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall

Spindles series by Barry Chant. Well written; all my kids enjoyed them around this age.

And these books that fitted the AO time period we studied in Year 1 & 2:

Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard

This book commences in 585 A.D. with the story of Pope Gregory the Great passing through Rome, and seeing some fair-haired slaves being sold in the market place finds out they are 'Angles.' In 597 A.D. he sends the man who would later be known as St. Augustine of Canterbury to take the Christian faith to the land of the Angles (England).

Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard

The work Charlemagne began was nothing short of the founding of the Holy Roman Empire - the re-forging of a Roman Empire in the West, in alliance with the church.

I read this book aloud years ago and thought it was an unusual look at Charlemagne. The story is told through the eyes of his son Carl and allows us to see the King as a son might, with love and candour. Moozle's 18 year old brother told her he loved this book and suggested she read it. It's interesting to hear what my older children remember about books and I'm often surprised by some of their favourites. (A.D. 781)

Beorn the Proud by Madeleine Polland

Ness, a young Christian girl in Ireland is taken captive in a Viking raid by Beorn, a young man on his first raiding trip around middle of 800 A.D. and is taken back to his homeland in Denmark.

She told him of the first Christmas and the the coming of the Baby in the stable, while the star blazed in the East and the angels sang above the cowering shepherds on the frosty hill.

Beorn banged his bare brown knees and shouted with laughter, to think that a King should come so low and still hope to keep his subjects.

"But He has," Ness said, offended. "That was eight hundred years ago, and He is still our King. Can you tell me a Viking chief who has reigned eight hundred years?"

Beorn looked at her and was silent...

If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard

This is the story of the events surrounding the life and death of Thomas Becket from 1164-1170 A.D. The narrative is told through the eyes of twins Simon and Edmund, one In the service of the King and the other in the service of Thomas Becket, when he was chancellor and afterwards when he was the Archbishop of Canterbury.

He pulled himself up to his immense height and his great powerful voice rang out over their heads.

"I make God my shield. If all the swords in England were pointed against my head, your threats could not move me. Foot to foot you will find me in the battle of my Lord."

Some additional notes:

We persevered with Parables of Nature even though she often said she didn't understand what it was about but she did engage with a number of the stories and didn't mind listening to them. I sometimes spaced a chapter out over a couple of days as some of the chapters seemed much more difficult than others.
She didn't like Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley; loved the Burgess Animal Book even though we don't have any of the birds here in Australia - she read this one herself as a free read (ie. no narration required).

We're just finishing the seventh week of Year 3 as I write this. We've done the first six chapters of This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall  because these chapters deal with a broader look at history and not just the American side. The book becomes more detailed about the individual American states from about here onwards so we've stopped using it now.

Poetry

We're using the book we used in Year 1, Kings and Queens by Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon, to go along with our history readings and other poets, some scheduled at AO and others not.

 

Art & Music

Linea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork & Lena Anderson is a wonderful way for a child to connect with the art of Claude Monet.

Artistic Pursuits - Book 2: Stories of Artists and Their Art - we're spreading this out and covering it slowly (we've done 10 out of the 32 lessons.) I think the key to using these books is having all your supplies ready and waiting. If I have to skip projects because I don't have the supplies I don't feel I'm getting my money's worth by the time I pay for the book and postage.

Edward Grieg by Wheeler and Duetcher. I'm fairly certain this is out of print but we managed to find an old hardback copy for a reasonable price (at Abebooks I think). Very good authors for children about famous composers. Grieg was one of the composers we listened to during the year. Wonderful music.

Favourite Read Alouds

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (an AO Year 6 free read) I wrote about it here.

Nature Study

Treasury of Nature Stories by Leslie Rees


                

Bush Calendar by Amy Mack. I've been reading this aloud to everyone at the beginning of each month as it tells us what flowers are in bloom, which birds are breeding or are around at that particular time of the year and has interesting bits of information on our wildlife. I posted a page with links to free downloads of books including this one at Australian nature study.


Geography

We used Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography (see the Ambleside Online page for details). I recently found it can be downloaded for free here.
I used the guidelines for Year 2 Geography on the AO website and added an occasional video eg.





Seterra is good for map practice & learning all types of geographical bits & pieces and can be downloaded or used online.

Handicrafts

Moozle learnt to use the sewing machine this year (she can now thread it by herself and asks me to get it out for her a couple of times each week) and finished two projects: a bag for her dancing shoes and the wheat bag below which was a present for her big brother's fiancée. I put instructions for making it here.

The Childcraft Encyclopedias I picked up cheaply at the op shop give her lots of ideas for making doll's house furniture and she continues to practice her knitting & cross stitching.

English paper piecing - I like doing this so Moozle has joined me and this is her little finished article, a coaster for her dad:

                             
Other things:

Swimming

Scottish Highland dancing - a very aerobic dance form.

Cooking - she makes these pancakes on her own, either in the omlette maker or frying pan, and has tried many different variations, and they've all been edible.
My sister-in-law, courageous woman that she is, comes over and cooks with Moozle and Bengy every couple of months. Last month she looked after them so we could go to an engagement party in the afternoon and while we were out they made a three course dinner for all the family. They used recipes from the Jamie Oliver 15 minute Meals Cookbook. It took them nearly 3 hours to get it all ready, tripling recipes and whatnot, but it was very impressive!

Some firsts:

Highland Dance display - this is the first time she'd danced before an audience wearing a kilt with all the trappings.
Piano exam - her first was a couple of weeks ago.
A drive across to South Australia to see her Grandad and meet some extended family for the first time.