Weekly Review

We've just finished an exam week but as our scanner is defunct I'm not able to post any examples at present.
Instead, here are some places of interest and other links I hope you will find useful.

The High Quality Global University which costs next to nothing. Very interesting...our eldest daughter is nearly 28 years old and has just finished paying off her HECs debt from her degree. When my husband went through university in the 1980's, the universities in Australia had no tuition costs. It's a very different situation for our children now so we were very interested to read this article.

Their website is here.

Enjoying this audio:

David Clarke also narrates some other great books. See his page at Librivox.
There are some books that really need a British narrator (or someone who can make themselves sound British) - Sherlock Holmes is one of these, of course.
Ruth Golding is another British narrator and she has a list of other Librivox narrators she recommends on her blog.

I enjoyed listening to this Podcast during the week. Folksongs have always been a part of my life, growing up and afterwards. Some good thoughts here:

Moozle has been paper crafting and making Christmas presents (and much mess...)
This is a video she's used, one of the 'Sweet Bio Design' series on YouTube that she enjoys. It's in Italian but has English subtitles:





This is another she used for ideas...mostly for the actual box and then added her own decorations.





I've started putting together a page with all of the Australian/Asia Pacific living books we've used. It will take a little while but it's here in its beginning stages: Towards an Australian Charlotte Mason Curriculum.



Linking up at Weekly Wrap-up

Looking Back on the Week

This week I listened to an interesting Schole Sister's podcast on leading our children through encounters with viewpoints with which we don’t agree. This is definitely something I've had to grow into over time. When my children were little my concern was mostly about shielding them from  potentially harmful ideas and situations, but as the conversation on this podcast pointed out, there's a difference between innocence and naiveté, and it's important to prepare our children for these opposing viewpoints.

Moozle has been reading the Tom Swift Jr. books by Victor Appleton II. They're out of print but you can read about them here and they're available secondhand.  They're also online at Gutenberg.
A young person's introduction to science fiction, rather than being great literature, this series is interesting for children who have a science bent as Tom dreams up some very interesting inventions. In fact, one of the books, 'Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle,' inspired the physicist and inventor, Jack Cover:

Cover named his invention from a story by the science-fiction writer Victor Appleton that he had loved as a child, called “Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle”, about a boy who invented a rifle that fired bolts of electricity. The acronym TSER however was too much of a mouthful; so Cover added an “a” and the Taser was born.

The Independent, 2009 

A few months ago she lapped up G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown books so I decided that this one, by the creator of Winnie the Pooh, would be a good follow up now that she's caught the 'crime bug.'

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne was published in 1922 and the author dedicated the book to his father: 

Like all really nice people, you have a weakness for detective
   stories, and feel that there are not enough of them. So, after
   all that you have done for me, the least that I can do for you
   is to write you one. Here it is: with more gratitude and
   affection than I can well put down here.

I stumbled upon it at the library about ten years ago and then found it online and downloaded it onto kindle for free but the only free version I've found when I had a look recently was at Gutenberg.

It's a good introduction to the genre for a young person who isn't ready for writers such as Agatha Christie but who enjoys a bit of mystery and detection.

A poetic narration on The Hobbit:

Benj is busy preparing for possibly his last piano exam which takes place next week. Between this and his two days a week at Augustine Academy, and one half day at his part-time job, he's only been joining us for Devotions, Shakespeare's King Lear and Plutarch's Life of Marcus Cato the Censor.

Aussie Folksongs - this is one we've been listening to. The song is based on the 1897 poem, 'The Lights of Cobb & Co' by Henry Lawson. The poem and some information about Cobb & Co are on this blog and also here.





This is one of a series of CD's that introduces the music and lives of some of the great composers. We've listened to the Classical Kids series (Beethoven Lives Upstairs etc) in the past, which are ok for younger children, but this series is better if older children are also listening in. The story is told in the third person, sticks to the facts, and contains a good selection of the artist's music.

Linking up with Weekly Wrap-up.

Weekly Review - the start of a new year

This was Moozle's first week of Ambleside Online Year 6 and a good week it was. A highlight for her, especially after visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand earlier this year, was the first chapter of The Hobbit, which I'm reading aloud to her. This is the first time I've actually read the book - I know, one of the few persons on the planet - everyone else in the family has read the book and seen the movie. I decided to wait and enjoy it this year with my daughter knowing it was coming up in Year 6 Literature.

Benj is halfway through his Liberal Arts Certificate (two days per week) and continues to fit in some of the Ambleside Online Year 11 & 12 selections along with piano practice, work one afternoon a week and a piano student once a week.

We've started a new composer, Gabriel Faure and a new artist, James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
I've made a YouTube playlist for Faure with the selections we'll be listening to this term. Lovely music!

Shakespeare


King Lear is our play this term, using the Naxos version below, that so far sounds very good. We've used a few Naxos Shakespeare productions and have been very pleased with them.

Plutarch


Marcus Porcius Cato (234 BC-149 BC) - Marcus Cato the Censor, also known by a few other names,
using Anne White's Guide. We've done two lives without the complete guides (Demetrius & Themistocles) as I started them and didn't realise until we were halfway through that they were still unfinished. I made sure to check this time!

Poetry

This term Moozle is savouring the poetry of A.B. (Banjo) Paterson, who penned Waltzing Matilda and is one of Australia's best known & most loved poets. Benj's is doing poetry as part of his course.

Hymn Study


I'll be adding to this later but here is what we have so far.

Folksongs

This is a playlist of Australian folksongs I'm considering. I haven't listened to them all yet so not sure how suitable they will be for an 11 year old. Here are some of the Scottish folksongs we listen to - part of my passing on a cultural inheritance to my offspring.

Reading 


Benj - finished Uncle Tungsten and The God Who is There by Francis Schaeffer. He's started reading Don Quixote. I bought the cheapest version I could find as it's not high on the list of my 'most wanted.'  (Apologies to my friend, Silvia!) I asked Benj what he thought of it and he said, "It's pretty stupid, but it's meant to be. It's a satire..." Anyhow, he's studying it this semester so it will be interesting to see what he has to say later on.

Moozle - the book devourer extraordinaire, has been on a G.A. Henty splurge, yet again. She read a couple of the books he wrote about Afghanistan while she was reading Kim for Year 5. They help in understanding some of the circumstances of The Great Game: 

Herat and Cabul, A Story of the First Afghan War and  
For Name and Fame: To Cabul with Roberts (Through Afghan Passes) 
We've managed to find them via Amazon, free for Kindle, so I've linked to what was there at the time I looked, but check first as I've noticed that the availability of free titles changes from time to time.
She also read A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia.

My reading - Finished recently: The Painted Veil (loved the writing); A Good Man is Hard to Find (not your average cup of tea, and definitely not for everyone); The Five Red Herrings - a Dorothy Sayers' mystery - say no more. She is more than your average mystery writer.

Started recently: The Double Helix by James Watson. This was one of my opshop finds. I've wanted to read it for awhile so I was so pleased to pick it up for $3.

The Road from Home by David Kherdian - I read this years ago but wanted to re-read it as it's a Newbery Honor Book and covers a portion of history we don't hear much about. It's based on the true story of an Armenian girl whose family were caught up in the Turkish governments systematic destruction of its Armenian population in the early days of WWI. From memory, I think it was written for a young adult audience.

Beauty in the Homeschool

'Beauty will save the world.'

 Fyodor Dostoevsky

We listened to an inspiring and refreshing message a few weeks ago on Beauty. I've been thinking about it ever since and this week it was in relation to the small moments in our day when we allow the loveliness of music to flow into our lives.
I was very fortunate to have a dad who always sang - folksongs mainly, and it's been something I wanted to give my children as part of their heritage, but I always thought it was just my little quirk; a way to pass on something personal.
Classical music was in a different category in my mind. Perhaps because it was described as  'classical' it seemed a more valid inclusion in our homeschool week. But I didn't have a personal link to classical music. My exposure to it was virtually nil when I was growing up but I was aware that I had a deficit and I set out to repair it.
When I came across Ambleside Online and saw that Folksongs were part of the curriculum, a cultural heritage which has a beauty of its own and should be passed on to the next generation, I began to see my little passion differently and allowed myself to give it a place of importance in our days. Not to feel that it was taking up space that should be filled with something more important.

I've taught my children all the Scottish songs that were part of my heritage, and the songs of Australia as well as those of other nations. They really are a door of discovery into the life and history of a country.

This week we've been enjoying a new folksong, 'Over the Hills & Far Away,' sung by John Tams. It has been adapted from a traditional English song written in the late 1600's and used as the theme song for a British mini-series of the Napoleonic Wars, 'Sharpe.' The series is based upon books by Bernard Cornwall. I haven't seen the series but I love the song!

O'er the hills and o'er the main
Through Flanders, Portugal and Spain.
King George commands and we obey
Over the hills and far away.

We've spent a couple of months listening to the music of Anton Dvorak and this week I read aloud some excerpts of his life from The Gift of Music by Smith & Carlson.
Dvorak (1841-1904) was born in what was Czechoslovakia at the time, and is credited as being one of the most human and loveable of the great composers. His music rose up from the wellspring of his Czech identity and in later years when the country of Czechoslovakia was overrun by Communist Russia, his music enabled the true spirit of the people to rise above the oppression they were under.

We were reading about his hard work and perseverance in his attempts at composition and how he kept himself warm by burning his early compositions which he wasn't happy with in his stove.
This sentence made me smile as I've been going through Dawn's ebook on Charlotte Mason's motto, 'I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will' with Moozle:

"If I ought, I can" might well have been the motto of Dvorak, and he had a firm, inner conviction that he would eventually succeed as a composer. Dvorak was a hard worker and determined to overcome.

We've been listening to his music each day and these are some favourites:





















How we fit this aspect of Beauty into our week:

Know the why - see the AO link above on Folksongs and also this short article from the University of Florida. And - 8 Reasons You Should Listen More to Classical Music.


I've used CD's especially of folksongs if I have them. The library can be a good place to find folksongs of various nations.

I have a playlist on an iPad in the kitchen and Moozle listens when she's emptying the dishwasher in the morning.

I play them when we're making lunch.

Benj has them on his computer & he often listens while he's doing copy work or writing in his commonplace book.

I link the folksong to the history we are covering if I find something suitable.

Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic, 2015

No matter what nation dominated them, the saving factor for the future of Czech music and dance was that the country remained obstinately Czech, and they kept in their hands a torch by which Smetana and, after him, Dvorak lighted fires that the whole world could see.

The Gift of Music

Psalm 27

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord...

Linking up with Weekly Wrap-up

January Folksong: I've Been Everywhere - Aussie Version

So how many of these places have you been to??

Folksong: Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?

This is one of my favourite Scottish folksongs I remember growing up with. I always knew it as Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go but it's also called Wild Mountain Thyme and Blooming Heather.
I like the first video because it has a lovely folky feel and uses the double bass, violin & cellos as an accompaniment but the singer is a pom! I thought I should add a Scottish version which happens to be more upbeat and not such a folky feel, but I still like it.




Oh the summertime is coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

I will build my love a bower
Near yon' pure crystal fountain
And on it I will build
All the flowers of the mountain
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

If my true love she were gone
I would surely find another
To pluck wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, Lassie go?

Folksong - The British Grenadiers

The song comes in at around 2:20 minutes after the marching music. I've put the words they've used in this video in italics below.



Some talk of Alexander,
And some of Hercules
Of Hector and Lysander,
And such great names as these.
But of all the world's great heroes,
There's none that can compare
With a tow, row, row, row, row, row,
To the British Grenadier.

Those heroes of antiquity
Ne'er saw a cannon ball
Or knew the force of powder
To slay their foes withall.
|But our brave boys do know it,
And banish all their fears,
Sing tow, row, row, row, row, row,
For the British Grenadier.
Whene'er we are commanded
To storm the palisades
Our leaders march with fusees,
And we with hand grenades.
We throw them from the glacis,
About the enemies' ears.
Sing tow, row, row, row, row, row,
The British Grenadiers.

And when the siege is over,
We to the town repair
The townsmen cry, "Hurra, boys,
Here comes a Grenadier!"
Here come the Grenadiers, my boys,
Who know no doubts or fears!
Then sing tow, row, row, row, row, row,
The British Grenadiers.

Then let us fill a bumper,
And drink a health to those
Who carry caps and pouches,
And wear the louped clothes.
May they and their commanders
Live happy all their years
With a tow, row, row, row, row, row,
For the British Grenadiers.

Folk Song - Battle of New Orleans - 1814

Battle of New Orleans - 1814

Folksong - Bound for South Australia

Bound for South Australia




You can get the words and music from this site: http://folkstream.com/012.html

Australian Folksong - Moreton Bay

Also known as 'The Convicts' Lament on the Death of Captain Logan,' this ballad is about the Moreton Bay Penal Colony - which was set up in Queensland in the early 1800's in what is now the Brisbane area - and in particular the notorious Captain Logan.
Apparently Ned Kelly quoted some lines of this ballad  in his Jerilderie Letter in 1879.

The Logan City Library in Queensland has this information on Captain Logan

One Sunday morning as I went walking
By Brisbane waters I chanced to stray
I heard a convict his fate bewailing
As on the sunny river bank I lay
I am a native from Erin's island
But banished now from my native shore
They stole me from my aged parents
And from the maiden I do adore

I've been a prisoner at Port Macquarie
At Norfolk Island and Emu Plains
At Castle Hill and at cursed Toongabbie
At all these settlements I've been in chains
But of all places of condemnation
And penal stations in New South Wales
To Moreton Bay I have found no equal
Excessive tyranny each day prevails

For three long years I was beastly treated
And heavy irons on my legs I wore
My back from flogging was lacerated
And oft times painted with my crimson gore
And many a man from downright starvation
Lies mouldering now underneath the clay
And Captain Logan he had us mangled
All at the triangles of Moreton Bay

Like the Egyptians and ancient Hebrews
We were oppressed under Logan's yoke
Till a native black lying there in ambush
Did deal this tyrant his mortal stroke
My fellow prisoners be exhilarated
That all such monsters such a death may find
And when from bondage we are liberated
Our former sufferings will fade from mind

Sheet music and some  more information here. 

Another version of Moreton Bay:

October Folk Song

If I Had a Hammer

If I had a hammer,
I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening,
All over this land

I’d hammer out danger,
I’d hammer out a warning,
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I’d ring it in the morning,
I’d ring it in the evening,
All over this land

I’d ring out danger,
I’d ring out a warning
I’d ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a song,
I’d sing it in the morning,
I’d sing it in the evening,
All over this land

I’d sing out danger,
I’d sing out a warning
I’d sing out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

Well I got a hammer,
And I got a bell,
And I got a song to sing, all over this land.

It’s the hammer of justice,
It’s the bell of freedom,
It’s the song about love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

It’s the hammer of justice,
It’s the bell of freedom,
It’s the song about love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land. 

Words and music by Lee Hays and Pete Seeger

Folksongs

We listen to our current folksong about once each day generally. My youngest son requested Drunken Sailor and he pumps it out on the piano with his little sister keeping time on the drums, sort of.

The chords are very simple if you have a piano or guitar - see here /text/lyrics/drunken_sailor_crd.txt and the song is so simple you'll probably only need to listen to it for a short time.

By the way, the reference to the 'Captain's daughter' in one of the verses is refering to the cat o' nine tails. If you want to skip that part it comes in at 1 min 25 seconds which is just over half way through the song so you'll still get a few verses which will be well and truly enough to get a feel for this rollicking version.

Have a look at http://www.oedilf.com/db/Lim.php?Word=cat-o-nine-tails

Ambleside Online Folksongs

We've been concentrating on Australian folksongs recently, and will continue to do so, but I decided to also include three Year 8 suggestions from Ambleside Online (AO) for my two older boys who are studying Renaissance & Reformation history using the AO curriculum.

Barbara Allen:



The Death of Queen Jane - lovely scenes on the video:



This information was included with the video on youtube:

'The Death of Queen Jane' discusses the death of Jane Seymour, wife to Henry VIII, (but never actually crowned as Queen) who gave birth to Edward VI of England on October 12th, 1537. Jane Seymour died twelve days later. Edward died aged 15. It is possible that Seymour was the only one of his wives whom Henry seriously loved and his delight at being given a male heir was destroyed by the death of Jane. The mysterious verse concerning building a castle seems to have no part of the rest of the narrative; nonetheless, it does appear in at least one other version of the song. The video was filmed at Dun Guaire Castle,Kinvara, Co. Galway, Ireland. The castle is open for visitors.

Sylvia Crawford: musical arrangement, keyboards, fiddles, wire-strung mediaeval harp, finger cymbals
Fred Johnston: vocals, guitar, bowed psaltery.

Three Mariners



This is the website for The One-Man Renaissance Band. He has other songs from the same time period that you may find useful.

And last, but certainly not least, a version of Click Go the Shears, the Aussie folksong suggested at AO for June 2012.



I must have had a fetish for the ukele - if you check over in my music post you'll see this instrument used in a classical music piece.