Australian Natural History - The Emu

On our trip to South Australia a couple of years ago we saw plenty of emus in the open areas of land along the way. These large flightless native birds are second only in size to the world's largest bird, the African ostrich and are also related to the cassowary and the rhea. We've gotten up close to them in captivity and they are ungainly, formidable looking creatures but when you see them in the wild, running through the scrub, they are quite spectacular and beautiful.

This year I read Karrawingi the Emu by Leslie Rees to Moozle. The story follows the life of an emu (Karrawingi is one of the Aboriginal terms for emu) from its birth through to adulthood. It presents a vivid picture of the dangers a young emu encounters, sometimes even before it's hatched out of the egg - wedge-tailed eagles, dingoes, other emus, Aboriginal hunters and farmers are their main enemies.

Karrawingi grows to adulthood, finds a mate and becomes a leader of a great flock. He has numerous children and grandchildren and with the other emus, keeps his distance from man. But hunger and curiosity bring the emus back to the lands where they had roamed previously. They find the land fenced off and farmed and they begin to wreak havoc; breaking fences, devouring the crops and then for a bit of fun, they get in amongst the sheep and their lambs and send them in all directions.

The day comes when Karrawingi is captured and taken to a small town zoo. For ten months he is fed, looked at and laughed over. He becomes used to soft living and at night he dreams confusedly - sweet, yet painful dreams.

One morning Karrawingi awakes to unusual movement. Men come in a van and the gate to the yard opens. His keeper grabs his wings from behind and places him in a box-like van:

What was happening to him now? He was sick with fear of the unknown. So long he had lived at the small town zoo, where the things to do and see hardly varied from month to month, that the sudden change was terror itself, no matter what life was in store for him. He wished he were back in his strong-fenced zoo. There nothing happened, but he was safe.

The van, racing along the gravel road, is far from the nearest town when Karrawingi's eyes fall upon a sight which makes his heart pound - a flock of emus on either side of the road, pacing themselves with the van:

What thoughts the sight sent pounding through his mind! Now he felt himself among the emus, racing with them, now he was a prisoner in the van, his nerves and muscles itching with the desire to get out...

Mile after mile sped by and the emus kept up their gait.

Karrawingi could stand it no longer.

This is an exciting story which conveys in a realistic fashion the nature and habits of the emu. Karrawingi is a very likeable larrikin and while the author isn't overly sentimental, the emu's personality is endearing. I was relieved that the old bird got a chance at freedom again after a great escape, and that the story ended satisfactorily with this realistic comment:

For how long Karrawingi would roam the bush a second time no one could tell. It was enough now that all the wild hot joy of the old days was surfing through his body.

Karrawingi the Emu has been published as a separate book and also as a part of A Treasury of Australian Nature Stories, which contains four other stories by Leslie Rees of various native animals. Both books are out of print but keep your eyes open; it is a real treasure of a story. I think around the age of 9 or 10 years is a good age for Karrawingi. It's certainly not dumbed down and would appeal to anyone interested in the natural world, Australian or otherwise.

Younger children (aged about 4 to 8 years) would enjoy Emu by Claire Saxby. I discovered this at the library and was pleasantly surprised with it. Although not as detailed or literary as Karrawingi, it is well done. It is a good sized picture book - 'a narrative non-fiction.' The left hand-side page contains the story while the right hand page is written in a more factual fashion.

There is a PDF document designed for classrooms that has some suggestions for using the book as well as some emu facts. There's a 'look inside' feature on Amazon if you want to have a better idea of what the book contains.

Mother Culure & Self-education

Step by Step...

It's been nearly four years since we first started using Ambleside Online, which was also when I began to read the Original Charlotte Mason Home Education series. Up until then if I started a book, I'd generally finish it before I'd start another. 

I began to notice how well my children were retaining with what they'd read over a period of months so I decided to try it for myself, although the idea didn't appeal to me at all.

So four years later I think I can say I've gone to the other extreme - I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm still reading a book I started two years ago. 

I've been enjoying the Back to the Classics Challenge that I started at the beginning of the year. The challenge is divided into categories which has helped me choose books I might not otherwise have read. I'm also continuing with the Classics Club Challenge which is over five years.

These are the books I'm in the process of reading (and keeping):

Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks - nearly finished! I wrote a little about this book here and I'll write some more when I've finished.

Madame Curie by Eve Curie (the two year saga) - it was interesting to read in the book above that Oliver Sacks read this book and loved it when he was ten years old. He had the pleasure of meeting the author, Madame Curie's daughter, in her old age.

 My messy Commonplace...

Knowledge of the Holy by A.W.Tozer - Tozer is direct and no nonsense. This is another of my slow reads.

The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act if worship has taken place...

Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they themselves are idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp - I didn't think I'd like this book but by the end of the first few chapters I was sucked in. Suffering, pain, joy, gratitude...I keep getting hit with beautiful thoughts. The writing is a grammar jungle but I love the heart of what she is sharing - and I needed to hear it.  Some quotes that I loved:

Joy and pain, they are but two arteries of the one heart that pumps through all of those who don't numb themselves to really living.

On observing a hummingbird:

Her long bill swills back July sun transfigured into nectar.

I watch her, become her, drink the sweet right out of now.

Beauty? Beauty requires no justification, no explanation; it simply is and transcends.

The weight of God's Glory, not illusory or ephemeral, but daily and everywhere, punctuates earth's lid and heaven falls through the holes.

Do I believe in a God who rouses Himself just now and then to spill a bit of benevolence on haemorrhaging humanity?

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis - I usually find Lewis very readable but this has been hard going for me. I'm taking it paragraph by paragraph and I'm still having to re-read sections. 

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie - pure pleasure. I sat up later than normal last night to finish it.

The Formation of Character by Charlotte Mason - I've been reading this for about 9 months and have written about it here & here and probably in other places as well. It's good.

Read Alouds

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

I Can Jump Puddles by Alan Marshall - an Australian classic which we finished today.

Listening to:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - a re-read but it's not my favourite Austen. I just discovered Jane Austen's phrase which Charlotte Mason appropriated, 'warming the imagination.' I'd been wondering where in Jane Austen's writing it came from and I obviously didn't catch it when I read the book awhile back.

On the present occasion she addressed herself chiefly to Miss Crawford and Fanny, but there was no comparison in the willingness of their attention; for Miss Crawford, who had seen scores of great houses, and cared for none of them, had only the appearance of civilly listening, while Fanny, to whom everything was almost as interesting as it was new, attended with unaffected earnestness to all that Mrs. Rushworth could relate of the family in former times, its rise and grandeur, regal visits and loyal efforts, delighted to connect anything with history already known, or warm her imagination with scenes of the past.

A Handicraft Suggestion From Dad: edible gummy Lego bricks

Friday afternoon I get an email from my husband which read, "Something for Moozle to do," and a link to directions on 'How to make edible Lego gummy bricks.'

I sent back Moozle's response:

"I so want to make those!"

Dad replied, "Work out the ingredients and we can go and buy them..."

Ingredients

Corn syrup

Unflavoured gelatine

Jelly crystals

So when Dad got home we had dinner and then the two of them went shopping.

A phone call a short time later:

"We're in the baking section but can't find corn syrup."

I did a quick google search and saw that it was hard to find on the shelves here downunder, but glucose syrup might work.

"Just get glucose syrup and try that."

What They Used

They returned home with the ingredients and a couple of silicone ice cube trays - unfortunately, no Lego shapes could be found at KMart, the only other shop open besides the supermarket.

Moozle followed the recipe diligently and everyone had a try before they'd set properly.

Not bad...like firm jelly but chewier. Next day they were set and when the expert gummy bear person in the family was asked for his opinion, he (Dad) said they weren't quite right as far as real gummy bears go but he thought they were better!

High compliments indeed.

So that night he ordered some Lego shaped molds on eBay.

We didn't gave sachets of gelatine so had a guess that a sachet might contain about a two dessertspoons worth.

Clean up was easy as the stuff just congeals and lifts off with a wipe of a damp cloth. We soaked the bowls etc in warm soapy water and then rinsed them - probably not a good idea to put the gummy stuff in the dishwasher.

Now Moozle is eagerly awaiting the Lego moulds so she can make some edible Lego.

The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher - Newberry Honor Book 1946...how this book has been inspiring in the acquisition of the French language

The war in Europe had just ended and Johnny Littlehorn's father was in France recovering from injuries he received when a German shell exploded near him. Johnny's mother was French and had met her husband in America. After their marriage they had settled on a ranch in Wyoming and now Johnny's mother, with the help of their old foreman, did what she could in her husband's absence to keep the ranch going.

One day, Johnny's father unexpectedly returned and announced they were all going to France. Johnny's mother had a younger brother who still lived in France and he had introduced Mr Littlehorn to some important people in the French army. As a consequence Mr. Littlehorn was asked to remain in France after the war and carry out liason work.

Once the family were in France, it was arranged that Johnny would stay with his 'Oncle' Paul while his parents went to England for a couple of months. Thus began an adventure which took Johnny through the countryside of France and into the centre of a plot hatched by a Nazi spy.

On its own this story is a good little mystery with a mix of spying, adventure and humour. The author has painted a realistic picture of a young boy who had to overcome substantial inner and outer obstacles. His portrayal of the boy's behaviour and thought processes is believable, but in addition the book has a unique and clever feature which sets it apart from other books with a similar theme.

During the course of the book, Johnny, who had no knowledge of French at the beginning, learns to speak and understand the language by the time the book is finished.

Knowing how to say "it's" was helpful. With that "c'est" I could make sentences. I could say, "C'est mon pere;" "C'est min once;" or I could say, "Le jour est beau;" and, "Le Parc est Bleu;" or I could ask. Us elf silly questions like, "est mon once Le Parc?" And answer myself, "Non, Le Parc est Le Parc." Maybe it seems foolish, but I found it was fun.

I ended my letter to my mother with French words I knew, such as: "C'est bon here in your village de St. Chamant...Mon once est giving me lecons in French...Le jour est beau although it rains a lot...Ou are you now, in London?...Jean va to bed..." and things like that.

I gave this book to my 10 year old after I'd read it. She has been learning French mostly by immersion, and mostly through song. This year she started a French notebook and has been doing copy work for French also. She enjoyed the story but I didn't think it was much help in the French department until she showed me the story she was writing.

She'd been listening to G.A. Henty's tale, In the Reign of Terror, for about the fourth time. The main character in the story is a young lad who goes to live with a family in France, learns to speak French and is instrumental in saving members of the family when they are caught up in excesses of the French Revolution. I could see that it was from that book that she got the initial inspiration for her characters and storyline.
After she'd read The Avion My Uncle Flew, I noticed the dialogue in her story was imitating the style used in that book. She also started using our French/English dictionary to help with her vocabulary and began writing words out in a notebook, just like Johnny (Jean) had done.

Here is a section of Chapter Two of her story:

 

The last page of The Avion My Uncle Flew is written completely in French and is the letter Jean/Johnny writes to his mother. The book slowly adds French words throughout and these last pages come together quite naturally. Very cleverly done, I think.