If I only had a brain

I could wile away the hours
Conferrin’ with the flowers
Consultin’ with the rain
And my head I’d be scratchin’
While my thoughts were busy hatchin’
If I only had a brain

I’d unravel any riddle
For any individ’le
In trouble or in pain

I would not be just a nuffin’
My head all full of stuffin’
My heart all full of pain
I would dance and be merry
Life would be a ding-a-derry
If I only had a brain

Why don't you zip over to Youtube now and have a watch of this scene to refresh your brain. Cummon, you know you want to!! Shame embedding is disabled...

We made these today. Brain hats. So now we do have brains. All of us.


I got the instructions from MommaMindy, who got them from Kris, who got them from Erin who got them from Ellen.

Here's Princess Jemimah modelling hers whilst she completes her MEP worksheet.

And here is Princess Pea practicing her 12 x tables in her hat.

According to the Princesses, both types of maths are easier when you have a brain.

If you too want to have a brain of your very own, and you decide to write about it, do please follow the chain of names - even if it is just to indulge me. Also, Aussie heads must be larger than the equivalent aged American one. Cutting outside the lines would be good. We left ours open at the back to accomodate gorgeous Princess type hairstyles, but you probably need it for size anyhow if you are over five or so years old and have a normal sized head.

Making brains is very fun. The Princesses say so, and it is wiser not to argue with Princesses that have two brains.

Cushion update

Jemimah is having a lovely time this week with Princess Pea. I've hardly seen them. Pea has joined us for school, which has been completed quickly and happily, and then they can both get on with more important things.

Like catching lizards. Making cupcakes. Doing jigsaws. Acting out their favourite fairy tales. Toasting marshmallows on the fire. Making a house for the aforesaid lizard. Colouring brain hats (More on this soon). Playing in the cubby. Jumping on the trampoline. Having picnics at the playground. Cooking spaghetti bolognese for dinner. Having big messy bubblebaths. Laughing. Eating. Sleeping. Well, not so much sleeping.

No telly yet. That's pretty impressive, is it not? They have put in an order for Shrek tonight while homegroup is here though.

With all this free time, I've been knitting. I've finished my cushion. Tada!!

I decided on moss stitch for the flap. This is such an elegant stitch, and yet it is not one I use often - all that backwards and forwards with the yarn as you change from plain to purl is rather tedious. This time though, I settled into quite a happy rhythm, and I am really happy with the result - it was worth the effort.

I started to sew it up last night, only to discover that I had carefully and neatly sewn the button flap over not under the holes, and so I have had to quick unpick it. Which I had to do immediately, or I would never have bothered. That'll teach me to sew at midnight. Rather silly. Maybe by tonight you will see the finished product stitched the right way round. Sans buttons, of course. They will need to wait until I can get into Buttonmania on our next visit to Melbourne.

I'm sewing in the kitchen because the light is better for my ageing eyes. As I look up from my work I see these.

Beautiful, aren't they?

Teaching what really matters

Jemimah has her best friend, the Princess Pea, here this week. The blog-name is appropriate too, for one of these two are truly two peas in a pod. They were up and gone at the crack of dawn - frost lying heavy on the ground - for Jemimah's cubby where you will find them now if you care to look, rugged up in enough clothing to brave the South Pole, but having a tremendous lot of fun playing.

Some time soon I will need to call them inside to start school - alas it is not holiday time in our Peaceful Home as it is at Pea's public school - but I am procrastinating. As the only child at home with her two fuddy-duddy parents, Jemimah doesn't get enough opportunities to just be a kid and play. It is nice to see the two girls together.

The idea of short lessons and plenty of time to play and live real life was one of the things that first attracted me to a Charlotte Mason style of education for Jemimah. I have always been of the opinion that learning is an integral part of life that happens anywhere and everywhere - not necessarily in school - but for this to happen then there has to be plenty of free time. To me, the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education made this achievable.

Why is it then that sometimes I get so hung up about academics? Why do I worry if we get behind with maths, for example, or fret about getting our reading done? How is it that we didn't do memory verses at all whilst in Japan on holidays - since when has hiding God's word in our hearts been a part of the weekdays only academic curriculum, I ask you! How can it be that sometimes when we are running short of time I will forgo our Bible reading in order to finish history? What does this say about my priorities?

We had a baptism during our morning service on Sunday. Aren't they just the best? I am always challenged to hear over again the promises that we made when Jemimah was in that same place. I always measure my progress against the promises we made before God on that day eight years ago: Am I setting an example of a holy and consistent life? Am I seeking that my daughter might while young come to understand the history, doctrine and practice of the Reformed Presbyterian Church? Am I helping her to experience the blessings of loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Am I practicing Bible centred parenting?

In an article by Susan Engel in the New York Times entitled, Playing to Learn, which I came across on Saturday, I read about the reforms proposed by the Obama administration for education in America:

So what should children be able to do by age 12, or the time they leave elementary school? They should be able to read a chapter book, write a story and a compelling essay; know how to add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers; detect patterns in complex phenomena; use evidence to support an opinion; be part of a group of people who are not their family; and engage in an exchange of ideas in conversation. If all elementary school students mastered these abilities, they would be prepared to learn almost anything in high school and college.

It's a pretty simple list really, isn't it: reading, writing, computation, pattern detection, conversation, collaboration and socialisation. In six hours per day.

Miss Mason had a list of attainments for a child of 12 as well:

What a Child Should Know at Twelve

The six years’ work–from six to twelve–which I suggest, should and does result in the power of the pupils–

(a) To grasp the sense of a passage of some length at a single reading: and to narrate the substance of what they have read or heard.
(b) To spell, and express themselves in writing with ease and fair correctness.
(c) To give an orderly and detailed account of any subject they have studied.
(d) To describe in writing what they have seen, or heard from the newspapers.
(e) They should have a familiar acquaintance with the common objects of the country, with power to reproduce some of these in brushwork.
(f) Should have skill in various handicrafts, as cardboard Sloyd, basket-making, clay-modelling, etc.
(g) In Arithmetic, they should have some knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions, percentage, household accounts, etc.
(h) Should have a knowledge of Elementary Algebra, and should have done practical exercises in Geometry.
(i) Of Elementary Latin Grammar; should read fables and easy tales, and, say, one or two books of ‘Caesar.’
(j) They should have some power of understanding spoken French, and be able to speak a little; and to read an easy French book without a dictionary.
(k) In German, much the same as in French, but less progress.
(l) In History, they will have gone through a rather detailed study of English, French, and Classical (Plutarch) History.
(m) In Geography they will have studied in detail the map of the world, and have been at one time able to fill in the landscape, industries, etc., from their studies, of each division of the map.
(n) They will have learned the elements of Physical Geography, Botany, Human Physiology, and Natural History, and will have read interesting books on some of these subjects.
(o) They should have some knowledge of English Grammar.
(p) They should have a considerable knowledge of Scripture History and the Bible text.
(q) They should have learned a good deal of Scripture and of Poetry, and should have read some Literature.
(r) They should have learned to sing on the Tonic Sol-fa method, and should know a number of English, French, and German Songs.
(s) They should have learned Swedish Drill and various drills and calisthenic exercises.
(t) In Drawing they should be able to represent common objects of the house and field with brush or charcoal; should be able to give rudimentary expression to ideas; and should be acquainted with the works of some artists through reproductions.
(u) In Music their knowledge of theory and their ear-training should keep pace with their powers of execution.

This is the degree of progress an average pupil of twelve should have made under a teacher of knowledge and ability.Progress in the disciplinary subjects, languages and mathematics, for example, must depend entirely on the knowledge and ability of the teacher.

Charlotte Mason, School Education p. 301-302

It is a far greater list. Miss Mason expects children in addition to the list of the Obama administration above, to have a general knowledge of fine arts - Scripture, poetry, music, drawing and handcrafts. She expects geography, language, grammar and Bible. She expects general knowledge and conversation. All this in two or three hours a day.

So what do I expect? What is our aim for our daughter at the age of twelve? What do we want for Jemimah?

Am I teaching what really matters?

As I Christian, I obviously seek that my daughter will come to know her Lord and Saviour at an early age. That is my ultimate aim for Jemimah, but alas, it is not for me to teach this to her. Only the Holy Spirit can change my daughter's heart. It is, however, my responsibility to provide the framework for Jemimah to build upon, if not the skill itself. Susan Engel talks about this here:

Developmental precursors don’t always resemble the skill to which they are leading. For example, saying the alphabet does not particularly help children learn to read. But having extended and complex conversations during toddlerhood does. Simply put, what children need to do in elementary school is not to cram for high school or college, but to develop ways of thinking and behaving that will lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on.

For me this says that if I am to hope to achieve the goal of a saving knowledge of Christ at an early age, I need to teach Jemimah to think and behave in such a way that will lead to that desired outcome. I can help provide the scaffolding on which to build further knowledge too. I can encourage Scripture memory work. We can learn and understand the catechism. I can teach her to read and understand God's word and I can teach her how to pray. The rest is up to God, but that is up to me.

This then is my ultimate aim for Jemimah. But I would be kidding myself - and you - if I said that this is my only goal. At this stage in her education Jemimah appears to be quite academically bright. I encourage her when she says that she would like to be a nurse or a doctor or a vet (or less often and less likely an artist or a florist). I would like her to achieve academically because I like the fact that I am educated. I know that I do not need a university education to lead a satisfying and fulfilled life as a wife and mother, but I am so thankful that I do have one! I think it makes me a more rounded and interesting individual. I also think it helps me to be a more capable and efficient at my job of keeping a home. I think that my university education helped me to develop ways of thinking and behaving that lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on in my life. This is an aim of mine for Jemimah as well. If she wants to pursue further education then I would like to ensure that she has the adequate foundations to do this.

This is why I chose a Charlotte Mason Liberal Arts curriculum for our schoolwork - so she would know stuff. In addition to academic disciplinary subjects, I teach the artsy-fartsy ones as well. And to be honest, these are the ones that I use most often in day to day life as an adult. The names of flowers, trees and clouds. The names of the countries, their people and their foods. Musicians, artists and song. These are the things I use every day. Not calculus, not the Krebs cycle and not Latin declensions. So why do we learn them? We learn them to develop ways of thinking and behaving. Of course. As you do.

All of this merely brings me back to the question I asked earlier. With all this information, how do I ensure that I apportion my time according to need - how do I ensure that I teach what really matters?

I do hope you haven't ploughed your way through to here in the hope of finding the ultimate answer to this question, because the fact is, I don't have one. As I confessed earlier I am often guilty of getting my priorities wrong. I do think that a liberal education of many and varied subjects is part of the solution. Likewise, short lessons and plenty of time for play and just living life is another. I believe in being a learning home where our learning happens as part of life, anywhere and at all times, not just during lessons. I believe in allowing experiences to teach. I believe in developing thinking and behaviour - of concentrating on forming good habits and life skills. I believe in Bible centred education.

As to getting it all in the right order? As to teaching what really matters? Well, I'm working on that.

Are you?

Pop over here to see Hopewellmom's interesting take on this.

Yesterday

"Hundreds and Thousands" and coloured icing. Simply the best combination, don't you think? What children's cupcakes lose in neatness (and hygiene, if the finger licking is any indication of cleanliness), they certainly gain back in creativity. Those triple decker ones are too cool for words!

While the girls baked, I sewed in the ends of my rug. I do not like sewing in ends, but when the weather outside is as cold as yesterday's was, there is a certain snuggly comfort about it.

Sew...oops, sorry... so.

Who can explain why there are now hundreds and thousands right through the house? Why is that so, do you think? Are hundreds and thousands poisonous to dogs?

Hibernating

Have I told you that before I was married my idea of the perfect winter Saturday was to spend all day in bed reading, snoozing and listening to fun 70s music on 3MP? I would exert myself only as much as a trip to the kitchen for provisions would require before leaping back under the covers for more luxuriating. Bliss.

Those were the days. My husband does not think that this is a good way to spend the weekend. He did try it a few times just after we were first married and were still in LURVE...not that we're not still in love, but you've gotta admit that the first year is...well...different. Anyhow, he was bored. He needed entertaining. It was not fun for him or for me.

Today my Beloved is at a conference and I am hibernating with our daughter. We are not in bed, but we are snuggling together under mohair rugs on the sofa in front of the heater. We both wish we had an open fire in our Melbourne home, but the gas heater is certainly cozy and conducive to huggling, and so we don't mind too much. I am drinking coffee; Jemimah has opted for hot chocolate from a suckao thingy. It is milk chocolate too, from Max Brenner, and I am considering joining her. I think she might have made the better choice.

We are reading. Jemimah is re-reading Winnie the Pooh. She says that it is better at eight than it was at five. My book is Childish Things by Robin Jenkins. I always enjoy the writings of this terrific Scottish author, and this book, written when Jenkins was 90 years old, is certainly shaping up to be un-put-away-able. Just to coin a pun on its name. I think that 72 year old Gregor McLeod might just turn out to be a very naughty boy... I'm loving his use of the occasional Scots word as well. Later I have the new edition of donna hay magazine to flip through. Or perhaps I might crochet a square or two of my rug. Maybe.


We are listening to my new CD, the classical soundtrack from Departures by Joe Hisaishi, the same composer who has worked on numerous Hiyao Miyazaki films. You can listen to some of it with us if you like. So peaceful.

Maybe I should at least have a shower. Do you think you can still hibernate effectively in clothes? Perhaps my velvet tracksuit would be okay. Aren't they called leisure suits? Jemimah thinks a bubble bath would work for her. A fine choice, I must say.

Later, but not much later we will eat. Toast, I think. "Nutella!" declares Jemimah. I do declare that that girl can never get enough chocolate. I fancy Rose's Lime Marmalade. It is very important indeed to stave off scurvy on days like this.

Tonight we will he heading out for dinner and a glass of bubbles at Café Vic before settling back to luxuriate in Peggy! a tribute to the founding artistic director of the Australian Ballet, Peggy van Praagh. I know we were only at the ballet a fornight ago. Can you really overdose on ballet?

But that is later. Right now we are doing nothing. It is such a delightful, peaceful nothing.

I'm so glad that our daughter inherited the hibernating gene.

Did you?

Totoro

This is what we're watching tonight.

Anyone else out there like Hayao Miyazaki ?

Going on a Nest Hunt!

I am sure that Jemimah and I are not the only ones to be fascinated by the variety to be found in birds' nests. Each bird has a different home, and the unique aspects to each type of structure are amazing: The Pied Oystercatcher, along with other shore birds, simply lays her clutch of eggs in a little depression in the sand of the seashore; parrots and cockies nest in hollow trees along the river banks; the Mallee Fowl buries her eggs in a huge mounds that can be over 1m high and 4m across; and the bowerbird...well their bowers need to be seen to be believed, while their nests are actually pretty boring.

While the variety of nests in our backyard is not quite so impressive as this, we still have a number of resident birds in our Peaceful Garden, and while finding bird nests during the summer requires patience,determination, skill and a good dollop of good luck, during winter it is a doddle. With the trees bare of leaves, nest hunting is merely a matter of looking up!

Of course a nest in spring complete with a clutch of chicks is the most interesting, but you can learn a lot from the nests you discover in winter. We always look at the position of the nest on its branch, as well as its method of attachment. How does it stay there? We also look at its manner of construction, as well as the materials that the birds have found to construct their home. Are they all natural, or are some man-made? Can we identify the species that made it? (Not often!)

We always do a drawing or two, and note our findings in our nature notebooks. It is terrific fun.

The Making of Our Prime Minister

The woman who today is our Prime Minister. Who'd have thought?

Great Sponge Battle Attempt 3

So here is this week's sponge cake attempt. It is better than last week's offering, but is still not perfect. For this challenge I used an oven thermometer to heat the oven to exactly 180° C and cooked it for exactly 18 minutes. It still had a smaller-than-last-week-but-still-there soggy spot in the middle. Next week I will try 20 minutes. Or maybe 19.

The icing was better though. I mixed passionfruit pulp from the freezer with icing sugar and heated it in a saucepan on the stove. It seemed to stop it running. At least I have mastered something during this process!

Jo Princess Warrior told me yesterday that cooking is one of the Gentle Arts, along with such things as needlework, gardening and homemaking, and pointed me to a post by her sister about a book by blogger extraordinaire, Jane Brocket entitled The Gentle Art of Domesticity: Stitching, Baking, Nature, Art & the Comforts of Home . It is now on my wish list!!

I like the gentle arts. Flower arranging, pottering in my garden, cooking, homemaking, interior decoration, and my more recent passions of knitting and crochet give me a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction. Even trying to perfect the sponge is fun. Frustrating, but certainly fun.

Edith Schaeffer, Susan's Mum and Francis' widow, in her book, The Hidden Art of Homemaking defines hidden art as the art found in the ordinary areas of everyday life. Each person has, she believes, some talent that is unfulfilled in some hidden area of his being - a talent that could be expressed and developed, fulfilling and enriching their lives.

Unsurprisingly, Edith approaches the hidden arts from a Christian perspective. She suggests that:

a Christian, above all people, should live artistically, aesthetically, and creatively. We are supposed to be representing the Creator who is there, and whom we acknowledge to be there. It is true that all men are created in the image of God, but Christians are supposed to be conscious of that fact, and being conscious of it should recognize the importance of living artistically, aesthetically, and creatively, as creative creatures of the Creator.

It is rare to find a book that validates the womanly interests in things like clothes, interior decoration, flower arranging, food and writing. You should see my husband when he hears me talking to my best girlfriend, Kerrie. "How can you spend an hour talking about such drivel!" he exclaims. "Because to Kerrie, finding shoes to wear to her business meeting is not drivel, darling, and searching out the perfect cushion for her new sofa is actually very important." Lots of eye rolling happens about here.

Now you'll notice that I don't put clothes down as one of my likes above. I don't really keep up with fashion like Kerrie does, and I don't like clothes shopping. Book shopping is another matter! I do like to dress neatly and appropriately though, and I don't like looking dowdy.

Francis in her chapter on clothing says this:

Surely the question of a Christian living aesthetically, artistically and creatively comes into the area of clothing too, does it not? Is it not important that a Christian represent in his clothing the One in whose image he is made? Spiritually, we are clothed in white linen robes which are the righteousness of Christ, and that is more important than fashion. But is there any reason why a child of the One who designed, created, brought forth and clothed the flowers should set out to look ugly and drab? Are we representing Him by looking unattractive?

Somehow I think that the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 would be far from dowdy with her household clothed in scarlet and her clothing of silk and purple.

Now I'm starting to waffle. I'm good at that.

Back to the Gentle Arts. Do you practice them? Is homemaking important to you?

To me these things are what I do to make Our Peaceful House into Our Peaceful Home. I like to make my little part of the world more orderly, more artistic and more beautiful. I like to make it more yummy too.

What do you think? What's your favourite Gentle Art?

Back for Battle with the Sponge 4 next week.

The Mom Song

Oh yeah.

On my needles

I told you I'd show you my new wool. Isn't it sublime? It is another Noro yarn, this time Kochoran, a wool, angora and silk blend. I can't wait to have cushions made of this.

I've had to do a tension square to discover how many stitches I'll need for each cushion. 41 stitches is 28 cm. Why on earth didn't I knit just 40? Because I didn't count, that's why!

Oh my! I am so out of practice... Let me see: to knit a 36 cm square cushion I'll need 53 stitches. That's right, isn't it? I'm so glad I'm doing MEP maths.

The basket is an Injalak coiled basket of pandanus fibre. You can learn more about them here.

Moomins!

I want to see this.

I'm such a kid.

What will I do when Jemimah is too grown up to see stuff like this?

P. T.'s plea

This fine furry feline is P. T. Cruiser. P. T. tells me that his Mom is sad. And since P. T.'s Mom...ahem...Mum...is a friend of mine, I don't like to hear that.

P.T.'s mum, Lisa, has a give away on her blog, and so far not very many people have entered. I can understand why she is sad about that. I mean she is trying to give a book away, people!! Free!! She really likes this book too, and she wants to share.

I have already entered the draw, so really I suppose I should be glad that there are not many entrants thus far, but in the interests of friendship, do hope on over to Lisa's blog and leave her a comment here. You may just win yourself MY copy of The Unlikely Disciple: A Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose just by doing that.

Okay, P. T., it is done. Now PLEASE stop looking at me, and stop that miaowing right now y'hear?!!

At the Art Gallery

We are justified in according ...(Picture Talks)... a place in our school programme, by our definition of education as "the science of relations." In these lessons we aim at putting the children in touch with the great artist minds of all ages. We try to unlock for their delectation the wonderful garden of Art, in which grow most lovely flowers, most wholesome fruits. We want to open their eyes and minds to appreciate the masterpieces of pictorial art, to lead them from mere fondness for a pretty picture which pleases the senses up to honest love and discriminating admiration for what is truly beautiful - a love and admiration which are the response of heart and intellect to the appeal addressed to them through the senses by all great works of art.

...Let us then ask, What is the fundamental idea of our scheme of Picture Talks? It is, I take it, our conception of Art itself; not as the luxury of the rich, the plaything of the idle, the fetish of the would-be "cultured," but as a means of expressing man's noblest dreams, deepest thoughts and tenderest fancies. This conception has been variously expressed in various definitions.

Thus: - "Art is the incarnation of a soul of truth in a body of beauty." "....the beautiful expression of thought tinged by emotion." "....the second revelation of infinity....across the mind of man." "...a second creation: man's will calling a thought into material existence, and his judgment pronouncing it to be very good."

Some of us well remember the joy that filled us when - ... perhaps by a few illuminating words spoken before a picture that we liked vaguely, but with no notion of its deep meaning - we felt, as it were, a new sense given to us, a magic book unsealed, a wonder world discovered. Shall we not hasten to share this joy with the children entrusted to us? And does not our knowledge of the life and potency of ideas teach us how to impart the secret spell, the "Open Sesame" which each individual soul must pronounce before it is permitted to taste this joy?

Miss K. R. Hammond PRArticle Volume 12, No. 7, July 1901, pp 501-509

We happened to find ourselves outside the wonderful Bendigo Art Gallery today.

Well, actually, to be entirely honest, we were at the Gallery Cafe, if you really want to know. Jemimah and I were eating gourmet pizzas; Daddy was polishing off the risotto. It was delish - as always.

When you are that close to an Art Gallery, I'm afraid you can't just walk away. The pull is just too great. There is a magic book inside those walls; a wonder world to discover. I feel a need to share the joy. We went in. Just for a minute.

Children love Art Galleries. True. What you need to do though is to bring the magic to life - to unlock the pages of the picture book - to impart the secret spell. Galleries are not stuffy and boring. They are full of magic. Childhood magic.

We've been visiting galleries for a long time. We know the Bendigo Gallery pretty well. The trick for us, I think, is to let Jemimah set the pace. She decides what we will see, and it is she who decides when it is time to go. Sometimes we wander freely around the whole gallery; at others we spend our time looking at just one exhibit. It is up to her. That doesn't mean that I never guide and direct, of course. When we pay money to see an international exhibition then we naturally spend more time than usual, for example. Even then though, we roam about according to what catches Jemimah's eye. Similarly, when we visit a gallery to see art painted by our current term's Picture Study artist then we look specifically for his or her work alone. Those visits are structured, school type trips, not magical ones.

Today we played the One Picture visit. "Pick one picture, Jemimah. Your favourite. We'll make a quick trip inside to see it." She chose McCubbin's The Pioneer first. This classic piece of Australian art had been visiting the gallery in recent times, but alas it has returned home to the National Gallery of Victoria and so we were out of luck. Her second choice was Hilda Rix Nicholas' beautiful painting In the bush. You can see it here. It is quite luminescent in reality. Last time we saw this picture it had been mounted as part of an exhibition of Rix Nicholas' art. The lighting was exquisite. Today it looked different, and Jemimah wanted to understand why. Isn't it great when you can explain the way the hanging of a painting affects its appearance because the child wants to know rather than you wanting him or her to know! After a few minutes looking at the painting and discussing the way she had used a backlighting technique to such good effect we were set to go. We had achieved what we wanted from our visit.

As it turns out we did stay a little longer. The lure of a textile exhibition - Sunday's Child - a selection of christening gowns, infants’ dresses and bonnets from the 1850s to the 1950s from the Victorian Embroiderer's Guild’s collection was too amazingly good to pass up.

Then we left.

Do you visit art galleries with your kids? What have your experiences been like?

In the mean time, without being an authority on children or on anything actually, here are a few tips that work for us:

• Children have short attention spans. Be ready to leave when your child shows the first sign of being ready. Even when you've paid to enter. Don't let boredom set in.
• Visit a variety of galleries and look at different styles of art. Jemimah likes contemporary art very much. To me it is overrated, but what does my opinion have to do with it?
• Don't feel an need to see every piece of art. Wander from piece to piece. The need to see an exhibition systematically and in order may work for you, but it is not the only way to appreciate the works.
• Read out the labels on certain pictures. Often they contain information that will contribute to your child's enjoyment.
• Many displays designed especially for children are drivelly twaddle. Others are wonderful. The National Gallery of Victoria dual labelled a number of the pieces in last year's Dali exhibition, one set for children and another for the...ahem...more mature. Given Dali's sometimes questionable subject matter and lifestyle, this was appropriate, and controversial topics were successfully avoided. I will admit that an an almost mature big person, I enjoyed the fact that the more appropriate sanitised art was already laid out for me. I don't need to know everything that goes on in an artist's sometimes warped and tortured mind.
• If your child is struggling, design quick treasure hunt challenges as you look at the art: Find five pictures with animals in them. Find four pictures depicting winter. How many pictures show no signs of man? Which do you think is the artist's favourite colour? Which is your favourite picture? Can you find two pictures of the same view? How many different animals can you find? Can you find a house with a red roof? You get the idea. This can be very good fun, and can occupy a child very effectively if you want them to look more at a certain group of works.
• Allow children the freedom and the time to discover something new, and remember to look at it with them.
• Answer their questions. If you don't know, the gallery staff probably will.
• Asking a child to look at a picture and then tell you about it using the same methods we employ in Picture Study is also enjoyable to kids that are used to doing this.
• Remember to take time to look for paintings that your children recognise. The pictures that you have studied become good friends, and it is really exciting to find the original hanging on a gallery wall. If you child is not familiar with many pieces of art and you know you will see a particular picture during your visit, then you can show it to them on the computer screen or in an art book before you go.
• Try the One Picture visit described above. We do this a lot. You can always go back.
• Remember to explain the etiquette of the gallery visit before you go. Remind your children that they will be asked to stay at least a foot from the paintings, or behind the line marked on the floor if there is one. Explain that you never ever ever touch a sculpture or painting. Ever. Not even when you're grown up. If they run they will be asked not to by the gallery staff. Tell them!
• You know your children better than anyone. Look out for things you think they will enjoy. Even if you know their parents probably won't. You never know, you may just be surprised when your visit to the collection of skateboard photographs turns out to be the highlight of your week. Galleries are really clever at putting together interesting displays of ...well... just about anything nowadays. You might discover an interest in common with your child!
• Take home a souvenir of your visit. A beautiful catalogue of a favourite artist's works is a real - and expensive - treat. Less costly is a post card or two to add to your child's collection. The reproductions in Jemimah's Picture Study book are much treasured already. Imagine her collection in a few more years!
• Remember that a visit to an Art Gallery is supposed to be a wonderful treat not a boring drudgery. Make it special. Make a visit to the Gallery Cafe for some treat-appropriate food or a babycino. Make it fun.

Above all, remember that your aim is to share the joy of art with your children. If it is not successful today then there is always a next time.

Enjoy it. We do.

Good stuff

Hello.

There is some really good stuff on the Internet today. Here are some things that have me a little bit excited. Maybe you will like them too.

Enjoy.

I think The Book Chook posted this first link just for me, I do. Really. It is a link to an interactive feature on the National Gallery of Victoria website that allows kids to create stories using the characters and backgrounds of the Pictures of the Floating World. We're studying Hiroshige for picture study, remember, and so this is just perfect for us. Hurray!

Jade at play.learn.love told me about this next site here. I like her blog, because her daughter is called Miss Mimi and that is what we call Jemimah. So we're twins. She posted about The Little Big Book Club, and it is really cool. Miss Mimi loved Cathy Adamek's version of The Terrible Plop. Jemimah preferred Len Firth's. Which do you like?

The Book Chook really did think of me when she read the next link, coz she sent it to me in an email. Really it is a bit of information not a site, but it has me really really excited, and has left me contriving a way to visit our Nation's Capital this Friday at 6 pm. Which I s'pose I won't be doing, but I want to. Maybe you live in Canberra. If you do, then you will want to hop along to this swoonworthy piece of excitingness. Remember to check out the papertigers blog while you're there. On the net, I mean, not at the library thingy wearing your white gloves. I like...well just about everything about this blog.

I'd like to tell you that one of these would be my next craft 'work in progress', but I purchased some beautiful wool yesterday with which to knit some cozy cushions. So I will maybe do this after the cushions. I have had to stop crocheting my rug until the wool that I have ordered arrives. Two weeks, they say. I have unleashed a craft mania, I think. Is it healthy? I will post pics of the cushion wool very soon. It is very fantastic.

We have had friends to dinner this evening. Lamb Navarin and Rhubarb Crumble on the menu. Don't you just adore wintery comfort foods like these? I do. What are your favourites? I think for me it has to be good old fashioned stodgy English puddings, but a good stew or tagine is hard to beat as well. I just love good food! I love eating it with good friends too. Hurrah! There is no Internet link here by the way, but it is good stuff. That is the link. Tenuous, I know. Speaking of good food, hop over to Sarah's place so see the amazing pizzas she and her fam whipped up over the weekend. Fabulous!

Finally, here is a review of a wonderful book that I maybe would like to own. An anthology about nature, science and imagine by poets like Sylvia Plath, Carl Sandburg and Dylan Thomas sounds pretty good don't you think? The Darwinian evolutionary links are a bit of a turn-off though.

And now I am off to bed. I am tired and it is late. See you tomorrow.

Jeanne

xxx

When they come calling

The Jehovah's Witnesses came visiting this morning. They come regularly to our Peaceful Home, and recognising one of them, I opened the door before they knocked. Nicely dressed, pleasant youngish ladies, they seemed overwhelmed with gratitude.

The one I recognised asked me how I was and told me she had enjoyed the discussion we had had during her last visit. I looked politely blank. "Just after Easter," she supplied, helpfully. "We talked about why people liked Easter but didn't like talking about Jesus," she added. "Ah yes," I replied.

If felt awkward and embarrassed, wondering how I could get rid of them but wanting to show them some gracious Christian hospitality at the same time. Hah! Hospitality! What a laugh! I didn't even ask them inside the door, holding the wire door open with one hand and with the other pushing the curious Jemimah back behind the door so they didn't see her. Why, I idly wondered, am I doing that?

They handed me a copy of The Watchtower, and another publication called Awake. "Thank you," I said as I took them, knowing full well that they would go into the recycling as soon as the door was closed. They turned my attention to an article on the 'demise of limbo' in the Catholic Church. "Yes, I had heard that the Catholic Church had changed its mind about that," I said, politely and non-commitally. I waited, curious to discover whether they would raise any theological argument, but they didn't. They never do. Neither do I.

Outside I was chatty and smiling. Inside I felt...well, what did I feel?

I felt admiring. When the Jehovah's Witnesses proselytise, they are putting into action Jesus' commands to make disciples of all nations Matt 28:19-20 . I dare say they don't like it much when people are rude to them and shut the door in their faces. I wouldn't....I don't. That's why I try to be hospitable and kind.

I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. I didn't like the fact that they knew that I homeschool and was likely to be at home when they called. I resented the intrusion.

I felt myself torn between a desire to evangelise the evangelists and get into a long protracted argument that would get me nowhere, and the greater desire to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

I felt inadequate to the task of countering their false arguments. I know what JW's believe, but I don't know well enough the Biblical passages with which to counter them. I felt unprepared and unready to defend my beliefs.

I felt relieved when they left and were gone.

What should I have done when these ladies knocked at my door? What should I do next time - and there will be a next time? What do you do?

My incredibly knowledgeable and Godly grandmother used to attempt to out argue the pair that visited her home. They just argued louder. They came back armed with more literature and more ammunition and stayed a few hours. When that didn't work they came back again with the 'heavies'. They came again and again. My grandmother was 95 at the time. Eventually my uncle had to go and ask them to go away. She achieved nothing except alot of wasted time.

Maybe next time I should crawl under the sofa and pretend I'm not home.

What do you think?

Yumi Gyoza

I wonder how your kids would enjoy this meal. There are lots of interesting things for them to try here - grilled eggplant, teriyaki chicken pieces, tempura prawns and vegies, grilled salmon, miso soup with noodles, egg omelette, grilled steak, salad and steamed rice. Oishii!

It is, believe it or not, the kids' meal at our Kyoto ryokan. Sometime soon I'll show you what the adults were eating at the same time - ten or so courses of the most amazing foods you'll possibly ever read about - but not today. Today I want to talk about kids and food.

Firstly, some amazing news. Your children do not know the cultural heritage of their favourite foods. They also do not regard them as foreign. Some of them may even be regarded as 'comfort foods'.

Gyoza are like that in Jemimah's mind. These delicious morsels called variously pot-sticker dumplings, jiaozi, gaau or momos, are simply minced pork and vegetables wrapped in a thin dough covering with crimped edges. To Jemimah they signify home and familiarity.

In Japan they're called gyoza. The grilled ones, Jemimah's favourite type, are known as yaki gyoza. Only in our peaceful home we call them yumi gyoza. Because they're yummy, not yucky.

They're pretty easy to make. I keep gyoza wrappers in the freezer and just pull them out when I need them. More often though I use frozen packet ones. Frozen dumplings from an Asian store are one of the few convenience foods we keep in our home, and they're as yummy as the ones you get in restaurants most of the time. Perhaps the restaurants use the frozen type too. I'll wager that some of them do, in fact.

Sometimes in Japan when Jemimah had had her fill of new and exciting culinary experiences - of grilled salmon, nagaimo and nattō for breakfast and sea snails for lunch, we would head out for a meal of gyoza. After a couple of platesful of these delicious morsels she would be happy to be brave once more.

Comfort foods are like that.

What sort of foods do you eat in your home? Is your diet similar to that of your parents? Is your children's diet similar to yours? It's a funny thing you know, but kids in India and Thailand grow up eating spicy curries; kids in Bhutan eat chilli and cheese; kids in Japan eat nagaimo and nattō and kids in China eat sea cucumber. Scottish kids eat deep-fried Mars Bars; English kids eat pickled onions and mushy peas; Aussie kids eat Vegemite; and I'm told that some kids in America even eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Ewww! The amazing thing is that if you introduce your kids to these foods early enough, they'll eat them too. They might come to love them even!

The secret is to start young. It is much harder to change a child's food habits later when they're already used to peanut butter and jelly. Ugh. Harder, but not impossible though. Never assume that your kids won't like a food just because it is foreign. Remember, they won't even know that it is foreign unless you tell them. It constantly amazes me to see the foods Jemimah falls in love with. We spent hours in Japan trudging the streets one day for a packet of nori seaweed because she had an unsatisfied urge for a packet of sheets of plain green seaweed. Weird but true. Not that it is hard to purchase nori in Japan mind you, but we wanted enough for one kid for a week, not for a family for a month. Packets of nori in Japan are pretty huge we discovered.

Some kids are naturally fussy. No matter what you introduce them to, they aren't going to ever be terribly adventurous eaters. The greater variety you offer them, the more likely it is that they'll discover something they like to eat though. It is worth persevering.

The rule in our home is that you don't have to like a new food but you do have to at least try it. Just because you don't like it served one way doesn't mean you don't like it served another way, either. Sometimes you even need to taste something a few times before you come to like its flavour. Olives were like this for me. I ate an awful lot of olives before I came to enjoy them. Nowadays I love them. We all do. It took Jemimah a long time to eat sushi, but you can't keep her away from it now. Maybe it's the nori!!

The world is getting smaller. Few of my grandparents' generation travelled; most of Jemimah's will. They, like me, want to see the world, and when they do, they'll enjoy the experience all the more if they're willing to experiment with the food, if they're just willing to give it a go.

One night in Japan we were tired. We'd been walking all day and we needed to eat. We were in a land full of the most sublime food. We could have had ramen or tempura or sushi or tonkatsu or udon or unagi or okonomiyaki.

We could have had yumi gyoza.

But we didn't. We had McDonalds.

Sometimes even a kid as adventurous as Jemimah needs fries.

Ned Kelly and the Green Sash

Who is Ned Kelly to you - hard hearted murderer or misunderstood victim of a corrupt police force? Generally there is no grey area - most Aussies have a pretty clear idea on which side of this argument they lie.

Either way, he was once a kid who rescued a classmate from a flooded river. The boy's parents were so grateful that they awarded Ned a green hero's sash. In their eyes at least, Ned was a hero.

My grandmother was born only a couple of years after Kelly was hanged, right in the middle of Kelly country. To her still traumatised family, the Kelly family were vile killers. She perhaps unwittingly passed this sentiment on to us. I certainly agreed with her anyway.

It was only after reading Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang - a fictional account that may or may not be true - that I first thought about Kelly's early years. In the book, the green sash is a symbol of young Ned's modesty, courage and goodness.

What went wrong?

For me at least, the black and white began to take on a definite tinge of grey.



I can't wait to see Ned Kelly and the Green Sash, the new book by Mark Greenwood and Frané Lessac . You only need to read Simpson and his Donkey to know that this is going to be a lovely book.

For me, it comes at a perfect time. We'll be reading Frank Clune's Ned Kelly next term for Australian history. This lovely picture book focusing on Kelly's early years and the fascinating story of the green sash should be a great addition.

Perhaps we could travel to Benalla and see the sash itself. That would be a bit of fun!

In allowing Ned to speak through his own voice in the pages of his True History, Peter Carey in effect offered him a retrial. As the jury, I'm confused. Is he a monster or not? To be honest, I don't know now what I think.

I wonder what Jemimah will decide.

Biscuit anyone?

Playing with Playdough is still fun when you're eight.

What's your favourite commercial cream biscuit? Mine's a Monte Carlo, but I wonder whether at least part of my affection stems from the fact that it is the largest biscuit in the Arnott's Assorted Cream pack.

I always loved it when we went to visit friends and they served us Assorted Creams. We were allowed two.

Two Monte Carlos is actually quite a lot.

I was always a sneaky kid.

My nemesis, the sponge

Excuse me blowing my own trumpet for a moment here, but I consider myself to be a pretty decent cook. Nowhere near my Mum, of course, but then again few people are as good as my Mum. Gravy does not frighten me. Nor does a rich creamy hollandaise sauce or a real mayonnaise. I make my own salad dressings, jams and chutneys. I bake pies using my own pastry and make my Thai currys from scratch. I turn out a mean chocolate cake and a to die for pavlova.

There is, however, one thing that has managed to elude me. Merely a mixture of eggs, sugar, flour and air, the sponge cake has become my nemesis.

As an Australian country housewife, I fail if I cannot make a sponge.

I do not want to be a failed housewife. Ergo, I must conquer the sponge.

I started my Battle with the Sponge last Wednesday. Wednesdays are good for a great sponge battle because my homegroup can eat the results.

Only last Wednesday's effort was even too bad for the homegroup boys - the ones whose wives never cook. That bad even. So bad that I couldn't even bring myself to take a photo to show you girls. Jemimah and her Daddy and I had a piece each and the rest was consigned to the rubbish bin. It tasted pretty good, in fact, but even a dish sponge filled with lemon curd and whipped cream and dusted with icing sugar would taste okay. My result was similar - in texture, if not in the pretty green colour.

Tonight's effort is up above. It looks rather respectable when coated with passionfruit icing and filled with cream, but you can tell how bad it was really when I relate to you the fact that one of the homeschool ladies asked whether I had cooked the cake in a ring tin!! Nope, I had to admit - that's why it is failure number two. The homegroup boys judged it a success. So did my gracious husband. Jemimah's piece went into the bin. Mine should have but I am too miserly to throw away good food.

I will make Great Sponge Battle Attempt Number Three next Wednesday. I will report on the outcome shortly thereafter.

Wish me success - I do so want to be a good Australian country housewife. I might even be invited to join the CWA.

I doubt it though - I can't sew.

Hmmm. Is the plural of nemesis 'nemeses' or 'nemesi'?

Orangy Penguins

There are some pretty good Aussie titles amongst these. Do you love the Popular Penguin series as much as I do?

A Fly on the Wall

Man is a socially curious beast - we are all fascinated by the lives of others. A quick glance at the groaning shelves in the biography section of your local library will confirm that for you. So will the rapid rise of reality television in recent years. When we learn about the lives of others we feel that we get to know them. We can relate, and we thrill as we see our own lives reflected back at us. We can monitor our lives against theirs and we can take from them what we want and leave the rest. Through their lives we hope to improve our own.

With that, I invite you to be a fly on the wall of our Peaceful Home as Jemimah and I take you through the day that was today. We had a lot of fun taking the pictures to illustrate this post - we hope you enjoy them.

6:15 am

My Beloved wakes me gently with a cup of Twinings English Breakfast Tea in bed. This little ritual - one that he has been performing since we were married - is one of my favourite luxuries. He always makes it in a big white mug, and it is always the perfect strength. That first mouthful of tea is the best of the day.

As I drink it I think about my day. Today I read a few pages of my book, The Gourmet and then the last few chapters of I Kings. I don't usually do my Bible reading in the morning, but I am behind after my holiday and am taking every opportunity to catch up again. I am almost there.

7:00 am

Hubby comes in to say goodbye, followed minutes later by Jemimah delighted to discover that I am still in bed. She jumps in for a warm-up cuddle after accompanying Daddy outside to look at the ice on the windscreen. It has been cold overnight, and the news broadcaster on my bedside radio explains that it is still only 1° C.

Audrey, the poodle, who has been asleep at the foot of the bed decides that she needs to go outside, and as I accompany her I collect some firewood to build a fire in the sitting room. I am sure it is little warmer than 1° C inside this morning.

7:30 am

Jemimah enjoys the crackling fire as I do some stretching exercises and then shower and dress and then we both make our beds and tidy our rooms. I put a load of dark washing into the machine.

8:00 am

I do not understand why, but it is already 8 o'clock when we sit down to breakfast of warming porridge. I have mine with brown sugar; Jemimah prefers white on hers. As she finishes breakfast I make my first coffee of the morning.

My Fuku cup is a new one from Tachikichi in Kyoto and I like it very much, I do, with its Oribe style green copper glaze and interesting patterning. I also like the fact that is so well insulated that I can hold it even with freshly made coffee inside. It is the perfect size.

9:00 am

We decide to start school in the sitting room with the fire, and we start our first block of school snuggled together under a rug on the sofa. Perfect. Above you can see some of our books. Romans for the Family Hour is by Kenneth Taylor. While I am not a fan of his interpretive paraphrase, the Living Bible, I totally recommend this book. Written in 1959, Taylor's introduction says this:

The reason for this book is that Christian children and young people need the mighty truths of the Pauline Epistles. These great New Testament letters have transformed the church throughout the ages, and radically changed millions of Christians. Moreover, children need these truths in early years, not only after they have grown up.

But all too often, the New Testament letters are largely cut off from children (and older readers of the Bible too) by the bigness of Paul's thoughts expressed in few words. Often he uses technical expressions with a world of meaning for the mature, instructed Christian, but far from clear to others until explained.

In a 1979 interview published in Christianity Today, Taylor explains that the idea for his Living Bible arose through his efforts to explain biblical text to his own children during family devotions:

The children were one of the chief inspirations for producing the Living Bible. Our family devotions were tough going because of the difficulty we had understanding the King James Version, which we were then using, or the Revised Standard Version, which we used later. All too often I would ask questions to be sure the children understood, and they would shrug their shoulders—they didn't know what the passage was talking about. So I would explain it. I would paraphrase it for them and give them the thought. It suddenly occurred to me one afternoon that I should write out the reading for that evening thought by thought, rather than doing it on the spot during our devotional time. So I did, and read the chapter to the family that evening with exciting results—they knew the answers to all the questions I asked!

It is relatively likely that this little book of Romans together with I and II Timothy is a precursor to this larger work, but its simple wording and interesting devotional application passages make it an excellent book for children of Jemimah's age. This is the second time we've read through it, and we both continue to learn from its lessons. Grab it if you find it.

After devotions we do our memory work. Our system is explained here. Today's review verses included the following selections:

• Ephesians 6:10-11 (in French)
• Romans 6:23 (in French)
• Ephesians 6:10-18 (in English)
• Genesis 1:1 (in French)
• 1 Corinthians 13 (in English)
• Psalm 51: 10-12 (in English)
• Philippians 4:4-8 (in English)
• Isaiah 9:6-7 (in English)
• Matthew 19:14 (in French)
• John 14:6 (in French)
• Westminster Shorter Catechism Questions 21-25

Later we worked on our new verses, Proverbs 31:10-31 and Catechism Question 65. Today I read the first half of each verse of Proverbs to Jemimah and she finished every second line. She did very well. She will soon be ready to say the selection in its entirety. Can you? Sadly it takes me a lot longer than Jemimah to learn verses of this length nowadays. As I ask the questions Jemimah turns hairdresser:

Don't I look gorgeous!!

After a quick poem from this term's terrific poetry book, 60 Classic Australian Poems we sing. Every day we sing a Psalm, a French folksong or an English folksong. It was Psalms today. We generally sing our selected song until it is known by heart, covering 2 or 3 of each genre per 12 week term. Today we sang Psalm 111A to Boynton from The Book of Psalms for Singing and Psaume 72 to Rimington from the French Psalter, Chantons au Seigneur. Eventually we will learn parts, but at the moment we both sing the treble.

Last thing in this block of school work is reading. Jemimah reads a chapter of The Saturdays aloud to me. It is a long chapter but we are both enjoying the story and so we quite enjoy this part of our morning.

10:30 am

Morning tea. Hurrah!!

I grab another cuppa and spend some time in the laundry and then check my emails. There were a nice lot of comments over the weekend. Thank you all! Another load of washing into the machine.

Jemimah pops outside to her cubby for a bit of a play.

11.00 am

We begin our second block with copywork in the study. Composer study comes next and we listen to one of the excellent radio shows about Gershwin produced by Classics for Kids. Today for a bit of fun Jemimah listens to Rhapsody in Blue whilst watching Fantasia on YouTube:




11:30 am

Back in the sitting room I read aloud from our AO text, Tales of Shakespeare . Today's play is Measure for Measure. It is nice to read a play with a happy ending for a change, although I found all the sleeping around a bit difficult to explain to my delightfully naive daughter today. I have Jemimah narrate a couple of times during this long selection to ensure that she is coping with all the twists and turns of the plot but she seems to understand very well and I am impressed by her retelling.

Bible comes next. Jemimah reads to me direct from the NIV in preparation for her doing her devotions alone in AO4. Today she read the first chapter of Ruth.We pray for people on our prayer list afterwards.

At the end of this block I read from Christiana's Story, the second part of Pilgrim's Progress. Instead of narrating she illustrates her scroll. We are nearing the end of this epic work and her scroll is really quite spectacular!

As she draws, I prepare lunch - Spicy Coconut and Lentil Soup from Donna Hay's Off the Shelf.

1:00 pm

After a cold start it is a beautiful day and we decide to eat outside. Jemimah serves hers in her new teaset bowls for a bit of fun. Food always tastes better on miniature china! We eat our soup with grilled flatbread. Yum!

Jemimah heads to the cubby for a while while I tidy the lunch dishes, but she finds it too cold and comes back inside.

She plays with blocks.

I crochet.

She knits.


I get a manicure.

I do some housework and we shop for dinner.

4:00 pm

Maths awaits. We gallop through our sheet because the first few weeks of MEP Year 4 is revision of Year 3 work. We skip a couple of easy problems and she completes the worksheet alone. (You can see how we use MEP here and here.) I wander out into the garden and pick some winter blooms for vases. Gershwin plays on the iPod, Japanese incense subtly scents the air. We both comment on what a fun day it has been. By 4:20 pm we're finished.

7:00 pm

Daddy arrives home for a quick bite to eat before his badminton match. Over tea he chats to Jemimah in French for a few minutes. Jemimah challenges him to a tickle match. Before she begins she must don her special anti-tickle protective clothing though!!

Daddy wins anyway.

Jemimah and I read some of her bedtime story, The Little White Horse. Delighfully magical work, this one.

8:00 pm

Jemimah heads off to bed. The house is quiet.

I make myself a cup of Twinings Lemon and Ginger Tea and help myself to a chocolate. A yummy big one. I head into the study to write.

And so here we are. I do hope you've enjoyed reading about our day. It has been a nice one - they don't always work out this well. Mostly I need to work, for one thing.

Soon my dear husband will be home and we'll flop into bed to read. I'll do my Bible reading; he'll read his novel - his quiet time is in the mornings before he leaves for work.

Life's been pretty good for this little mummy on this Peaceful Day.

I s'pose tomorrow I'd better do the ironing.