Amy Mack's nature books

The book of Genesis places man at the head of creation, but makes it clear that he is dependent on nature for his continued existence. In spite of the technology which makes possible synthetic food, clothing and shelter, the human species is still, primarily, a hunter and gatherer of food. Plants must be identified and processed, animals tamed and brought into subjection for the welfare of society. Small wonder that the educators of the nineteenth century emphasised the need for a knowledge of natural science, and that Rousseau's Emile was to be a child of nature. Knowledge was thought to bring mastery.

H. M Saxby, A History of Australian Children's Literature p184

We Aussies have long been proud of our native land. We delight in our strangely fascinating animals and our uniquely beautiful flora, and right from the very first Australian children's book, A Mother's Offering, written in 1841 by Lady Gordon Bremer, natural history has featured largely in our literature. Initially, children's books were meant to instruct, and A Mother's Offering is pointedly educational, moralistic and judgemental, and, to be honest, fairly boring as well for the most part, but it was not long before our new settlers came to love their new land and to delight in passing their love on to others.

It is easy to see that Amy Eleanor Mack (Mrs Launcelot Harrison) loved the bush. Her writing, both for children and adults, was intended to arouse interest in nature, and is is because of that great love that her books can counted amongst the great Australian living books, even when they are used to teach us to be good...which they generally do!

Bushland Stories, Mack's first book written for children, uses fictional stories to explain the facts of natural history to encourage a love of nature and life. The wind, waves, trees, and of course the animals and birds, are all anthropomorphised. They speak and have emotions, and have much in common with the characters in Gatty's Parables of Nature, of which this volume very much reminds me. The things of nature are used to explain the happenings of natural history to her young readers, as well as to teach character traits such as contentment, kindness and satisfaction with what we have. Because Mack was interested, primarily, in conveying botanical and zoological knowledge, however, the plants and animals still behave like their real counterparts enough that we can learn a great deal from them. In The Cocktail's Party, Bluetip the Blue Wren learns with astonishment that as he has grown his plain brown coat has turned to brightest shining black trimmed with gleaming blue.

"But I don't understand," he said. "I thought I was plain brown, like you, but there I am just like father.""When you were a little boy you were plain brown," explained his mother, "for brown is the safest colour for children and mothers. It is not easily seen and so our enemies do not notice the children who are weak, or the mother when she is sitting on her nest. But now you are a strong bird, Bluetip, and able to take care of yourself, so you need not wear your dingy brown coat any longer, and have got this nice blue suit.""Oh, I am so glad," cried Bluetip. "I have always wanted to have a coat like my father's. I am so happy," and he broke into a joyful song.

Man is the enemy, but not frustratingly so, and he can be kind too. Kids are like that, aren't they? Kind one day; cruel the next. Perhaps we all are.

There are 25 stories in the original 1910 edition, although later editions seem to contain between 15 and 18. Keep an eye out for a full version. I read Bushland Stories to Jemimah as a read aloud, somewhere about AO2 or AO3, but I don't seem to have listed it in our curriculum choices, for some reason. I think it is more worthwhile than that, and would certainly recommend that you include it somewhere between AO1-AO3. You can read a story from the book online at Homeschooling Downunder, here.

Bushland Stories was the first volume in Mack's nature series for young children, followed by Waterside Stories and Birdland Stories, all published in 1910. Be careful of overkill with these stories, but they're worth looking out for if you love the first book. Scribbling Sue, illustrated by May Gibbs, was also a book of stories about how nature can teach us to be good. It's probably a bit too moralistic for my taste.

Probably the best known of Mack's books in Aussie homeschooling circles is A Bush Calendar (1909), despite the fact that it is an adult book, and was actually a compilation of articles written for the women's page of the Sydney Morning Herald. It is written as a first person monthly diary of Amy's own wanders in the bush around Sydney, and is illustrated with black and white photographs. It is just delightful - a peaceful type of book - the sort that inspires you to get out into nature to experience it all for yourself.

November 1

It was two butterflies that did the mischief to-day. I had quite made up my mind to have a nice day's sewing, and had planned two blouses to be made; but while I sat at breakfast on the verandah those blue butterflies came floating by, and the blouses were forgotten. In and out amongst the red tips of the gum saplings they flittered, living turquoise in a frame of burnished copper. A little wind, too young to be rough, flittered softly after them and set the red leaves dancing as it passed. Some sunbeams, seeing the dancing leaves, came to join in the fun, and butterflies, leaves, and sunbeams danced and sparkled together in the soft sweet breeze.

It was irresistible. I set down my coffee cup and stood up. "It's no use," I said to myself, " no one could be expected to sit still and sew to-day when all the world's a-dancing. It's a day for the bush!" So off to the bush I went.

Jemimah read this beautiful book in AO7, coinciding each monthly chapter with the correct month of the year. The book begins on August 1, but it lost little by being read January to December, and the benefits of reading the correct months were evident. Each chapter ends with a detailed list of flowers in bloom and birds to be found in and around the coastal areas of Sydney, and Jemimah found it interesting comparing these lists to happenings in our own region.

A Bush Calendar has been reprinted by the lovely Michelle from Homeschooling Downunder. Thanks, wonderful lady, for all that you do for us. It is also at Archive.

A Bush Calendar was followed quickly afterwards by Bush Days in 1911. Written in a similar style, Bush Days is a series of undated stories, quite as delightful as those in A Bush Calendar. My favourite story in this volume is about one of my favourite birds, the Silvereye. It's the story of a young lad who learns to his amazement that the 'sivie' sings as sweetly as a canary:

"I had no idea that silvereyes could sing at all," said one of the men, still gazing up into the branches.I laughed. "It's a case of the prophet in his own country.""Evidently," agreed the man. "I must listen to them in future. It's a good thing to know that we have birds that can sing.""It is," I assented, "the pity is that more people don't know it."Then we all went on our ways, leaving the small singer alone. And he, regardless of his audience, and heedless of their ignorance, still sat amongst the glossy leaves, pouring forth his song of joy and thanksgiving unto the world beautiful.

Until I read this chapter, I didn't know that Silvereyes could sing either.

Jemimah read Bush Days in AO7 as well. On the first week of each month she would read the entry from A Bush Calendar; on the other weeks she read from Bush Days. Bush Days is available from Archive.

Amy Mack also wrote another book for adults, The Wilderness, in 1922. I haven't used this with Jemimah yet, but plan to in a couple of years. I'll keep you appraised!

 

Writing lab reports

I've had this post sitting in draft form since 19th January 2010. Jemimah was just beginning AO3. What a long time ago that seems now.  Today the topic of lab reports was raised on the AO Forum, so I thought it might be time to dust this off and let it finally see the light of day. And here it is. Ta Da!!

Does the title of this post make your eyes glaze over? Thought so. I'll try to liven it up with a personal anecdote...

I think I've told you I am a science boffin. Genetics and biochemistry were my joint double majors at University, and I have an Honours Degree in Human Genetics. Woo Hoo!! I'd always done pretty well in science in school - generally better than pretty well, in fact. I had certainly never received a 'fail' for a report in my life...in any subject.

You can imagine my abject horror then when I discovered that I had failed my first term lab assignment in Biology 101. Learning that 80% of the class were in a similar position didn't lessen that feeling of abject horror either, though it did make me feel a little less like committing harikari.  What the experience did do rather, was to reinforce the novel idea that Uni was going to be quite different from school and that I was actually going to have to work if I were going to maintain my grades.   In this case it turned out that the problem was that nobody in 13 years of school had ever taught me how to write a laboratory report using correct scientific writing. Of course I didn't know how to do it.  And of course I failed.   I began my crash course in scientific writing that very day.

The ability to write clearly and concisely is, of course, the objective of all writing, however scientific report writing differs in style from other written reports for a number of reasons, the main one being that scientific reports and papers must convey scientific information in a clear and accurate manner without ambiguity. Scientific papers are written reports describing original research results. Their format is bound by centuries of tradition, and there is no place for personal style in the finished product.

The facts.  Science is interested in the facts.  The discoverer of the fact is less important than the fact itself.  Eventually the fact would have been discovered, if not by you then by somebody coming after you.  In line with this philosophy, scientific papers are written in what is called the Passive Voice.  This is where I came unstuck in biology 101. When you use the passive voice there are no personal pronouns - no I, you, he/she/it, we, the experimenter, one, the scientist, and so on. Passive voice shifts the focus from the person who did the experiment to the process and results, and implies less bias in the reporting of the scientific findings. It is traditional to write laboratory reports in the passive voice. (Some current scientific journals prefer reports written in the active voice, or first person, but this is still uncommon. My sister-in-law recently had to rewrite her doctoral dissertation three times changing it from the passive to the active and back to the passive before her supervisors were satisfied.  Grrrr.)

Despite being only in AO3 this year, Jemimah's introduction to simple scientific experiments this year using Bob Friedhoffer's Science Lab in a Supermarket seemed an ideal time to introduce her to the specifics of simplified scientific writing at the same time. As Maria said, Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.

Accordingly, at the end of her first experiment lest week investigating the use of food packaging to keep the contents fresh, she wrote up her first laboratory report.

For the sake of those of you who never suffered through science in first year Uni and thus have until now successfully avoided procuring this highly valuable skill, I present the important components of a well written lab report...

Firstly, a scientific paper should consist of Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion in this order. References come last. The abstract is to all extents and purposes a summary. It includes the principal objectives and scope of the investigation, and concisely summarises the results and conclusions. This is the bit you read first if you ever find need to refer to a paper for your own use. It is as easy for my almost 8 year old to write up her paper in the correct format as it is to use the wrong one. Correct format it will be, therefore.

Secondly, write in simple, precise language. Jemimah is all for this. She will never write two words when on will do. (Oral narration is a different matter all together. There she waffles for pages.)

Thirdly, use the passive tense. Generally.

Here's what Jemimah wrote under Methods in her report, for example:

Four bags of chips were put on the table. Three were opened. One of these was put in the fridge, one was made air-tight with a peg, one was left open.

Can you see that the focus is not on Jemimah, but on what she did? (This was her first attempt at passive tense. I thought she did rather well!) 

Scientific work is useless if its results cannot be conveyed to others.  To me writing in this precisely defined style is an exercise in composition that translates to all subjects.  We might not write in the passive voice, but we should always write clearly, concisely and accurately, whatever we are writing upon.

Writing a lab report  is the way that we narrate our experiments.  By putting pen to paper we cement the concepts and ideas in our brain, just like oral narration fixes the ideas in a story.  In this way the facts and principles that we are demonstrating in the experiment are set in our memories for us to access at later times and while performing more advanced studies. 

A reading not narrated is a reading wasted.  The same goes for experiments in my book.

This page on writing lab reports has more useful information that I could offer here.

The Jungle...App

I grabbed myself a copy of Random House's The Jungle Book App this morning, and I'm guessing that if you have an iPad and kids heading into AO3 you might like to get it too.

You see, until June 16th, it's free. Yay! I like free!

The App looks pretty good. You have a choice of reading either the original unabridged version of the Mowgli stories -Mowgli’s Brothers, Kaa’s Hunting, and Tiger! Tiger!, or alternatively reading from a well abridged picture book version for younger readers. Whichever version you chose, animated pages allow you to break Bagheera from his cage, assist Kaa in hypnotizing the monkeys, and even help Mowgli confront Shere Khan. It's quite good fun, I reckon.

As you know, I'm not a big fan of book apps for learning to read, but in this version only the picture book is voiced - with the original stories you must read yourself, most of the pages are just print, and I think it would make a fun change from a normal read-aloud. Jemimah is certainly enjoying it.

To be honest, I am too. Check it out.

After June 16th the App is $8.99.

AO3 Schedule

To me this is more important than the booklist. This is what we read each week. Hope it is useful. The AO3 Booklist is coming...as much of it as I can remember, anyhow...

Year 3 Schedule

I spy with my little eye

Attention all Aussie Ambleside Onliners:

Can you see what I see here in this pic from Pip's megablog, Meet Me At Mikes today?

Yes, it is truly - a copy of Mauel Komroff's Marco Polo hiding there in the background!! This book from the AO3 curriculum is really hard to find here in Oz, so if you're looking for it I'd be getting on to Pip right about now.

Does anybody else love Pip's blog as much as I do?

PS The book is terrific too. As well as being pretty.

Christmas books for older kids

Thanks lovely ladies for all of your help yesterday. There are some fantastic suggestions.

Thanks, especially Erin for your links - and for your suggestion, Lisa, of the delicious looking Treasury. I've compiled a list of my favourites from the suggestions, and I thought that I would share it here for those of you who are interested in read-alouds for the 8-10 year old age group or so as I was.

Remember though, I've only read the ones in bold. The links are from to my mate Abe.

• A Box of Delights by John Masefield
• The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
• The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton
• Christmas at Longtime by Hesba Brinsmead
• A Joey for Christmas by Margaret Paice
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
• The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus & A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum
• The Mysterious Toyshop by Cyril W. Beaumont
• The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson
• The Light at Tern Rock by Julia Sauer
• Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
• The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin
• I saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge
• The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman ill. by Paschkis (or Sendak.)
• The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
• Starlight in Tourrone by Suzanne Butler
• Miracle in the Wilderness: A Story for Christmas by Paul Gallico
• The Long Christmas: Stories and Carols for Christmas by Ruth Sawyer

So there you are. If none of these catch your fancy, be sure to check out some of the wonderful links in the comments here.

And thanks again.

Anybody else love Christmas read-alouds as much as me?

Yay, Jemimah!

I suppose we really ought to include deportment and lady-like posture as classes for next year, shouldn't we? At least we're working on flexibility though...and lolly eating... and getting our daily dose of Vitamin D. All while doing maths. Multitaskers extraordinaire, we are.

This is Jemimah completing her final lesson of MEP Book 4a. It was last week actually, but I forgot to show you, and she had asked me ever so nicely if I would tell you that she was up to her new book that I really had to rectify that omission as soon as I realised it.

We're working on fractions and decimals at the minute. They're a nice break from written calculations of numbers up to 10 000, which it seemed like we'd been doing forever. A few weeks of geometry were a pleasant reprieve as well.

We're still loving MEP. That doesn't mean that every day is fun and easy. A lot of the time maths is the subject that Jemimah chooses last - so that when it's done school's over for the day - but the spiral form of the programme means that no topic is around for long. "If you don't like what we're doing then just wait for next Monday" is our philosophy, and mostly it works.

Amongst my likes are MEP's emphasis on mental maths, and its use of precise and correct mathematical terminology. I love the variety of exercises. A lesson might include setting up a shop to practice using money; measuring weights and capacity; or using manipulatives like Cuisinaire rods or number cards. We might have a mental drill type exercise practicing multiplication facts, followed by a couple of practical applied maths problems and a puzzle. All this keeps boredom to a minimum - in our peaceful home, anyhow.

You hear of mums changing maths curricula nearly as often as they change their clothes. Personally I see little value. For me a maths curriculum is merely a tool that reassures me that I've not left too many gaps. It is not necessary to follow it slavishly, and, in fact, it seems foolish to even attempt to do so. As homeschoolers, we are in the enviable position of being able to tailor the education process to fit our children's unique learning requirements. It would be crazy to not take advantage of this. To me this is not a matter of changing the curriculum, but rather tweaking the one you already have to ensure that it fits your child's needs. MEP's presentation makes this easy.

Unless you insist on sitting like this while you're doing it, that is...

Well done, Jemimah.

When the sun went down

Without doubt she was the worst of the seven, probably because she was the cleverest. Her brilliant inventive powers plunged them all into ceaseless scrapes, and though she often bore the brunt of the blame with equanimity, they used to turn round, not infrequently, and upbraid her for suggesting the mischief. She had been christened "Helen," which in no way account's for "Judy," but then nicknames are rather unaccountable things sometimes, are they not? Bunty said it was because she was always popping and jerking herself about like the celebrated wife of Punch, and there really is something in that. Her other name, "Fizz," is easier to understand; Pip used to say he never yet had seen the ginger ale that effervesced and bubbled and made the noise that Judy did.

Spare a thought for me today as I attempt to struggle my way through Chapter 21 of Seven Little Australians. Yes, that chapter - the one where imaginative, enthusiastic, rebellious, lively, daring, delightful Judy dies.

The death of Mr Percival in Storm Boy earlier in the year was hard enough to read aloud without blubbering, let me tell you, but I've been dreading this scene all year. How am I going to read this?

Which has me thinking about sad bits in children's literature. Which, do you think are the saddest scenes? Which parts have you reaching for the tissues? The Little Match Girl springs to mind, of course, as does Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. The scene where Captain Crewe dies in A Little Princess is pretty heart rending as well.

I am sure there are more.

What are the saddest scenes in your opinion? What books have you found hardest to read aloud? Do tell.

While you're at it, do you reckon sad bits in children's stories are appropriate? At what age? What about current children's books?

I'd love to know your thoughts on this one.

PS If you decide to torture yourself by reading Seven Little Australians to your family, do keep a look out for the deliciously gorgeous version illustrated by John Lennox. It's out of print, but well worth searching out for the sublime illustrations. That's his picture above.

The Forgotten Highway

J K Rowling is writing a new book. Some say that it's another Harry Potter book, and her millions of fans are pretty excited about that, it seems. Personally, having never read one of her novels, although I did go to see the first film a gazillion years ago, I neither know nor care very much. What I do know, however, is that the book, whatever it is, will be a huge success. Fans will be pre-purchasing it before it even gets to the shelves. Maybe they even are already.

The sales of this next book are assured just because it is written by J K Rowling. It doesn't really even matter whether this book is as good as her previous ones. If it is written by J K it's sure to be good. Right?

Which is why there is something that has me pondering.

It has to do with Norman Lindsay.

Lindsay's children's book, The Magic Pudding is arguably Australia's best children's book. It is the only Aussie book to feature in the sublime New York Review Children's Collection of time honoured children's classics.(How I love this collection.) It is featured in Jane Gleeson-White's book, Australian Classics, one of only three children's books, along with Storm Boy and Seven Little Australians, to do so. It is featured in almost every list of great books for children. His much-loved book won instant popularity when it was published in back in 1918 and it is quite rightly considered an Australian classic today.

It is worthy of the acclaim. Lindsay's crazy madcap story of Albert the cut-an'-come-again Puddin' - a pudding that loves being eaten and can be whatever you want him to be - steak-and-kidney pudding now, boiled jam roll and apple dumpling for afters - is as crazily logical as Alice in Wonderland with just as many illogical twists and turns. It combines the Australian vernacular voice with wonderful poetry and Lindsay's delightful illustrations to create a whimsical story full of amazing characters - a sailor called Bill Barnacle, a penguin called Sam Sawnoff, and a koala named Bunyip Bluegum - united as the Noble Society of Pudding Owners - against the professional puddin' thieves, a possum and a wombat.

I read it aloud to Jemimah in AO2, and had not just her but the whole family enthralled. It is wonderful language to read aloud too:

"You'll enjoy this Puddin'," said Bill, handing him a large slice. "This is a very rare Puddin'."

"It's a cut-an'-come-again Puddin'," said Sam.

"It's a Christmas steak and apple-dumpling Puddin'," said Bill.

"It's a —. Shall I tell him?" he asked, looking at Bill. Bill nodded, and the Penguin leaned across to Bunyip Bluegum and said in a low voice, "It's a Magic Puddin'."

"No whispering," shouted the Puddin' angrily. "Speak up. Don't strain a Puddin's ears at the meal table."

"No harm intended, Albert," said Sam, "I was merely remarking how well the crops are looking. Call him Albert when addressing him," he added to Bunyip Bluegum. "It soothes him."

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Albert," said Bunyip.

"No soft soap from total strangers," said the Puddin', rudely.

"Don't take no notice of him, mate," said Bill, "That's only his rough and ready way. What this Puddin' requires is politeness and constant eatin'."

They had a delightful meal, eating as much as possible, for whenever they stopped eating the Puddin' sang out

"Eat away, chew away, munch and bolt and guzzle,
Never leave the table till you're full up to the muzzle."

But at length they had to stop, in spite of these encouraging remarks, and as they refused to eat any more, the Puddin' got out of his basin, remarking—"If you won't eat any more here's giving you a run for the sake of exercise," and he set off so swiftly on a pair of extremely thin legs that Bill had to run like an antelope to catch him up. "My word," said Bill, when the Puddin' was brought back. "You have to be as smart as paint to keep this Puddin' in order. He's that artful, lawyers couldn't manage him. Put your hat on, Albert, like a little gentleman," he added, placing the basin on his head. He took the Puddin's hand, Sam took the other, and they all set off along the road. A peculiar thing about the Puddin' was that, though they had all had a great many slices off him, there was no sign of the place whence the slices had been cut.

"That's where the Magic comes in," explained Bill. "The more you eats the more you gets. Cut-an'-come-again is his name, an' cut, an' come again, is his nature. Me an' Sam has been eatin' away at this Puddin' for years, and there's not a mark on him.

The Magic Pudding is not perfect - we found the courtroom scene somewhat protracted and wordy, for example - but it's a pretty good book. It's a must read piece of Australian literature, that's for sure.

My pondering does not have to do with the worthiness of The Magic Pudding. No, what I'm wondering about is the apparent unworthiness of Norman Lindsay's only other book for children, The Flyaway Highway. And what has me wondering is why this other book of Lindsay's is almost totally ignored.

We read it in AO3. It's the story of Egbert Tomkins and Murial Jane, who together with 'a bloke with cow's hooves' named Silvander Dan take a journey along the highway of children's literature and have lots of wildly absurd adventures along the way. They save an eloping couple in the notorious Pig and Whistle Post-chaise Affair - a runaway love-affair where the protagonists are 'pursued by enraged old fathers, with a general bust up of post-chaises at the bridge here'.

"By jings, that will be worth seeing," said Egbert exultantly.

"Oh yes, very roaring, swooning, odds bodkin affairs they are as a rule," said Silvander Dan.

Then there's The Heretic Murder Mystery Adventure; The Adventure of the Scream in the Night; The Adventure of the Baronial Restaurant and more. There's even The Adventure of the Place where there were No Adventures. That was in the part of the Literary Highway after the Miser-murdering Landscape and the Rural Romance Section, where authors who haven't invented things yet try their ideas out. You can just imagine what they found in a section where authors were trying out new characters and plots without conclusions - mayhem!

The Flyaway Highway is probably not as good as The Magic Pudding. Lacking an Australian focus with our unique wildlife and the fantastic colloquial speech of the Ocker character means that The Flyaway Highway is missing that certain element that makes The Magic Pudding a true Australian classic, but it is still a pretty fun book. Its pages are still full of Norman Lindsay's incomparable writing and wonderful illustrations. It is as absurdly drôle as "The Puddin' book", and every bit as crazy as Alice (which we read at the same time). It is worthy of recognition, and it is certainly worthy of a reprint.

Search out a copy from Abe and give The Flyaway Highway a go. I think you, like me, will be left wondering why this book is almost totally ignored.

It deserves more.

Spelling Wisdom

The gift of spelling depends upon the power the eye possesses to 'take' (in a photographic sense) a detailed picture of a word; and this is a power and habit which must be cultivated in children from the first. When they have read 'cat,' they must be encouraged to see the word with their eyes shut, and the same habit will enable them to image 'Thermopylae.' This picturing of words upon the retina appears to be to be the only royal road to spelling...

Charlotte Mason Home Education p 240

Quick! Hide me! The Ambleside Online Police may be knocking on my door some time in the next few weeks. I have strayed from the curriculum. I have failed them. I have gone my own way.

But only a little bit...honest, Officer!

For some time now I have been concerned with Jemimah's spelling. It is, to be perfectly honest, atroshus. Reely, reely terrabul even. Now this shouldn't surprise me unduly. I shouldn't even be worried, because unlike our local public school, where kids bring home their first list of spelling words within the first week of Grade Prep, Jemimah has never had a lesson in spelling in her life. She reads beautifully, she has been taught a few phonics rules - just a few, and that is it. The problem is that it shows. She can't spell.

Now I was a natural speller. I was always good at it. The idea that my clever daughter might not be horrifies me.

This kid can't spell basic words - like what and ball and when. Really common words. Words she has seen over and over and over. "Shut your eyes! Picture what the word looks like! Now can you spell it?" I ask her, almost pleading. But no. She can't. I could. Clearly Miss Mason thought this was the idea as well.

So now I have decided to do something about it. I am going to teach her to spell. And I am going to do it now - in the third term of AO3. Which is when, as her teacher, I have judged that she needs it and not in AO4 or AO5 when she is ten.

Which is why the AO Police will be arresting me any day now and taking me away for re-education with the peasants in Siberia.

Now when I think rationally I believe that if I introduced spelling at the stage AO recommends, it would work, but when I noticed that children of 8 and 9 were using dictation as an aid to spelling in Charlotte Mason's classrooms I decided that it was only logical to introduce it in my classroom as well. Especially since my student was aware of her poor spelling and was highly motivated to do something about it.

Dictation lessons, conducted in some such way as the following, usually result in good spelling. A child of eight or nine prepares a paragraph, older children a page, or two or three pages. The child prepares by himself, by looking at the word he is not sure of, and then seeing it with his eyes shut. Before he begins, the teacher asks what words he thinks will need his attention. He generally knows, but the teacher may point out any word likely to be a cause of stumbling. He lets his teacher know when he is ready. The teacher asks if there are any words he is not sure of. These she puts, one by one, on the blackboard, letting the child look till he has a picture, and then rubbing the word out. If anyone is still doubtful he should be called to put the word he is not sure of on the board, the teacher watching to rub out the word when a wrong letter begins to appear, and again helping the child to get a mental picture. Then the teacher gives out the dictation, clause by clause, each clause repeated once. She dictates with a view to the pointing, which the children are expected to put in as they write; but they must not be told 'comma,' 'semicolon,' etc. After the sort of preparation I have described, which takes ten minutes or less, there is rarely an error in spelling. If there be, it is well worth while for the teacher to be on the watch with slips of stamp-paper to put over the wrong word, that its image may be erased as far as possible. At the end of the lesson, the child should again study the wrong word in his book until he says he is sure of it, and should write it correctly....

Charlotte Mason Home Education pp241-2

At least when the Ambleside Online Coppers come a calling they will comforted to know that I am teaching spelling the CM way - through visualisation; that power of the eye to take a detailed picture of a word. Miss Mason was of the opinion that this was the key to good spelling.

With this as our premise, she then goes on to caution us about the danger inherent in a child being allowed to see incorrect spelling:

An error once made and corrected leads to fearful doubt for the rest of one's life, as to which was the wrong way and which is the right. Most of us are haunted by some doubt as to whether 'balance,' for instance, should have one 'l' or two; and the doubt is born of a correction. Once the eye sees a misspelt word, that image remains; and if there is also the image of the word rightly spelt, we are perplexed as to which is which.

Charlotte Mason Home Education p 241

She's right, isn't she? Lose or Loose; Chose or Choose? We all have words that trip us up because we have seen them being spelled incorrectly as often as we have seen them error free.

Fortunately, Miss Mason then goes on to explain to us a method that 'usually results in good spelling'. It is called Studied Dictation, and in the quote above she explains exactly how to go about it. Notice that there are no spelling lists. Words are learned in context along with the accompanying grammar and punctuation. The words are meaningful. The passage is from a living book - generally one of the child's literature texts. The child understands what is being said.

The only problem that I could see with Miss Mason's method was that it required prior preparation by her teacher...and that meant me. Now I am reluctant to commit to much that requires work by me out of school hours. Those hours are family time. It is my practice to prepare thoroughly at the beginning of the year; to revise at the beginning of each term and then to do very little more. I was a little reluctant to commit to this process of selecting passages that fit all of Miss Mason's criteria, but which also covered all of the basic spelling words - regular and irregular that my child would need to learn during her time at school.

Then along came Sonya. Hip Hip Hooray!

I'll leave Sonya to have a chat to you about how to do Charlotte Mason Studied Dictation the easy way. It's called Spelling Wisdom, and it's published by Sonya Shafer through Simply Charlotte Mason. Have a listen to her now:



To me, Spelling Wisdom is CM dictation the easy way. Today's 6000 most frequently used words are presented in the words or great writers, and many are from books or authors Jemimah has studied: Robert Louis Stephenson's poems; The Bible; Shakespeare; Hans Christian Anderson; Robinson Crusoe; Sherlock Holmes; Wind in the Willows; and more. Many of them, in fact, are the very same passages I would select myself if I were preparing dictation from scratch.

Even better, the programme comes in both British/Australian and American English. Spiffing!

We've only been using the method now for a few weeks, but already Jemimah's spelling has improved immeasurably. The spelling of ought leads to bought, sought, thought, fought and wrought. First begats thirst. Preach leads to teach, peach, and reach. More importantly, her confidence has improved. She is no longer embarrassed by the fact that her six year old cousins spell better than she does. She is coming ahead in leaps and bounds, and she knows it.

Jemimah is still a pretty lousy speller, and will be for some time to come, but I now have confidence that she will be able to spell reasonably eventually, and that allows this natural speller to breathe a sigh of relief.

When I tell all that to the Ambleside Online Policeman, do you think he'll let me off? Siberia gets pretty cold in winter I'm told.

Sorry - gotta go hide.

There's a knock at the front door.

Term Three French songs

Just to prove that I am thinking about school a little teeny tiny bit.

Only 12 weeks to go until the end of AO3. Where has it gone?!

Don't they grow up fast? One blink and she'll be a grownup.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Storm Boy

We've just finished reading a wonderful array of classic children's literature.

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll; The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by the Reverend Charles Kingsley; A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett; The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major; The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat; At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald; The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge . All these - and more - have found a home in our book bag in recent weeks. And in each case it has been easy to discern why the book has become a 'classic'.

When you read literature of this calibre, it is sometimes easy to become scornful of our own home grown Aussie offerings. The books listed on Australian Living Book Lists just don't measure up. In fact, too many of the books that we Charlotte Mason aficionados call Living Australian books are not Living at all. They're simply books written in story form that people have used to teach their kids geography or history or something. To be honest, I wonder what child in her right mind would pick up some of the books on our Aussie Living Book Lists to read in her own time and of her own free will. Somehow I feel that it would not be very many.

And yet, Australia has some truly wonderful authors. Particularly today, I think our modern writers are up there with the best anywhere. Some of our Aussie books rightfully deserve to be called 'classics' too. Ah, yes, you say putting up one hand, The Magic Pudding; The Getting of Wisdom; Seven Little Australians... and then you'd falter somewhat. And you'd be right. There are few books truly deserving of the tag 'classic', but these three are amongst the best children's literature in the world. There are not many classic Australian books because there are not many classic books full stop. They are a rare breed, exceptional authors. Funny that.

But then one day you remember Colin Thiele's Storm Boy, and pulling it off your shelf you are reminded of just what classic children's literature is all about. Skilled prose, evocative descriptions of our beautiful windswept beaches, a deeply moving love story between a boy and a bird, Storm Boy reminds us of what is important. It reminds us of what it is like to be truly happy.

Storm Boy is one of Australia's best. If your copy is the one illustrated by Robert Ingpen, then you will also have an exceptional illustrator to go with your exceptional author. Storm Boy is classic children's literature that fits in seamlessly with the list of books I mentioned earlier. It is a truly classic children's book.

Storm-Boy lives on the long, long snout of sandhill and scrub that curves away south-eastwards from the Murray Mouth, between the Coorong and the sea. They call it Ninety Mile Beach.

He lives with his dad, Hide-Away Tom. Hide-Away is a hermit. The only man who lives anywhere near Storm Boy and Hide-Away is Fingerbone Bill, an Aborigine, who knows more about things that anyone Storm-Boy has even known. And Fingerbone teaches Storm-Boy.

Then one day, Storm-Boy finds three baby pelicans in a ruined nest, left to die by men with rifles who call themselves sportsmen. One of the birds is desperately ill.

"I don't think he'll live," said Hide-Away. "He's too small and sick."

Even old Fingerbone shook his head. "Dem bad fellows kill big pelican. Don't think little fellow stay alive now."

"He mustn't die," Storm-Boy said desperately, "He mustn't! He mustn't!"

The love between Storm-Boy and this bird, whom he names Mr Percival is the story of this beautiful book.

Storm-Boy is a book that can be read by an eight or nine year old. It is one of those 'emerging reader' books, and yet it is one of those rare books that can be loved and enjoyed by all ages and at many different levels. I defy anyone, child or adult, who says that they were able to read the book aloud without shedding a tear. It is incredibly tragic, and yet it is wonderfully inspiring, as Storm-Boy comes to terms with what happens with an admirable sense of strength and dignity. Storm-Boy becomes a man.

Sadly, because of the long drought and the drying up of the Murray River, the Coorong is now in a critical condition. The region was awarded status as a Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1975, and over 30 of the 85 birds of the Coorong have been listed under national treaties for protection.

Somehow, when you read a book like Storm Boy, these things matter more than ever. In Storm Boy, Colin Thiele brings the Coorong alive. He makes you care. He truly is a powerful and gripping author, and a truly remarkable Australian storyteller. And Storm Boy is a classic book.

For once, Storm Boy is in print. In fact it has not been out of print since it was first published in 1963. It is also available from Amazon in the US. Hurrah! We read it as part of our Aussie adapted AO3.

You can read more about Colin Thiele in my post here. You can also see a YouTube clip of the 1976 film.

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.

Which are you?

Humanity can be roughly divided into three sorts of people - those who find comfort in literature, those who find comfort in personal adornment, and those who find comfort in food...

Elizabeth Goudge in The Little White Horse

Which group do you fit into?

AO3 Term 1 exams

And here's this term's exam.

Just curious - do any of you make use of these exams? Should I keep posting them?

How many of them actually use the Our Curriculum tab at the top of my blog? Is there anything you'd like me to add to this page to make it more useful perhaps?

Please help me make this work for you!

Bible

1. Paul’s epistle to the church in Rome shows how Christ’s death makes us right with God and how he will help us live a good life. Can you explain some of the things Paul says in this letter?
2. You have studied Psalm 23 in depth this term. Tell me some of the ways you see Jesus in this Psalm. You may choose to do this line by line.
3. Tell about the end of Moses’ life.

Memory

1. Recite Ephesians 6: 10-18 about the Armour of God to Daddy.
2. Westminster Catechism questions. How many can you get right?
3. Récites Éphésiens 6:10-11 Les armes de Dieu,en français à Maman.
4. Recite your poem, The Tyger by William Blake.

Writing

1. Write the alphabet in joined running lower case letters in your very best writing.
Her writing is coming along well. See attached.
2. Please write your full name using your very best joined writing. Ensure your letters sit on the line, and watch slope and spacing.

Reading

1. Read for 5 minutes from Storm Boy (900L);Read for 5 minutes from Ballet Shoes (930L); Read for 5 minutes from A Wizard of Earthsea (1150L)

World History

1. Can you tell me something about the Renaissance and some of the artists who lived in that time?
2. Tell the story of Mary of Scotland – a most unhappy queen.
3. When the Polos entered Balashan they entered the western edge of a territory that lies east of India and runs eastward to the border of china. He found many strange animals and wild beasts. Tell me about this part of Marco Polo’s voyage. Can you show me the area on our new map?
4. Illustrate one of the following:

a. William Tyndale – translator of the English Bible
b. John Calvin – theologian of the reformation.

Church History

1. More than anything, Martin Luther wanted peace with God. His search led him to the Bible where he learned about salvation through faith. Tell me about this.

Natural History and General Science

1. Tell me all you know about one of the following:

a. James Watt and the invention of the steam engine
b. The invention of the electric engine and electric locomotive
c. The invention of spinning machines: the jenny, the water frame, and the mule.

2. Make me some popcorn and explain to me how it is made.
3. You have learned about a number of marvellous Australian animals this term. Draw a picture of one and tell me what you know of it.

Literature and Tales

1. “A man, sir,” said Helicanus, “who has not spoken to any one these three months, nor taken any sustenance, but just to prolong his grief; it would be tedious to repeat the whole ground of his distemper, but the main springs from the loss of a beloved daughter and a wife.” Lysimachus begged to see this afflicted prince, and when he beheld Pericles, he saw he had been once a goodly person, and he said to him, “Sir king, all hail, the gods preserve you, hail, royal sir!” But in vain Lysimachus spoke to him; Pericles made no answer, nor did he appear to perceive any stranger approached. And then Lysimachus bethought him of the peerless maid Marina, that haply with her sweet tongue she might win some answer from the silent prince: and with the consent of Helicanus he sent for Marina…

What happened next in this play? Here are some proper nouns you can use: Pericles, Cleon and Dionysia, Leonine, Lychorida, Mitylene, Lysimachus, Helicanus, Marina.

2. Tell the story of how Perseus came to the Aethiops and freed the fair maiden Andromeda from the sea-monster.
3. What has been your favourite part of Christiana’s Story so far? Tell me about it.
4. Explain how the Princess Irene was able to rescue Curdie from his prison under the mountain. 5. Tell the story of the Master of the Harvest who always grumbled about his crops and his poor sick wife who remained faithful.

Australian literature/history

1. Explain how Meg came to meet up with Alan Courtney in the paddocks where the bush grows thickly. Where were Aldith and Andrew?
2. Describe what happened when the Governor decided that for the privilege of mining Queen Victoria’s land and keeping the gold they kept, the miners should pay a licence fee of thirty shillings a month.

Mathematics

1. Complete review sheet 155 (Book 3b)

French
1. Listen to the French story and draw a cartoon strip to illustrate the tale:

Dans la salle à manger il y a une table et cinq chaises. Une, deux, trios, quatre, cinq. Sur la table il y a une nappe blanche. Sur la nappe blanche il y a des assiettes, des tasses, des fourchettes et des cuillières. Il y a cinq assiettes, cinq tasses, cinq fourchettes et cinq cuillères. Il est absolument défendu aux enfants de jouer dans la sale à manger!

Un jour Ninette entre dans la salle à manger. Elle voit la table avec sa nappe blanche. Elle dit: “Oh! Voilà une jolie petite maison! Oh je veux jouer à la maman.” Elle entre dans la petite maison. “Quelle jolie petite maison!” dit-elle. “Je suis la maman, et la poupée est ma petite fille. Oh, j’adore jouer à la maman.
“J’adore ma petite maison,” dit Ninette. “La table forme la toit, et la nappe forme les murs. Mais la nappe n’est pas assez longue. Les passants peuvent me voir!” Elle tire la nappe. Hélas!! Elle fait tombe les assiettes, les tasses, les fourchettes et les ciullières! Voila, une assiette et deux tasses cassées!
A ce moment Monsieur Coq entre dans la salle à manger. “Oh Ninette, Ninette,” dit-il, “que tu es vilaine! Voila une assiette casée…voila deux tasses cassées…Oh, tu es villaine, Ninette!” “Je te demande pardon, Papa, “ dit la pauvre petite Ninette. A ce moment Madame Poule entre dans la salle à manger. Elle voit une assiette et deux tasses cassèes. “Oh, Ninette, Ninette, “ dit-elle, “que tu es vilaine!”

2. Dessines: Trois assiettes, deux tasses et une fourchette. Ecrives les nomes à droite des images, s’il te plaît.

3. Complete these word matching games on the computer :

a. colours,
b. animals,
c. office tools.

Picture Study (Michelangelo)

1. What is the name of the artist we studied this term? What can you tell me about his life?
2. Describe your favourite picture/sculpture from this term's picture study and explain why you like it.
3. Can you draw one of his others?

Composer Study (Early Music)

1. In a break from our regular composer study we have been looking at early music. What can you tell me about music in Mediaeval times?
2. Tell me what you know about Hildegard von Bingen?

Music

1. Sing all the songs from this term in front of Daddy.
2. Play three songs on the recorder, including one that uses your new notes.

Handwork

1. Show Daddy your cross stitch and explain how you did it.
2. Do you know the names of the stitches you used?

Perseus frees Andromeda

Perseus Rescuing Andromeda 1513, Piero di Cosimo

Tell the story of how Perseus came to the Aethiops and freed the fair maiden Andromeda from the sea-monster.

Perseus flew on until he came to the edge of the island. But when he tried to go further a sudden wind arose and stopped him from going. No matter how hard he tried he could not because the sandals were not strong enough. He called to the gods, “Would you desert me in a place like this when I have come so far? But there was no answer. Then he gave up trying. A few days later when the storm seemed to have died down he tried again. But the storm arose on him again. So he decided he would go south till the storm died down and he would try and go around it.

As he was going around the storm he saw something on a hill. He put on his invisible hat and got closer. To his surprise he found it was a fair maiden tied up by the hands to a rock. She had not seen him yet because of the invisible hat, but Perseus resolved to save her. So he whipped off his hat and the girl immediately saw him. But she did not seem happy about it. She said, “Do not come closer for you shall die, just as I am about to.” But Perseus was not afraid. In fact he said to her, “Do not worry, for I have the powers of the Immortals.” But instead of being happy she called for her mother. Perseus asked her, “Why call for your mother when she had left you in such a state as this?” But she did not answer. She told him that a dragon had captured her and that she was going to be eaten at sunrise. “If I devour this horrid dragon, will you marry me?” The girl nodded. Then he added, “And seal it with a kiss.” So she kissed him on the cheek.

Then she screamed. Perseus turned around and saw a horrible dragon coming towards them. Perseus immediately whipped on his invisible hat. The dragon was about to eat the girl when Perseus thrust his sword into the dragon’s flesh. The dragon jumped up in pain and Perseus whipped off his magical hat so the dragon could see him. It roared with rage and pain. The dragon went to grab hold of him, when Perseus opened up the leather bag and showed the dragon the Gorgon’s head. Immediately there was a long island of rock in the middle of the sea.

Perseus laughed and turned to the girl. He asked her, “What is your name, fair lady?” “Andromeda is my name,” she replied. Then he unbound Andromeda and he carried her to another island where they slept for the night.

When he was asleep Perseus had a dream. He dreamed that the spirits came back to him and said, “I will take the shoes and the hat and the sword for you will not need them. But you can keep the Gorgon’s head until you get back to your home for you will still need it. Then I will come back and take it and I will hang it on my shield as a symbol of you. Then he awoke. And thinking it was just a dream he looked to where the sword and the hat and the sandals had been, but they were not there. Then he looked to where the Gorgon’s head was. But it was still in his place. He chuckled to himself and then went back to bed.

A summary of Romans

We're doing exams again this week. I hope you enjoy reading some of Jemimah's answers!

I think she did particularly well with this one on Paul's letter to the Romans. Paul compresses such vast thoughts so succinctly that Romans can be difficult enough for adults let alone an 8 year old, and yet the truths contained in his letter are valuable for children and well as grown-ups.

Have a look at how she did:

Paul’s epistle to the church in Rome shows how Christ’s death makes us right with God and how he will help us live a good life. Can you explain some of the things Paul says in this letter?

Pauls says in his Letter to the Romans that you cannot be saved by your works, but by your thoughts and by the way you honour God. You can only be saved by believing that Christ died for you while you were still sinners to save you from death. God loved you so much that he sent Jesus to die because we could not save ourselves and now he will help us to do better so that we can go to heaven.

In the olden times, if you broke the Law you would not be allowed to go to heaven, but God knew how sinful we were, and he knew that we could not do it so he sent Jesus so that we could go to heaven without having to be perfect.

God is the boss of you and you must do what he commands you to do or you will be dishonouring God and displeasing him. There are three people who are bosses of your life: you, Satan and God. If you obey Satan nothing will go right and you will go to hell. If you obey yourself you will also go to hell. But if you obey Jesus everything will be good and you will be saved through Jesus Christ. But we always do the wrong thing as well. And this is why Jesus had to die on the cross as well, because we would go to hell because we cannot be good no matter how hard we try and no matter what you do.

Early music videos

Sometimes I use my blog to store stuff for school. This is one of those times - sorry.

Instead of studying a particular composer this term, we've been looking at early mediaeval music. Have a listen if you like!

Thorny Devil!

This prickly looking fella is a Moloch horridus. Have any of you met one in the wild? They have lots of names - most of them less than complimentary, although really rather appropriately descriptive: Moloch, Horny Devil, Thorny Lizard, Thorny Dragon, Horned Dragon. Their scientific name was derived from the Moloch in Milton's poem - not very pleasant character really, was he, as you'll read here:

First MOLOCH, horrid King besmear'd with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,
Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loud
Their childrens cries unheard, that past through fire
To his grim Idol. Him the AMMONITE
Worshipt in RABBA and her watry Plain,
In ARGOB and in BASAN, to the stream
Of utmost ARNON. Nor content with such
Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart
Of SOLOMON he led by fraud to build
His Temple right against the Temple of God
On that opprobrious Hill, and made his Grove
The pleasant Vally of HINNOM, TOPHET thence
And black GEHENNA call'd, the Type of Hell.

John Milton, Paradise Lost

The poor old dragon's not really terrifying at all in reality - belying his fearsome appearance, this fellow feeds entirely on ants! Not any ants either - they need to be little blank ants of only two types, and one of these is only found on bush soil that has not been disturbed.


I know this because we've just finished to most absolutely wonderfully delightful little book. Called Little Dragons of the Never Never by Ella McFadyen, author of the popular Pegmen books, the book is the account of the daily lives of two little dragons sent to the author from the outback. Wendy, the girl dragon, 'was such a little creature to be so wise and to work so hard, that you would love her and wonder at her; but then she had to look after Marco, who was fascinating, but gay and thoughtless.'

The way Wendy's little life began was this. Her mother made a corroboree with very good magic, to make the rains come and the ants run and everything happen in its season, just as the black men do. But there was more in it than that. She had to make sure that out of her eggs there would hatch a daughter dragon who would be a wise as herself in all the laws of her tribe, which have come down to the dragons from the Long-ago. Boy dragons cannot learn these things, because though they are very brave and dashing and good at many things, they are best of all at forgetting. There is no room inside their little three-cornered heads for more than one idea at a time.

You should have heard the roars of laughter issuing from our car as I read that passage to my family on our way home from Church one Sunday. "Humph," muttered husband, he who is good at many things but best of all at forgetting, "I suppose that will need to go on the blog, won't it?" And he was right, because here it is.

I include this excerpt to give you a look at a number of components of the book aside from that gorgeous character study of men and women: the delightfully whimsical and gentle writing style; the subtle humour; the way the creatures each display their personality; but also to display the intertwining of fact and fiction. The book is written as an account of the day-to-day activities of the delightful little dragons, but much of their behaviour is interpreted as if through an Aboriginal myth. Their story has an imagined Dreamtime component invented and assumed. Having studied much Aboriginal legend and fable during recent years, this feature of the story added, rather than detracted, from the book for us, but I know it will deter some of you from wanting to read this book to your kids, and so do be aware.

McFadyen does not anthropomorphise Wendy and Marco. They behave and look like animals. They don't speak either. Instead, she interprets the dragons' hand movements for us, as if they were using sign language to communicate both with each other and with humans. Their thoughts are interpreted through their actions. The result, although entirely imagined, is an entirely credible dialogue that we can understand.

As a result, we learn a huge amount about horned dragons. Ideally designed for their harsh dessert home by our great creator, the scales on the dragons' belly and legs collect morning dew and water from damp sand, which travels by capillary action up to their mouths. The water must be warmed and presented in the right colour bowl for the dragons to bathe in. It must be rain water. The dragons even awake from their winter hibernation to bathe if they hear rain. All this we learn.

Then one day Wendy met Marco Polo. These were not their Never Never names, for in those days on Arltunga Downs they had bush names chosen by their tribe. Wendy wore her rock-brown dress with the diamond-shaped colour-patches down the back, sometimes green like lichen on a stone and sometimes dusty purple like ironstone gravel. Marco was got up fir to kill in a fine new suit of red and yellow, patterned like a harlequin's. he was careering happily about with his tail curled up over his back. as soon as he saw Wendy he simply adored her and began to tell her about his wonderful travels, the cave he had just found (he was always finding caves, as it turned out, and they were nearly always the same cave over again) and the terrific journey he was about to begin.

Wendy listened to it all and she thought: "No doubt he is very brave, certainly he is very beautiful, and if he says so I suppose he must be clever. But he has no memory, of course, and he hasn't a scrap of commonsense, so he will need me all his life to look after him."

Before he had finished showing his new playmate half the wonders he had discovered he said to her: "Promise me that you will never leave me."

And Wendy answered: "Wherever you go I shall always go with you."

"Now I am sure of that I can get on with my work of being a great explorer," he said. "Perhaps you will do something great too."

But nobody, neither little Marco not little Wendy, not any of their tribe - not even the man with the box under his arm, who was searching among sand and stones - know that little Wendy would one day tell the story of her tribe to someone in far-away Sydney, so that it could be written down for all who read to learn to love the dragon people.

In that aim she succeeded for us. You cannot help falling in love with the delightful little lizards described so beautifully in Little Dragons of the Never Never. We adored this book. Can you tell?

We read it as our Natural History text in AO3. A few copies are available from Abe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Regardless, you will learn heaps about horned dragons, and read a delightful story as you do so.