Leaders & Innovators

$hopping $pree

Lately, we’ve been spending money right and left.  All in the name of academics, of course.

        

$ – We bought a geological era poster because we were reading –

Why We Went Extinct, by Tadaaki Imaizumi and Takashi Maruyama.  How did these authors take a sobering topic and make it so readable?  59 extinct animals are showcased, each species presented on a 2 page spread.  But wait!  The final section celebrates 10 species who AGAINST ALL ODDS managed to adapt and have a presence today (we have new respect for the opossums that traipse across our back yard…these guys have dealt with rather a lot in the past 65 million years).   A mountain of research went into this book.  We learned a LOT, we smiled a LOT, and I said, “this is hilarious” a LOT.
So, on each 2 page spread:
– a lengthy, highly amusing explanatory quote from the very voice (ranging from streetwise to “not the sharpest knife in the drawer”) of each animal (my son and I are sort of fans of anthropomorphizing)
– a “regret” or “key to success”
– an illustration
– a factual paragraph
– a tiny era/period chart (which is why we had to buy a poster sized chart), showing when said species bid farewell

$ – We bought a periodic table poster because we were reading – 
Marie Curie (for Kids), Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, authored  by Amy M. O’Quinn.  What a role model:  focused scientist (2 Nobel Prizes), devoted to family, brilliant contributor to the French cause in WWI (master-minded how to get mobile x-ray units to wounded troops).  Grabbing our attention:
– Marie’s husband Pierre Curie was killed when he was mowed down by a horse-drawn cart!
– Marie hid all of her intensely toxic radium in a secured lead box during WWI.  How much?  ONE HALF TEASPOON FULL  (my son and I examined my measuring spoons.  1/2 tsp.  Whoa.).
– Marie Curie passed away at age 66, her daughter Irene, also a Nobel Prize winning scientist passed away at age 58, but daughter, Eve, journalist and pianist, made it to 102.  Message received:  write, play the piano, keep a safe distance from radioactive metals, live long.
– we needed to see where polonium and radium (for which she received Nobel Prizes) were positioned on the periodic table (which is why we bought the poster).

$ – We bought a half pound of Chinese fortune cookies because we were reading – 
Top Story, 5th in an important series by Kelly Yang (engaging story lines that weave in an awareness of the meanness and (HELLO) the short-sightedness of racism).  This book finds protagonist Mia Tang attending journalism camp in San Francisco….once there,  she makes friends with someone who helps out at a fortune cookie factory (my son was not familiar with fortune cookies, so that was reason enough for the purchase).  But there is so much more to the story.  The book has a triumphant conclusion and we are looking forward to the next in the series (Chef’s Secret). 

Because my son and I were impressed by the community support in Yang’s depiction of San Francisco’s Chinatown, we read San Francisco’s Chinatown – and the tight community spirit came through on every page with text by Kathy Chin Leong and vibrant photographs by Dick Evans.  For us, most eye-opening essay:  SRO (single room occupancy) Apartments.  Our favorite essay:  Red Envelopes.

Story Problem:  It is “Strawberry Spree” time at Farmer Brown’s roadside stand.  The stand is selling strawberries of course, but also their strawberry glacé pie and strawberry jam (both of which recently earned blue ribbons at the state fair!).
Sold separately:
– the pie sells for $15
– a jar of jam sells for $6
– a small box of strawberries sells for $4
– a “Strawberry Spree” basket with a pie, a jar of jam, and a small basket of strawberries sells for $20.
Last Saturday, the roadside stand sold:
– 10 pies
– 10 jars of jam
– 30 boxes of strawberries
– 15 strawberry spree baskets
Did the roadside stand make more money from the items sold separately or from the “strawberry spree” baskets?  (answer at bottom of post)

Orchestral Music Time – 

$ – We bought a harmonica because everyone should have a chance at making music with this pocket sized marvel –
1) I was hopeless on our harmonica and 2) when I tried to hand it over to my son he reacted as if I were offering him a poisonous snake.  We settled for listening to some harmonica pros – 

Sigmund Groven:  Strawberry Fair –  this old English folk song (first published in 1891) is just the very thing to accompany our “strawberry spree” story problem.  Sweet and well played – 

Jack Harrison:  Moon River – from Henry Mancini’s motion picture score for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, winning the 1962 Academy Award for Best Original Song.  This is a lush adaptation –

Stevie Wonder:  Isn’t She Lovely – his sensation from 1976.  I had no idea that Stevie Wonder was a harmonica virtuoso.  His harmonica playing starts about a minute into the recording.  My son was vigorously tapping his toes the whole way through.  Wonder performed the song for Queen Elizabeth II at her Diamond Jubilee Concert in June of 2012 – 

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(story problem answer:  the roadside stand made more money from the “strawberry spree” basket sales)

The Spring Academic Banquet

Oooooh!  The Spring Academic Banquet! – actually, we host an academic banquet every night up in my son’s room.  Here is our basic template, gussied up to welcome spring – 

The hors d’oeuvre platter:  this past week, academic thinking mode was activated with mini warm-up exercises, along the line of:
– a word scramble (FLIDAFOD = DAFFODIL)
– iPad keyboard practice (sprout, trout, about, shout, clout, pout, grout)
– practicing: “>”(larger than) and “<“ (smaller than)
– matching:  composer and composition
– tracking the travels of Breton (our favorite shark) on ocearch.org
– ooohing and ahhhing over photos we took to celebrate my son’s 200th volunteer day at the local nursery. 

The main course:  two hearty, satisfying topics: 

– The Physics Book, 250 milestones in physics, arranged chronologically by Clifford A. Pickover, published in 2011. Oh my gosh – I never thought we would be reading about physics and bless our hearts, we are pretty much not comprehending most of the entries – AND YET, we are LOVING THIS BOOK!   Each “milestone” gets a two page spread;  one page for an illustration/photograph and one page for historical references and technical, bewildering explanations.  We skip milestones that are too confusing for the likes of us (the majority of milestones) but – oh! – the feeling of elation when we find a topic we can grasp.

The sort of milestones we have skipped:
The Antikythera Mechanism
Coulomb’s Law of Electrostatics
Soliton

The sort of milestones that fill us with wonder:
the physics of the boomerang – dynamite – the hourglass – Ben Franklin’s kite
the acceleration of falling objects – X-rays – the stethoscope
the thermos – neon signs – Schrödinger’s cat (which we are familiar with thanx to BBT)

Here is something cool we learned: The first Nobel Prize (funded by the invention of dynamite, 1866) ever awarded went to Wilhelm Röntgen for his original work with X-rays (1895). 
This is the book we can’t wait to open every night!

– Polar Explorers – for Kids, Maxine Snowden.  We have just completed part one (Arctic explorers), and are geared up to start part 2 (Antarctic explorers).  Our globe and compass are out every night so we can trace routes attempted by the explorers.  We are now REALLY familiar with:
– the concept of the Northwest Passage 
– the contentious race to the North Pole 
– the difference between the geographic North Pole and the magnetic north pole
– our favorite explorer:  Fridtjof Nansen (brilliant, thoughtful, honest, focused) 
– our least favorite explorer:  Robert Peary (apparently a self centered #$%&+*&%$#)

The salad course:  a Farmer Brown story problem involving veggies necessary for perking up a bowl of tossed greens:

– Farmer Brown is teaching a gardening class the first Saturday of every spring month  (March, April, and May).  Students will be given gardening gloves, clay pots, potting soil and will learn how to plant radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes from seeds.  Farmer Brown figures to spend $15 on supplies per student and has priced the course at $25.
– If 15 eager beginner gardeners sign up for each class, how much profit will Farmer Brown realize? 
A)  $10     B)  $150     C)  $375     D)  $450
– How many students will Farmer Brown prepare for if 20% of the radish/cuke/tomato students decide to enroll in his “Let’s Grow Bell Peppers” summer class?
A)  9  students     B)  15 students     C)  20 students     D)  45 students
(answers at bottom of post)

The dessert:  the icing on our spring banquet cake:

We just finished “Grandpa’s Great Escape”, by David Walliams.   A lot of full throttle wackiness (story AND illustrations) in this book: can friendships, bravery, and a special relationship between a grandfather and his grandson triumph over the mean, the greedy, and the cheaters? (Of course they can, but hold onto your hat, cuz we found this book to be a roller coaster ride from start to finish.)  To top it off (icing on the cake), we learned a bit about the pride of Britain’s Royal Air Force of WWII:  the Spitfire!

Classical Music for a Spring Banquet – 

“Spring”, from the “Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite”, composed by Paul Reade.  We learned that “The Victorian Kitchen Garden” was a British TV series, produced in 1987 (winning an award for best TV music in 1991).  The short recording we listened to features Emma Johnson (on clarinet), of the original theme soundtrack.  Perfect for spring, with bird song scattered throughout the piece –

“Appalachian Spring”, music composed by Aaron Copland for Martha Graham in 1944.  We like the weirdly named “Doppio Movimento” section (yes, we looked this up, we understand what doppio movimento means, but we still think it is a weird name), a respectful interpretation of the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts”, accented with with regal fanfare and waves of majestic strength.  We listen for the spring raindrops (or is it the clip clop of horses’ hooves?).  We love this piece –

“Spring Song”, composed in 1841 and found in Book 5 of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Songs without Words”.  We wonder whether Herr M would be amused that this piece would feature prominently in loads of cartoons (most notably, “Spring Song” was the central music theme of the 1939 “Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur” animated cartoon short).  Oh, the royalties he missed out on!

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  D)  $450 and A)  9 students)

Inspiration Point

We are mid-way through a unit on National Parks of the United States and while each park’s history/wildlife/vegetation/altitude is interesting, we do love to see what qualifies as a National Park Service “Inspiration Point”.  According to an internet search, over 50 designated scenic spots – selected by the NPS, to highlight natural and cultural resources – are worthy of the appellation, “Inspiration Point”.  We especially love the sites that make us wonder if we exist on the same planet.

Bryce Canyon National Park’s Hoodoos!

Our journey to investigate so-labeled inspiration points is fueled by the pretty funny, yet reverently observant “Subpar Parks”, written and illustrated by Amber Share.  Ms. Share begins each park’s page with a petulant complaint somebody posted on the internet, along the line of:  “just something to look at and leave” – “a bunch of rocks:  big deal” – “somewhat bland” and maybe the very best:  “looks nothing like the license plate”.  (I am wondering if most of the reviews might be attributed to pre-teens?)

We have learned the difference between a National Park and a National Monument.  We were sort of jarred to find out that “monument” is not necessarily a statue or structure.  Hmmm.

  • National Monuments such as Craters of the Moon (Idaho), Muir Woods (California), Devils Tower (Wyoming), are designated by presidential executive order under the Antiquities Act.
  • National Parks are established by acts of Congress and have stricter guidelines, regulations, and standards.

We are inspired (new topic) –

I took a deep breath each night before opening Nancy I. Sanders’ book, “Frederick Douglass – for Kids”.  Important, non-frivolous reading awaited.  We encountered a person that faced cruel laws and cruel people and (we held our breath) triumphed (we released our breath).  We encountered a treasure trove of vocabulary and concepts to define and grasp:  fortitude – strategic thinking – command of language.  

We followed Frederick Douglass’ life from slavery – escape attempt – successful escape – dodging slave hunters – speaking persuasively on the cause of abolition (one sobering speech was entitled “What, to the slave, is the 4th of July?”) – outspoken newspaper publisher – consultant to 4 presidents – statesman – family man raising 4 responsible children.  Douglass knew his cause was just and he persevered.  We are inspired.  

Final note:  this well written, well researched book could easily serve as text book for a semester study at any level:  it is NOT JUST FOR KIDS. 

Current fiction reading:  two books that got better and better with each chapter – 

  • Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo’s classic.  This book was probably a bit young for my son, but in its sweet way it reminded us of the positives to be found in inclusiveness, and in a likewise tender manner, provided an inspiring example of acceptance of loss. We really liked Ms. DiCamillo’s final notes to reader in our updated edition’s “Afterword”.
  • Mouse and His Dog, second in the series by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko.  As much fun as the first book, Dogtown, with a twist in the conclusion that absolutely cheered us.

Story problem:  Farmer Brown, inspired by soup bowls!

Farmer Brown always shops the winter craft fair at the local high school.  This year he purchased so many sturdy soup bowls (made by ceramics class students) that he was inspired to host a hot soup night for his 8 farmhands (each worker invited to bring a friend).  Farmer Brown prepared three soups to showcase farm produce:  

French Onion Soup – Baked Potato Soup – Pozole Soup

  • If each farmhand slurps down all three soups (in 3 different bowls) because quite an appetite has been worked up from farm chores, and each additional guest (including Farmer Brown) seems satisfied with a single bowl of soup, how many bowls does Farmer Brown need?

a)  8 bowls     b)  24 bowls     c)  33 bowls     d)  51 bowls

  • If Farmer Brown purchased 3 dozen bowls at the craft fair, will he have enough for hot soup night?  (answers at bottom of post)

Classical Music Inspirations – 

Youth orchestras – Obviously, the very future of orchestral music lies in the hands of young musicians.  But maybe the real future of orchestral music lies in the hands of conductors with vision and enthusiasm who inspire commitment and focus.  Conductors who select compositions that young musicians can’t wait to play.  My son and I paid attention to the conductors working magic in the following three selections.  We saw youth orchestras taking serious ownership of their respective compositions.  Bravo conductors!

Inspiring Conductor:  Gustavo Dudamel – conducting Sinfónica Simón Bolívar Orchestra with infectious enthusiasm and energy.  Do the musicians look like they are fully engaged?  Uh, YES.  Here they present an exuberant Mambo from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story (1957) –

Inspiring Conductor:  Malgorzata Kobierska – conducting the Kamerton Orchestra during the Polish Nationwide Music Schools’ Symphonic Orchestras Competition of 2014 (so she might not look like she is having the time of her life).  The ensemble is performing Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre (1874) to the highest standards and this might be our favorite filmed performance ever –

Inspiring Conductor:  Benjamin Zander – leading the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in a zesty Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila (Mikhail Glinka, 1840).  Zander exudes joy conducting  this speedy piece.  If Ruslan and Lyudmila is on our nightly music suggestion list, my son will scrawl a giant “YES” next to it – 

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(story problem answers:  c)  33 bowls, and yes, 3 dozen bowls is enough for hot soup night)

Newfangled

The past few weeks my son and I time-traveled back 100+ years and placed ourselves in a general population confronted by such newfangled shockers as – 

– the paintings of Pablo Picasso – 
– a WOMAN in the USA President’s cabinet – 
– Frank Lloyd Wright’s radical approach to home design –

While most of the newfangled ideas of this time frame enjoyed short-lived popularity (we read about hippo farming, teaching science by dance, and I think, our favorite: the coat parachute), Picasso, Perkins, and Wright were game changers –

  
Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973).  We loved 100 Pablo Picassos – an engaging and actually fun introduction to Pablo Picasso and his many distinct painting styles, authored by Mauricio Velasquez de Leon, illustrated by Violet Lemay.  The book has a young person’s vibe to it, while maintaining respectable reference book standards.  It’s in our basket for another read through.

Frances Perkins (1880 – 1965).  The Only Woman in the Photo by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Alexandra Bye.  We learned how the eminently qualified, workers rights advocate Frances Perkins came to be the first woman in a President’s cabinet, serving as Secretary of Labor for FDR (1933 – 1945). A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, which her grandmother Mary Lyon (chemist and educator) had founded (!), Perkins was instigator of groundbreaking workplace and fire safety laws for the state of New York.  As Secretary of Labor,  triumphs included the concept of a minimum wage and the Social Security Act.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959).  Thanks to Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids – His Life and Ideas, by Kathleen Thorene-Thomsen, my son and I are starting to recognize signature components of Frank Lloyd Wright houses:  nature driven, organic, long horizontal lines, geometric shapes, and at all times blending into the landscape.  (Note to self:  FLW never built house with basements because he felt that anything stored in a basement should be thrown away.)  The book also references his splendid building commissions, our favorite being the Guggenheim Museum, (the shape based on a common garden snail’s shell). Plans began in 1946, building was completed in late 1959, facing controversy every step of the way. (sigh)

Easy story problem:  Farmer Brown needs a new truck –  

Farmer Brown needs a new vehicle for, you know, farm stuff.  Before he visited local truck dealerships he made a lengthy list of “wants and dislikes”.  Frankly, some of the newfangled vehicle “improvements” make him crazy.  Among other things, he does NOT want to be distracted by information projected onto his windshield and is it too much to ask for a CD player in the cab?  Anyway, Farmer Brown has taken test drives at 6 of the 8 vehicle dealerships within a 10 mile range of his ranch.  What percentage of these dealerships have not yet had the pleasure of dealing with Farmer Brown’s list of “wants and dislikes”?

A)  6%     B)  10%     C)  20%     D)  25%     (answer at bottom of post)

Good old fashioned fiction (nothing newfangled here) – 

Hope was Here, written by Joan Bauer.  This wonderful book made us consider the possibilities of non-traditional  families, diner waitressing as an art, taking action against corrupt politicians.  We both enjoyed the book and were sort of sad to have it end.

The Further Adventures of Miss Petitfour, by Anne Michaels, illustrations by Emma Block.  If possible, this book is more fun than its predecessor, The Adventures of Miss Petitfour.  Clever way with vocabulary, clever story lines, clever cats.  Write more, Ms. Michaels.

Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh.  We heaved a big “oh, brother!” when we learned that members of a school district in Ohio tried to ban this book in 1983, on grounds that the protagonist (Harriet) was a bad role model (spying/talking back/cursing).  Meanwhile, WE are enjoying the many layers of this book, and I am pretty sure that my son can read about spying on neighbors without actually deciding to spy on neighbors.  However, as he is non-verbal, I would sort of be pleased if my son “talked back” or “cursed”. 

Classical Music:  back to the newfangledness  – we listened to music that certainly fell into the “new and NOT improved” category according to critics of the day (late 1800’s – early 1900’s).  Music that Picasso, Frances Perkins, and Frank Lloyd Wright may well have been aware of –

Jeux de Vagues (Play of the Waves) from Claude Debussy’s 3-movement composition of 1904, La Mer.  Initially met with confusion, maybe because there seems to be no introduction or conclusion?  It is as if Debussy has transported us into the middle of a mildly turbulent ocean, capturing in music the movement of  wind and water.  My son and I like listening for the comforting sounds of the harp woven in throughout this piece.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, movement 3. Sergei Prokofiev premiered this piece in 1911 and although there were some who could recognize its brilliance, the general reaction was, “THE IMPERTINENCE!”.  And consider this:  Prokofiev played this piece for a competition, reasoning that the jury would be unable to judge whether he was playing well or not.  My son and I haven’t really got a grasp on this brisk paced, marching, squeaking, tantruming, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink whirlwind.  For us, even 114 years after its premiere, it remains newfangled (but we are intrigued).

Les Bulles de Savon (The Soap Bubbles), from Georges Bizet’s Jeux d’Enfants suite of 1871.  This short, abrupt (soap bubbles popping?), adorable piece for “piano with four hands” sparkles with sassy, clearly discordant tones.  As discordant and sassy as this piece is, it was embraced, not criticized, by its first audiences….maybe because it was part of a suite for (discordant and sassy) children. We love this piece.

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  D)  25%)

Indian Summer

Summertime studies for the likes of us – 

India, Incredible India, an A+ book by Jasbinder Bilan, content well matched with Nina Chakrabarti’s A+ graphics.  Clever premise:  a young lady, “Thara”, and Nanijee (nanijee – totally great word – translates to maternal grandmother), sort through grandmother’s treasure box, which is filled with souvenirs from every state and territory in India.  Page by page, we learned facts about each area and souvenir, then located the state/territory on the included map.  Every night, my son and I were drawn in by the exuberant illustrations positioned among splashes of vibrant colors.  We would read anything by this team.

While Mrs. Coverlet was Away, by Mary Nash.  I subject my son to this book every August because it is funny, imaginative, and champions the concept of self reliance.  Spoiler alert:  chapter 15 includes such a poetic passage, transporting us on a lazy summer’s day to the town swamp for turtle hunting.  The story gets us ready for our Mary Nash December read (Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians). 

, by Mariana Swift.  Oh, we do like this man (1473-1543) who had the nerve to propose the heliocentric theory.  Big shocker, Copernicus was not in the good graces of the church, but did he shy away from enthusiastically explaining his observations?  NO!  Role model!  Copernicus published his groundbreaking book, “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”, at age 70.  Role model!

The Travel Book (a Lonely Planet Kids book).  We started this quirky fact book January 1st (with Canada) and finished August 1st (with Kiribati). One page every night, one country every night. (and BTW, I just took an online geography quiz and correctly identified 26 countries out of 30…before this unit I probably could have pinpointed about 9 countries).  Study unit highlights:

Welcome to our “Travel Book” Quirky Awards Ceremony:

Quirky Fashion Accessory Award, Grand Prize Winner:  Lithuania develops a signature perfume “Scent of Lithuania” (2011)
Quirky Global Citizen Award, Grand Prize Winner:  Global Seed Vault – entirely funded by Norway (officially started in 2008)
Quirky Destination Award, Grand Prize Winner:  An underwater post office! (Vanuatu)
Quirky Flag Design Award, tied for Grand Prize Winner :  A completely awesome hat (the symbol of Lesotho’s main ethnic group) is emblazoned on the Lesotho flag


Quirky Flag Design Award, tied for Grand Prize Winner:  Nauru is located just south of the equator and their flag is a model of brilliant simplicity.  See what I mean? 


Quirky Sob Story Category, Grand Prize Winner:  Awww, Nauru.  In the 1980’s, this country experienced a huge economic boom when they were able to sell  phosphate (used in fertilizers) (from scrapings of BIRD POOP).  Alas, they did such a good job of scraping the rocks of the guano, that there was no more phosphate to sell. Economy collapse. Heart breaker.  At least they still have that well designed flag.

A summer school cooking class story problem from the local diner – Chef Hank’s theme this year:  “It is all about the POTATO”.   The agenda:

Monday – twice baked potatoes
Tuesday – the secret of hash browned taters
Wednesday – Vichyssoise, co-hosted by the high school French teacher, Miss Suzette
Thursday – home-made potato chips and dips
Friday – cottage fries and the diner’s famous bar-b-que sauce

Well, who doesn’t want to improve their potato skills?  The diner kitchen has room for 15 students (and there is already a waiting list with 10 names on it).  This is a most popular class.

1)  If the class runs from 10 am until noon, how many hours will the students be in the diner’s school during the week?
2)  If the chef needs an hour of preparation before each class, for how many hours will the chef be paid at the conclusion of the week?  
3)  If the chef earns $20 an hour, how much will the chef earn for his potato week efforts?
4)  If students pay $40 tuition for the week long cooking class, will that be enough to pay the chef?
5)  If the supplies for the week run $100, will that be covered with the tuition income?
6)  If Miss Suzette is to be paid $20 an hour for 3 hours of work on the Wednesday, will that be covered by tuition? (answers at bottom of post)

Music to conclude the evening:  Impression from India

Ravi Shankar’s “Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra”, movement 3 (composed in 1971), performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andre Previn.  The first minute and a half of this piece is calmly exotic, then we are abruptly treated to the energetic, frenetic sound of the sitar.  What a thrill ride!  What a way to introduce my son to the sound of this complicated looking instrument!

The Beatles, “Norwegian Wood” (1965), the first piece of western pop music to use the sitar. George Harrison studied with Ravi Shankar and the unique sound of the instrument was woven into this piece in a decidedly tame (but decidedly lovely) manner.

Léo Delibes, “The Flower Duet” from his opera of 1883, Lakmé, which takes place in 19th century India.  No sitar in this at all, but oh, the harmonies in this simply dazzling duet.  I can find no evidence that Delibes ever traveled to India, so this might be a case of “write what you don’t really know”.  It is still stunning.

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(story problem answers:  1)  10 hours     2)  15 hours     3)  $300     4), 5), and 6) yes)

But I digress…

When my sister and I were kidlets, Saturday nights would find us accompanying our parents to a neighboring home, where the adults would play bridge for hours.  Well, this family’s house was a salute to the bland tones of beige (yawn) and sort of a tannish color (double, NAY! TRIPLE YAWN).  And other than a rather large set of ornately carved wooden salad servers – hung on the wall as an art piece – there was NOTHING interesting going on in this house.  Anyway, courtesy of these long nights in Neutralville, here is what beige means for me:  NO CREATIVITY HERE.  NO INDEPENDENT THINKING HERE.  LET’S PLEASE MOVE ON.

But I digress.  Our current book basket is filled with the work of wildly independent, creative thinkers.  Not a beige tone in the lot.

No Beige Here:  “The Adventures of Miss Petitfour” (book 1), written by ridiculously gifted Anne Michaels, charming illustrations by Emma Block.  This is a collection of short stories concerning Miss Petitfour and her 16 cats, but for us, this book is about the glorification of words.  Words we know but forget to use. (Example:  Miss Petitfour and team enter a FESTOONING competition, not a mere “decorating” competition.)  And the cats names!  Our favorite is Purrsia.  PURRSIA.  This might be the first book we have ever read spurred on solely by the author’s mastery of fanciful vocabulary.  I was thinking feline adventures might hold little appeal for my son, but when I asked him if he thought we should order book number 2, he immediately scribbled “YES”.

No Beige Here:  “The Boy Whose Head was Filled with Stars (A Life of Edwin Hubble)”, written by Isabelle Marinov, illustrated by Deborah Marcero.  Lately, my son and I have been comparing photos sent from the Hubble Space Telescope (launched 1990) and the JWST (launched 2021).  So, a BIG YES to a book about Edwin Hubble (1889 – 1953).  INSIDER SCOOP:  Hubble’s father did not want him to study astronomy.  WHOA.  REALLY?  INTERESTING.  Was he concerned that astronomy would not provide a steady income?  Was it for religious reasons?  Hmmm.  Anyway, Hubble acquiesced and taught high school, coaching a basketball team until his father died, then Hubble scrambled back to astronomy. 

And we learned that he “only” managed this: TWO NOTEWORTHY DISCOVERIES:
1) the universe is so much bigger than we thought (even during his studies, the brightest scholars thought the universe was “limited” to the Milky Way).
2) The universe is getting bigger all the time. 

The book concludes with a focused reflection from the author:  
“It is this cosmic perspective that I’ve tried to convey through Edwin’s story, a perspective that is lost on so many of our world’s leaders.  Planet Earth is nothing more than an infinitesimal fraction of a mote of dust in the vast cosmic tapestry.  Maybe one day, this realization will help us overcome our narrowness of perspective, which lies at the root of so many of our earthly problems?”

No Beige Here:  “Old School”, by Gordon Korman.  Oh, we do love Korman’s books (I think we have read “Schooled” 5 times).  In this book, middle schoolers experience becoming united for a cause, find surprising connections with senior citizens, and among other things, they learn about WWII code breakers/shuffleboard/the pleasures of a restorative cup of tea.  This was a thought provoking story that we looked forward to reading every night.   And my son learned the double meaning of the term, “old school”.

No Beige Here:  Reporting in on our around the world tour – 

We are still LOVING this unit, brought to us by the Lonely Planet Kids, “The Travel Book”  .  Since last post, we have journeyed around the Arabian peninsula,  (took a Wikipedia detour to learn where vast supplies of oil actually come from – not dinosaurs as we were thinking, but ancient fossilized mini marine life)(as loads of people know, just not us), have studied the STANS:  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (we learned that “stan” means “land of”).  We are now heading toward Australia and Oceania.

Favorite new things we’ve learned:

Pakistan:  Jingle Trucks  (definitely NO BEIGE here!)

Jordan:   Royal Desert Forces (police) ride camels

Nepal:  We love this country’s flag (the 2 triangles symbolize the Himalayan mountains, and the 2 major religions – Hinduism and Buddhism)

Qatar:   Best in the good will category:  Qatar created the largest flag in 2013, then had it recycled into 200,000 book bags for school children distributed around 60 countries

Easy story problem from the Local Diner!  There’s a new Saturday night special at the Local Diner!  Date night calls for a bit of sophistication, so the diner is now serving table-side tossed salads!  Oh, the glamour!  What prompted this was that the diner’s chef’s cousin’s brother-in-law,  Mr. Hank, has gotten into whittling and has carved up a dozen pairs of wooden salad servers, which he is selling for $20 per set.  They are just gorgeous.  The diner bought them all,  6 to use for the table-side service and 6 to sell on a trial basis.  If they sell well, the diner will order more.

  • How much did the diner pay for 12 sets of salad servers?
    A)  $120     B)  $144     C)  $200     D)  $240
  • If the diner sells the sets of the remaining salad servers for $30 each, how many more sets of salad servers can they order from the profit?
    A)  3 sets     B)  9 sets     C)  12 sets     D)  1,000 sets
    (answers at bottom of post)

No Beige Here:  Orchestral Offerings – Three rambunctious, bold, imaginative pieces:

Bamboula, composed by New Orleans native, Louis Moreau Gottschalk in 1848.  First of all, the name:  a bamboula is a type of rum barrel drum as well as being a word one would want to say over and over.  This is a longish piano piece, but as we are getting used to it, we love it.  This is the exact recording we listen to – 

Cantina Band, composed by John Williams in 1977 for Star Wars IV.  Inventive, toe tapping, the ultimate quirky background music for the ultimate quirky bar scene –

The Wild Bears, composed in 1907  by Sir Edward Elgar as part of his “The Wand of Youth” suite.  This enchanting short piece transports us into the middle of a children’s raucous hide-and-seek activity.  The chaotic conclusion is perfection.  No beige here –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  D)  $240 and A)  3 sets)

The Pre-Test

When I was earning a teaching credential at UCLA (this would be during the bronze age), esteemed professor of education, Dr. P., stressed the importance of THE PRE-TEST.  How could one possibly know what to teach without evidence of a student’s grasp of particular subject matter? 

Thus, from a recent “Around the World” unit PRE-TEST: 

1)  If given a blank map of Africa (with border outlines), how many countries can you identify?
– My son could color in Egypt and Algeria (we have studied both)
– Me?  Oh my gosh, this is so unacceptable:  I could correctly label Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Madagascar.  The end.  There are 54 countries and 4 territories in Africa and I could identify 5.  Yikes.  

2)  List everything you know about Africa:
– Both my son and I:  the pyramids, the Sahara Desert, Victoria Falls, Nelson Mandela.  The end.  

Pre-test results are in –  the students pretty much need to know EVERYTHING:

So, Africa.  Only half way through this unit, we are alternately perplexed and fascinated, as we become more aware citizens of the world –

– Two different countries: Niger and Nigeria
– Two different countries: the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Like the Euro, several African countries use the same currency:
          West African CFA Franc: 8 countries
          Central African CFA Franc:  6 countries
– Newest country:  South Sudan (established 2011)
– Côte d’Ivoire’s Basilica of our Lady of Peace is the largest church in the world
– The territory of Western Sahara confuses us.  Why is this a territory?
– We found out where Timbuktu is (Mali).  We didn’t know Timbuktu was a real place
– There are 2,000 distinct languages spoken in Africa

(pre-test and African countries studied so far)

Our “Around the World” Unit – We are augmenting our Lonely Planet Kids book, “The Travel Book – a journey through every country in the world”, with two atlases and we love them both:  

–  “Maps”, by Alessandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski.  We refer to this most enchanting atlas nightly.
–  “The Hammond World Atlas – Super Edition”, printed in 1966.  We love comparing the new with the way out-of-date.  Always a discussion starter.

Even More Maps? –  my son is also learning the location of states in the USA.  We locate few states at a time, each night a new theme.  So far: 

– States we have lived in:  California, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, and Texas
– Fun shaped states:  the “L”-shaped Louisiana, and the mitten-shaped Michigan, the square states Wyoming and Colorado
– The four “corners” of continental USA:  California (again), Washington, Maine, and Florida
– States of the “Four Corners” region:  Utah, Colorado (again), Arizona, and New Mexico
– “Compass” states:  North and South Dakota,  North and South Carolina, West Virginia
– “New” states:  New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and New Mexico
– Dream destination states:  Hawaii and Alaska

Story Problem Time (YAY!):

Pickle Day at Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand – There’s an excited buzz around Hankville:  it’s almost Pickle Day at Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand!  Pickle Day is held every spring and features Farmer Brown’s favorite cousin, Miss Kate (state fair champion in both sweet pickle AND dill pickle divisions!) giving a pickling demonstration.  

– After the demonstration, Miss Kate autographs her pickling instruction booklet (which sells for $10).  
– Jars of her dill pickles sell for $5.  
– Jars of her sweet pickles sell for $6.  
– Also for sale:  a festive basket, suitable for gift giving, containing the booklet PLUS a jar of each pickle style, priced at $18.

If the roadside stand receives 10% of Miss Kate’s sales, how much money will the stand realize if 400 booklets, 100 jars of dill pickles, 120 jars of sweet pickles, and 20 gift-giving baskets are sold?
a)  $64     b)  $225     c)  $360     d)  $558 
(answer at bottom of post)

Finding the original A.A. Milne, “The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh” (“Winnie-the-Pooh” and “The House at Pooh Corner”) on our bookshelf, enrobed in a thin (it wasn’t really thin) layer of dust, was like finding buried treasure (literally, a treasure buried in dust).  Would it be just as good a read as it was 25 years ago?  YES!

– Milne’s refreshing manner with words –
– unpretentious poems (hums) that beg to be read out loud over and over –
– the capital letters strewn about –
– perceptively defined characters who assist each other in and out of situations –
–  the winsome illustrations of Ernest Shephard – 

What a most pleasant way to conclude each night’s studies.  (I just came across an A.A. Milne quote that has apparently been taped to my office wall since 2009:  “One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.”.  This speaks to me.  Maybe this is how we rediscovered our dust covered book.)

Classical Music, The Pre-Test –

The majority of my acquaintances seem to have limited knowledge regarding classical music:
–  I was jolted into reality when one of my more educated friends asked what a symphony “movement” was.  
– When another acquaintance asked me what type of music I would like to listen to, I responded, “how about anything recorded by the New York Philharmonic?”  Acquaintance squinted his eyes and said, “hmmmm, I’ve never heard of that band.”  

Whoa. OK, that is what I am here for.  Anyway, if my son and I were giving an introductory class in orchestral music, we might pre-test by asking –
– What distinguishes music from the classical and romantic eras?
– Traditionally, how many movements in a concerto?
– Can you put these composers in order, according to when they composed:  Bach, Beethoven, Brahms?
– Can you tell the difference between a viola and a clarinet? (Please, can you at least get this right?)

Here is a micro-sampler of what we think everyone should have a chance to listen to. My son and I have renamed these pieces to reflect what we can hear in the music.  There’s no law that says we can’t.

– The Goat Symphony – really, Alexander Glazunov’s, Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major, movement II, composed in 1893.  It is so easy to visualize a team of goats on meadow clearing detail, pouncing about in the fresh air.

– Popcorn Pizzicato – really, Leroy Anderson’s Jazz Pizzicato, composed in 1939.  Before we changed the name, we had listened to the piece about 3 times and thought it was sort of OK.  Then, we matched the music up with a popcorn cart story problem.  Game changer!  This piece has become one of my son’s favorite evening selections.  Every pluck of the violin strings tells us popcorn is popping.

– Elephants! – really, Ottorino Respighi’s Pines of Rome, movement I (Villa Borghese), composed in 1924.  We can hear elephants trumpeting throughout the piece.  We know Respighi was capturing children pretending to be soldiers in battle (and we do hear that), but darn it, we cannot ignore the elephants!

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  d).  $558)

Chillin’ with the Ladies*

 My son and I have been spending time with the two most recognizable women in the world.

– Mother Teresa, by Navin Chawla  
This was a lengthy book (274 pages) for us, but every single page increased our awareness of Mother Teresa’s brilliant original thinking, her commitment to her calling, her powerful leadership skills.

We read in depth about the three endeavors of her Missionaries of Charity:
– a home for unwanted or orphaned children
– a home and medical facility for those with leprosy
– a home for the destitute and dying 

We have added a heart swelling quote from the book to our Sunday night spiritual moment:  while sitting with a dying patient, Mother Teresa was overheard to whisper, “You say a prayer in your religion, and I will say a prayer as I know it.  Together we will say this prayer and it will be something beautiful for God”.   There is now a poster of St. Teresa of Calcutta on my son’s wall.

– The Mona Lisa Vanishes, by Nicholas Day
There is nothing concerning the theft of the Mona Lisa (from the Louvre Museum in 1911) that is not examined in this book: 

– we learned about Lisa Gherardini, who posed for the portrait 
– we learned about Leonardo da Vinci (it was thought provoking to read that Leonardo was most likely ADHD)(this would explain a lot)
– we learned about French police/detective work in the early 1900’s (just the very beginning of fingerprinting)
– we learned about security at the Louvre Museum (super lax)(then, not now)  
– and finally, a dazzling conclusion to the book:  the thief of the Mona Lisa is revealed, lies surrounding the theft are exposed, and we learned that the painting was returned with great ceremony to the Louvre just prior to the breakout of WWI.

This book is perhaps the most organized and well researched book we have ever read.  It is written in small readable chunks – perfect for us.  Inspired by this book, we now have a poster of the Mona Lisa up on my son’s wall. 

Fiction Fun –

– While Mrs. Coverlet was Away, by Mary Nash –  This classic from 1958 has been on our August reading list for several years.  I just love it…I sort of hope my son loves it too, cuz this was at least our 8th time through.   It is funny, it is clever, it champions self reliance.

Story Problem:  The Local Diner gets Fancy

The local diner has decided to add a refined touch:  from now on, all  breakfast rolls and desserts will be served atop a doily.  If the diner calculates that they serve 50 breakfast rolls daily (7 days a week) and 150 desserts daily (7 days a week), how many doilies will they need each week?
a)  70     b)  350     c)  700     d)  1,400

If the diner can purchase 1,000 doilies for $15 from “Doilies R Us”, will $100 be enough money in the diner budget to purchase a month’s worth of the needed doilies?  (answers at bottom of post)

(I am not defending the use of doilies, I am only writing a story problem)

Classical Music:  finally chillin’ with the ladies, virtuoso style –

– Setting the stage –
1913 – first woman EVER to be hired by a professional orchestra (the Queen’s Hall Orchestra in London)
1918 – first woman invited to join an American orchestra (the Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
2003 – at the very back of the pack:  the Vienna Philharmonic, under pressure from the Austrian government, finally welcomes the first female musician into the orchestra

Any orchestra should be so lucky to be chillin’ with these virtuosos:

Cello Virtuoso, Jacqueline du Pré – (1945 – 1987)  Ask anyone (who knows anything about this) to list 5 cello virtuosos, and Jacqueline du Pré’s name will be on that list.  My son and I sat rapt listening to her play “The Swan” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ 14 movement suite, “Carnival of the Animals” (composed in 1886) –

Flute Virtuoso, Jeanne Baxtresser (1947 –    ), former principal flutist for the NY Philharmonic (for 15 years!).  It was fun to listen to her almost haunting adaptation of Saint-Saëns’ “Swan” and we loved the spirited pace –

Trumpet Virtuoso, Alison Balsom (1978 –    ).  Alas, we knew we weren’t going to find anyone on trumpet playing “The Swan”, but we were happy to find a recording of Handel’s  “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” (from his 1748 oratorio, “Solomon”), showcasing Alison Balsom, whose performance is perfection.  Even though this has been one of our favorite compositions for years, we still can’t help but smirk thinking about Handel’s fussy piece portraying life in Jerusalem about 1,000 BC  –

Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  d)  1,400 doilies a week, and “yes”, $100 is enough to pay for a month’s worth of doilies)
*The title of this page came from a “Get Fuzzy” (Darby Conley) cartoon from years and years ago.  The phrase is still making me and one of my other kids laugh every time we think about it.

…and the categories are –

-FAST FOOD FESTIVAL-
-WINGING IT-
-POWER PLAYS-
-BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE-
-BIODIVERSITY UNIVERSITY-
-THE NEW DEAL GOES NORTH-

I know it looks like my son and I are gearing up to secure spots on a TV game show;  our current stack of books is crammed with so many unrelated topics and we are jammed with facts, ready for trivia question number one – 

FAST FOOD FESTIVAL – We are ready for questions about the history of mega-popular American foods (pizza, hot dogs, french fries and the like) after reading “There’s No Ham in Hamburgers”, by Kim Bachman.  Now we know:

  • a surprising number of the foods Americans consume like mad were brought to public exposure at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition AKA the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair:  hamburgers, yellow mustard, cotton candy, puffed rice cereal, and Dr. Pepper.
  • Mr. Potato Head was the first toy to have a TV commercial (this kooky bit of info found in the potato chapter).
  • WWI American soldiers were the first to enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (high in protein and no refrigeration needed).  The US Army bought the ENTIRE first batch of Welch’s grape jelly for the cause.  And speaking of peanut butter, I am sure EVERYONE wants to know that Skippy filed for a patent for hydrogenated peanut butter the very same WEEK that my son’s grandfather was born (April 1921) AND in the very same city in which he was born (Alameda, California).  Whoo hoo!  Chills!  Making history personal!

WINGING IT – We are ready for questions about North American birds after reading Mike O’Connor’s second book, “Why Do Bluebirds Hate Me?”.  Same format (question and sidesplitting/informative answer) as his first book, “Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches”.  Per suggestion from first book, we teamed our nightly reading with the Kaufman Focus Guide, “Birds of North America”.  Thanks to a repetition of themes, we now know:

  • birds want sunflower seeds, not “special birdseed mix” 
  • seeds need to be fresh
  • birds need a birdbath:  we now have a birdbath!!!! Tiny, but AWESOME, handcrafted of river stone by an artisan in New Hampshire (danceswithstone.com)
  • there is a correlation between backyard bird sightings and bird migration
  • we can be a kinder people, thanks to a superb essay on bird feeder hospitality

Final note – O’Connor’s way with words made me laugh so hard, that with most of the Q&A’s, I had to stop reading aloud until I could gain composure. What is better than that?

POWER PLAY – “Solar Story – How One Community Lives Alongside the World’s Biggest Solar Plant”, Allan Drummond.  Easy to read, endearing illustrations, enlightening.  We are ready for questions about solar plants and sustainability AND we get to mark another country on our global map:  Morocco.  We now know that the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant is located in Ouarzazate, Morocco (in the blindingly sunshiny Sahara Desert).  We augmented our reading with the Wikipedia article on this Ouarzazate Solar Power Station, and we saw it with our own eyes via a Google Earth view. 

BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE – “Resist!”, subtitled “Peaceful Acts that Changed our World”, an A+ resource by Diane Stanley (all of her books are A+).  We are ready for questions about the gutsiest people who have acted boldly, guided by an inner sense of what is right.   Some we have already studied (like Harriet Tubman and Mohandas Gandhi), some we have never heard of (like Irena Sendler and Ai Weiwei).  Each 2-page mini bio has grabbed ahold of our hearts (and I am pretty much weeping at the end of each profile). 

BIODIVERSITY UNIVERSITY – We are ready to answer questions about the most biodiverse place on Earth because we have just finished “Amazon River”, a well-edited introduction to the world’s largest river basin, by Sangma Francis, brilliant artwork by Romolo D’Hipolito.  We now know a bit about the geography, indigenous people, current dangers, and the ridiculously enormous variety of plant (like 16,000 species of trees) and animal wildlife (like 2.5 million species of insects).  Our final take-away:  we would like to see “in person” a pink river dolphin, and we would not like to see “in person” a green anaconda (but we sort of would – from at least a 17 foot distance).

THE NEW DEAL GOES NORTH –  We are ready for questions about an aspect of FDR’s New Deal program:  during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the Matanuska Colony was established to give displaced Midwestern farmers a new start in the Alaska territory.  This is the basis of Carole Estby Dagg’s well researched and continually interesting YA historical novel, “Sweet Home Alaska” – a family from Wisconsin becomes part of this new community.  Good reading every single night.

Story Problem at the Local Diner –  What doesn’t Chef James do well?  He has recently revealed that he is a nationally ranked chess player, so diner management has asked him to preside over a week long (Monday-Friday) chess camp for middle schoolers in August.  The camp will be held mornings in the diner and will include a hearty breakfast to activate brain cells.  20 students have signed up.  The participants are to be charged $75 for the week.  Chef James will received $50 for each morning of chess instruction.  The daily breakfast for each camper is priced at $8.00.  

– How much profit will the diner realize at the end of the week?

a)  $250     b)  $450     c)  $1,050     d)  $1,500

– If the diner pays $250 for a large outdoor banner to advertise the chess camp, will they still make a profit? (answers at bottom of post)

Something new:  keyboarding skills!  I was so inspired by this year’s (2022) graduation speech by Rollins College valedictorian, Elizabeth Bonkers (easy to find her delivery on YouTube).  She, like my son, has autism and is non-verbal.  Her speech was achieved through a text-to-speech program and was the worthiest of graduation addresses.  What a wake-up call!  Could my son learn keyboarding skills? We had tried this years ago with no success, but I decided to try again and now, THE ANSWER IS YES!  He is focused and interested!  We begin with keyboarding practice (finding vowels, the letters of his name, the space bar) and then for the best part: my son gets to text his brother and sister (one in NY, one in Seattle) and they both text right back.  Talk about effective positive reinforcement.

Classical Music Time –  Our brains are crammed and jammed with facts and this is not the time for challenging music selections.  Here are the top three super-soothers that my son selects over and over for night time listening –

– Song to the Moon, from Antonín Dvořák’s opera, Rusalka (1901). This is sort of  the Czech version of the little mermaid story; this particular piece has a water nymph asking the moon to tell the prince of her love. This recording showcasing violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell, is the one we have listened to about 300 times – 

 – Oven Fresh Day, from Grant Kirkhope’s BAFTA (which we learned was the British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominee score for the Xbox 360 game, “Viva Piñata”, composed in 2006.   A lovely, wistful melody, recorded by the Prague Philharmonic – 

– The Barcarolle, from Act 3 of Jacques Offenbach’s final opera, “The Tales of Hoffman” (1880).   Although referred to as “The Barcarolle”, the real title of the work is “Belle Nuit, ô Nuit d’Amour” (“Beautiful Night, Oh Night of Love”) (FYI, a barcarolle is the song of a Venetian gondolier) . There is no reason for any other orchestra to record this, as this smooth-as-glass, masterful performance by the Berlin Philharmonic cannot be improved upon – 

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(Story problem answers:  b)  $450, and yes)

Be like Sarah

A Citizen of the World – 

Among other things, last week found my son and I exploring the depth and breadth of The Royal Society of London and continuing our 2022 quest to match academic and non-academic topics with places-of-origin on the globe.  But something came up that caused us to put aside our stack of books for a bit.  We had the opportunity to cheer for up-to-the-minute SUPERB GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP IN ACTION.  

May I present long time family friend, international educator Sarah LC, who currently resides in Germany.  Here is what she posted a few days ago:

I volunteered to meet Ukrainian refugees at the Berlin Central Train Station today.  Wearing an identifying yellow vest, along with about 30 other people, I met incoming trains of refugees, some of which were carrying as many as 750 people.  I roamed, or I stood still, and people knew they could ask me a question, and I would do my best to help.

– “Are you traveling on to another German city? Stand here, and you will get a ticket “
– “Do you need food? Follow me, here is the area where you can get food and sit for a bit.”
– “You do not have any place to go beyond this? You are here in Berlin and you don’t know anyone, or you don’t have a plan beyond this? Then come here…a bus will take you to an apartment or hotel room here, or in Dresden, or Hamburg…we will put you up.”
– “Are you traveling on to Portugal? Then let me show you where you can get your next train ticket.”
– “Do you need a SIM Card? Here is where you can get one.”
– “You need a COVID test? Follow me.”
And on and on.

Signing up to volunteer was the easiest thing in the world. Read a few few rules, register, and show up. I don’t speak a word of Ukrainian, Russian or Polish. It didn’t matter. We made things work.
I was quite impressed with the ad hoc consortium that set up this spontaneous structure in the midst of the greatest migration of people since WWII.

We think Sarah is a superb citizen of the world.  We want to be like Sarah.  (Of course we located Germany and Ukraine on the map and marked each with a gold dot.)(We are cyber-sending a bouquet of gold dots to Sarah LC.)

That settled, our current studies – 

The Royal Society – two books have caught our attention:  Adrien Tinniswood’s “The Royal Society and the Invention of Modern Science” and Bill Bryson’s masterwork anthology, “Seeing Further – The Story of Science, Discovery, and the Genius of the Royal Society” (which is WAY too intellectual for the likes of us…nonetheless, we are charting key points).  Before this study, here is what we knew about The Royal Society:  nothing.  Now we know – 

  • Founded in 1660, to assist and promote the accumulation of useful (scientific) knowledge
  • Members (“Fellows”) have included:  Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (all of whom we have studied).  So far there have been over 8,000 members (women are included in the number).
  • In the official name, “The Royal Society of London”, “London” refers only to the location of the society’s headquarters.  It is not “pro-Britain”, but is rather “pro-scientists of the world” (example:  Benjamin Franklin was a welcomed member even during the Revolutionary War).

Owls –  Currently we are reading about 40 species of owl in Jack Byard’s “Know Your Owls” and marking a dot on the map where each is found (and BTW, there are no owls in Antarctica).  Every species’ particular hoot is notated, so in order to make this a 3-dimensional learning experience I give each hoot a try.  “A” for effort, “B-” for execution.  OK, here are two owl relationships we were not aware of:

  • Owls and Woodpeckers:  many of the smaller owl species set up their nests in trees where gaps have been drilled by woodpeckers
  • Owls and Mice:  owls eat a lot of mice

“Daily Bread – What Kids Eat Around the World”, an original artistic endeavor by Gregg Segal documenting over 50 children from around the world (another opportunity to dot up our map) and what they eat.   A full page, gorgeous photograph of each child, surrounded by food they consume during the course of a week is accompanied by a few enthusiastic and respectful paragraphs, but there is an implied message about each kid’s nutritional intake (the junkier the foods, the chunkier the kids).  BTW, interesting fact in the author’s introduction: a 2015 Cambridge University study ranking diets around the world placed Chad and Sierra Leone at the top of the list for healthiest diets.  Author concludes that these countries have such poor infrastructures that food conglomerates haven’t figured out how to set up shop there.  Maybe Chad and Sierra Leone are luckier than they know.

Make us laugh – After all this heavy duty reading and analyzing we really needed to conclude our evenings with something funny.  Something like the latest book by Liz Pichon,  “Tom Gates – Ten Tremendous Tales”.  Layers of fun with an always amusing ensemble cast (we are not sure who we like reading about most – Tom’s impossible sister, his annoying uncle, his overworked teacher, the out-of-touch principal, the ridiculously upbeat music teacher?).  We are sort of fans of Ms. Pichon.

Story problem from the local diner – (oh, this is such an easy one) Every April 1st, the local diner hosts the premier social event of the season:   Stand-Up Comedy Night!  10 super hilarious members of the community have signed up to tell jokes on a hastily erected stage and tickets have been sold out for months.  The ticket price includes not only the outstanding entertainment, but also a slice of pie and a beverage.  If 150 tickets have been sold and each of the comedian wannabes gets a slice of pie, and each pie serves 8, how may pies should be prepared for the event?

a)  16 pies     b)  20 pies     c)  40 pies     d)  75 pies (answer at bottom of post)

Classical Music:  Fanfares for Global Citizens – We wondered if the type of person (like Sarah) who volunteers to make the world a kinder place, is the type of person who would relish being announced with a fanfare (we sort of think not), but that doesn’t mean that a fanfare is not deserved – 

  • First, we listened to “Call to Post”, a classic fanfare familiar to anyone who has ever seen the Kentucky Derby.  This 34 note fanfare has been used at horse races since the 1860’s and alerts everyone of the next race commencing in a mere 10 minutes –  

  • Handel, “Music for the Royal Fireworks”, movement 4 (La Rejouissance) (1749).  A regal, no funny business, 3 minute piece.  What we hear is essentially 2 robust fanfare themes played over and over –   

  • Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe, “Loudly Let the Trumpet Bray” (1882).  The intent of this piece in the operetta is a satirical jab at the powers that be.  Regardless, it is still great fanfare music, worthy of our inspirational volunteers –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  b)  20 pies)