The eleventh hour, the twelfth hour, the oneth hour – Usually my son and I are up in his room ready for STORIES AND STUDIES by 10 pm, but a few times a year something upsets the schedule
(let’s not go there right now) and we aren’t able to start until maybe 11 pm? Midnight? 1 am? Despite the pitifully late hour, despite the fact that my eyes are one eyelash away from slamming shut, my son is still counts on his STORIES AND STUDIES time. We had such a late-nighter earlier this week.
It was time for THE EXPRESS PLAN:
one chapter from one book – right now we are mesmerized by R.J. Palacio’s blockbuster “Wonder” – not only an outstanding read for us, but the chapters are mostly only two or three pages long.
one poem – something soporific…something like Robert Lewis Stevenson’s wonderfully rhythmic “The Swing” or John Masefield’s “Sea Fever”.
quick math computation problems instead of a story problem – a few nights ago I had my son figure out the age difference between himself and 4 members of the family.
three of our shorter classical music recordings:
May we suggest Chopin’s “Minute Waltz”, more formally known as “Waltz in D-flat major”, composed in 1847. It is only two minutes in length (the “Minute” refers to the “tiny” definition (mine-oot), not the “60 second” definition). Perfect:
followed by a few pieces to induce drowsiness…something like Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy”, the last half of movement 1 (the adagio cantabile) (5 min), composed in 1880:
and wrapping up with Peter Lutkin’s “May the Lord Bless You and Keep You” (2 minutes), written in 1900:
– zzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz –
Even when we are on the express plan, this is the best part of my day. – Jane BH
Heh! This week my son and I are having F-U-N with the “The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet” also known as the “NATO Phonetic Alphabet”. We listed letters that could be confused over radio waves or telephone (B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V, Z – or how about F and S?) and understood how the phonetic alphabet could be a life-saver. I have been presenting my son with short words like “Delta-Alpha-Delta” and “Sierra-Mike-India-Lima-Echo” and he is deciphering. Fully engaged, BTW. We are also continuing with our hangman games; both sneaky ways to work in handwriting practice.
Every Paragraph Fascinates – Wow. We are loving our book stack this week:
We have just finished the absolutely inspiring “Royal Canadian Mounted Police”, by Richard L. Neuberger. True story after true story electrifying us with whatsoever things that are upright, brave, dependable, reasonable, and heroic. As was written about the RCMP in a Montana newspaper in 1877, “…what a comfort to the law abiding citizen.” We concluded this study with a quiz to reinforce what we had been reading about.
“Maphead”, by Ken Jennings – A+A+A+! This book is so well organized, the research and personal observations are first rate, and the author certainly takes us places we have never thought to go – like the Library of Congress map collection and the map sale at the Royal Geographic Society. Last night we read about some unscrupulous (vocab) map dealers who replenished their stock by cutting maps out of library books! (We followed this reading with a discussion of the 10 Commandments).
Fiction – “Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen”, by Donna Gephart – we finished this book last night. Excellent from start to finish – the author writes about a young teen’s determination to get onto Kids Week on Jeopardy, deal with divorce in the family, and come to terms with the estranged father’s gambling issues.
Fiction – We have started, “The Not Just Anybody Family”, by Betsy Byars, and OH MY this book is a riot! This book hooked us from page 1.
Story Problem from Le Fictitious Local Diner – The diner is gussying up their back deck (that overlooks a duck pond), so it can be used for summertime banquets, like graduation parties and wedding rehearsal dinners. They are adding a sound system ($1,000), 3 long tables (at $200 each), 20 strands of lights (at $20 per strand), and 10 potted small trees (at $50 per tree).
– If the diner has budgeted $3,000 for the renovation, is this enough money?
– If the diner makes a profit of approximately $500 with each banquet and has already booked 15 parties for the summer, will it recoup (vocab) the money spent on renovations?
(answers at bottom of post)
Wait for it – Wait for it – Wait for it – the next post will be my 100th post! Instead of a round up of what my son and I have been learning, this post will be a bit more personal than usual, in a Q&A format.
It’s Cliburn Piano Competition season in Fort Worth! My husband and I attended a quarter finals session last night, so I was inspired to share some of our Van Cliburn recordings with my son when I got home.
– from the May 19, 1958 issue –
We listened to:
“Winter Wind”, otherwise unmemorably known as “Etude in A minor”, composed by Frederic Chopin in 1836. Played by Van Cliburn, this piece sends chills down our spines:
“Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1934. I first heard this in the 1980’s movie, “Somewhere in Time” and was so enraptured with the music that I spent a LOT of time, pre-internet, trying to figure out what it was, who wrote it, and where I could get it. (BTW, there are 24 variations of this theme in the composition, Variation 18 – from minute 15:40 to 18:30 – is so utterly romantic):
Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat major”. This is one of the final pieces that Van Cliburn played to win the 1958 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow! The opening notes of movement 1 are so recognizable and so powerful. This video was filmed when Cliburn made return visit to Moscow, in 1960:
Welcome to the best part of my day! – Jane BH
(story problem answers: yes and yes)
Appetizers – May we suggest – une petite matching quiz to review things we’ve been learning about lately?
Followed by – a bit of drawing with pastels, focusing on TEXTURE
Zen perhaps – a game of hangman: last night’s word was “vowel” – my son has just learned the difference between vowels and consonants (my bad for not explaining this YEARS ago). Now that he recognizes the prevalence of vowels in all words, the time spent playing our hangman games has significantly decreased.
For le final appetizer delicacy – a story problem from Le Fictitious Local Diner:
The diner’s back room is being decorated with crepe paper streamers for a homecoming banquet, and it is going to involve THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM! (FYI, my son understands square roots, but to cut WAY down on time, we used the iPad for this calculation).
The room measures 15 by 20 feet and the party planners want to criss cross royal blue and bright green (school colors) crepe paper streamers from the ceiling corners. Streamers are to be taped and artistically twisted together from one corner of the room, diagonally, to the other side of the room. OMGOSH, right before their eyes, a HYPOTENUSE!
1) how far is it from one corner to another (diagonally across the room)?
2) how many feet of streamer are needed to stretch from one corner diagonally across the room to the other corner, if 1.5 times the hypotenuse are needed to achieve an esthetically pleasing twist?
3) if both colors will be used from corners to corners, making sort of an “X” in the middle of the room, how many feet will be needed of each color? (answers at bottom of post)
Le Main Course –
A favorite book author team, Dr. Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman, who put together “Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space”, have a new A+++ book out (YAY!): “Professor Astro Cat’s Atomic Adventure” – another case of we-cannot-wait-to-open-it-every-night. So far, we have learned about gravity (we threw a whole bunch of things up in the air and watched the inevitable happen), the scientific method (brother Jim is a molecular biologist, so we are taking a personal interest in the scientific method), the periodic table (organizationalperfection), protons and electrons (the speed of those elections mesmerizes us). We are spellbound by Professor Astor Cat’s topics – well chosen, well explained; and graphics – SPLENDID. This book should be on everyone’s Christmas list.
For side dishes – our current fiction novel: “Gabby Duran and Troll Patrol”. YES. And a reading from our current Tom Gates book (“Tom Gates Extra Special Treats – not”). YES.
To cleanse zee palate – a poem: tonight’s selection, “Keep a Goin’” by Frank L. Stanton, a journalist for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper and Poet Laureate of Georgia, appointed in 1925. This poem has been stuck in my head for decades (when my sister was in the 4th grade, she chose to memorize this poem, and in the process, said it aloud so many times that everyone in the family to this day can recite it). Thank heavens it is fun, uplifting, grateful. Good for everybody.
And finally, le dessert tray – three elegant morsels from Frederic Chopin:
“Grande Valse Brilliante”, a waltz composed by Chopin in 1834 and used in the ballet “Les Sylphides”, which premiered in 1909. Everybody who has taken ballet lessons has tour jete’d across the dance studio (hypotenuse style!) to this absolutely charming waltz:
“Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor”, AKA “The Funeral March” to ALL kids (“pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you”), was composed in 1839. A perfectly creepy recording from 1910:
“The Minute Waltz”, more properly known as Chopin’s “Waltz in D-flat major”, composed in 1847. A bit of false advertising, as this piece actually lasts just over 2 minutes:
Bon appetit! Welcome to the best part of my day! Jane Heiserman
(Story problem answers: 25 feet, 37.5 feet, 75 feet)
