Birds

32 and counting!

How many books do we read in a year?  We have no idea.  So, this past January my son and I decided this would be the year to track the number of books.  Reporting midway through 2024:  32 books on the tally sheet.  Currently in the stories and studies book basket:

Studies – 

Arctic Tern Migration, Susan H. Gray.  In the autumn, these global traveling birds take 3 months to fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic.  In springtime, they head back to the Arctic – this trip taking less than two months due to wind currents.  We have layers and layers of “how do they do this and why do they do this?” questions.

Birdology, Sy Montgomery.  Favorite chapters:  “Chickens” (because each and every one is wacky) and “Pigeons”  (author Montgomery takes the reader to a pigeon racing club and we learn the specifics – we love it when a book opens a whole new world for us).

Mother Teresa, Navin Chawla.  This particular book – based upon extensive interviews with those who influenced (or were influenced by) Mother Teresa –  is the only authorized biography of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (as per her canonization by the Catholic Church in 2016).  It is THE book.  We were riveted by the work of this brilliant visionary leader.  How could one person, with no income, starting with 1 room and 2 postulants, turn this into a multi-national effort (hundreds of homes for the destitute, dying, leprosy affected, poorest of the poor) with a support system of 4,000 enthusiastic, committed nuns? 

Can I Recycle This?, Jennie Romer.  This is not our first recycling book, but this one leaves the other one (which was patronizing and jammed with platitudes) in the dust.  This author is interesting and specific.  We learned what goes on at a recycling center.  We learned what cannot (at this point) be recycled:  plastic forks and knives, straws, restaurant “to-go” cartons that have been sprayed with a plastic coating, eyeglasses, coat hangers, plastic baggies, potato chip bags.  We are sort of feeling bad about all the potato chip bags we go through.

Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums, Bob Eckstein.  Each entry includes a short list of facts about the museum, charming illustrations, and a few personal reflections from museum goers/employees (this is the best part!).  I was happy to see one of my favorite, NAY, perhaps my favorite museum, included in the book:  The Museum of Bad Art (Boston).  Also, we learned that there are museums/museum grounds that host 200,000 bees (Clark Art Institute), and 1,000 dolls (Wenham Museum House).  We were touched to the soul by the “National Museum of African American History and Culture” and Baltimore’s “American Visionary Art Museum”.  We learned that a WOMAN (Betty Willis) designed the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign (from The Neon Museum).  I learned of this book from James Breakwell’s hilarious Instagram site.  Many thanks!  This is the perfect type of book for us!

Stories – 

The Teacher’s Funeral – Author Richard Peck takes us to the one room country school house of the early 1900’s.  The surprisingly effective teacher is a high school student, sister of two of her 8 pupils (who do not want to be in school at all).  And then, just as we are settling into her spelling bees and geography lessons – WHAT THE H-E-DOUBLE-TOOTHPICKS??? –  the author takes us along to a neighborly gathering to observe the butchering of a pig.  Oh dear oh dear oh dear.  Do I skip over this part or do I come to terms with this part of long ago rural life?  I mean seriously, to be invited to a pig slaughter? Honored with the responsibility of handling the shotgun that would kill said pig?  Then the book goes right back to being its pleasant self (romance, school yard antics, teacher certification worries, the town poet mystery).  We do love Richard Peck’s books and have read loads of them.  This pig business was a jarring surprise.

The Trials of Hercules Beal, Gary D. Schmidt.  An excellent use of our reading time.  Yes, it is highly entertaining.  Yes, its writing style nudges close to poetic.  Yes,  we are learning about the mythical trials of the Roman god Hercules and how they parallel the life of current student, Hercules Beal.  But we are also given front row seats to the best of  thoughtful and focused teaching skills.  On so many levels, a superb book.

Schooled, Gordon Korman.  This is probably our 4th time through this book.  There is a clash and then a melding of 1960’s hippie style culture with a present day 8th grade social environment.  So well written, fun to read.   

Story Problem from Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand – The 4 full time employees at Farmer Brown’s roadside stand will now be identified by the wearing of heavy duty green canvas aprons.  Each employee looks so professional now.  The aprons cost $15 and this includes “Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand” embroidery work.  Farmer Brown decided to order 10 aprons.  Good thing he did.  The week after the aprons were ordered, the price shot up to $25 per apron.  How much money did Farmer Brown save by ordering before the price skyrocketed?

a)  $10     b)  $100     c)  $250     d)  $1,000 (answer at bottom of post)

Counting on Classical Music – 

The Cuckoo, from Ottorino Respighi’s suite, “The Birds” (1928).  Here is a tough assignment:  tally up the number of two-note cuckoo motifs in this 4 minute composition.  Sometimes the motif is produced by a  single instrument, sometimes full orchestra, sometimes the notes are high, sometimes low, sometimes the motif stands alone, sometimes it is mixed into a collage of sounds.  Like I said, tough.  Our tally sheet totals are different every time we try this. 

 Bolero, Maurice Ravel (also 1928!) – ya gotta feel sorry for the percussionist who ends up playing snare drum for this 15-plus minute piece.  It is calculated that the snare drum is struck 5,144 times.  The worst part is that the musician has to play the same short rhythm over and over and over and over.  We would go bonkers.  That being said, we cannot resist anything that is conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. 

3,000 and counting! – According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most prolific classical composer (with over 3,000 compositions) was Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).  We are not sure we found the final composition (our goal), but his Overture-Suite in G minor was written during his final year.  We listened to the short second movement (the “Gavotte en Rondeau”), a marvelously fussy piece – clearly baroque – that moves right along.

 Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  b)  $100)

The Two-for-One Special

TWO QUIZZES!  That’s right, not just ONE, but TWO quizzes to test my son’s comprehension of current study endeavors (significant landmarks/animal investigations/the Netherlands).  Yay!  He scored 100%.  (answers at bottom of post)

The General Knowledge Quiz: 

1.  Who designed and oversaw construction of Mount Rushmore?
a)  Gustav Eiffel     b)  Frank Lloyd Wright     c)  Alexander Calder,  d)  Gutzon Borglum

2.  The arms (wicks) of windmills turn –
a)  clockwise     b)  counterclockwise  c)  either way depending upon wind direction

3.  Regarding the windmill communication system:  the resting placement of the windmill arms (wicks) can signal – 
a)  good news/bad news/windmill is broken/windmill is resting     b)  there is no such thing as a windmill communication system

4.  The number of bicycles recovered from the Amsterdam canals annually –
a)  100     b)  1,000     c)  10,000

5.  The reason San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is painted orange –
a)   to stand out in the fog     b)  at the time of installation (1937), orange was the California governor’s wife’s favorite color     c)  it was the most affordable paint color that was closest to “gold”

6.  The Great Wall of China was built over the span of –
a)  2,000 years     b)  1,000 years     c)  50 years

7.  Today, the largest ships using the Panama Canal, pay tolls of up to – 
a)   $1 million      b)  $75,000     c)  $1,000
(Here is something fun: In 1928, writer and adventurer Richard Halliburton paid a toll of 36 cents to swim through the canal.)

8.  The largest mammal in South America –
a)  the giant anteater     b)  the capybara     c)  the tapir     d)  the brown throated sloth

9.  Birds have – 
a)  hollow bones     b)  gelatinous semi-soft bones     c)  titanium bones

10.  The only bird that can fly backwards –
a)  the hummingbird     b)  the owl     c)  the bluebird of happiness

The Great Lengths Quiz:  

1.  The length of the Golden Gate Bridge – 
a)  8 miles     b)  4.2 miles      c)   3.5 miles     d)  1.7 miles     

2.  The length of the Panama Canal
a)   50 miles     b)  45 miles     c)  25 miles     d)  10 miles

3.  From furthest point west to furthest point east, which is longer:  mainland United States or the Mediterranean Sea?  (hint:  one is 2,600 miles, the other is 2,400 miles)
a)   Mainland USA     b)  the Mediterranean Sea

4.  All things considered (because this is not one continuous structure), how long is the Great Wall of China?
a)  13,000 miles     b)  9,500 miles     c)  2,100 miles     d)  400 miles

5.  What is the approximate distance between Earth and the moon?
a)  500,000 miles     b)  240,000 miles     c)  10,000 miles     d)  250 miles

After all that test taking:   FUN FICTION READING – 

For a look at history:  Here Lies the Librarian, Richard Peck – a continually amusing peek into rural American life in the 1920’s:  home-made automobiles, romance, dirt roads, bad neighbors, and terrible-to-superb local library management.  

For provoking discussion:  Millicent Min – Girl Genius, Lisa Yee – Brilliant Millicent is 11, and taking a college level poetry class.  Written as a summer journal, short diary entries inform us that Millicent’s mom is forcing her join a volleyball team, Millicent finally has her first friend, Millicent is tutoring somebody who’s lack of academic commitment is driving her crazy.  We are sympathizing with this protagonist who has such a rocky time socializing.  Awwwww.

For relaxing/laughing/smiling:  Tom Gates: Five Star Stories,  Liz Pichon.  This is book number 21 in the series and we’ve read them all – the quality of the hilarious writing, the hilarious predicaments, the hilarious illustrations has not wavered.   At this point, the cast of characters feel like part of our family. Ms. Pichon:  KEEP WRITING!

     

Story Problem:  “2-for-the-price-of-1” at the local diner – Tuesday nights at the local diner are a bit slow, so an enticing “Tuesday Night Only” promotion is offered:  two manager’s specials (chicken pot pie and apple crisp) for the price of one.  If it’s not Tuesday, the price of this dinner is $15 per single order.  Last Tuesday 60 patrons ordered the manager’s special.  How much money did the special bring in?  If the manager’s special costs the diner $5 per order, how much profit did the diner realize? (answers at bottom of post)

Classical Music – How about a THREE-for-ONE special?  We listened to three completely different composition styles of Luigi Boccherini, cello virtuoso and composer (1743 – 1805).  Boccherini’s early years were spent as a  court musician in Vienna.  At age 27, Boccherini relocated, becoming a court musician for the Spanish royal family in Madrid (and remained in Spain for the rest of his life).  We wanted to hear 1) a Viennese-style piece, 2) a work influenced by the music of Madrid and 3) one of his cello-focused compositions.

The Minuet (movement 3) from Boccherini’s String Quintet in E major, composed in 1771 – this fussy, hummable, very “classical music” melody is instantly recognizable as it has been used in loads of films, TV shows, and video games –

The Fandango, from Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major, composed in 1798, shows the influence of the guitar music he was introduced to in Spain.  I do not think my son and I have listened to this less than 350 times; it was interesting the first time we heard it, it remains interesting.  We love this performance by the L.A. Guitar Quartet –

Cello Showcased – we know we should be extolling Boccherini’s well respected “Cello Concerto in B flat major”, and we did take a listen.  The concerto certainly flaunts a cellist’s skills.  However, what we love is Boccherini’s String Quintet No. 6 (also known as “Night Music of the Streets of Madrid”).  Movement 5, the Passa Calle, in which the cello carries the piece, is warm, full of local flavor, and we really cannot listen without swaying to the tempo –

Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH

General Knowledge Quiz Answers:

  1. d)  Gutzon Borglum
  2. b)  counterclockwise
  3. a)  good news, etc.
  4. c)  10,000 bikes
  5. a)  to stand out in the fog
  6. a)  2,000 years
  7. a)  $1 million
  8. c)  the tapir
  9. a)  hollow bones
  10. a)  the hummingbird

Great Lengths Quiz Answers:

  1. d)  1.7 miles
  2. a)  50 miles
  3. a)  mainland USA
  4. a)  13,000 miles
  5. b)  240,000 miles

(Story Problem Answers:  $450, $150)

What took us so long?

What took us so long to discover books by science journalist/author/Sibert medalist Sy Montgomery?  

– We loved “Condor Comeback” because who doesn’t love a success story?  

1982:  Only 22 California condors (huge, majestic members of the vulture family) remain on planet Earth.  That is it.  22.
2019:  450 California condors and the numbers are growing!

This book introduced us to Dr. Estelle Sandhaus, director of conservation science at the zoo in Santa Barbara, California.  From Dr. Sandhaus we learned why condors were on the endangered list since 1967:
– the ingesting of microtrash
– poisoning from lead bullets found in carrion that condors feast upon 
Sandhaus and Montgomery reveal the work required to phase out lead bullets, educate about microtrash, supervise condor breeding, conduct health checks for every condor, and oversee the  “captivity-to-flying-free” protocol.  

– We loved “Chasing Cheetahs”, another success story!  The book focuses upon Laurie Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.  Challenge:  cheetah numbers in Namibia were dwindling fast because farmers were killing the cheetahs who were killing their livestock.  The CCF Solution:  education, Kangal dogs and goats (and the cheetah population has risen dramatically).  (Seriously, my summary is simplistic.  I do a disservice to Laurie Marker and Sy Montgomery.  Apologies.  The point is that Laurie Marker and her team have brilliant, common sense ideas and admirable follow through and Sy Montgomery conveyed this to us in a way my son could understand).  

– We really loved “The Great White Shark Scientist”, introducing us to Greg Skomal, shark biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.  A basic theme of the book is that sharks are not as dangerous as portrayed by the media.  Example:
In 1996 – the number of Americans injured by sharks:  13 
In 1996 – the number of Americans injured by toilets:  43,000  
Also, we learned that sharks like to eat seals.  So, question:  is it smart to swim around seals?
Saving the best for last:  Sy Montgomery suggests following sharks who have been fitted with a tracking device at ocearch.org (look for “Shark Tracker”).  My son and I are having more fun checking in on the sharks nightly, watching them cruise up and down the east coast of the US.  The tagged sharks have been named and our favorites are Penny, Frosty, and Maple. 

– But we REALLY  loved “The Book of Turtles”.  Worth the price of the book: 1)  Matt Patterson’s superb life-like illustrations.  WHOA.  and 2)  the section on CELEBRITY TURTLES!   Our favorite entry:  the story of two Galapagos tortoises at the Klagenfurt Zoo (Austria), Poldi and Bibi, who had lived happily together for 115 YEARS until one day Bibi  decided that she had “had it up to here” with Poldi. She hissed at him, she bit off part of his shell.  Dear, me!  Zookeepers tried to bring them back together with romantic dinners, but to no success.  The two are now permanently separated.  It is the stuff of Greek tragedies.

What else we are learning –
1)  how to use a Chinese abacus     2)  state birds (we are puzzled that 7 states need to claim the Northern Cardinal as “their” bird.  Was there not choice enough among the remaining 1,100 bird species in the United States?)     3)  history of the circus

Story Problem:  “Sack Lunch Sides” at The Local Diner!  To celebrate the start of the school year, the diner is offering a “sack lunch sides” workshop. For $15, junior chefs will learn how to make home-made chips, home-made pickles, and home-made brownies. 

– If 20 students signed up for the class and 18 actually attended, what percentage of students forgot to show up?  
a)  2%     b)  10%     c)  20%     d)  22%
– If 9 of the attendees did not like the “home-made pickles” (yikes!  recipe fail!) what percentage of the junior chefs liked the pickles?  
a)  2%     b)  9%     c)  33%     d)  50%
– And finally, if it cost the diner $8 to provide for each of the 18 students, what was the total profit the diner realized?
a)  $36    b)  $126     c)  $180     d)  $270  (answers at bottom of post)

Classical music to enhance the opera-worthy Poldi and Bibi story – 

– Bibi can no longer abide Poldi, and she has a long, long list of things he does that drive her to madness.  We teamed this scenario with Beethoven’s melodramatic “Rage over a Lost Penny” (composed around 1795).  My son and I are glad not to be at the receiving end of this tirade – 

– The Zookeepers set up a dinner of romance to encourage Poldi and Bibi to patch things up.  Music to set the scene?  What better than Carlos Gardel’s très dramatique tango “Por una Cabeza” (composed 1935).  If this doesn’t get things moving in the right direction, nothing will.  Alas, it fails –

– A broken-hearted Poldi slowly trudges away from the love of his life – Nothing less than “Gymnopedie No. 1”, Erik Satie’s slow tempo soul crusher (composed 1888) can capture Poldi’s despair.  Did 115 years of companionship mean nothing?  –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  b)  10%,  d)  50%,  b)  $126)

Study Break

Such an unfun set-up:  first the studies, then the study break.

The Greenland Focus – My son and I have proclaimed 2023 as the year we are going to learn about Greenland (the one large land mass we hadn’t “visited” during 2022).  We started with the Wikipedia entry (Greenland: largest island in the world, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, 70% of its energy comes from water power (renewable).  YAY!),  and then read, “Escape Greenland” by Ellen Prager.  This is not our usual type of fiction reading (it is a bit on the high tension/good guys vs. bad guys side)(we are more on the low tension-looking to be enchanted side).  Nonetheless, it successfully brought the location, terrain and climate of Greenland to our attention.

“Icebergs & Glaciers” by Seymour Simon.  A good accompaniment to “Escape Greenland”.  We needed to see photographs of glaciers and icebergs.  We needed grasp their definitions.  (This is hardly the end of our Greenland focus.)

Next Stop, Australia, via “The Great Barrier Reef” by Helen Scales and Lisk Feng.  You can now ask us about:

  • coral bleaching, John “Charlie” Vernon (Godfather of Coral), and the wicked, wicked Crown-of-Thorns Starfish  
  • the future of Green Sea Turtles (this is a species, not a description).  The facts: 
        • the temperature in the nest of baby sea turtle eggs determines the sex of the turtle.  WHAT???? My son and I took a few moments to puzzle over this.  
        • if the nest temperature is lower than 81 degrees, the turtles will be males.  If the temp is above 87 degrees, the turtles will be female.  In-between temps produce a mix.
        • at present, only 1% of green turtles hatching in the Great Barrier Reef are male.    My son and I discussed whether this is optimal.  

  • we read a bit about the world-famous whale, Migaloo (an albino humpback whale), who makes an annual appearance in the reef area (actually, scientists think Migaloo might have perished in the recent past)(RIP Migaloo).  We wanted to know more about Migaloo, so we read “Migaloo, The White Whale”, by Mark Wilson, which provoked us to take a listen to recorded humpback whale sounds. V soothing –

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Bugs leading the way – how did scientists come up with the idea for:

    

  • the changing color (green to gold) of the “10” on the 10 dollar bill?  The Blue Morpho Butterfly
  • efficient use of electricity in light bulbs?  Fireflies
  • better solar panels?  The Isabella Tiger Moth
  • more comfortable medical needles?  Mosquitos (whoa: something nice about mosquitoes)

How do we know all this stuff?  “FANDEX Kids “Bugs”.  Anyone following our strict regimen, focusing upon 2 bugs a night would also know:

  • that the queen of some species of termites can live up to 50 years.  Yeeks.
  • the oldest known spider in the world was a female trapdoor spider.  She lived for 43 years!  We can only assume she was studied in a science lab, because she was heartlessly named, “Number 16”.

Yes, we are still on the bird thing – we are half way through “What It’s Like to Be a Bird”, written/stunningly illustrated by David Allen Sibley.  We thank Ann P. (influential master teacher who mentored me through my student teaching days decades and decades ago) for suggesting this elegant book.  So far, our favorite 2-page spread:  Wild Turkeys –  

  • turkeys were domesticated in Mexico over 2,000 years ago
  • in the 1500’s, they were brought from Mexico to Spain with returning explorers (conquistadors most likely, who are on our permanent bad list)
  • within 20 years, turkeys were the rage throughout Europe (the Pilgrims even brought them back to the Americas onboard the Mayflower)  
  • and TA-DA!!!  Somehow, some Europeans did not get the memo that these birds were from Mexico; it was widely believed they originated from the middle east, specifically, TURKEY.  Thus the name!  File this away for a Thanksgiving Day conversation starter.  We loved this entire segment and read it aloud 3 times.  Thank you again, Ann P.!

And BTW, we now have Sibley’s “Birds of Texas” poster up on the wall.  Very cool.

FINALLY, the study break!  Snack Time Story Problem –  The local diner has purchased a popcorn cart with the intention of renting it out for birthday parties and local youth sporting events.  The festive cart was purchased for $300 and will be available for rental at $75 per day.  The diner can supply popcorn and popcorn bags (200 portions for $50).  For fancy affairs, clients may wish to hire Chef Iris to serve up the popcorn at an additional cost of $100 per day.

– How many times will the popcorn cart need to be rented to recover the $300? 
A.  4 rentals     B. 14 rentals     C.  24 rentals  D.  1,000 rentals 

– How much will a client spend if they require the cart for two days, 600 popcorn servings, and Chef Iris to tend cart?
A.  $300     B.  $400     C.  $500     D.  $1,000  (answers at bottom of post)

Classical Music Time – let us suppose that the popcorn cart client would love some carefree, cheerful background music.  Maybe Chef Iris would suggest –

  • Leroy Anderson’s very first work, “Jazz Pizzicato”, 1938.  We can almost hear the popcorn popping –

  • Beethoven’s “Five Pieces for a Mechanical Clock”, Number 3, composed around 1799.  Sweet carnival-type music that could provoke twirling around the closest popcorn cart.  (from what I’ve read, I’m thinking this may have appalled Beethoven)  –  

  • Shostakovich, “Ballet Suite No. 4”, movement 2  (“The Song of Great Rivers”), composed in 1953.  Fresh, lighthearted, an almost merry-go-round feel.  Signature popcorn cart music –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  A. 4 rentals, and C. $500)

Bird Nerds

Us?  Bird nerds?  You must have us confused with real ornithological enthusiasts.  It is true that we have our bird-watching binoculars at the ready and since May, 2022 (when we read our first bird watching book – Mike O’Connor’s hilarious and informative “Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches”) we have served up pounds & pounds & pounds of sunflower seeds, but other than that we have only accumulated:

  • 5 bird reference books
  • 3 bird posters
  • 3 bird baths
  • 1 bird feeder
  • 1 nesting box

Us?  Bird nerds?  I am not sure we aspire to nerd status, but birdwatching has turned out to be a lot more fun than we could have imagined pre-May 2022.

We comment upon our bird feeder visitors – 
We probably know about 2% of what bird people know about birds, so our amateur observations may understandably provoke criticism:

– Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal:  our resident senior citizens (through the binoculars, they look pretty shabby, poor things, but they are a class act).  Very dignified, they perch for a moment, take a sunflower seed, fly off.  We give them an “A”.

– The Chickadees:  we think of these cuties as the “little sports cars” of our backyard birds.  Compact and swift, they perch for a moment, take a sunflower seed, fly off.  We give them an “A”.

– Our Tufted Titmouse:  this soft looking, dear bird seems to keep himself to himself.  He perches for a moment, takes a sunflower seed, flies off.  We give him an “A”.

– Our Mourning Dove:  we haven’t seen this handsome bird perch on the feeder –  he seems content to dine on seeds that have fallen to the ground.  This bird is quiet, sweet, appears thoughtful, and we have to give him an “A”.

– And finally, THE FINCHES:  house finches, purple finches, American goldfinches.  These birds hog the feeder and spit seeds all over the place.  They are like the non-productive workers that hang around the office water cooler.  They are like the relatives you wish you didn’t have to invite to the wedding reception.  We give these birds a “C-”, and that is a gift.

“Rome Antics”, by David Macaulay – how clever is this book? 

  • the pun-intended title and a homing pigeon tie page one to the final page  
  • the exquisite illustrations of the architecture of Rome, presented pigeon-style (upside down/sideways/twirly-whirly)  

My son and I enthusiastically read this book 3 times in a row to appreciate Macaulay’s efforts.  A+ all over the place.

Big Birds – Speaking of birds, we did get out the measuring tape to see for ourselves the wingspan of some REALLY LARGE birds.  Example:  the Laysan Albatross – 82”.  Whoa.

Current Re-Read – “The Penguin Lessons”, by Tom Michell – so much to learn from this captivating non-fiction book – lots about penguins, lots about Argentina in the 1970’s (hoo boy, talk about inflation).  Well worth the re-read.

We’re not just about birds:

Fandex Kids “Ocean” – this Fandex-Kids card deck is surprisingly good.  An enticing variety of sea life presented with skilled humorous writing.  Our favorite entries:  ocean depth zones (new vocabulary “pelagic”, rhymes with “magic”), the coelacanth, giant kelp, giant squid (measuring tape out again to envision this 40 foot wonder), the graceful decorator crab.  If we were employed as Fandex editors we would replace the cartoony illustrations with photographs.  Other than that, fun resource with a most helpful glossary.

Story Problem:  Farmer Brown upgrades the bunk house – It is time for Farmer Brown to replace all the bedding in the ranch hands’ bunk house.  For each bed, new sheets (at $75 per set), new blankets (at $100 each) and a new quilt (at $100 each) will be purchased.  If there are 8 ranch hands and Farmer Brown wants  2 sets of sheets, 2 blankets, and 2 quilts for each bed, will Farmer Brown spend more or less than $4,000 to replace the bedding? (answer at bottom of post)

’22  in Review – our academic goal for 2022 was to find the location on the globe of everything we studied.  In all, we “visited” 44 countries.  The only large landmass we missed was Greenland, so this is ASSIGNMENT ONE for 2023.

Classical Music is for the Birds – 

The Aviary, from “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens.  The suite was composed in 1886, but not published until after Saint-Saens’ death (1921).  He thought his reputation as a serious composer would be tarnished by this “too frivolous” work (of course he was wrong).  A jewel of a performance by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andre Previn –

The Dove (La Colomba), Ottorino Respighi.  Perfect way to honor our mourning dove.  Respighi based this 1928 composition on the music of 17th century lute virtuoso Jacques de Gallot.  We can hear the dove cooing throughout and we love the magical flute and harp ending –

Bird Feeder Banquet Music –   How about “Tafelmusik” (literally “table music”, composed  specifically to provide light background music while people AND MAYBE BIRDS were banqueting)?  We chose an absolutely delightful piece by Georg Philipp Telemann (his Quartet in G major, movement 4, composed in 1733)(and BTW, Telemann wrote lots of tafelmusik).  We can hear the birds darting to and from the bird feeder throughout the movement –

Welcome to the best part of my day,
Jane BH
(Story problem answer:  Farmer Brown will spend more than $4,000.  He will, in fact, spend $4,400 plus tax)

…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)

Old Business

blue-barrow-map

An old name is a new name – How did this bit of news pass us by?  My son and I just learned that the citizens of Barrow, Alaska voted this past October to change the city’s name back to its ancient traditional name, Utqiagvik!  (Doesn’t everybody know that we love knowing stuff like this?)  The town has been called Utqiagvik – meaning “place for gathering wild roots” – for the past 1,500 years but has been officially “Barrow” since 1825.  Apparently, the governor of Alaska has until mid-December to rule on the name change.  Will the governor want to mess with the decision of the people in America’s northern-most city?  We are standing by!

Animals of yesteryear – our current course of study:  “Lost Animals – Extinction and the Photographic Record”, by Errol Fuller.  Fuller’s research is thorough and each chapter follows a particular species from it’s heyday to its regrettable demise (mostly there are a LOT of bird species that are no longer with us) (and we really wish color photography had been around before the pink headed duck of the Ganges River became extinct).  Last night we read about the thylacine – a species that was in existence when my son’s grandparents were children.  The stories captivate, stay with us, and I think make us more aware and maybe worried for the distant future of every healthy animal we see.

betsy

Well, here is an OLDIE – we are enjoying “Understood Betsy” written by Dorothy Canfield Fisher 1917.  This classic shows up on many recommended reading lists, and I was finally persuaded to give it a try after reading a mini-bio of Ms. Fisher on the always informative “Focus on Fraternity” blog (franbecque.com).  Happy surprise!  This book presents a wealth of information about how things were 100 years ago, there is a dash of adventure, and a pervasive advocacy of self sufficiency which should put this book on a required reading list for parents and teachers.

cloth-napkins

Story problem from Le Fictitious Local Diner – The diner is bringing back an old tradition for the month of December: cloth napkins.  They are going to see if it is more economical to rent cloth napkins or to purchase napkins and have them laundered by a service.  The diner goes through 200 napkins daily.  Cloth napkins rental price:  200 napkins for $25.  The laundry service charges $10 to wash and press 200 napkins, but the diner would have to purchase two days worth of napkins first (at a cost of $3 per unit).  If the diner decides to use cloth napkins for December, should they rent or own/pay for a laundry service?  What is the least they can spend for this festive endeavor? (answers at bottom of post)

The music theme this past week:  PARODIES (vocab) – When I was in 5th grade, my friend Pam received the best-record-album-ever at her birthday party: Allan Sherman’s “My Son the Nut”.  I absolutely collapsed in laughter just looking at the album cover (Mr. Sherman, up to his neck in assorted nuts); I did not believe that anything could be more screamingly hilarious (hey folks, this was the early 1960’s – simpler expectations).  On top of a great album cover, THE CLEVER PARODIES!   What fun, some 45 years later, to share this listening experience with my son.

my-son-the-nut

This past week, we matched up a few songs from “My Son the Nut” with the classical compositions from which they were inspired:

“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”:  the lyrics were written to a theme from Amilcare Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours” (1876).  “Dance of the Hours” was also used in Disney’s “Fantasia” of 1940.

“Hungarian Goulash No. 5”:  the lyrics were written to Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5” (1869). Gustavo Dudamel conducts in this video – and you know how I feel about Mr. Dudamel.  MERCY.

“Here’s to the Crabgrass”:  the lyrics were written to Percy Grainger’s “Country Gardens” (1918).  This performance by the Hastings College Wind Ensemble really scoots along.

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(Story problem answers: the diner should definitely rent the napkins, renting will run $775. Purchasing napkins and paying a laundry service will cost almost twice as much.)

Flying into 2016

home posterpigeon face left

Look homeward – hey!  This captured our attention a few nights ago: scientists think that the bit of iron present in the beaks of homing pigeons might serve as a compass, allowing these totally cool birds to fly straight home from recorded distances of up to 1,100 miles.  Well! How interesting is this?  We checked this morsel of information (from “Animal Kingdom” – a neat infographic book by Blechman and Rogers) with the Homing Pigeons entry in Wikipedia, where we learned that pigeons might also be guided by odors and low frequency sounds. We are such fans of homing pigeons (seriously, everything about these sweet birds is so A+ on our interest scale) – we first learned about them last March (mentioned in the blog entry, “Flying, Farming, and Felix”).

cummings book

A new poetry unit – we are learning about poet, e.e. cummings (1894-1962).  We have read so many biographies about people with harrowing childhoods, it comes as a relief to read about somebody from a thoroughly delightful and supportive family.  For heaven’s sakes, the family vacation home was named “Joy Farm” (happy all the way with this family)!  First-rate book:  “enormous SMALLNESS”, by Matthew Burgess, charmingly illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo.

dog biscuitdog biscuitdog biscuit

Story problem from Le Fictitious Local Diner – the diner is ringing in 2016 by gifting all dog-owning customers with organic dog biscuits!  The diner is baking up 20 dozen dog biscuits every Monday for the month of January.  Leftover biscuits from each week will be given to the town’s pet shelter.  If 15% of the batch is left over each week, how many biscuits will be delivered to the shelter by the end of the month?

wave goodbye

(ooooh! UCLA colors!)

Music – we bid farewell to 2015 by viewing our favorite videos from the many we had watched this past year:

  • Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor”, movement 3, showcasing the beyond great Itzhak Perlman.  We call this the “cat and mouse” movement (we hear “advance/retreat, advance/retreat” and imagine a cat crouching outside a small opening in the wall, toying with a mouse on the other side of the wall who is anxious to make his escape and hunt for cheese).  This is an old recording, but the violin performance CANNOT get better than this.

  • Bach’s “Invention No. 8”, 44 seconds of pure pleasure, played by the astounding Simone Dinnerstein. Watching Ms. Dinnerstein’s fingers fly over the keys is mesmerizing; we have watched this over and over.

  • Camille Saint-Saens’ fabulously fun “Danse Macabre”, played by a Polish youth orchestra. I am sorry that we cannot decipher exactly which Polish youth orchestra, but this performance is jaw-dropping perfection.  In fact, it is so outstanding that I forced my mother (“The Peach”)(a most reluctant classical enthusiast) to watch.

Welcome to the best part of my day!

– Jane BH

Good Books, Bad Books

Sorry to be on a rant in mid-December, but REALLY!  How do poorly edited books manage to get published?   Case in point: my son and I were reading a coffee table-style book about birds of North America.  The introduction was rather good:  we learned that birds with long legs have long necks; we learned that a grouping of bird eggs in a nest is called a clutch.  And then the book fell apart.  A chapter entitled, “Swifts and Hummingbirds” contained NOT ONE MENTION, NOT ONE PHOTOGRAPH of a swift.  And you would think that an author making an effort to explain the simple word, “clutch”, would make sure the reader understood more difficult terms, such as “arboreal” and “terrestrial”.  But no.  In an angry huff, we have bid adieu to that sham of a book.

animal kingdom

Happier reading: we are now reading “Animal Kingdom” by Nicholas Blechman and Simon Rogers…same outstanding graphic format as “Human Body”, which we read a few weeks ago.  Currently, we are mid-chapter, learning about senses; last night reading about animal eyes (largest eye: giant squid…eyes covered by skin, rendering them blind: mole rats (GROSS)), tonight reading about animal ears, and the variety of listening abilities. So interestingly presented, we are back to being happy learners.

Even happier reading:

books final

  • we have finished “Rules of the Road” by Joan Bauer. EXCELLENT story: well written, complex plot, skilled characterizations, and topped off with all sorts of life lessons.
  • and if it is December, we return once again to a super favorite, “Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians” by Mary Nash. This book was a Children’s Book Club offering in 1962.  I LOVED it then, and I LOVE it every year for a re-read. We are reading the very same copy that my dad read to my sister and me, but the book is still available on Amazon and the plot is a DELIGHT.

Our music project last night – selecting music to enhance another poster in my son’s room, “Checkered House” by Grandma Moses, painted in 1943. (The poster was purchased after we completed a unit on Grandma Moses a few years ago.)

Grandma Moses Check

  • “Over the River and through the Wood”, a poem by Lydia Maria Child originally entitled, “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day” (but it still works for all of the December holidays), published in 1844.  Alas, the composer is unknown. Darling video footage taken from an elementary school winter concert.

  • “Sleigh Ride”, composed by Leroy Anderson during the heat wave of 1946! Mr. Anderson was VERY smart (a Harvard man!) and VERY funny. A perfect performance by the President’s Marine Corps Chamber Orchestra.

  • “The Friendly Beasts”, also known as “Carol of the Animals”, words by Robert Davis, penned in the 1920’s, set to French music from the 12th century.  Not too much to look at in this video, but the song is sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary, and it is wonderful!

Welcome to the best part of my day!

– Jane BH

Things that go bump in the night

beebee raccoons

Our Easter Evening Event:  As our family gathered to reflect upon a lovely Easter day, tranquility was interrupted by sudden bumps and scraping sounds coming from the attic. A quick look revealed a mama raccoon tending sweet, sweet “kits” amid the attic insulation.  This propelled my son and me to begin a mini-study on raccoons.  We found out that they are native to North America, they are “omnivores”, and they are “nocturnal” (that is why we didn’t hear them moving around during the day).  A happy ending to the day:  new vocab words for my son, and mama and babies are now enjoying their new home in a safe wooded area of the local golf course.

We thought the phrase, “things that go bump in the night” perfectly described our Easter Evening Event.  We learned that the words come from an old Scottish prayer –

“From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-legged beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!”

Zigzag Learning (where we let one topic lead us to another at lightning speed): Julia Rothman’s excellent book, “Nature Anatomy” started the learning chain this time. We were looking at her illustrations of butterflies, and we took particular notice of a “swallowtail” butterfly. My son needed to know why swallowtail butterflies were called swallowtail butterflies.

 swallowtail     swallows white background     capistrano swallows     swallowtail tux

  • So first, we looked at several photos of swallows. We saw how the birds’ pointy, forked feather tails could easily have inspired the animal naming committee to call butterflies with the tiny drip on the hindwings, “swallowtails”.
  • Then, we decided to read about the swallows of the San Juan Capistrano Mission (with a short-side trip to learn a bit about the California mission system). We found out that the swallows spend the winter in Argentina and the summer in southern California.
  • So now, we had to locate Argentina on the globe, and think about the iron-strong muscles in the birds’ wings, that allow them to fly the 6,000 miles.
  • Finally, we had to see how the swallows have had their way in fashion: we looked at men’s clothing from the Victorian era – the formal tailcoat, with “cutaway”, “swallowtail” or “morning coat” options.

That’s a lot of learning from one little butterfly.

Our music theme for last night – “Cuckoo for Music”. We considered the two-note cuckoo motif and then listened to three neat compositions:

  • “Organ Concerto No. 13 (The Cuckoo and the Nightingale)”, movement 2, by Handel (1740).  About one minute twenty seconds into the movement you can definitely make out the cuckoo motif.  This piece really moves right along. Classic Handel.  Fabulous pipe organ in this video!

  • “Symphony 6 (The Pastoral)”, movement 2, by Beethoven (1808). This is a long movement (around 13 minutes of happy, relaxing gorgeousness) (and this video clip has Leonard Bernstein conducting and one should NEVER miss an opportunity to watch Bernstein conduct).  The bird sounds aren’t evident until the final minute, but so worth the wait (or one could be the type of person that fast-forwards to the final minute) (your secret is safe with us, because maybe we have felt compelled to fast-forward upon occasion).

  • “The Birds”, movement 5 (The Cuckoo), by Respighi (1928). Here is what we like to do: count the number of times we hear the cuckoo motif. Try somewhere around 70 times, in the short span of 4 minutes.  This is an absolute jewel of a piece.

Welcome to the best part of my day!

– Jane BH