Mia Tang

$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)

Doc and Bach

front desk book

Last week’s stories and studies agenda:
–  become informed about world ecosystems via Rachel Ignotofsky’s superb book, “The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth”:  CHECK
–  cheer for everything protagonist Mia Tang stands for in Kelly Yang’s important fiction read, “Front Desk”:  CHECK
But really, the past week has been dominated by Albert Schweitzer and Johann Sebastian Bach.

schweitzer at organ face right    bach organ

Scholarly, Spiritual, Musical – Albert Schweitzer (1875 – 1965) – doctorates in theology (vocab), philosophy, and medicine.  Pipe organ virtuoso.  Authority on the works of JS Bach (and 4 published papers to prove it).  Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1952.  Whoa.

We are leaning forward as we read through Ken Gire’s bio of Dr. Schweitzer, “Answering the Call”.  The book begins as Schweitzer and his wife, Helene, make their way to Lambaréné, Gabon (Africa) where they set up the area’s first hospital.  The past few evenings we have been learning about how WWI – so very far away in Europe (globe out) – drastically affected the economy in Gabon.  And FOR HEAVENS SAKES Albert and Helene were sent back to France to be imprisoned during the war, leaving the people of Lambaréné with no medical care. (Discussion topic with my son:  is this right?  what would we have done?)  What next?  We’re riveted.

albert and bach books

Schweitzer’s interest is our interest – Because of Schweitzer’s fascination with all things Bach, we are darting around David Gordon’s “The Little Bach Book” learning lots about Bach’s world (1685-1750).  This neat little reference is packed with well researched information, delivered with sly humor (pretty much an A+ sort of book): 

  • quotes about Bach by other composers (superlative after superlative) (vocab) 
  • feather pens; until 1820 (when metal ink pens debuted), composers used feather quills to write their music.  We found out that one could write/compose for about 5 minutes with a particular feather before it had to firm up, be cleaned or recut
  • men’s hair fashion (wigs)  
  • dental care in the 1700’s (yeeks)

violin outdoors

Meanwhile, BACH at the ranch (a Farmer Brown story problem) – This summer, Farmer Brown’s ranch will be the site of a series of 3 outdoor symphony concerts featuring 30 Bach compositions, which may sound like a lot of Bach, but when the BWV (which my son and I learned was the official Bach Works Collection listing) was last tallied in 1998, the list of compositions attributed to this musical genius totaled over 1,100 pieces.   Approximately what percentage of Bach’s total output will be performed during the ranch concert series?
A.   1%     B.   3%     C.   15%     D.   30%     (answer at bottom of post)

More and More Bach – Over the years my son and I have downloaded several (32 to be exact) Bach compositions onto our iPod and this week we listened thoughtfully to each one.  My son “reviewed” each piece, and we listened again to his favorites:

bach quiz

  • Sheep May Safely Graze, composed in 1713.  Calming perfection:

  • Invention No. 13 in A minor, composed about 1720.  A super short jewel played skillfully on the harpsichord by a 9 year old!

  • Finally, we listened to THE GRAND, THE MIGHTY, THE REPETITIVE Symphony No. 5 in F minor, movement 5 (the toccata) (1879) composed by Charles-Marie Widor, recognized Bach scholar AND Schweitzer’s organ professor at the Paris Conservatory.  A high energy performance by virtuoso Frederick Hohman:

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  B.  3%)