Convention Diaries: Highlights {The Author}

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   One of the highlights of the vendor hall at Teach Them Diligently was getting to meet the people behind the scenes of some of our favorite books and products.  Tim Ostermeyer of Fun Adventure Wildlife Books is a master photographer and author of several books featuring animals in their native habitats.  These books also contain moral messages and educational facts, with topics like sharing, exploring, bullying, and confidence. 

   We brought home Mr. Ostermeyer's newest release,  Eagan's Alaskan Adventure, a beautiful hardback picture book about an eagle named Eagan and his experiences in the Alaskan wilderness.  This book contains stunning images, and I had to flip through it several times before I could concentrate on the words because the photographs are so compelling.  My son studies each of the full-page pictures intently as I read this book aloud.  We both find it amazing that Mr. Ostermeyer was able to capture some of these images, such as a wolf pup, a baby bobcat, and a flock of eagles soaring through the air.  Anyone who loves animals will enjoy this book, no matter their age.

   Eagan's Alaskan Adventure presents Scriptural truths to teach children how to control their emotions, as Eagan grows more spiritually mature throughout the story.  With Scripture verses and short passages of text on each page, the author presents these lessons in a gentle way, making this book perfect for young children:

"As Eagan got angry, his head feathers ruffled, and he suddenly remembered...Ephesians 4:26-28 (NIV) In your anger do not sin, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry...So, Eagan began to calm down, he learned not to be angry while going to sleep."

   The book also includes sections of factual information about the animals shown in the book and their behaviors.  This combination of the pictures, the story, Scripture verses, and facts makes this book something special.  Even my teen was drawn to it because of the photography.  My book-loving kids give this one an A+.

    Eagan's Alaskan Adventure is pretty enough to leave out on the coffee table, and special enough to become an heirloom.  

Fun Wildlife Adventure Books is on the list of Omaha vendors, so be sure to check out their booth at the Teach Them Diligently Convention. 

Hello Monday {Rites of Passage}

As we say hello to a brand-new week, I'm sharing some pictures from my niece's graduation from nursing school this past weekend.  She took us on a tour of her pretty college campus, and we all got to attend both her pinning ceremony and graduation (summa cum laude).  Needless to say, we are so proud and excited for her and the amazing future that awaits her.

They all looked so beautiful in white with their lamps, a symbol dating back to Florence Nightingale and the lamp she carried while caring for the wounded during the Crimean War.

 The boys had fun checking out the "patients" in the lab, and hearing about all the things the students learned how to do.

Lots of well-deserved pomp, and a little bit of circumstance!  Congrats grads!

{Linking up with Lisa Leonard for Hello Monday}

Spring Doldrums {How many more days until school gets out?}

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Spring Doldrums
brought to you by HEDUA Blog
Spring is in the air! And for a homeschooling mom (or maybe just this one!), with spring comes thoughts of…tiredness…feeling behind…wishing to be finished with school, already!
I’m not sure what it is about spring—maybe it’s realizing that we’re eight months into the nine-month school year, and only about half-way finished with any of our curriculum. Perhaps it’s guilt… read more.

Real Teens Read The Diary of a Young Girl

   Our teens read Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl this month.  Powerful, beautiful, engrossing, heartbreaking--this memoir should be required reading for everyone.  What a delightful, vibrant young woman she was, and what a talented writer!  I found this month to be tough, because I couldn't get through much of the history without crying.  I have taught this book before, and as with all the literature we read in our discussion group, I think it is important to include its historical context when discussing it.  The horrors of World War II, and especially the Holocaust, are difficult to tackle.  

   On Friday, June 12, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary from her parents for her thirteenth birthday.  “Kitty” became her best friend for the two years that she and her family lived in hiding in the “Secret Annex.”  Anne's writing shows what a passion she had for life, even in the face of overwhelming hardships.  We looked at Anne the writer, paying close attention to some of the techniques she used, such as in her Thursday, 11 November 1943 entry entitled, "Ode to a Fountain Pen:  In Memoriam."  Throughout our study, my son commented that he was surprised to discover how Anne was so much like teens today, and he felt he could relate to her in a number of ways.  

   One resource, The Secret Annex Online, was very helpful and let us take a virtual tour of the annex and watch some films about what happened after the Diary.

   Along with the Diary, our group read

•  Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Fictional, but based on the Danish Resistance during the Nazi occupation.  The Danish people rescued nearly seven thousand Jews by smuggling them across the sea to Sweden.)
• The picture book, Erika's Story, by Ruth Vander Zee and Roberto Innocenti (heart-wrenching!)
• Poems:  “’Hope is the thing with feathers’” and  “’If I can stop one heart from breaking’” by Emily Dickinson,  “Songs for the People” by Frances Harper, and "The Butterfly" by Pavel Friedmann (written from Terezin in 1942 by a young man who was passing through on his way to the "final destination.")

   We discussed the topics of indifference and responsibility.  How does being indifferent make one responsible?  We also discussed propaganda and techniques of persuasion, and we looked at posters from World War II and the messages they conveyed.  

  After such a serious discussion, the teens enjoyed having a "lighter" activity when they created their own propaganda posters.

    

   After such a serious discussion, the teens enjoyed having a "lighter" activity when they created their own propaganda posters.

Easy High School Record Keeping

  As the school year winds to a close for many students (and parents), it's time to get those records in order and get report cards and other paperwork taken care of.  I wrote a guest-post for the HEDUA blog about how I keep up with my high school student's important information.  You can also see what my system looks like here and here.