If you’ve read Rick Riordan’s first two Percy Jackson and the Olympians books (The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters), you’re likely waiting with bated breath for book three. Well, it’s not out until May of 2007, but Mr. Riordan knows how hard it is to wait. He has posted an audio file of the first chapter of The Titan’s Curse – read by the author himself. I know what we’ll be doing this afternoon!
Archives for December, 2006
Finito! Completo! I just turned in the first draft of Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself. All (nearly) 30,000 words of it. Whew! It feels fabulous to be done, but I’m hitting my usual post-completion exhaustion. I see a couple of days that are pretty non-functional in my future.
If you’re wondering what’s next in the whole book production process, the publisher is working on the cover layout already and will begin editing my draft after the first of the year. When they’ve gone through it thoroughly the manuscript will come back to me for revisions. During this process, their graphics people will be working on the images for the book and planning its layout. It’s a complex process!
I had the most unsettling experience the other day. My kids do a regularly scheduled group activity each week with a group of 6 kids. One of the boys is a Jehovah’s Witness and therefore does not celebrate the Christmas holiday. One of the girls (a Christian) brought a little gift (food items) for each of the kids, unaware that the boy doesn’t celebrate. I thought this was a sweet gesture. The boy was incredibly uncomfortable and didn’t know how to react. As he was getting ready to leave, I reminded him about his bag of goodies – it looked like he planned to ignore it and leave it there. His eyes got wide and he got slightly panicky and looked at his dad. I don’t know if he was afraid that he’d get in trouble or what. He and his dad exchanged glances and he ultimately took the bag with him, but he was very obviously distressed about it. I felt so sad for him to be unable to accept a gift offered in kindness. I took the opportunity to discuss this with my kids, but felt slightly unequipped to discuss it.
I know very little about the Jehovah’s Witness religion. Is it absolutely against the rules for a Jehovah’s Witness to accept a gift related to a holiday? I’ve been thinking about this since it happened. If a Jewish friend invited me for Hanukkah latkes, I’d accept without hesitation, even though I’m not Jewish. I wouldn’t be offended that someone tried to share their special holiday celebration with me. I wouldn’t see this as a breach of my beliefs or an attempt to convert me. I’d see it as a loving gesture and an opportunity for my kids to learn more about the Jewish religion. I could say the same for any number of religious celebrations, and I can’t think of a single situation short of proselytization that would make me uncomfortable to share another person’s special holiday or deny lovingly offered gifts.
Please know that I am not trying to discount anyone’s beliefs; I’m simply trying to understand this situation and why this boy was SO distressed by the act of receiving a gift. Are there any Jehovah’s Witnesses reading who can help me to understand? Would any of you (regardless of your chosen religion) participate in a celebration for another faith, if you were invited to? Other thoughts?
This ran in last year’s holiday issue of Live Free, Learn Free. What’s on YOUR wish list?
Dear Santa:
This year has passed in a whirlwind of interests, activities and explorations. My boys – homeschooled, always – have learned as much as they’ve taught me, as usual. Relocating 2,500 miles from home has provided many opportunities for learning, as well as concerns about family traditions. I’ve assured them that surely, you’ll stop here for them on Christmas Eve.
But, Santa, I’ve a request. This year, just once, will you remember ME? My wish list differs from my kids’, but just one of these things will improve my life more than you can possibly imagine.
I’d like a mask, specially made for homeschooling parents, which will always show the proper emotion. For instance, the moment when my eleven year old announces, “7 + 3, oh that’s 9…um, no…10?” Or when my fourteen year old – who, in his defense, has always struggled with spelling – asks, “how do you spell sure?” The mask should provide the ability to respond positively and calmly to these youngsters’ efforts and will surely help their self-esteem. Certainly more than the incredulous look, desperately trying to escape, that very clearly but silently asks, “Are you kidding me? What have we been doing all these years??”
I’d like a magic eraser that will remove the daubs of experimental Gorilla Glue, glitter and permanent marker that mar my dining/craft/school table. Bonus points if the eraser can take on an occasional gray hair and the slight creases forming around my eyes.
Grant me the ability to guide my kids in their endeavors, no matter my own shortcomings. Help me to teach them things that are unknown to me, like Old Norse (never mind that it’s a dead language – it’s the latest passion!) or how to find (really) a person’s aura.
I’d like a library book tracking system that actually works. Something that can handle 25 books in, 14 returned, 3 missing and 4 that were accidentally left in the other car. I estimate that our annual overdue book fines pay for one librarian’s wages, one month’s electric bill and all of the paper towels for the boy’s bathroom. I’m all for charitable donations, but this is getting out of hand.
And speaking of books, perhaps a couple of beds equipped with a hydraulic system that will tip my kids – along with whatever book they are currently engrossed in – out of bed in time to eat lunch.
I desperately need a housecleaning system that works on good intentions rather than elbow grease. Kids wielding a broom with good intentions would be able to actually move the bread crumbs from floor to trash, rather than spreading them around the kitchen like bird food. Parents with this gift will be able to power through any cleaning job, no matter how many “learning moments’ occur during the task at hand.
Santa, one final request, and, this is a biggie. Allow me to always see the humor in a situation – and there are plenty. Let me laugh when my sensible child ruins a brand new pair of shoes to stop his forward motion on a bike, just to avoid hearing the brakes squeak; when my other son decides to create a flip book on every page of my brand new notebook; or when, working together, they decide to invent a new recipe that results in – shall we say – a little mess? Yes, Santa. Let me laugh.
We went to a 4-H Christmas party on Saturday and the boys discovered this Jackson’s chameleon in the bushes.
And on Sunday, E spotted the remains of an eel in a crack in the rocks. We (of course) had to find a stick to pull it out for a closer view. Look at those teeth!
I mentioned this in one of Steph’s posts about being overwhelmed. I’m not one for perfectly coordinated Christmas trees and have been known to do some kooky things with our trees. One year we decorated it all in paper (think astrobright copy paper) so that little hands couldn’t do any damage. No matter what you might envision, it was beautiful! Two years ago we did a lego tree. No stress. No requirements. All fun. And best of all, the boys created all of the ornaments – except a few that I made myself. Maybe it wouldn’t make the front page of a home decor magazine, but they (and their friends!) loved it. I wish the photos were better, but note the lego garland and the lego wreath in the upper left of the pictures.
Another young author is hitting the big time with a published book. Nancy Yi Fan dreamt of her story when she was 11. At 13, her first book – Swordbird - is due out in February from Harper Collins – with a first printing of 50,000 copies. That is HUGE. What a great story.
…of writing kids’ activity books is that those activities need to be tested, and I have a built in pair of guinea pigs in my boys. On Tuesdays, when B is at the library, E and I have been doing some testing. The latest project? Pretzels.
While the exact origin of the pretzel is unknown, legend has it that in the year 610 at a monastery in Southern France or Northern Italy, monks formed scraps of dough into strips and shaped them to represent a child’s arms, folded in prayer. The monks called this bread a pretiola, Latin for “little reward” and gave them to children as a reward for learning their prayers.
Of course, along with this medieval factoid, I’ll be including a pretzel recipe in “Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself”. And of course, we had to test it! We made a cinnamon sugar version and a salted version. B came home and raved about how good they were, which made E (and me!) pretty happy.
I just posted this on my other blog and thought that maybe – just maybe – some of you might be in need of a good holiday themed distraction from sugar cookies and gingerbread. This no calorie activity is my gift to you. 
Set Up
Place the materials listed below on a table and allow ample room in which team can work. Read the list of materials and the team instructions out loud to the team.
Materials:
1 sheet of newspaper
3 drinking straws
1 sheet of sticky dots
10 paper clips
1 plastic baggie
3 bread tabs
12″ square of aluminum foil
1 cork
1 egg carton
scissors*
*may not be altered
Team Instructions
Your team is in charge of decorating the Christmas tree at the local library. Upon opening the box of ornaments that you’ve been given to use, you discover that all of the decorations are broken. You have five minutes to create new ornaments for the tree before the library opens. You will be notified when you have only one minute remaining. You will receive up to ten points each for creativity, communication and cooperation. You’ll also receive five bonus points for each visibly different ornament.
