Laughing at Math

Today we had a math crisis in our homeschool. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we had a math grade crisis when it came time for assessment and reckoning. At any rate, some... stuff... hit the fan. Afterward, we needed some comic relief.

Touch of the Master's Hand

Old video tapes made for gospel lessons by the LDS Church included the following film based on Myra Brooks Welch's poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand." From the very first time I saw this film, I was greatly impressed and affected. 

I included this gem in our poetry studies. First we read the poem together and discussed it, then we watched the film. Still gets me.

The Touch of the Master's Hand

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

      Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

      But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

    "Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar, a dollar. Then two! Only two?

      Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"

"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

      Going for three…" But no,

From the room, far back, a grey-haired man

      Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

      And tightening the loosened strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet,

      As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

      With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"

      And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?

      Two thousand! And who'll make it three?

Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice,

    And going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

    "We do not quite understand.

What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:

    "The touch of the Master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

      And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd

      Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,

    A game — and he travels on.

He is "going" once, and "going" twice,

    He's "going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd

    Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought

    By the touch of the Master's hand.

Interestingly, it is said that Myra Welch wrote this poem in just 30 minutes after listening to a speaker address a group of students on the power of God to bring out the best in people. She said that she became filled with light. She sent her poem to a church bulletin to be published anonymously because she felt that it was a gift from God and it didn't need her name on it.

Myra Brooks Welch lived from 1878 to 1950 and is best known for this poem, "The Master's Hand," written in 1921. As a youth she loved to play the organ but later in life she suffered badly from arthritis and spent much of her life in a wheelchair. In order to write she held an inverted pencil in each of her gnarled hands so she could pick out the words on a typewriter. She said that the joy of her writing outweighed any pain of the effort.

I'm Not Just Talking to Myself--It's a Soliloquy

Okay, so in a soliloquy one IS talking to him or herself. But did you know that? 

Studying "The Cowboy's Soliloquy" introduced the word soliloquy so it was the perfect time to discuss its meaning. Plus, the most famous soliloquy in all of literature is Hamlet's musings on death and sleep and existence, and it segued perfectly into Shakespeare. 

Sometimes we forget that like poetry and creative writing, drama is a part of literary studies, too. Someone has to write everything before it can be acted out! So what is a soliloquy and how can it be a poem and a part of drama? And wait--it sounds similar to a monologue. What's the difference?

Thankfully, some clever, helpful people have put together some videos to aptly demonstrate these terms for us. (How did we LIVE before YouTube?)

  

Can't get enough of Samwise Gamgee! Truly one of my favorite characters in all of literature.

Cowboy Poetry

In all of my years of public school English (and History) I never once heard of cowboy poetry. It wasn't until we did a Westward Movement unit study in our homeschool that then narrowed into a unit on cowboys (and horses) that I became aware that cowboys have their own genre of poetry all to themselves, which is worth taking a look at. 

At one of our many stops along the Oregon Trail I picked up this entertaining CD to help us pass the drive time:

It's a combination of cowboy banjo, fiddle, and yodel, with some tracks of poetry in between. "The Lady in the Church" by Jared Nesset and "Diaper Rodeo" by Bill Boycott are giggle poems to break the ice with kids who think they don't want to listen.

Charlie Daniels made a fantastic CD for kids that is really great to use with a Cowboy or Westward Movement unit study; not only is it toe-tapping good music but he also narrates some bits that teach history. Most of the songs would be classified as ballads by poetic standards and thus perfect in our current study of poetry. For our poetry studies, we specifically focused on the ballad of John Henry on this CD, and "Cowboy Logic" as part of the genre of cowboy poetry.

Cowboy poetry is like Shakespeare in that it is meant to be performed. Believe it or not, there are a lot of professional and hobbyist cowboy poets out there and several midwestern and western states have a lot of large gatherings for shows, sharing, and appreciation. 

One up and coming cowboy poet on the performing circuit is twelve-year-old Thatch Elmer, the Bear River Buckaroo from Wyoming. Click that link and you can listen to some of his stuff.

We also checked out a book of cowboy poetry, both for the genre and for some more ballads to add to our studies. I previewed it and flagged some specific poems for the kids to read (along with the introduction). 

The poems I felt suited our purpose best were "The Cowboy's Soliloquy" by Allen McCanless, "The Flyin' Outlaw" by Curley Fletcher, "The Cowboy's Prayer" by Curley Fletcher, "Tribute to Freckles and Tornado" by Jon Bowerman, and "Easy Chairs and Saddle Sores" by Ross Knox. 

I told the kids that after they read all of those they needed to choose one of them to read aloud to me since they're meant to be shared that way. Interestingly, "The Cowboy's Soliloquy" was the favorite for this activity. This old poem was first published in 1885, but was certainly recited long before that. It's thoughtful, figurative, and includes an interesting commentary on the similarities between cowboys and Biblical patriarchs.

I hope that more teachers will incorporate cowboy poetry into both their literary studies and their explorations of the culture of the American West. From descriptive ballads telling a range of stories to anecdotal, legendary, and downright funny verse, to pensive appreciation for life and work and nature, cowboy poetry isn't just for cowboys.

The "New" Alphabet Song

Because language is so straightforward--not!

ARKS--Not What I Had in Mind

So today is National Random Acts of Kindness Day, or as I prefer, ARK Day (Acts of Random Kindness makes a better acronym). After last year's experience I was really looking forward to an amped up repeat this year, and I even started preparing. But life has a funny way of turning things upside down. Instead of being on the giving end, I've been on the receiving end.

I have been seriously sick for a month. No exaggeration. I think I am finally firmly planted on the path of recovery from pneumonia, but now my body will feel the pain of trying to get active again. Always something! But through all this, I have been very blessed by a lot of great neighbors and friends who have done their share of acts of kindness on my behalf, and I have marveled at how much it cheered me helped me keep going. Having been reminded of just how good kindness feels, I'm even more determined to be kind myself.

From surprise bouquets of brightly colored flowers during the doldrums of a winter illness...

To many meals that were freely offered and prepared with love...  

To a daffodil in a soda bottle... To rides for my kids to church... To a prescription delivery... To texts just to see how I was doing... Every kind gesture warmed my heart and made me smile during times when I just didn't think I could. 

Sometimes we think these things don't matter, but they do. They really, really do! So always be looking for ARK opportunities--I will be, too!

Ballads, Baseball, and Valentines

A ballad is a narrative composition in rhythmic verse. It's a poem or song that tells a story. Typically it consists of 4-line stanzas. The most common rhyming scheme is ABCB or ABAB, but others such as a duo of couplets, AABB, are also employed. Often there is a lesson in the versed story, but it isn't implicitly stated.

To introduce the ballad, after discussing the literary traits of one, I chose first to read aloud The Ballad of Valentine. It's super cute and imparts the basics of a ballad well--plus it's February.

Next I went with something all of my kids will relate to well and be interested in:  baseball. I printed off copies of "Casey at the Bat" for everyone and I read it aloud while they followed along. After each stanza I asked them to rephrase what was going on. At the end we found and discussed poetic devices throughout the poem. (They've already been taught all the devices of poetry, so it's just a matter of them pointing them out. You can skip that part if you're not there yet.)

Casey at the Bat

by Ernest Lawrence Thayer ©
Published: The Examiner (06-03-1888)

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play.
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.

Then, for a little icing on the cake, we watched Disney's 1946 animated version of this great baseball ballad.

We followed that up with Disney's 1954 sequel, "Casey Bats Again." Some people nowadays might find this offensive. It's certainly not politically correct! But it IS cleverly written and we get a kick out of it. We do all agree, however, that Casey is once, and twice, and probably forever, a very foolish person.

Tomorrow we'll read other classic ballads and try writing our own. And hopefully at least some of my kids will take me up on my cash offer to anyone who memorizes "Casey at the Bat."

Artsy Valentines

Taking some tips from this Valentine craft post, we got very artsy with our Valentines this year. One Sunday after church we pulled out paper and watercolors and tried rubber cement masking and salt sprinkled painting. I LOVED IT! Even my husband tried it since we were making Valentines to send to our missionary. He painted "Happy Valentines Day" with rubber cement, watercolored over it, peeled it off, and then cut it into a puzzle for our missionary to put together.

Rubber Cement Masking

Very easy and cool.  Drizzle rubber cement over a piece of watercolor paper or white cardstock. Let it dry. When it's dry, paint over it with watercolors.  Let it dry again. When dry, peel off the rubber cement.

Waiting for rubber cement to dry.

One that's painted, waiting for paint to dry.

All dry, with the cement peeled off.

I made a good-sized heart-shaped stencil and traced it on the back of the paper and then cut out the Valentines.

Salt Sprinkled Painting

Also very easy and cool. Paint watercolors onto watercolor paper, being sure to be generous with the water. Sprinkle salt over your wet painting and let dry. The effect is really neat. When our papers were dry we brushed the salt off into the garbage can and then used the stencil to cut out hearts.

Painted, salted, and drying.

Dried.  See how cool the effect?

Room for lots of ideas and can be used any time.

One of my sons painted an American flag over his rubber cement mask. At first I kind of thought it was a waste of the mask, but it turned out pretty cool. 

It even made a great Valentine.

Waste not.

I didn't want to let one square inch of this painted paper go to waste, so with what was left after cutting out the bigger hearts I just cut free-handed artsy hearts of all sizes. These worked great for decorating envelopes, gift bags, gifts, etc. (They're pictured here against paper before I taped them elsewhere just to help you see them better.)

Valentine Poetry

You know how much I like to add flavor to our lessons. Well, every Valentines Day I find some way to incorporate Conversation Hearts into our lessons. 

This year I shared my two favorite silly Valentine poems, both by clever Judith Viorst. I LOVE these poems! We analyzed the rhyming scheme in each, then, every person received a bowl of random conversation hearts with the charge to write a silly Valentine poem, trying to incorporate as many of the phrases on the candies as possible, making it rhyme and also make sense.

Here are Judith's two poems:

Short Love Poem
It's hard to love
The tallest girl
When you're the shortest guy,
For every time
You try to look
Your true love in the eye
You see
Her bellybutton.


The Lizzie Pitofsky Poem
I can't get enoughsky
Of Lizzie Pitofsky.
I love her so much that it hurts.
I want her so terrible
I'd give her my gerbil
Plus twenty-two weeks of desserts.

I know that it's lovesky
'Cause Lizzie Pitofsky
Is turning me into a saint.
I smell like a rose,
I've stopped picking my nose,
And I practically never say ain't.

I don't push and shovesky
"Cause Lizzie Pitofsky
Likes boys who are gentle and kind.
I'm not throwing rocks
And I'm changing my socks
(And to tell you the truth I don't mind).

Put tacks in my shoes,
Feed me vinegar juice,
And do other mean bad awful stuffsky.
But promise me this:
I won't die without kiss-
Ing my glorious Lizzie Pitofsky.

Praise Aplenty for The Presidential

I've said it before, and I'll say it again (and again and again)--you can learn a lot from a game. 

We're learning a lot about Unites States Government this year. Right now we're focusing on the Presidential election, watching debates and discussing candidates, ideas, laws, campaigns, etc. I came across a game that I got really excited about. It arrived today and we've already plaid it twice! 

The Presidential is a contest between Republicans and Democrats for the Electoral College votes of the States. This game quickly teaches so much! The visual board makes it so obvious why even if one party wins the majority of states, certain states matter more than others and win an election. (Thus explaining why a candidate will campaign hard in Florida or New York and might not even give the time of day to North Dakota.) 

The Politics Cards can wreak havoc with votes, and they also prompt a LOT of interesting discussion about why certain people might vote the way they do, and whether or not those reasons are good ones. They also provide a lot of laughs.

Strategy is huge in this game. That doesn't mean that younger kids can't play it. Even if they don't fully understand, they can play. But it provides a great strategy challenge for those who do understand.

An educational bonus is that this game involves CONSTANT math. Votes change parties every turn and it's a race to get those 270 Electoral votes by then end of the campaign. 

No two rounds will be the same. Even if the same players use the same strategy every time, the dice keep things uncertain as well as the cards. 

One final bonus is that the game comes with blank Politics Cards that you can fill in with political choices and consequences yourself, helping players understand politics even better.

Middle of the game.

Republicans won!

Smiling with ARKs

It's about that time of year again--time to focus on Acts of Random Kindness!  If you need a little inspiration to get you going, look no further than the awesome example of the cast of Annie in New York City. (I LOVE Sia's arrangement of "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" so much!)

Smitten with Annie

For the past week we've been watching and listening to a LOT of the 2014 version of Annie. For various reasons I never really liked the 1980s version, but I got kind of excited when I saw a trailer for the new 2014 one. Then I heard a lot of negative reviews so I just forgot about it. But last week my daughter checked out the DVD from the library and... we LOVE it!  It is so much better than the old one! There are new, way better arrangements of the music, with fantastic harmonies, plus new songs we just can't get enough of. (Soundtrack is free on Amazon Prime right now!) Quvenzhané Wallis is charming and delightful and she can really sing! We like these actors better, and I like the changes to the plot, setting, and characters. Even my 18yo son who isn't a fan of musicals likes this!

Further, this movie has educational value. I made all of my boys watch it so I could reference it in our government studies relating to campaigns, polls, politicians, candidate qualities, and honesty. It gave us a lot to talk about.

I don't know if I can say I have a favorite song from the soundtrack, because I really love several of the songs. But my daughter and I are truly mesmerized by "Opportunity." Check it out:

It wouldn't be Annie without the "Tomorrow" song. I like this perkier version and I love Quvenzhané's eternally hopeful, cheerful persona. It's such an inspiration and pick-me-up!

Finally, we love the becoming in this film. There are great examples of overcoming obstacles, of changing, persevering, doing the right thing, and staying hopeful. In fact, my daughter was trying to convince me that it was okay to watch this movie on Sunday. (We have rules about Sabbath media, so my kids have to prove there are sufficient gospel principles in something if they want any shot at watching it on a Sunday.) She said, "Mom, she (Hannigan) has a change of heart." I LOVE the song that goes with it:

We are smitten with Annie!