Paper Puppets and Islam Studies

Both yesterday and today, Seneca made her own puppets. She drew pictures of people and then cut them out. She gave her puppets the names "Riding Hood" and "Starla." Today, she sang Selena Gomez's "Love you Like A Love Song" as part of the puppet show. I also made another "fairy creature" for Seneca to play with. The pattern came from A Little Garden Flower'sThinking Feeling Willing program.
Seneca also colored with block crayons. I read "An Egyptian Cinderella Story" to her. Seneca retold the story of her birth using simplistic illustrations that I had made.
  Liam watched a documentary from PBS called "Empire of Faith" on the birth of Islam.  Liam copied the opening Surah of the Quran for writing practice.  We discussed how the Angel Gabriel appears in both the Bible and the Quran. In the Bible, it is the Angel Gabriel who informs Mary that she will give birth to Jesus.  In Islam, it is the Angel Gabriel who reveals the Quran to Muhammed.

Legoland in Florida 4/26/2012

Helen in cahoots with Agamemnon

Helen, the wife of Menelaus, leaves her husband and runs off to Troy with her lover Prince Paris of Troy. The Greek armies, lead by Menelaus' brother Agamemnon invade Troy. It is interesting to me that Helen's husband doesn't seem hell be

nt on invading Troy. However, Agamemnon is willing to sacrifice his own daughter to please the Goddess Artemis in return for favorable winds. As I was reading, it struck me that Helen's betrayal (or abduction) was the perfect excuse that Agamemnon needed to invade Troy. Of course, I am sure that expanding the empire was the real goal of Agamemnon. Historians and literary critics have argued for centuries over whether Helen was a harlot who ran off with another man, a victim who was kidnapped off to Troy, or just a woman in love with a man who was not her husband. However, I hadn't yet heard the theory that maybe she ran off to Troy with the consent of her brother-in-law for the sole purpose of providing the Greeks with the excuse that they needed to attack Troy. Also, (Spoiler Alert!!) the fact that at the end of the story, she re-unites with her husband as though nothing had ever happened, makes me suspicious that she was always loyal to Greece. Now, one could argue that if Helen was still loyal to Greece why didn't she open the gates of Troy thereby forgoing the 

need for the Trojan Horse. My response to that would be that as a woman, and especially as a royal, she was probably secluded in the palace.

Seneca Makes a Birdhouse 4/19/2012

Liam woodworking

Famous Men of Rome

   Liam continues to work independently on much of his studies.  I bought him Famous Men of Rome from Memoria Press.  The book just sat on the shelf at first.  He did already have a fascination with Julius Caesar, so I suggested that he read that section first.  From there, he took off on reading the different biographies in the book.  He has been telling about Sulla and Augustus. 
     He continues to read from D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and to work his workbook on the subject.  I have him do workbook work to help him get used to that format for when it comes to standardized test taking. 
    The hard thing for our family is that I work and Liam is expected to do a certain amount of his work independently. When he doesn't, it throws everything back quite a bit.  On the other hand, I am trying to embrace some of the unschooling philosophy of everything in its own time.

Gun in a church

         The incident that really makes me want to have better gun control is actually the accidental shooting here in Florida of a minister's 19 year old daughter in the church itself.  One man was legally buying a handgun from another man.  The two men were in a closet to look at the gun when it accidentally went off.  The bullet went through the wall and shot the lady.  The man buying the gun was her fiance.  No doubt, this was a tragic accident.  But who in the world brings a gun into a church under ANY circumstances?  And had that happened in a mosque or Pagan gathering I am sure there would have been outcries of terrorism, "this is proof these people are violent/satanic/choose your word." But because it happened in a Christian church, the public and the media saw it for what it was, a tragic accident. 
      But I know that I would never want to attend a church that allowed guns through its doors.  I understand that this was a product demonstration for a possible sales transaction. However, this particular product demonstration could have been done somewhere else.  When a gun owner takes his or her gun into a public place he/she is taking the lives of every person in the vicinity into their hands.