Wordless Wednesday: Roses and a Rooster

3 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/08/2010 06:09:00 AM






















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From Sea to Shining Sea Supplements: Chapter 2

0 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/04/2010 06:14:00 AM

The Conquest or Arrival of Hernan Cortes in Veracruz by Diego Rivera

Hernán Cortes and the Aztecs
Hernando de Soto, Francisco Pizarro, and the Inca
Francisco Coronado
Coloring Pages:

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From Sea to Shining Sea Supplements: Chapter 1

0 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/04/2010 05:35:00 AM

Columbus Taking Possession of the New Country

Brendan the Navigator, the Vikings, and Prince Henry the Navigator
Christopher Columbus
Amerigo Vespucci, Ponce de León, and Vasco Núñez de Balboa
  • Amerigo Vespucci, Discoverers and Explorers by Edward Richard Shaw (Google Books)
  • Ponce de Leon, Discoverers and Explorers by Edward Richard Shaw (Google Books)
  • Balboa, Discoverers and Explorers by Edward Richard Shaw (Google Books)
  • The Name America (Vespucci) and How to Find An Ocean (Balboa), Colonial Children, Selections from Primary Source Accounts by Albert Hart (Google Books)
Coloring Pages:

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Thursday Thrift Store Finds

2 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/02/2010 10:04:00 AM

At least once a week I make the rounds of my favorite thrift stores, and occasionally, my favorite antique mall (I'm on the waiting list to have my own booth there, hopefully someday soon!). Some weeks I find lots of good stuff, other weeks, not so much, though I've learned by now to go often for the best deals. Though we may not have much here in Wichita, we do have a pretty awesome thrift scene.

When I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll also tackle the estate and garage sales, though those seem a bit more hit-and-miss and usually require far more foresight and dexterity than I apparently have. You see, when it comes to thrift shopping - I'm often very indecisive. Way too often I'll be thinking about an item, only to have it snatched out from under me by another (quicker!) dealer or shopper ~ this is especially true at estate/garage sales. Or, I'll spy an item and determine to buy it, but then pause to look at something else and suddenly, voila! - it's gone.

Those losses often haunt me later, but I know, you snooze, you lose! Conversely, I've also pounced on an item and purchased it way too quickly, only to later wonder, what on earth was I thinking?!  I really haven't figured out the best approach yet, despite having been at this for over half my life. Nevertheless, I wouldn't give up a day of thrifting for anything!    

Enough of my woes, here were this week's finds, thus far:


Books: God Is An Englishman, Boardwalk Empire,
The Diddakoi, Pippa Passes, Mr. Lincoln's Wife 
+ 3 Like-New Holling C. Holling Books (Not Shown)


Quilted Tablerunner


Vintage Fatima Statues (.95!)


(4) Fall Placemats + New-in-Package Table Runner from World Market


Small Porcelain Virgin with Child


Vintage Sheets and Pillowcases


Vintage Aluminum Jello Mold + Bundt Cake Pan

And lastly, my prize ~ a gorgeous full-size vintage quilt (in very good condition), for only $3.48!:






So, nothing extraordinary this week (except the quilt), but overall I'm pleased with my purchases...most of which are fairly useful. Shockingly enough, I did not come home with any glassware this week, which is almost always the first thing that attracts me!

Thrifting 101:

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PrairyErth (A Deep Map)

2 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/02/2010 06:34:00 AM

One of the most exquisite books I have ever read, and a book that I repeatedly return to, is PrairyErth (A Deep Map) by William Least Heat-Moon (preview here). It is a book unlike any I've ever previously encountered and is really utterly brilliant, despite the fact that its entire focus (all 640 pages) is on a most insignificant place: Chase County, KS.

You do not need to be from Kansas to appreciate the book (indeed, it was a New York Times-bestseller and Book-of-the-Month Club selection)...it's a book that speaks to the soul, encouraging you to dig deeper, wherever you may be.

From the inside cover:

PrairyErth is a vigorous and exalted evocation of the American land, its people, its past, its hopes. The very word "prairyerth," an old geologic term for the soils of our central grasslands, captures the essence of the American tall-grass country. Only a writer of William Least Heat-Moon's gifts could find in a single Kansas county the narrative of an epic, the nonfiction equivalent of the great American novel.

...Most American readers know three things about Kansas: it is flat, it has something to do with The Wizard of Oz, and the events of In Cold Blood took place there. Three illusions: the first is a lie, the second a fairy tale, the third a nightmare. Chase County is, however, a sparsely populated track in the Flint Hills of central Kansas, "the last remaining grand expanse of tallgrass prairie in America," and PrairyErth lovingly details its 744 square miles and 3,000 souls till it looms as large as the universe while remaining as intimate as a village.

PrairyErth is rich with Chase County's voices past and present, and is filled with anecdotes, gossip from its bars and cafes, Native American lore, and rueful tales of man's inhumanity to man and nature and of nature's indifference to humanity. Heat-Moon recounts the story of a farm couple swept aloft by a tornado; reveals an Indian recipe to avert lightening; unearths a century-old unsolved murder; interviews a retired post mistress, a cowboy, a quarryman, a coyote hunter, a young feminist rancher. PrairyErth sets the story of a nineteenth century tycoon, who dreamed of building a rail line to China through the county, against the memories of a retired Mexican railroad worker who can still recall every tie he spiked for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. It speaks of the passion of the slavery wars of Bleeding Kansas and the sad fate of the Kaw tribe, and gives us a hundred new ways to see stones, creeks, grasses, birds, beasts, and weather.

----------------------------------------------


This weekend, Wichita public television station KPTS will be broadcasting the 90-minute documentary Return to PrairyErth by John O'Hara. Since we unfortunately missed the showing at Matfield Green last month, I cannot wait to see it!


The prairie, in all its expressions, is a massive, subtle place, with
a long history of contradiction and misunderstanding. But it is
worth the effort at comprehension. It is, after all, at the center of
our national identity. -- Wayne Fields, "Lost Horizon" (1988)

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Friday Fine Arts Fiesta!

0 comments Posted by Kristine at 9/01/2010 11:35:00 AM


Starting very soon, and continuing through the end of the semester, we're going to try something new for "Fine Art Fridays." Rather than trying to coordinate art/music/poetry/etc. with our history studies, we're going to focus on modern Latin American art/music/poetry (thus, my daughter has re-named the day "Fiesta Fridays"). We will continue to study the Medieval arts during history.

Since we're all usually dragging by the end of the week, we needed something lively and fun to look forward to, a break from our usual routine - hence this rather unconventional idea. The idea is that we'll study and discuss a piece of art, read a little about the artist, have some dessert (inspired by Latin American flavors), read some poetry, and then do an art or craft project (while listening to music, of course!). Once in awhile there will be a video segment to watch as well.

I haven't worked out all of the details just yet, but my plan is that we'll have two primary artists to study: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (not going into their lives too deeply since certain aspects wouldn't be suitable for children); we'll also touch on Pre-Columbian art, Jose Guadalupe Posada and study Mexican folk art (a source of inspiration for both artists), especially that pertaining to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Dia de los Muertos.

Below are some of the initial ideas I've compiled; I'll also be borrowing from the resources listed in my posts Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe and El Dia de los Muertos. My hope is that we'll be able to further enhance this unit by a road trip to New Mexico to view some folk art first-hand!


Books

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera:
Folk Art:
Art Projects
Lesson Plans and Miscellany
Websites

Desserts
This entire book is online here.
DVDs*

*Pre-screening required; not all are suitable for children.

     

Music






Poetry


Pre-Hispanic America (Book cover for Pablo Neruda's Canto General), Diego Rivera

Pablo Neruda:

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