Here's another vintage British treasure: "Look and Learn" magazine.

Look and Learn is fondly remembered by thousands as the classic children's magazine from the 60s and 70s. It covered a vast range of subjects, from bumble bees to rocket science, from English literature to Greek and Roman legend. But history was its chief concern, and its brilliant illustrators filled its pages with beautiful pictures of the past.

This seems like the sort of thing my boys would enjoy, but unfortunately the reprints are prohibitively expense for U.S. consumers. As a slight consolation, there is a compilation available: The Bumper Book of Look and Learn: The Best of the Classic Children's Magazine. I've ordered a copy, along with the equally boy-friendly The Eagle Annual of the Cutaways, and can't wait to explore further!

More about the Eagle can be found at Eagle-Times and Nigel's Web Space is a great place to see more British children's annuals.

Next, I discovered Ladybird Prints ~ a website containing over 4,000 prints from the Ladybird Books, available to purchase as prints and canvasses. There are prints available in such diverse categories as Adventure, History, Hobbies & Crafts, Religion, Science & Space, The Natural World, and so on. I can easily picture prints from the science books in the twins' bedroom, while the nature prints would be well-suited to our school room.




The products can be found at Mulberry Hall, as well as other online British retailers.

I seriously need to step *away* from the computer tonight because I keep finding ways to spend money, yikes! My newest discovery was this gorgeous Enid Blyton Nature Lover's Book. A peek inside the book can be found at The Blueberry Patch.

While I'm not personally familiar with Enid Blyton's work, I've heard so much about her, both good and bad. Naturally, out of sheer curiosity, I then also had to order a "Best of Blyton" boxed set (at a great price!). Since we're studying British children's literature this year, I think I can kind of justify this.

I'm *loving* these paintings by artist James Browne. As an added bonus, many of his prints are currently on sale!

I. Study of a single picture.

• Subject of the picture, and how expressed by the artist.
• Scene of picture, indoors, outdoors, city, country, season, etc.
• Time of day (if expressed) and how shown.
• Principal objects of interest, and how made prominent by artist.
• Subordinate objects and why introduced.
• Sentiment of picture—gay, sad, action, repose, etc.
• Composition:
  (A) Division into large spaces.
  (B) Location and shape of principal objects.
  (C) Distribution of light and dark.
  (D) Coloring of picture if this can be learned.
• Name, nationally, approximate date of work, tastes and character of artist.
• Present location of original, and value as a work of art.

II. Study of one artist.

• Secure portrait of artist and as many of his works as possible.
• General character of pictures—religious, nature, animal, peasant, portrait, etc.
• Sentiment expressed—gay, sad, action, repose, etc.
• Variety of subjects interpreted by artist.
• Subjects apparently preferred by artists.
• Strongest points in composition:
  (A) Handling of mass (form).
  (B) Handling of light and dark (chiaroscuro).
  (C) Handling of color.
  (D) Mastery of drawing—simplicity or much detail.
• Name, nationality, approximate date of best work, tastes and character of artist.
• Present location of best works, and their value as works of art.
• Position of artist as a master during life time and at present.
• Personal choice of favorite picture with reason for choice.

III. Comparative study of pictures or artists.

• Choose pictures similar in subject by different artists, as*:
  Shepherdess—Millet and Lerolle.
  Peasant life—Millet and Breton.
  Landscape—Corot and Ruysdael.
  Animal—Landseer and Troyon.
  Religion—Raphael and Michael Angelo.
  Portrait—Rembrandt and Van Dyck.
• Name all points of similarity in material chosen by artists to express the thought.
• Name all points of difference.
• Compare sentiment expressed—gay, sad, action, repose, etc.
• Compare composition as shown by:
  (A) Distribution of masses.
  (B) Distribution of light and dark.
  (C) Location of principal objects.
  (D) Use of subordinate details.
  (E) Coloring of it can be learned.
• Compare tastes and character of artists.
• Compare rank of artists as masters.
• Compare value of pictures as works of art.
• Personal choice of picture preferred with reason for choice

*Comparing two pictures only is the simplest method. Too many pictures confuse the pupils.

IV. Study of Schools of Art.

• Choose several of the best works of each artist in a given school, with the portraits of the artists if possible. Arrange each artist's work in a group.
• By study of all the groups determine the general character of the work of the school, religious, nature, portraits, etc.
• General points of similarity in the several groups.
• Two or more characteristics of each artist's work as an individual, dependent upon his personal tastes and character.
• Compare mastery of drawing.
• Compare mastery of composition.
• Compare mastery of light and dark.
• Compare mastery of color.
• Name, approximate date and chief value of the work of the school in the advancement of art.
• Comparative position of artists as masters.
• Value of pictures as works of art.
• Present location of one or more originals best representing the school.
• Personal choice of picture, with reason for choice.

See Also:

• Picture Study in Elementary Schools: A Manual for Teachers by Williams Wilson
• Art Studies for Schools: Hints on the Use of Reproductions of High Art in the Schoolroom by Anna M. Von Rydingsvard
• Index to Material on Picture Study by Mary Josephine Booth

Overall, this was a surprisingly good week, despite the fact that we fizzled out mid-week when I came down with the flu (isn't it always something?!).

Here's what we managed to accomplish:

• Monday - Tuesday: Studied Catechism I for 30 minutes; passed exam Wednesday
• Read aloud daily from Saints for Young Readers for Every Day, Vol. 1
• Finished reading St. Benedict: Hero of the Hills; started Augustine Came to Kent
• Took a test on "St. Benedict and Monasticism" (from Middle Ages, Renaissance & Reformation by Veritas Press)
• Read a selection from Bede's The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Dominic)
• Read two chapters from Our Island Story and Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History (we're *still* waiting on The Birth of Britain for Dominic!)
• Read about St. Boniface of Crediton in Beggars, Beasts and Easter Fire
• Read and narrated two chapters from The Story Book of Science
• Read selections from A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of Stars, Planets, Constellations and How You Can Find Them in the Sky (a very nice book!) by Michael Driscoll
• Read Once Upon a Starry Night: A Book of Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton (Maddie)
• Read "Orion" by Ingri D'Aulaire, from For the Beauty of the Earth; created a journal entry for Orion (Maddie)
• Studied Classical Arithmetic daily, retook Lesson 1 exam Tuesday (M~37/41, D~38/41)
• Math facts drill on Monday and Wednesday
• Started Life of Fred Pre-Algebra 1 with Biology (Dominic, at his own insistence)
• Studied Latin/Grammar daily
• Read a chapter from English Literature for Boys and Girls and The Age of Chivalry
• Read and discussed Chapter 1, The Wind in the Willows (Maddie)
• Began reading The Children of Green Knowe (Maddie)
• Read Introduction and Chapter 1, The Annotated Hobbit (Dominic)
• [Geography] Read & narrated "Early Mariners," A Book of Discovery (Maddie)
• Started Cello lessons; daily Cello practice (Maddie)
• Free Reading: Finished The Problem Child (The Sisters Grimm, Book 3), started on Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4), (Maddie)
• One afternoon we spotted a coyote running across our back field, which led to some impromptu research. This is the first time we've ever seen a coyote near our property!
• Today, Friday, the twins had a snow day ~ so no public school. Since I'm still not feeling so well, and the kids are showing signs of getting sick, this translated into a day off for the rest of us.

A few personal highlights:

I discovered that you can purchase Modeling Beeswax from Etsy and promptly placed an order. Maddie enjoys working with Sculpey while I'm reading (otherwise she'd be quite fidgety!), so I thought she might enjoy trying her hand at beeswax.

We received some especially noteworthy books this week, including The Castle Corona (which is so beautifully illustrated!), The Adventures of Marco Polo, and Outrageous Women of the Middle Ages. Also, a number of books from Crabtree Publishing's The Medieval World series, which I've been wanting for quite some time. Happily, they did not disappoint! I found a free teacher's guide here.

After praying for, ahem, wisdom in handling my personal finances, I was startled to receive an order the following day for *four* copies of Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Barnes & Noble accidentally sent the books instead of the Winston Churchill text I'd ordered for Dominic. Ah, the irony!

The absolute highlight of my week was, of course, my Google Books discovery. Since then, I've been searching out [public domain] books that might be useful for our studies this year (so much so that, much to my embarrassment, I was temporarily blocked from Google Books last night!). In doing so, I discovered the delightful Books for Children by Emma Gibbons, a slender volume with helpful book lists for the study of History, Literature, Nature, etc. Many of the titles mentioned will be familiar, but there are some real gems yet to be discovered! After perusing dozens of book lists, I think I've found some really excellent selections.

I haven't had much time (or energy) this past week to pursue my own education. I did, however, manage to finish The Autobiography of Henry VIII and resume The Book of Margery Kempe (which I find disturbing and yet strangely fascinating).

This afternoon, while browsing The Well-Trained Mind Forums, I stumbled across a downright *thrilling* discovery. In an old thread, I found a link to this Wired Magazine article about custom-printing public domain books. Now, I'm an avid Google Books user, but *hate* reading books online (as do my kids). I also dislike printing everything out as it results in significant paper/toner usage and just isn't quite as nice as having the actual book in hand. Unfortunately, many of the public domain books that I love are either impossible to find, or prohibitively expensive.

The Espresso Book Machine will turn a digital copy into a library-quality, perfect bound book in just minutes (how magical is that?!), but unfortunately, only a handful of book stores in the U.S. own the machine. Even more distressing is the lack of a shipping option offered. Finally however, I found this: the Harvard Book Store will print and ship books! And better yet, their search system appears to tie into Google Books directly. This really is, in my mind, completely revolutionary and opens a whole new world of possibilities for homeschoolers!
After quick deliberation, I ordered copies of the following (at a mere $8/apiece):

• Handbook Of Nature Study: For Teachers And Pupils In Elementary Schools by Dietrich Lange
• Nature Study in Elementary Schools: A Manual for Teachers by Lucy Langdon Williams Wilson
• In the Child's World: Morning Talks for Kindergartens, Primary Schools and Home by Emilie Poulsson (I adore this book and refer to it often!)
• Nature in Verse: A Poetry Reader for Children by Mary Isabella Lovejoy
• The Child's Fairy Geography, Or, A Merry Trip Round Europe by Forbes Edward Winslow (absolutely delightful and quite informative!)
• Legends of the Middle Ages: Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art by Hélène Adeline Guerber
• Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages by Edward Lewes Cutts (contains some good information not readily available elsewhere)

Already I'm making a list of the books that I'll need to order next (a few, in particular, that I forgot to order today!):

• Sharp Eyes: A Rambler's Calendar of Fifty-Two Weeks Among Insects, Birds, and Flowers by William Hamilton Gibson (referred to often by Emilie Poulsson in the above volume)
• The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook
• The Fairy Land of Flowers: A Popular Illustrated Botany for the Home and School by Mara Louise Pratt-Chadwick
• The Stories of My Four Friends by Jane Andrews (The "Four Friends" are the four seasons)
• Types of Children's Literature: A Collection of the World's Best Literature for Children by Walter Barnes (a fairly useful anthology)
• Merrie England: Travels, Tales and Historical Sketches and Bonnie Scotland: Tales of Her History, Heroes and Poets by Grace Greenwood (excellent!)
• Chaucer for Schools by Mrs. H.R. Haweis (also excellent!)
• Stories from Old English Poetry by Abby Sage Richardson
• Old Ballads in Prose by Eva March Tappan
• The Open Road: A Little Book for Wayfarers and The Friendly Town: A Little Book for the Urbane by Edward Verrall Lucas
• A Book of Golden Deeds of All Times and All Lands by Charlotte M. Yonge
• English Fairy Tales and More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
• Ethics for Young People by Charles Carroll Everett ("A dry subject attractively treated")

Well we've managed to survive another week, and what a long (but productive) week it's been!

Monday was a busy day with more back-to-school preparations for the twins. Much to my distress, they decided they'd like to bring bento lunches to school every day. While bentos are fun (and quite a novelty here), they can be very time consuming! Prior to pulling them from public school, we were completely bento-crazy around here. I used to spend *hours* making their lunches and even ordered numerous bento supplies (via a shopping agent) directly from Japan. As a result, we have several large cabinets loaded with bento boxes and bags, plus every kind of accessory. A lot of our stuff has never even been used. Finally, I agreed that they could bring very basic bentos. They started school on Tuesday, full of enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, here at home, Dominic, Maddie, and I managed to stay quite busy. Here's what we accomplished.

History

• Continued reading St. Benedict: Hero of the Hills
• Watched the rest of "Saints" on In Search of Ancient Ireland
• Read Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story
• Read Saint Brendan and The Voyage Before Columbus
• Read Across a Dark & Wild Sea
• Read about St. Cuthbert in Beggars, Beasts and Easter Fire: Stories of Early Saints
• Learned about the uniquely Irish concept of white martyrdom
• Learned about the importance of pilgrimages in the Middle Ages and explored this excellent Virtual Pilgrimage site.
• Practiced Uncial hand lettering using this handout (it's much harder than it looks!)
• Browsed this utterly wonderful 1494 illuminated sketchbook for illumination inspiration
• Created an illuminated letter
• Watched The Book of Kells: The Work of Angels?
• Colored a page from Color Your Own Book of Kells
• Finished our St. Patrick puzzle and started a St. Brendan the Navigator puzzle

As for what I've added into the schedule: Maddie read two chapters from Our Island Story and starting next week, she'll also be reading two chapters per week from Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History by Geraldine McCaughrean. Dominic will be reading a chapter per week from The Birth of Britain: A History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill, in addition to the history work we'll continue doing together (loosely following the schedule outlined in TruthQuest History). I spent most of the week trying to align everything neatly so that our TruthQuest work would match up to their independent history work, but finally gave up. I'm fully aware that this is a rather muddled way of doing things, but it will have to suffice for now; my poor brain is just worn out!

Our curricula additions were inspired by a combination of sources: Ambleside Online, Mater Ambilis, and this mysterious St. Thomas School Curricula that I discovered and have fallen in love with (something about the way each lesson is so nicely plotted out is very appealing!). My Amazon Prime trial membership really and truly came in handy this week also, but as I've discovered, is slightly dangerous. I ordered oodles of books with very little thought and have yet to make sense of them all.

Geography

Geography is a subject that we never managed to squeeze in previously, so I'm happy that we were able to start on it this week. Maddie read from A Book of Discovery by MB Synge (available for free here). Hopefully by next week we'll have Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels and she'll read one chapter from each book per week. Dominic read portions of Sun Dancing because we're still waiting on The Brendan Voyage to arrive. I'm considering adding in Mapping the World with Art as well.

Literature

We began some pre-reading work for the books they'll be starting next week. Dominic will be reading The Hobbit and completing the Progeny Press Study Guide, and Maddie will be reading The Wind in the Willows. I'm compiling a study unit for her using ideas from this and this. Dominic will also start on The Once and Future King next week, and they'll both be reading a chapter per week from English Literature for Boys and Girls. Maddie may also start The Princess and the Goblin next week. Lastly, we read the Preface to Bullfinch's The Age of Chivalry, another book they'll be reading from weekly.

Science

Science is yet another subject that we've woefully neglected in the past. The kids read two chapters from The Story Book of Science (available for free here), and again, we're waiting on a book to arrive: For the Beauty of the Earth (which I purchased from the delightful Keller Books). They'll be reading and/or completing activities from For the Beauty of the Earth twice a week as well. On Fridays, we'll be doing a science activity from Nature in a Nutshell. This week it was frost crystals (which even the dog enjoyed!):

Catechism / Arithmetic / Latin / Grammar

CLAA memory work continued in these subjects this week and once again, the memory work was a battle. The kids are feeling quite discouraged that they haven't yet passed any exams, but we're making a determined effort to master the material. Currently, they're spending half an hour per day on catechism, half an hour per day on arithmetic (mainly because they already know the material, just not quite well enough), and an hour on grammar. I would imagine that we'll need to increase these times a bit in order to make better progress.

We skipped Singapore Math this week because it somehow slipped my mind entirely (yikes!).

Art and Music Appreciation

For art history this week, the kids read through Lesson 1 - 'Ancient and Early Christian Art' in Art through Faith. While I had a project planned to go with this lesson, the kids ended up making Celtic crosses from clay.

For music, we read the first chapter (Palestrina) from Famous Composers for Young People and listened to portions of Missa Papae Marcelli.

That, in a nutshell, was our week. I must say, I'm impressed with how smoothly school went overall, despite the extra work. Having only two at home is a lot easier than four! Nevertheless, I've already run into a few *issues* with the twins' school that I'm not the least bit pleased about, so we'll see how things go next week. Since state assessments are coming up, the entire focus right now is on teaching for those, which annoys me tremendously. However, I've also been extremely sleep-deprived all week (since I now have to be up early to get kids ready for the bus, ick!), which probably isn't helping my patience any.

For dinner throughout the week we enjoyed recipes from From a Monastery Kitchen. On Wednesday, we had fun learning about the history of pretzels (first made by monks as early as 610 AD to use up leftover scraps of dough, they were formed to represent a child's arms in prayer) and making our own. Ours, unfortunately, didn't look quite right, but they were absolutely delicious!
On Thursday, we were finally able to begin our study of Irish saints. We watched the St. Patrick segment from "In Search of Ancient Ireland" and read The Life of St. Patrick: Enlightener of the Irish by Zachary Lynch. We also began work on this gorgeous 500 pc puzzle of St. Patrick from Project Kells/Tailten Games:

I can honestly say that this puzzle is the *hardest* we've ever done! There are many, many pieces that fit together perfectly and look as though they belong together, until you notice just the tiniest speck of another color that doesn't belong. All of the intricate Celtic knotwork and detail is enough to make a person crazy, but for the most part we're enjoying it.
Friday was a busy day, so we skipped school work entirely. In the morning I finally had an appointment with a plastic surgeon for Botox (which I've been postponing since early last month due to the cost!). Last November, my new neurosurgeon informed me that I would need to try Botox for my migraines before he'd see me again. Essentially, the Botox freezes the muscles compressing the trigeminal nerve which triggers migraines. If it works to relieve my headaches (the plastic surgeon feels confident that it will), then I'll need to have a brow lift done to permanently cut away the offending muscle(s). Naturally none of this is covered by insurance, ugh. I was told that it would take about a week for the Botox to start working, but that many patients report relief immediately. Thus far, I've been blissfully headache-free, which is really amazing since I have headaches, in varying degrees, daily. Let's just hope it continues!
Friday afternoon was spent trying to get everything together so that the twins (or Elon) are ready for school next week. I'm anticipating a much smoother course now that we'll be relatively free of daily complaints and disruptions (hopefully), so, I'll be adding some additional work back into our schedule. I'll have more on that just as soon as I get it all sorted out.
For my own self-education this week, I read half of The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George and half of Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorhouse; I also read roughly a quarter of both The Book of Margery Kempe and The Age of the Cloister, as well as portions of The Beginnings of Western Science, Medieval Hospitals of England and Medieval Hospitals of Yorkshire. Frankly, it was a bit stressful juggling so many different books, so my goal for next week is to simplify things a little. I got seriously sidetracked this week by my research on Irish saints and medieval hopsitals, which had not been planned. I have not made any progress in my Praeceptor Training, which is hardly setting a good example for the kids!

I'm not sure what happened to Parts 3-5, but they're not available on YouTube. Fortunately, the documentary can be purchased directly from Mr. Severin (who can be contacted via his website). I've ordered a copy and look forward to watching it; I think the boys, in particular, will enjoy it as well!

Another option, though a bit different is the YouTube series In the Footsteps of St. Brendan the Navigator (See Also: Climbing Ben Nevis, The Faroes Island & Iceland Expedition).

Over the weekend, I spent my time researching and planning for our study of Irish saints as a part of our larger study on the Church in the Early Middle Ages. I previewed a portion of the video "In Search of Ancient Ireland" (which I'd purchased last year for our St. Patrick's Day unit study) and was thrilled to find that it is perfectly suited to our needs. Part II of the DVD contains segments on the following: St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columba, Monastic Treasures & Culture, Seeking White Martyrdom, St. Columbanus, and Irish Pilgrims.

The segment "Seeking White Martyrdom" was especially appreciated as just prior to watching the video, my imagination had been captured by Skellig Michael and I'd been avidly researching the island with the hopes of including it in our study. Truly I cannot imagine living in such a place and it humbles me to imagine the determination of the monks who chose to do so! I read every word of The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael, absolutely enthralled. My interest in Skellig Michael then led me to order a copy of Sun Dancing by Geoffrey Moorhouse, followed soon thereafter by Celtic Spirituality by Oliver Davies and How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill (though I have mixed feelings about Cahill's work).

In the midst of all this, I also began researching St. Brendan [the Navigator], who was on my list of saints to cover and is also mentioned in the video. In particular, I enjoyed this post about St. Brendan, as well as St. Brendan and the Contemporary Novel. Naturally, I then had to order Brendan: A Novel by Frederick Buechner, and I'm not sure how I could miss The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin. Goodness, I'm going to be very busy reading, but oh how I'm looking forward to it! Unfortunately, my books won't arrive until later this week, which scarcely allows me any time for preparation before our study (slated for next week, yikes).
A few additional sites of interest:

• Monastic Ireland: Stories of Saints and Historic Sites
• Early Irish Monasteries
• Celtic Monasticism: History and Spirituality
• Database of Early Christian Sites in Ireland

Thanks to a recommendation on another site, I recently discovered the joy that is Folkmanis Puppets ~ the most wonderful, realistic and high-quality puppets. On Monday we received a big order of Folkmanis finger puppets (purchased very reasonably on Amazon): a black bear, beaver, chipmunk, red dragon, bald eagle, red fox, hawk, hedgehog, pet mouse, barn owl, brown bear, spotted owl, ram, skunk, weasel, jack rabbit and porcupine, plus the Sequoia Tree Wildlife Playset (with an additional six *tiny* forest dwelling puppets). Already, they're proving very popular here. :-)