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You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

HT:The Bookworm , a comma of course!

Ocular Athletics V

Unlocking Books by Adam
We in this modern time do tend to take books for granted. But a long time ago books had never been thought about in the slightest if we went back to the time about 5000 B.C. and to the place called Ancient Egypt. If you go up to a person back then and mention a book he would think you crazy. You see, books have been around a long time but not that long. In ancient Egypt the people were happy using scrolls. Books now are 3 or 4 dollars. Books in 1155 where around but were extremely valuable. So valuable in fact that the monks who were lucky enough to own books kept them chained to the altar so people wouldn't steal them.

Light bulbs by Joe
Light bulbs (invented by Thomas Edison) are useful objects which when supplied with enough voltage (I have no idea what on Earth voltage is. I just said something that had something to do with light bulbs) will light up hence the name LIGHT bulb. We use light bulbs to light up our houses. Light houses (used to warn ships that there are rocks that way) have BIG light bulbs. But some house bulb sockets require bigger than average bulbs. Light bulbs have a thin wire which is what makes the light but the glass is important too. The wire takes gas to burn and the glass holds in the gas.

Things I learned this week

Queen Victoria was the niece of the king not the daughter of one. The Charge of the Light Brigade happened during the Crimean War and not in some Afghan/Britain skirmish like I somewhat hazily thought before, probably confusing it with Gunga Din. That India is a sub-continent and just what a sub-continent is.

God's in His Heaven

All's right with the world! Or how about--Oh to be in England now that Spring is here! Or even--Grow old along with me the best is yet to be! Who knew all these very famous line are from Robert Browning?? Not me. I left highschool with an utter loathing of poetry. Besides the last line I didn't even know the other lines were from poetry. But thanks to my GKC reading I am getting an education at last! I've been trying to read Chesterton in a somewhat chronological way and am now ready to start his biography of Robert Browning and thought perhaps I should read some Browning first...well. He's really good! And I see alot of influence in some of GKC's poetry mainly the alliteration in Lepanto (now that I homeschool I know words like alliteration!). And I have done something I have never done before. I bought a volume of poetry just because I want to read it not because I need it for school.

Long Road to Rivendell

I've ambled along a total of 10.5 miles so far which means I have crossed the Brandywine and Hobbiton is out of sight if not out of mind. It is .6 miles around the block and I am trying to walk it every day. Not always successfuly. Yesterday Ken and I made the trek and it was really much too cold to be out. His little face was bright red when we got home. He seranaded me with Nowhere Man by the Beatles while we fought the North Wind. Beatlemania has struck our house this Winter with all the boys prone to playing air guitar (or air drums) and breaking out into song at a moments notice. Usually 3 different songs... And Ken's voice is usually overwhelmed so I was somewhat stunned to realize he has a heartbreakenly clear small boy soprano. I've got to get him singing more. Maybe something in Latin.

Ocular Athletics IV

Deer Tracks in the Snow by Joe

Have you ever seen deer tracks in the snow? Well, they are cool. A deer track has two halves and are rather small but amazingly they stay on top of the snow. You usually see deer tracks by creeks and trees. Lots of trees. The best place to see deer tracks, or the places that you get good tracks are in the snow and mud.

A Compass by Adam

A compass is a handy gadgit for when you hold it level on the palm of your hand a little arrow on a card wiggles until it points north. It does this because the direction north is sort of magnetic and the arrow is also a magnet. So if you want to test my theory just take a magnet and hold it against the compass. The arrow will turn and point at the magnet. So you see, the compass is very handy to have around if you are lost or maybe just to be prepared.

10 Beautiful Things

Chari at Our Heart's Haven has written a lovely post about the beauties of the season and has challenged others to give it a try too. Here is my list:

1. The evenings of winter when everything just glows in shades of mauve and rose.
2. The spectacular structure of trees coated in thick frost. They glitter with a diamond brilliance. This is particularly stunning on Evergreens.
3. Goose calls on moonlit nights. I'm seldom out to actually see the geese but I smile in my cozy rocking chair when I hear them.
4. Fluffed our chickadees. These birds are so adorable in Winter. They are kinda raggy looking in
summer.
5. Snow devils. Those wisps of snow caught in the wind that twirl around and take your breath away if you get caught in one.
6. Boys dueling with icicles.
7. Golden retrievers galloping through deep fluffy snow. He loves the effect as much as I do. I can tell by the big grin.
8. Rosy cheeks on boys from racing the I-Dad- arod. This is a cross country ski track my dh makes every Winter to keep cabin fever at bay.
9. Rosy feet on boys from running the annual Winter Barefoot Race. See above about cabin fever.
10. The ping of rocks thrown on ice and the quack of ducks swimming around to keep some water un-frozen alarmed by the ping.

These are a bit consolidated from many Winter days. If I did just today it would be a short list. Just icy slush and dreary skies. Well, the chickadees are still cute.

Boys--9 Girls--1

I was letting my thoughts wander where they would the other day and realized that while my girls went to the emergency room a total of once in a combined 42 years, the boys have gone 9 times in a combined 48 years. I think we have been doing too many math word problems but here is the run down: Girls--one visit for a meningitis scare, actually just a very nasty virus (Tegan)

Boys--Sam--1.broken arm(age 12)
Adam--2.stitches in leg
3.stitches in hand (both age 11 but several months apart)
Joe--4.cat bite (age 10)
5.stitches near eye (age 11)
Ken--6.broken leg (age 3)
7."distressed" arm (age 4) the doctor said it wasn't broken but definately distressed. Is this a medical term??? The twins used him as a rope for tug of war.
8.teeth pushed straight back (age 4) They straightened nicely dispite the doctor predicting they would fall out.
9. ruptured ear canal

This list does not contain the cat bite (Adam) and the steri-stripped forhead (Ken again) that actually occured during doctor office hours.

The horrid stray cat was finally hit by a car (not ours) but not until after I had to keep in quarantine for 20 days. Stupid cat.

Ocular Athletic Thursday III

Here are today's observations. I think they suffer from me not reading GKC outloud to them the week before. I don't find these to have the same charm as last week's trifles. However, I may be too picky and the twins ARE writing. And enjoying it, too. Joe even started his early! Next week I'll read them something from The Defendent and see what happens.....

Scissors by J.C.M.

Scissors are common, useful, household objects used to cut things including paper and tape. Scissors have two little blades that rub together which cut the paper or tape. Scissors also have two loops that you put your fingers into and you squeeze to cut the paper or tape. Scissors are useful because they are multi-tools, Doctors use them for surgery and cutting bandages. Classes use them for crafts. Barbers use them to cut hair. Cooks use them to open packages.

Door Knobs by Adam

A door knob is a very handy object. It often looks like a knob on each side of the door but in the middle of the door is a latch. It hooks into a notch in the door frame and only comes out when you twist the door knob. So you see, if door knobs did not exist, if you shut the door it will never open again and you will be shut in or out of whatever the door belonged to and that would be so until a locksmith comes. And he will open the door and you pay him and everything will be fine until you shut the door again. So now you know what it would be like without door knobs. Now let us go back a few years in time to the time of pioneers and how they use door...or to use the correct phrase door latches. The door latch is a simple device. The door is a solid slab of wood and on one side of the door frame is a block of wood and on the top of it is a big notch, big enough for a slab of wood (nailed on one end for the wall) to fit in it. A sting is tied to the slab and when you pull it the slab comes up so it lets you in. But if you pull the latch string in it is like a lock. I'd prefer the modern lock. It may be much more safe if someone is trying to get in.

I'm Grooovy

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

I think it is because I let the kids play in the mud and wear their dress-up clothes in public.

ht/ Kathryn

ER...again

We were off to the emergency room again yesteday. We were spending a rainy afternoon cozily reading The White Seal by Rudyard Kipling, when suddenly a voice cried out, "I've been cut! And it's bad. Why are they always bad??" Why, indeed. Adam was sharpening his pocket knife (his father assured me the twins were ready for pocket knives, Hah!) when the blade slipped and cut the index finger on his right hand. Three stitches. Lucky for him he is left-handed. The doctor was impressed with the sharpness of the blade though.

Ash Wednesday

And time for an examination of conscience and a trip to the confessional. To make all this easier for you the Diocese of Erie is opening a new chapel today at the Millcreek Mall. Confessions will be heard from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm on Wednesdays and 11 am to 3 pm on Saturdays. The chapel itself will be open during regular mall hours Monday through Friday throughout Lent. Bishop Donald Trautman will be there today distributing ashes and hearing confessions.
You just can't make this stuff up.

Ocular Athletic Thursday II

The twins had their first OA assignment yesterday. I have to say, I was surprised by their writing. In preparation I read GKC's essay, A Piece of Chalk (the one where GK takes to the hills to draw on brown paper with colored chalk) from Tremendous Trifles, outloud to them last week. I chose this one to demonstrate what I had in mind because I thought they would "get it" as they are little Anglophiles in the making and know that a large chunk of England is made of chalk. They seemed a little confused but still game so we plunged in. I was expecting something report like. You know, my guinea pig is brown and furry with big brown eyes and long brown nails and did I mention he is brown with some brownish spots? What I got was two eleven year olds doing their best to sound like GKC. Joe even signed his with initials. Here they are:

A Common Wood Screw by J.C. M.
A screw, a common, straight, grooved, phillips head wood screw, lying on the table. Screws are useful for building houses, stables and many other things. A screw has a spiral on it that makes it dig into wood, metal, and plastic. A screw is one of the carpenter's best friends along with the drill and the screw driver. A screw, a common wood screw with a plus sign or a minus sign.+.-. for the drill or screw driver bit is the carpenter's best friend because it holds things together better than nails. Screws are grooved which will catch and hold when drilled into a board, nails however, slip because they are smooth, but are easier to use.

Spoons by Adam
I have never really thought about spoons much but as my train of thought is limited to one thing at a time I really do not blame myself so I hope you don't either. So to my point, as I said, I had not thought about spoons until I was told to write an ocular exercise. After due consideration I have picked a very ordinary household object. Oh, you may think it very boring but I am one who is, now that I look closely, very interested in spoons. I mean, spoons can be intersting, you just have to look at them in the right way. This particular spoon is a very peculiar one. It has an odd white mark on it that looks like Mary kneeling before the manger with stars all around her head. My little brother so wisely calls it the Mary spoon. I was given this spoon idea in a very ordinary way. I was playing absently with my spoon in my split pea soup when I suddenly thougth about the spoon in my hand. We could not eat soup without spoons. The spoon's shovel-like bowl on the end of its handle is the perfect tool for eating liquid food.