The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Happy February! Another January down.
[NB: as we are still in transition and working on the fine-tuning of the formatting on our new site, you'll find {b&p} easier to read if you click through to the post rather than reading on the homepage!]
- I am confident in assuming that we're not the only ones with a bit of cabin fever. Who doesn't want to just get outside and get some fresh air, escaping the coop? Well, we should all remember this when the weather is more hospitable to playtime. Because it turns out that kids learn more and develop more character when those fun-killing, rule-focused administrators get out of their way and they just get out there and play. Score yet another point for letting kids have their freedom.
- When you're up for a sobering read, this report on the tragic occurrences in the Middle East is worthy of your attention. The world's most ancient Christian communities are being destroyed – and no one cares.
Some resources of the educational bent:
- For illustrating a religion lesson or just enlivening Bible study, scroll down on this site for a huge collection of beautiful etchings and prints of Bible scenes from La Vista Church of Christ.
- The Library of Congress has a huge digital collection that you can browse.
- In case you need drills and exercises for a math student, you may find this page helpful: Mathematics Blackline Masters.
- Approaching history with biographies of great historical figures from Authorama.
- And for fun that is good for the mind, have you yet been to Sporcle? Some of us – not to mention any names [*cough* Suki *cough*] are now very well versed in geography (of the quick-name-all-bordering-countries-of-a-given-country variety) thanks in no small part to Sporcle use. (There are all kinds of amusements for the quiz-lovers among us on there, not just geography.)
- Rosie sent along this video of a very exuberantly presented mathematical proof of the sum of all natural numbers… to infinity. Can you guess what the sum is? (At first I thought these guys, with their thick accents, were saying “song.” When I realized they were saying “sum,” that made a lot more sense.) It's surprising and a little mind-bending, but fun. From Numberphile: Astounding: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4… You can also read about it a bit in this blog post about the video.
From the archives:
- This post has been updated to show the titles, authors, and links to great children's books to give as gifts (it got funky after our transfer).
Happy feast of St. Brigid!
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Laura Jeanne says
Thank you for the link to Sporcle! I love the geography quizzes, although I didn’t do as well as I thought I would. Who knew there were so many countries in Europe?
Melissa D says
“Instead of a playground, children used their imagination to play in a “loose parts pit” which contained junk such as wood, tyres and an old fire hose.”
This reminds me of the old intros to the very first Sesame Streets — I think the first episode has kids running and jumping through a construction site that is chock-full of junk! We used to disappear for hours in our neighborhood exploring a nearby creek or just rampaging in the suburban woods, activities that would be considered very dangerous now, I think. (I have a theory that it’s the latchkey kids of the 70s and 80s that are the over-protective rule-bearers now. Can you imagine “Swallows and Amazons” written today?)
Jennifer H says
Thanks for all the great links, as usual!
Speaking of math drills and exercises, wanted to pass along this website for math drills: http://www.draardsmasdrills.com. A huge help to the busy homeschooling mom! And a huge help to the students who must memorize the basic math facts as a foundation for all higher math. Thought it may be a help to some readers out there. Very easy to use and affordable.
Suzanne says
Lovely links, as usual. Thanks for sharing! About those boots in the first photo, what kind are those great brown ones? The heel looks just right…
Deirdre says
Hi Suzanne, the boots are Fabianelli brand. Bridget got a pair and showed us and I thought they were so beautiful. I asked my mom to keep an eye out in case another pair turned up (at Marshalls)… and they did! So that was my Christmas present from her, lucky lucky me!
Mary says
Sporcle scares me. Apparently I am NOT well versed in geography at all. I need to work on that.
Cabin fever has taken over here. I am so grateful for the last 48 hours. We actually had the windows open for a bit today. Thank the Lord. Now for more snow…sigh…
Becky says
FYI: Trinity College has the Book of Kells (among other things) available in it’s digital collection since you were discussing them. 🙂 http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/index.php?DRIS_ID=MS58_003v
The larger collection is here: http://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/
I also follow Irish Archeology on twitter and they post some fantastic pictures of ancient Irish sites as we are approaching St Patrick’s Day.