Pulling together some snippets from my notes about James (age 10) during the past month and a half …

James is what you might call a reluctant writer. Now we’ve completely given on workbooks, dictation, spelling lessons, and the whole bit. He’s been learning writing by:

• Participating in our family writing club each week. Each week, he adds a bit to the story he’s writing, with pencil and paper, without worrying about spelling or other mechanics. We also play around with storytelling at these club meetings. And have good snacks.
• Occasionally e-mailing his granddad, Granddad’s girlfriend, and his pen-pals. Writing a short e-mail is difficult for him right now, but he does seem to enjoy expressing himself in words, at least a bit, when he’s writing people. I hope friends and family will write him more often (*hint* *hint* wolf.101gr@yahoo.com :0)) to help keep him motivated.
• Creating a module in Neverwinter Nights, a fantasy role playing game for the computer. In addition to strewing monsters, treasure, bottles of ale, or whatever for his players to find, he needs to write a narrative, so players can follow the story. He’s also been getting plenty of exercise running down the stairs asking me how to spell words.

He hasn’t been reading many print books (that would require sitting still), but he listens to books. He’s re-reading the “Percy Jackson” and “Wolf Brother” books; there’s more about that here. We talk about word meanings, literary allusions (Riordan’s use of stories from The Odyssey), mythology, and literary devices like foreshadowing (“Hey, did you hear that? It said, “In the dim light, Luke almost appeared evil.” I didn’t notice that the first time I read it, but now that I know how things turn out, that’s foreshadowing…”)

He’s been practicing problem-solving, including math by:

• Saving money for yet another game system.I helped him open an account at the credit union, and they gave him a special piggy bank with sections for money to spend, money to save, money to invest, and money to donate. We talked about the importance of long term saving as well as saving for immediate goals, like a coveted XBox 360.
• Playing video games, which involve a fair amount of problem solving and decision making. He loves to discover new things by experimenting with “glitches.” If you’re a gamer, you’ll understand what that means. If not, you probably don’t care.
• Creating his Neverwinter Nights module.
• Building with Legos.
• Playing Mastermind and Which Animal (described below under “science”) — these games are purely deductive logic.
• Playing Monopoly which practices addition, subtraction, and money skills and simple strategy games like Blink (a card game) and Ten Days in Europe (a geography game).

He delved into science by:

• Hanging out at the park and looking at a toad, tadpoles, and baby ducks, exploring caterpillars in the yard, and studying red ants.
• Watching several Netflix DVDs on wolves, including an IMAX movie and a National Geographic documentary on the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone Park. These movies delved into predator adaptations, ecological balance, and many other things.
• Reading part of a news article with me discussing the discovery of a planet that may have an earth-like environment. We talked about what makes a planet conducive to life, the Hubble telescope, lightyears, and more.
• Exploring National Geographic Kids Creature Feature, delving into concepts like adaptations and competition.
• Asking questions like “do whales actually drink salt water?” and looking up the answers with me. He also asked me why an atomic bomb makes a mushroom cloud. I looked up the answer online, and we talked about it a bit. This also led to an interesting conversation about World War II, the reasons we got into the war, and the reasons for the nuclear attacks on Japan. Apparently, his interest in atomic bombs was piqued by a video game called Left for Dead. Of course it was.
• Browsing a National Geographic magazine about energy use in homes and vehicles.
• Browsing a fascinating Seymour Simon book about volcanoes; he also perused a book about snakes.
• Playing a game I invented, using the plethora of animal cards I made for Trishy, called “Which Animal.” It’s similar to the popular board game Who’s Who. Each of us gets a set of animal cards. The two sets are identical, and they’re color coded by habitat. For example, creatures I categorized as “pond life” have red backgrounds. Each player secretly places a penny under one animal. For example, I might hide a penny under the Emperor Penguin. He will try to discover which animal is hiding the penny by asking yes/no questions. “Does this animal live in the Antarctic?” “Is it a mammal” If I answer, “No, it’s not a mammal,” he puts a penny on each of his cards showing a mammal, so he can easily see what’s been eliminated. We proceed that way, taking turns making guesses about each other’s chosen animal, until someone identifies the right card and wins.

There’s also been other stuff, including playdates, sleepovers, drawing his own comics, music, soccer, and tactical laser tag (do little boys love to run around and shoot each other? ‘Course they do! For some learning’s all in the brain. For others, it’s fueled by TESTOSTERONE.)

I’ve been a bad blogger lately, and I thought this meme from The Well Read Child might get me motivated.

Let’s see, my 5-year-old, Patricia Elizabeth, has been enjoying the load of picture books she got on her last trip to the library. I’ll just post her favorites. (Pausing to ask her which ones are her favorites.)

The Bear Who Didn’t Like Honey by Barbara Maitland, illustrated by Odilon Moraes — “I liked it that the bear started eating honey”

A young bear is embarrassed to admit he’s afraid of confronting bees, so he pretends he just doesn’t like honey. A sweet picture book that illustrates what courage means.

Franklin and the Baby based on the characters created by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark — “Because it was cartoony”

Franklin gets to experience the ups and downs of big brotherhood vicariously through his friend Bear.

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett– “I liked it that he made a gingerbread thing that would actually move, and I like it that he also made a little house.”

One of Jan Brett’s gorgeous picture books, a variation on the old classic “The Gingerbread Boy.”

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon– “I like it that she found some friends.”

Stellaluna is a baby fruit bat who is separated from her mother and takes refuge with a family of birds. I think this is one of the most beautiful picture books ever, and it’s also a great living science book. Even though the story isn’t completely realistic, it paints a picture of what fruit bats and birds are like.

Ten-year-old James and I are re-reading the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” novels in anticipation of the last book in the series, The Last Olympian, which recently came out and in on its way to us. We’re also looking forward to the movie in 2010.

These books are even more fun since James knows the story of The Odyssey, from which Riordan borrows heavily. We often talk about these allusions, and it helps us predict what will happen. And who could resist a version of the Island of the Lotus Eaters which is actually a Las Vegas casino filled with video games?

He is also re-reading the “Chronicles of Ancient Darkness” series by Michelle Paver. These novels are a fascinating blend of fantasy, ancient history, and living science. The author spent months living in wild places, immersing herself in nature, to prepare herself to write these books, and she did extensive research on prehistoric spirituality.

James has the whole series on audiobooks, and they’re read by no less than Sir Ian McKellan, who is an enthusiastic fan. It is SUCH a joy to see him madly, passionately in love with a collection of books. He seems to cherish every word of these novels, and he never tires of hearing them. He is ambivalent about seeing the movie, when it comes out, because he knows it won’t do these books justice.

Reposted from Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours

Barbara Techel had just returned from vacation when she got some heartbreaking news. Her beloved dachshund, Frankie, had been injured in a freak accident. If Frankie lived, she might be paralyzed. Would Frankie survive? Could Barbara care for a severely disabled dog?

Frankie recovered and thrived, and she kept rolling with a custom-fit wheelchair. Her story is told in a unique picture book for children, Frankie the Walk ‘n Roll Dog. This book was awarded the 2008 National Best Book Award (children’s picture book soft cover) by USA Book News, the Merial Human-Animal Bond Award by Dog Writer’s Association of America, and the Editor’s Choice Award by Allbooks Review. It was also a finalist in the 2008 Indie Excellence Awards. Frankie herself was inducted into the 2009 Wisconsin Pet Hall of Fame.

Barbara has written: “I absolutely believe animals were put on this earth to awaken us and teach us what life is truly about … When Frankie ruptured a disk in her back in 2006 …I struggled … letting sorrow, at first, take over. As Frankie began to heal, I realized she was still the same Frankie even though she was now paralyzed. She did not let her physical handicap get in the way of being the same sweet dog she was before her accident. Realizing the opportunity to share this lesson with others, I wrote Frankie’s life story. It is told by Frankie herself, through me, her loving human mom.”

Children love this book, and it resonates with dog lovers, families of kids with disabilities, and book lovers of all ages.

Please join us in June for Barbara and Frankie’s virtual book tour! Throughout the month of June, authors, bloggers, parents, and animal experts will share their book reviews, interviews with Barbara, and other contributions.

There will be a SPECIAL OFFER FOR VISITORS TO THE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR. Each guest who comments on a post in Barbara and Frankie’s tour will be entered in a drawing for some fun, unique gifts that will especially appeal to Frankie fans and other dog lovers. We will give away several items from Frankie’s store. These include two Frankie t-shirts and two Frankie tote bags.

We may also have a few more great bloggers joining this tour, so stay tuned for updates!

• Mon, June 1 — Author, mom, and disability advocate Elizabeth at a moon worn as if it were a shell publishes Barb’s guest post exploring how to help siblings and friends understand kids who have disabilities.
• Tue, June 2 — Veterinarian Dr. Kim Bloomer and her mastiff Shadrach posts Shadrach’s interview with Frankie at Bark ‘n Blog.
• Wed, June 3 — Ellen publishes her interview with Barbara at To the Max, where she writes about parenting and life, including her beautiful son who has cerebral palsy.
• Thu, June 4 — Alicia at Welcome to My Planet posts her book review. Alicia is an author and blogger who explores many things through her writing, including parenting kids who are on the autism spectrum.
• Fri, June 5 — Book blogger Cheryl Koch posts her review at Cheryl’s Book Nook.
• Mon, June 8 — Writer and dog trainer Charlotte Mielziner posts her interview with Barbara at Children’s Dog Books.
• Tue, June 9 — Dawn Kairns at Maggie, the Dog Who Changed My Life publishes Barb’s guest post, exploring how Barbara’s relationship with Frankie changed her life.
• Wed, June 10 — Author and book blogger Margay Roberge posts her review and interview at Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem.
• Thu, June 11 — Margay Roberge posts her review and guest post at Margay Leah Justice AND Alicia Clarke at Welcome to My Planet shares Barbara’s guest post.
• Fri, June 12 — Paige posts her review at Nurse Mommy.
• Mon, June 15 — Kyra at This Mom posts her review. Kyra is a mom and writer who explores the joy and challenges of motherhood and raising an amazing son with Asperger’s Syndrome.
• Tue, June 16 — Yael Cohen posts a presentation at Get IEP Help, where she offers assistance with navigating the special education maze.
• Wed, June 17 — Nikki Leigh posts an interview with Frankie (the heroine of the story) at Fictional Characters in Depth.
• Thu, June 18 — Mom and book blogger Julie Peterson posts her review at Booking Mama.
• Fri, June 20 — Julie Peterson at Booking Mama publishes a guest post by Barbara.
• Mon, June 22 — Stephanie Ward publishes her review at Laughing Stars. Stephanie is a homeschooler, bibliophile, and mom of kids with “special needs”
• Tue, June 23 — Christine posts her review at Day Sixty-Seven, where she writes about parenting and raising a child on the autism spectrum.
• Wed, June 24 — Author and book lover Christine Verstraete at Candid Canine posts her review
• Thu, June 25 — Author Yvonne Perry shares her review with Barbara at Writers in the Sky Podcast and Blog, where she shares a wealth of information about writing, publishing and book promotion.
• Fri, June 26 — Stephanie Ward publishes Barbara and Frankie’s interview with her children at Laughing Stars.
• Mon, June 29 — Rashmi at Mommy Reviewed shares a guest post by Barbara.
• Tue, June 30 — Barb answers questions on Nikki Leigh’s radio program.

For More Information and to Order the Book:

Joyful Paws

Frankie the Walk ‘n Roll Dog at Amazon.com

Also Check Out http://www.joyfulpaws.typepad.com/

I’m writing a unit study because Sarah asked me to. She said, “I know we’re unschooling, but could you make me a unit study on movies?”

Here is what I’ve posted so far; it’s just an outline. She’s started choosing movies in each category from that LONG list of genres and themes, because that’s totally her cup of tea. She likes nothing better than browsing Netflix, reading movie reviews, and deciding what to watch. If you’re thinking about seeing any movie, ask her — she can tell you whether it was well received by critics.

I’m about half finished writing the section on the history of movies. (It starts in 1914). I am learning a LOT. For example, I didn’t know that the movie industry was launched with a movie so racist it galvanized the NAACP and W.E.B. DuBois to protest it. Very sad, but not surprising. I’d also never really thought of the way movies have been used by our government as propaganda (in the broad sense of the word) and how it shaped public opinion about many things, including our participation in World War II. Imagery, along with carefully chosen words, is a powerful thing. I guess that was just a warm-up for the way our leaders can manipulate us today, now that we have T.V. and the internet.

Any suggestions on the unit study?

Not much new to report. Let’s see. We’re still having our weekly family writer’s club meetings. We have snacks, we all read something we’ve written (including Trishy’s stories, which she dictates to me), we say a few encouraging words to each other, and we collaborate on a totally insane story we’re all writing together. We take turns telling part of the story, and Sarah takes dictation. So far, there’s a journalist/movie reviewer, dog, a mysterious guy who may or may not be a ghost, a very buff guy with a BMW, and a cross-dresser.

Sarah is still writing movie reviews. I just want to say, for the record, that I think the way she’s pursuing her interest in movies (scouring all the movies that are out there and reading and writing reviews) has many of the elements of a good high school curriculum. (I’m sorry … is “curriculum” a bad word? Am I allowed to say that here? ) She’s writing critically, summarizing, describing, analyzing and evaluating. She’s reading, researching, and evaluating different people’s opinions on certain films. She’s also exploring plot, characters, themes, genres, and so forth. Freeschooling rocks! Sometimes … on a good day.

Let’s see, she and I are also working through the first two Life of Fred books to prepare for the math portion of her CAT. It wasn’t her idea, but she agreed it was necessary. She’s still taking horseback riding. She has pretty much given up reading. As a rabid bookworm mama, this is REALLY hard for me. (How can it be that none of my children are readers? They’re not really related to me. Hah!) But as much as it pains me to admit it, there’s really nothing wrong, during this stage of her life, with watching movies instead of reading books. Movies and novels are just different art forms.

James and Trishy are playing soccer (or they would be if the rain would ever stop) and pretty much just doing their thing. Lots of video games and various other kinds of play. James has done his CAT (the scores are hanging on the fridge), so he’s technically finished the fifth grade. He reads a little, and he asks questions, to which we look up the answers together. (God bless the internet!)

Trishy and I play a lot of board and card games — that’s her math “curriculum.” Thanks to a dear online friend, she has Rat-a-Tat-Cat, which is how she taught herself to add a few months ago. (She got tired of us computing her points for her, and decided to start doing it herself). She likes Feed the Kitty (counting, addition, subtraction, and comparing small numbers), Mastermind (deductive logic), Chinese Checkers (simple strategy), Uno, Blink, and more. I also devised a new game with all the animal cards I’ve been making — I’ll post that later.

I’m looking forward to getting a break from the  rain, now that the weather has finally warmed up, and getting outside more. Nature walks, going to the lake, whatever. I also need to get out in the garden. With all this life-giving rain, the weeds are conquering the universe.

I was skeptical when I started Marcelo in the Real World by Francesco X. Stork. It seems that his knowledge of his subject — a person on the autism spectrum — stems from spending about a year working part-time with people with what we now euphemistically call “special needs.” This included individuals who probably had Asperger’s Syndrome, though that diagnosis wasn’t added to the DSM until 1994.  How could this author, a Boston attorney, have the understanding to create a rich, convincing portrait of a young man with Asperger’s?

The protagonist, Marcelo, is 17 and almost ready to start his senior year of high school. His father’s income as founding partner of a law firm has provided the opportunity to attend Paterson, an excellent school for individuals with disabilities. There, he has been accepted for who he is and allowed as much time as he needs to process what’s going on in his environment and finish tasks. This is the one place where Marcelo isn’t rushed.

Like Christopher Boone, the Aspergian protagonist of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, Marcelo has a special interest. While Christopher’s passion is math, Marcelo is fascinated with God and religion. His family is Catholic, and he enjoys praying the Rosary. He also delves into the holy books of different religions, and his mother arranges for him to have regular discussions with a rabbi. This is not a pervasive interest that lends itself to static thinking — he is not memorizing train schedules or sports scores. He is exploring abstract ideas, like Man’s relationship to God and the experience of prayer.

When Marcelo finishes his junior year of high school, his father decides he needs to come out of the protected environment of Paterson and learn to cope with the “real world.” This involves a summer job with his father’s law firm, which is a bit like being thrown into a viper pit. While Marcelo asks his rabbi friend questions like “Why were Adam and Eve ashamed, after eating from the Tree of Knowledge, when they realized they were naked?” he experiences his own journey from innocence to knowledge. He is facing human evil in various forms. And he has to make some very difficult decisions.

As we watch Marcelo leave the Garden of Eden, we also see him struggle with various decisions — large and small. He is no longer in a static world where tasks are clearly laid out, he gets as much time as he needs, and right answers are usually clear. He has to decide whether a task merits being done at a slow, meticulous pace or if it has to be done quickly. He has to “read” people who are not being straightforward about what they mean. He has to improvise. He is learning dynamic thinking . Part of this is deciding how to respond to unethical behavior, even on the part of his own father. When his dad puts Marcelo in the “real world,” he gets more than he bargained for.

I found Marcelo to be a multi-layered, believable character with a compelling story. There are many layers of truth in this novel, from how people with neurological differences learn to the role of faith in human life and the nature of good and evil. It’s definitely a book I won’t forget.

Highly Recommended

Note: There is strong language in this book, in case you’re sensitive to that.

“Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.” — Henry David Thoreau

The photo below isn’t very good, but our regular camera was dead. This is James at his piano recital today, with new clothes AND a haircut.

Posted here by the marvelous Kyra. I couldn’t have said it better. And mine wouldn’t have been nearly as funny.