Carpe Diem and Mending Wall by Robert Frost

Carpe Diem
by Robert Frost

Age saw two quiet children
Go loving by at twilight,
He knew not whether homeward,
Or outward from the village,
Or (chimes were ringing) churchward,
He waited (they were strangers)
Till they were out of hearing
To bid them both be happy.
"Be happy, happy, happy,
And seize the day of pleasure."
The age-long theme is Age's.
'Twas Age imposed on poems
Their gather-roses burden
To warn against the danger
That overtaken lovers
From being overflooded
With happiness should have it.
And yet not know they have it.
But bid life seize the present?
It lives less in the present
Than in the future always,
And less in both together
Than in the past. The present
Is too much for the senses,
Too crowding, too confusing—
Too present to imagine.



Mending Wall
by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbors.'

Wrens Nesting in a Toy and Hummingbird Sighting

Seriously. Check out these pictures.

From our back deck

Up close, the nest is in a stack of small soccer cones amongst the other toys that have been left outside and thrown in the tub.

Close-up--5 spotted eggs

And there is mama or papa wren.

Better focus but not as close view of the eggs

And Thomas saw a ruby-throated hummingbird when he was playing in the front yard under the playset on Friday. Then on Saturday morning as we were sitting down to breakfast, a hummer buzzed our back bird feeding/watering area--where we always hang the hummingbird feeder. I quickly made up some sugar water and hung the feeder, and we had both male and female there within 10 minutes. On Sunday, we believe we observed them actually mating on our back deck! It was amazing!

Can you spot the hummingbird in this picture?

What I Bought at the Garden Center Yesterday

Poetry--In Knowledge of Young Boys

In Knowledge of Young Boys
by Toi Derricotte

i knew you before you had a mother,
when you were newtlike, swimming,
a horrible brain in water.
i knew you when your connections
belonged only to yourself,
when you had no history
to hook on to,
barnacle,
when you had no sustenance of metal
when you had no boat to travel
when you stayed in the same
place, treading the question;
i knew you when you were all
eyes and a cocktail,
blank as the sky of a mind,
a root, neither ground nor placental;
not yet
red with the cut nor astonished
by pain, one terrible eye
open in the center of your head
to night, turning, and the stars
blinked like a cat. we swam
in the last trickle of champagne
before we knew breastmilk—we
shared the night of the closet,
the parasitic
closing on our thumbprint,
we were smudged in a yellow book.

son, we were oak without
mouth, uncut, we were
brave before memory.


What an interesting poem! I saw it in my Poem-a-Day email from poets.org.

Learning in Freedom: Genius or procrastinator?

I read this post over at Ren's site and wanted to share it:
Learning in Freedom: Genius or procrastinator?

I was always called lazy in my school days--and I still bop from one project to the next. I feel a tiny bit vindicated. :)

Bertrand Russell QOTD

If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell

2009 VaHomeschoolers Conference and Resource Fair

2009 VaHomeschoolers Conference and Resource Fair
Science Museum of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
www.vahomeschoolers.org/conference

May 22-23, 2009
Experience Life. Experience Learning. Homeschool!

Family Fun at the Conference

We’ve thought of everything when it comes to family fun at the VaHomeschoolers Conference. You’ll definitely want to bring the kids along because the family programming lineup gets better and better with each conference year. Here’s your checklist for a whole day’s entertainment for children of all ages and it’s all included with conference registration. Check it twice so your family doesn’t miss out on any of the fun!

• Storytelling - VaHomeschoolers welcomes Kim Weitkamp, nationally acclaimed storyteller. Come hear one of Kim’s amazing stories, then participate in her workshop, Bait Hook and Catch: Crafting the Perfect Tall Tale, where participants will learn the basics of what builds a great tall tale. Learn more about Kim at www.justkissthefrog.com.

• Puppet Show – Heidi Rugg and her Barefoot Puppets return to the conference with a production of Galapagos George. Through beautiful scenery and captivating puppet actors, Heidi takes viewers to the Galapagos Islands to learn the story of the last giant tortoise to be found on Pinta Island. Meet all of Heidi’s puppets at www.barefootpuppets.com.

• Ice Cream Social and Talent Show – Celebrate Memorial Day weekend at the “Stars and Stripes” Talent Show and Ice Cream Social. Open to kids of all ages, share your talent or display your art with homeschool friends. This event will be held Friday, May 22 from 7-10 p.m. at the host hotel, Holiday Inn I-64 West End/Crossroads. To register for the talent show or art display, please contact party@vahomeschoolers.org.

• Crafts – Make your own conference souvenir at the “Notable Notebooks” station. Teen volunteers will help children customize a spiral bound notebook with the art of collage, as part of the “altered books” trend.

• Science Museum of Virginia – The museum currently has some fantastic exhibits including Mindbenders, Bioscape, Science Unplugged and many more! For more information, visit www.smv.org.

• A Trip to the Zoo! – Meet some of Mill Mountain Zoo's residents in an animal meet-and-greet where staff from the zoo will teach you about the visiting animals, their habitats and other interesting facts. Check out their website at www.mmzoo.org.

Remember Early Bird Registration for your discounted conference fee! We still need adult volunteers and used curriculum donations. For additional information on the conference sessions, volunteering, donations to the used curriculum, or registration, please visit www.vahomeschoolers.org/conference.

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Please feel free to forward this message to other homeschoolers and homeschool groups or email lists who might find this information useful. If this message was forwarded to you, be sure to join the VaHomeschoolers Announcement List to receive future updates directly.

Join online: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VaHomeschoolersAnnouncements
Or via email: VaHomeschoolersAnnouncements-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Organization-of-Virginia-Homeschoolers-VaHomeschoolers/55609580921

The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers
www.vahomeschoolers.org
info@vahomeschoolers.org
PO Box 5131
Charlottesville, VA 22905
866-513-6173

Rainy Day Poems

The Rainy Day
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the moldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the moldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Rainy Day
--William Wise

I do not like a rainy day.
The road is wet, the sky is gray.
They dress me up, from head to toes,
In lots and lots of rubber clothes.
I wish the sun would come and stay.
I do not like a rainy day.

Mindfulness QOTD

Seeing ourselves plainly, we can change, and as we do so, it brings a feeling of great relief, as if we had dropped a heavy load. -Ayya Khema, "Who is My Self?"

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.

QOTD--Motivation

Homer Rice said “You can motivate by fear. And you can motivate by reward. But both of these methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation.”

I found this little gem at Casual Hardcore, a blog about various aspects of playing the online game World of Warcraft. This relates to so many things in life: everything, really! It is not dissimilar to this quote from John Holt or this one from Kurt Hahn.

Emily Dickinson's A Man may make a Remark

A Man may make a Remark
by Emily Dickinson


A Man may make a Remark—
In itself—a quiet thing
That may furnish the Fuse unto a Spark
In dormant nature—lain—

Let us deport—with skill—
Let us discourse—with care—
Powder exists in Charcoal—
Before it exists in Fire.



About the poet:

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary [my grandmother also attended Mt Holyoke] in South Hadley, but severe homesickness led her to return home after one year. Throughout her life, she seldom left her house and visitors were scarce. The people with whom she did come in contact, however, had an enormous impact on her thoughts and poetry.

Dickinson's poetry reflects her loneliness and the speakers of her poems generally live in a state of want, but her poems are also marked by the intimate recollection of inspirational moments which are decidedly life-giving and suggest the possibility of happiness. Her work was heavily influenced by the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, as well as her reading of the Book of Revelation and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town which encouraged a Calvinist, orthodox, and conservative approach to Christianity.

New Farmers' Market in Earlysville

I got word from the folks at All Good Groceries (formerly Whyte's) that there will be an ongoing weekly farmers' market in their side parking lot area starting Thursday, April 23rd. The details I got were that the market will run every Thursday through October, from 4-7pm. There will be food, crafts and other items being sold. At this point all booths are spoken for. For more information you can email either this person or this other person, who are the organizers.

Word Cloud

Here's my latest blog word cloud, from Snapshirts:

First Annual Shenandoah Homeschoolers’ Science Fair

I am forwarding this message that came across the AlbemarleHomeschoolers yahoo list:


Hi all!
I'm writing to tell you about the Science Fair that the Funschool Cooperative is sponsoring, coming up soon, on Sunday May 3. It's going to be a great afternoon, with science exhibits and real scientists from our community, including professors from JMU and EMU, who will provide each participant with feedback on their project. You don't have to be a science whiz to join the fun. There are a lot of websites with great science fair project ideas, but all you need is an idea and you can make it anything you want it to be! Please don't be intimidated, even if you don't think science is your strong suit, because this is all about learning and discovery! Sign up soon and get started on your project!

All ages are welcome and encouraged! I have attached the registration form, but I will also copy and paste it below, because I know that some people don't like to open attachments. Please email with any questions!

Cheers,
Sonya Shaver


What: It’s the first annual Shenandoah Homeschoolers’ Science Fair!

Where: Auxiliary Gym at Eastern Mennonite University (right next to the main gym in the University Commons)

When: Sunday, May 3, 2009, 3-5 pm

Who: Calling all homeschoolers! We need YOU! Here’s your chance to make a new discovery, figure out how something works, invent a solution to a problem, or explore anything you want to in the world of science. Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn more about? Sign up NOW for the first Shenandoah Homeschoolers’ Science Fair. You can choose any type of project to research and explore, and make a display or experiment to exhibit and share with others. Real scientists from our community, including science professors from JMU and EMU, will be on hand to provide each participant with individual feedback on their projects. You don’t want to miss it!! Fill out this form and mail it to the address below right now! You can also call or email to sign up too. Get out your goggles everyone!

Child’s Name:
Child’s Age on May 3:
Mailing Address:
Phone:
Email:

Please check one of the following topic areas for your science fair project:

Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Medicine and Health
Engineering and Robotics
Earth and Space Science
Other (please describe):

The registration fee is $7 per participant, which will be used to cover the rental of the EMU gym and administrative fees. Please fill out this form and mail it along with your fee, made payable to Funschool Cooperative, to Sonya Shaver, 740 Grant Street, Harrisonburg, VA, 22802. You can also email questions, or call Sonya at (540) 421-9502.

I will not hold EMU, Funschool Cooperative, or any of its members, responsible for any injury or loss or damage of property that may result from my or my child’s participation in this event.

Parent/Primary Caregiver’s Signature:

Date:

COH Peter Rabbit Edition

I hope you'll go check out the latest carnival of homeschooling--#171!

This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is being hosted by the Home Education Magazine at:
http://www.homeedmag.com/resources/3729/carnival-of-homeschooling-peter-rabbit-edition/

It starts off with this delightful quotation by Beatrix Potter:

"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality."

And if you want more, last week's COH #170 was hosted by Joanne Jacobs at her blog. Here's a page at WhyHomeschool listing the COH archives.

2009 DC and US Territories Quarters

Emily was searching through our change to fill in her US state quarters collection and noticed a 2009 quarter with the District of Columbia on it. I had no idea they were minting new quarters this year and looked it up. Lo and behold, they are doing to be minting DC and the US Territories this year.

In 2009, the United States Mint will mint and issue six quarter-dollar coins in honor of the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These coins will be issued in equal sequential intervals in 2009 in the order listed.

• District of Columbia
• The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• Guam
• American Samoa
• The U.S. Virgin Islands
• The Northern Mariana Islands

These are the states she's missing.

So be on the lookout for these new coins this year, if you enjoy collecting.

The Scorpion by Hilaire Belloc and a Photo

The Scorpion
Hilaire Belloc

The Scorpion is as black as soot,
He dearly loves to bite;
He is a most unpleasant brute
To find in bed at night.


The Baldwin Project
From More Beasts for Worse Children | 1896

Last night was rather exciting for us here. The scorpion had been spotted crawling about the tank several nights recently, looking fat and healthy, but last night Thomas saw him eating a cricket. Naturally, after first running over to verify that this wasn't a joke, I got my camera. :) I hope it was the noisy cricket! And if you click on the photo, you can see it really well, not to mention the beetle calmly walking next to the scorpion. It had been a mealworm, intended to be food for the crickets. Guess they didn't eat him soon enough.

Poem on How to Read Poetry

How to Read a Poem: Beginner's Manual
by Pamela Spiro Wagner

First, forget everything you have learned,
that poetry is difficult,
that it cannot be appreciated by the likes of you,
with your high school equivalency diploma,
your steel-tipped boots,
or your white-collar misunderstandings.

Do not assume meanings hidden from you:
the best poems mean what they say and say it.

To read poetry requires only courage
enough to leap from the edge
and trust.

Treat a poem like dirt,
humus rich and heavy from the garden.
Later it will become the fat tomatoes
and golden squash piled high upon your kitchen table.

Poetry demands surrender,
language saying what is true,
doing holy things to the ordinary.

Read just one poem a day.
Someday a book of poems may open in your hands
like a daffodil offering its cup
to the sun.

When you can name five poets
without including Bob Dylan,
when you exceed your quota
and don't even notice,
close this manual.

Nothing Gold Can Stay--Robert Frost

I seem to be drawn to poems about nature . . .

Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

Kite Poem and a Tale of Rescue

A Kite is a Victim

A kite is a victim you are sure of.
You love it because it pulls
gentle enough to call you master,
strong enough to call you fool;
because it lives
like a desperate trained falcon
in the high sweet air,
and you can always haul it down
to tame it in your drawer.

A kite is a fish you have already caught
in a pool where no fish come,
so you play him carefully and long,
and hope he won't give up,
or the wind die down.

A kite is the last poem you've written,
so you give it to the wind,
but you don't let it go
until someone finds you
something else to do.

A kite is a contract of glory
that must be made with the sun,
so you make friends with the field
the river and the wind,
then you pray the whole cold night before,
under the traveling cordless moon,
to make you worthy and lyric and pure.

Leonard Cohen


I chose a poem about kites because on Tuesday the kids and I met with friends at a local park to fly kites. It was in the upper 40s and overcast, not to mention windy. It turned out to be a perfect kite-flying day! I bought two different kites at Target, and our friends had one that looked like a fighter jet.

This little kite had trouble gaining altitude.

But this larger one did great!

At this particular park, we had noticed the previous week that there was a kit stuck high in a tree. When we were there on Tuesday it was still there. There also happened to be a crew working for the park service trimming limbs in a nearby area. I though, hey, they might have a long pole pruner or something that could be used to get this poor lonely kite out of the tree!

So I ambled on over and spoke with someone from Big "O" Tree and Lawn Service about the kite. He said sure, I'll send someone over to get it out for you. A few minutes later, Matt walked over with tree climbing gear, no pole saw or other equipment--the man was going to scurry up the tree like a squirrel and rescue the kite! (As a side note, Matt used to work for Arbor Life, another tree company that a friend of ours was a partner in, and we think Matt was part of the crew that went to my parents' house when they had a lot of trees removed a few years ago. Small world, Charlottesville.)

The kids and my friend and I watched with a bit of amazement as this guy attached his harness and threw a rope up around the tree and started climbing. The branches really didn't seem like they would hold him once he left the main trunk. And the kite was of course out on the ends of a branch, with the tail caught in another nearby branch. I was feeling rather apprehensive--what if this guy falls, all because of a kite? But never fear, gentle reader, because this guy was nimble and obviously quite used to dealing with such situations.

He did have to cut one or two small branches to free the kite, but free it he did! We were really quite impressed. As soon as he handed us the kite, Emily attached the string from our small kite to it and it took off! The kids kept saying it was one of the best days ever. Thanks Matt, and Big "O" Tree and Lawn, for rescuing the kite!

I'll post pictures of the kite rescue when I can get them off Emily's phone.

Tuesday's Poem--Father's Song

Father's Song
by Gregory Orr
Yesterday, against admonishment, my daughter balanced on the couch back, fell and cut her mouth. Because I saw it happen I knew she was not hurt, and yet a child's blood so red it stops a father's heart. My daughter cried her tears; I held some ice against her lip. That was the end of it. Round and round: bow and kiss. I try to teach her caution; she tried to teach me risk.

Dog Poems

Last night Eddie was watching the Tivo'd CBS Sunday Morning show. He had me watch Ben Stein's commentary, about getting a dog, so that led me to today's subject. I was just looking for one dog poem, but both of these needed to be shared.


Watch CBS Videos Online

ONE MAN'S SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO A DOG

The one absolutely unselfish friend that
a man can have in this selfish world,
the one that never deserts him,
the one that never proves ungrateful
or treacherous, is his dog.

A man's dog stands by him in prosperity
and in poverty,
in health and in sickness.
He will sleep on the cold ground where
the wintery winds blow,
and the snow drives fiercely,
if only he may be near his master's
side. He will kiss the hand that has no
food to offer, he will lick the sores
and wounds that come in encounter with
the roughness of the world. He guards
the sleep of his Pauper master as if he
were a prince.

When all other friends desert,
he remains.
When riches take wings and reputation
falls to pieces, he is as constant in
his love as the sun in it's journey
through the heavens.
If misfortune drives the master forth
an outcast in the world, friendless
and homeless, the faithful dog asks
no higher privilege than that of
accompanying him to guard against
danger, to fight against his enemies.

And when the last scene of all comes,
and death takes the master in it's
embrace, and his body is laid away in
the cold ground, no matter if all other
friends pursue their way, there by the
graveside will the noble dog be found,
his head between his paws, his eyes sad,
but open in alert watchfulness,
faithful and true, even in death.

-From a speech given by
Former Senator George Graham Vest
of Missouri. Delivered in 1870 when he
was acting as a lawyer in a suit against
a man who had killed the dog of his
client. -- He won the case.

Just My Dog

He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds;
my other ears that hear above the winds.
He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea.

He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason
for being by the way he rests against my leg;
by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile;
by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him.
(I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not
along to care for me.)

When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive.

When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile.
When I am happy, he is joy unbounded.

When I am a fool, he ignores it.
When I succeed, he brags.

Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful.

He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion.

With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace.
He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant.

His head on my knee can heal my human hurts.
His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and
unknown things.

He has promised to wait for me...whenever...wherever--
in case I need him.
And I expect I will--as I always have.

This piece originally appeared in Tears & Laughter by Gene Hill. Copyright Gene Hill.


Here's a link to even more dog poems.

Two Poems for Today--Shakespear and Haiku

I missed posting a poem yesterday--Emily had an exciting soccer game mid-morning and then plans with a friend later in the day, and I had lots of laundry to do--excuses, excuses, I know! Anyway, I'm making up for it today. Here we go with poetry inspired by the wonderful weather we've been having this weekend.

This first poem is from Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost:

When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
“Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
“Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

--from Act V, Scene 2





And now for something totally different, a haiku written just now by Thomas and me:


Spring

happy sunny days
spring when the bumblebees come
colors in the air

Liberian Artist H. Wantue Major

Originally posted 10/29/07--I am adding an update. I've had several hits recently from people searching for Wantue's art, and at least one search was for how to purchase his art. I would be happy to put you in touch with Wantue if you are interested in seeing his work or in purchasing or commissioning something. Just leave me a comment or email me directly. Also, the Sage Moon Gallery has closed it's location on the Downtown Mall according to this article from December, 2008. I haven't found out whether they have opened up somewhere else yet.

I am fortunate to know, through my parents, an extremely talented local artist, who came to the US in the late 1990's. His name is H. Wantue Major. My parents met him when they were posted in Monrovia, Liberia, for the Foreign Service. They saw how fantastic his art was and started building a collection of his work there, and continue to do so today. Wantue currently has his artwork exhibited at the Sage Moon Gallery on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.

This is some of his art, which I own (all images are copyrighted by the artist):

Wantue's Art

From his flyer for the Sage Moon display:

Hoover Wantue Major

I was born and raised in Liberia, West Africa and taught myself art.

I am a realist, a surrealist, an abstract artist, a cubist, a watercolorist, an impressionist, an illustrator, and a cartoonist.

My art hangs in private and public collections in Africa, Europe, North America, the Middle East, Australia, and East Asia.

I have mounted exhibits in Liberia; Charlottesville, VA; Washington, DC; Minneapolis, MN; Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland.

From 1990 to 1999, I conducted art classes for children and adults in Liberia and America using any available venue, from refugee camps to college classrooms. I developed the students' pictorial appreciation and skill. Using art as a detraumatizing therapy, I taught refugee children and traumatized adults love, forgiveness, tolerance, and peace.

2001-02: Appointed Visiting Scholar, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA.
1999: Taught art part-time at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Charter School, DC.
1981-97: Layout artist, art editor, political cartoonist at Liberian newspapers.
1993-97: Developed curriculum, designed and produced materials for United Nations on peace, disarmament, free and fair elections, and health, in Liberia.
1992-97: Member and Leader, New Breed Painters, Liberia.
1979-91: Graphic artist and textbook illustrator, Liberian Ministry of Education.
1988-89: Workshop Director, African-American Development Assoc., Liberia.

There is another example of Wantue's art here, at Mano River Resources.

The New York Times has an interesting article titled Y'all Hear? African English with a Dixie Drawl, on Liberian English, in which Wantue's cartoon strip is mentioned. He was both the political cartoonist and the layout editor for The Inquirer (independent Monrovian newspaper).

Wantue's life in Liberia during the civil war was not easy, as was the case for the vast majority of the population. Over 200,000 people died during the turmoil, in a country with a population today of just 3.2 million. He and his family came to the United States in 1997 and were granted temporary residence based on the political and social turmoil in Liberia--Wantue's political cartoons did not endear him to warlord/"elected" president Charles Taylor. Wantue and his wife now have jobs in the Charlottesville area to support their family of 5, as well as numerous relatives still living in Liberia.

Wantue believes that art enriches life. He works in oil, acrylic, pen and ink, watercolor, and pastels. He feels compelled to create art that gives voice to his thoughts and emotions, and he does so in a number of unique styles. It seems that there is no limit on his creativity. I have seen first-hand how prolific an artist he is--his house is filled with his artwork. This is his way of expressing his feelings and hopes for humanity. If you live in the area, you won't be disappointed if you go view his art at the gallery.

A Couple Great Video-based Mathematics Websites

My wonderful friend Patti sent me links for two websites that contain hundreds of short video tutorials on a huge variety of mathematical concepts. Emily had expressed a desire to learn more math, and not being the kind of homeschoolers who sit down regularly for math lessons out of a specific program, this is just what we needed! I'm going to be able to brush up on what I've forgotten, or never learned in the first place, and also have better tools to explain the "whys" of specific math functions.

The first one is called the Khan Academy. From the site:

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere.

We have 700+ videos on YouTube covering everything from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, and finance which have been recorded by Salman Khan. He has also developed a free, adaptive math program available here.

To keep abreast of new videos as we add them, subscribe to the Khan Academy channel on YouTube.

The math concepts on Khan Academy run from Basic Arithmetic through Calculus, and also includes Finance, Physics, Banking and Money, and more. All free.


Then there is MathTV.com. They don't have any information about who they are; their FAQ is "coming soon." But they, too, have video clips of people explaining a large variety of mathematical concepts, from basics like fractions and decimals up through calculus. If you need videos on multiplication and division, they don't have anything at that level, however.

I checked out their videos under Algebra: Exponents: Division with Exponents. (They have two different people do the same problem.) WOW! I don't remember any of that stuff! Must have gotten through it, in about the year 1983 or so, but it's long gone. ;) And as far as I remember, I've never had to use it since graduating high school. Not to say that it's not worth learning if you're interested, and you certainly need to understand it to proceed in math; but for everyday use, uh-uh. It's nice to know i can "re-learn" it if I ever need to, though.

If you have found any great sites with videos explaining language arts, please leave a link in the comments!


Update:

I received an email from Patric McKeague at MathTV:


Hi Silvia,

Thanks for the link on your blog. here is the contents of a press release we recently sent.

Best , Patric McKeague

News release: 4,000 free online videos help math students 24/7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009

Contact: Pat McKeague
805-541-4593; pat@mckeague.com

Leading Textbook Author Has 4,000-Plus Online Videos to Help Math Students 24/7

SAN LUIS OBISPO Leading math textbook author Charles P. McKeague has produced over 4,000 online videos, allowing students to get help with math any time, day or night. And at MathTV (www.mathtv.com), all instruction is free.

The site offers a variety of instructors -- including one who speaks Spanish -- working problems from basic mathematics and beginning algebra to trigonometry and calculus.

McKeague, co-founder of MathTV, is a popular textbook author, teacher and frequent guest speaker at mathematics conferences throughout the country. He is author of the popular developmental mathematics series Basic Mathematics 7/e, Prealgebra 6/e, Beginning Algebra 8/e, and Intermediate Algebra 8/e. His textbooks are published by Cengage Learning, one of the leading publishers of college textbooks worldwide.

Currently 80 percent of the topics in the textbook series have correlating instructional videos. To give students a more classroom like experience, MathTV includes mini-lectures by McKeague, study skills videos, enrichment videos, and common mistakes videos. By summer McKeague expects to have 5,000 videos available free online.

MathTV will launch its premium service later this year, which will include online textbooks "Introductory Mathematics," "Elementary Algebra," and "Intermediate Algebra," to be published by MathTV. "My goal with the online books is to offer students and instructors a low-cost alternative to print books," McKeague said. "I am in a position to decrease the cost of textbooks without sacrificing quality."

For more information, contact McKeague at 805-541-4593 or pat@mckeague.com or visit his Web site at www.mckeague.com.

# # #

About MathTV
MathTV (www.mathtv.com) offers quality video instruction in mathematics with a choice of instructors. The videos are free and available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Not only do students get help with topics ranging from basic mathematics through calculus, they also see positive role models by watching their peers work a variety of problems. In addition, classroom instructors have an another resource to use when they cannot cover all topics in class.

Friday's Poem--The Star-Spangled Banner

I asked Emily to name a poem she likes for today's post, and she said "The Star-Spangled Banner," which was first written as a poem and later put to music. It became the National Anthem in 1931.


The Star-Spangled Banner

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land,
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.
And this be our motto— "In God is our trust; "
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

by Francis Scott Key

National Poetry Month and "Irritating Sayings"

I just read that April is National Poetry Month (I don't know who decides these things--ok, now I know who decided this one--follow the link).

Coincidentally, I pulled the Children's Library Poetry book (1985 ed.) from my bookshelf before I sat down at the computer, to find some to read to Emily and Thomas. This book has been reprinted as The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry but appears to be the same.

So--I thought I'd post a poem everyday this month, or at least as often as I remember. Feel free to join me!

This one has both funny and sad sayings, and radical unschoolers will really see the sad ones stand out--how many times did you hear these lines growing up? I thought about annotating some of the lines with some comebacks, but I'm sure you can think of your own. :)


Irritating Sayings

Isn't it time you thought about bed?
It must be somewhere
You speak to him Harold, he won't listen to me.
Who do you think I am?
You'd better ask your father
It's late enough as it is
Don't eat with your mouth open
In this day and age
Did anybody ask your opinion
I remember when I was a boy
And after all we do for you
You're not talking to your school friends now you know
Why don't you do it the proper way
I'm only trying to tell you
What did I just say
Now, wrap up warm
B.E.D. spells bed
Sit up straight and don't gobble your food
For the five hundredth time
Don't let me ever see you do that again.
Have you made your bed?
Can't you look further than your nose?
No more lip
Have you done your homework?
Because I say so.
Don't come those fancy ways here
Any more and you'll be in bed
My, haven't you grown
Some day I won't be here, then you'll see
A chair's for sitting on
You shouldn't need telling at your age.
Want, want, want, that's all you ever say

(collated by David Jackson)

I couldn't find a link to the author; Wikipedia lists several David Jacksons, but none seems to be the right one. Let me know if you find something else by him please.

Oh, I just thought of a fun activity--the kids and I may write up responses to each line and make our own poem. :) I'll be sure to post it if we do.