Tricotomania and more

While looking for something else, I discovered the BBC Big Cat pages. The internet sure has changed things though the live webcams and the video streaming of the TV program is not available outside the UK. What a shame.

When Tigger was little, we used to watch Big Cat Diary on Sunday evenings while we had our dinner. It is such an amazing program, following specific lions, cheetahs, and leopards in the Masai Mara. Some of the same presenters are still with the program and as I watched an episode of Big Cat Raw on the website, one of the questions was about a leopard (Shadow) I remembered from that time. (I moved to Canada in January 2003 so that gives you a sense of when.) I notice that they now have a Masai presenter as well as the English ones.

Tigger used to be fascinated by this program right along with us. Sometimes if I thought about it, I wondered about watching a program that showed lions hunting and mating to a 3-year old vegetarian but she never seemed to be disturbed by it. In fact, after we had moved here (so she must have been about 6), I remember being in the video store considering renting Two Brothers. It was rated PG but from the blurb, I thought she’d like it. I was explaining to her that it was rated PG for violence but it looked like maybe the violence was tiger violence. She looked at me funny and said something like “But Mummy, tiger violence isn’t real violence. They can’t be vegetarians like people can.”

Anyway, even without the main program and the live webcams the Big Cat site looks like it has some interesting things to explore. I might have to check out more of the site with Tigger. I’m not sure whether she remembers the program or not. The extra features and links are also interesting and include maps and related radio programs. If anyone is studying African animals, this would be a great resource.

Tigger is currently doing a cell biology/microscopy course. That prompted her to get out the microscope her grandmother had picked up for her free or cheap somewhere. She checked it out and thinks it is good for her purposes but we need some slides and cover slips and things. So I suggested that she ask her science teacher where he gets his stuff.

She came home with a borrowed copy of his catalogue from ProlabScientific and advice that it is better to phone them than order online. I note that slides and coverslips are in their back-to-school sale flyer. Hurray. (I also noted that they have a battery operated acceleration timer in the $40 range which is much cheaper than what I’d seen before, when we get back to thinking about physics.) There offices are right here in Ottawa. I’m not sure if that will make a difference on shipping (or mean I have a pick-up option).

For all you people teaching biology: any recommendations on which prepared slides we should order? Tigger would like some.  I don’t want to spend lots and lots of money but I’m happy to get some if they will be of ongoing use. Any ideas?

As I was loitering at the children’s information desk in the library today, I leafed through a magazine from the Children’s Book Centre they had sitting on the counter. In it I came across details of a contest associated with Children’s Book Week (November 15-22). The contest deadline is December 15th and winners will be announced in April. It is open to kids in grades 2 through 6 and since school is based so firmly on age, I’m assuming you just figure out which grade you kid would be in where s/he in school. Individual kids can enter. They encourage teachers (and librarians) to use this as a basis of activities but it looks like it is not necessary for entries to come through schools. Details can be found here. And there is a link to a PDF of the entry form on that page.

It seems that in this house the deadline imposed by a contest and the possibility of winning a $200 bookstore gift certificate are just the motivation needed to actually work hard on one piece of writing, going through the whole process of revision and so on. After the publishing experience, I should have figured this out sooner. Lots of writing happens but revision needs some external motivation.

With that in mind, I also started to look for other possibilities. The Royal Canadian Legion runs a contest for Remembrance Day, though it is unclear whether homeschoolers are eligible. I’ve e-mailed my local branch to ask, and to find out deadlines. I fear I’ve missed this year, since it is only a month away but maybe next year. I noticed a couple of books of poetry specifically on war and peace recently so a little unit on war poetry that includes writing some of our own might be a good idea.

A quick google search led me to the Canadian Authors Association page on writing contests though it is mostly for adult writers.  However, there is a youth category in the local branch contest for young people age 13-17 which isn’t that far off.

This page (at Wordwrights Canada) has some contests but only for 2007-08. There is an interesting one sponsored by Habitat for Humanity (a charity we support) on the meaning of home, deadline November 14th.

This one is not the right age group for us but if you have a child in grade 4 or 5, the World Literacy Council has an annual creative writing program linked to their Write to Read program. I found information on the TVO site.

Folks in Manitoba and Saskatchewan should keep an eye out for this year’s McNally Robinson Dear Canada contest for kids in grades 5 and 6. Last year’s deadline was in April. And GMAC seems to sponsor a contest with a spring deadline too but there doesn’t seem to be details of this year’s contest yet. A couple of different sources had links to this page, so maybe that’s the place to go when it comes back.

If anyone knows of others, shout out in the comments.

I picked up Donna Jo Napoli’s Fire in the Hills at the library the other week. We’ve read some of her work before (The King of Mulberry Street) and really enjoyed it. Excellent historical fiction. This one is shelved in the teen section and refers to things younger kids might not be ready for (like rape and prostitution; no vivid descriptions or anything, but recognition that it happened). But this is another excellent book about WWII that focuses on something that I certainly haven’t come across much.

The main character is an Italian boy, Roberto, who is 14 at the beginning of the story and 16 by the end. The novel covers the period from 1943 to the end of the war and tells the story of Roberto’s return to his home city of Venice. Through flashbacks you get some of the story of how he came to be on an American ship attacking Sicily at the beginning of the book and some idea of what he’s seen of the war before this story begins. I notice on the jacket that it is a sequel to Stones in the Water. We haven’t read the first book and that didn’t affect our enjoyment of this at all.

The bulk of the book deals with Roberto’s involvement with the Italian resistance, the partigiani. This is fascinating material and gives a very interesting perspective on the war. First of all it indicates how complicated allegiances were and how and why they might have shifted. You get a view of the war from the ground but kind of from the margins.

But you also get a very good sense of both the horror of war and how people might respond to that. It is interesting that Roberto has seen a lot of horror and this has made him more pacifist. He doesn’t want to kill anyone. This is treated as a valued option within the story and he finds many ways to help the resistance that don’t involve killing anyone. This aspect of the story provides a realistic treatment of some very complicated ethical dillemmas. And they are treated well. We see the necessity of fighting back against brutality. We see the illogic of much of the violence. And we see a very human character grapple with notions of honour and pacifism. There are no easy answers and the book doesn’t give any. There is no Hollywood ending.

For people who want to avoid representations of violence and brutality, you won’t want to read this book. We all respond to representations of violence differently and we need to make our own judgements. For those who are prepared to read about violence if it is dealt with well, I recommend this book. It certainly doesn’t pull any punches on the brutality of war. But it doesn’t glorify violence either or provide unnecessarily graphic detail. There is no attempt at some kind of sado-masochistic pleasure and the violence is not there to entertain. But war is brutal and this is not glossed over.

Tigger did not seem upset by the book though we haven’t talked about it in detail. She did say that it was definitely a daytime book. I would not recommend this as a bedtime read aloud.

As with many of the best historical novels, there are some notes at the end providing some of the basic facts. In addition, the songs of the partigiani are an important part of the story and the author directs you to websites where you can hear some of these songs and learn the lyrics. She states that the most well known of the resistance songs is Bella Ciao which you can learn here. The music is one of the things that Roberto uses to conquer his fear and keep himself going in hard times. It might be interesting to learn some of the songs and talk about them in relation to how music can help us through difficult times.

For those who want their children to learn about war without glorifying it and to address the complex issues war raises, this would be a good addition to your library. I might now have a look at Stones in the Water, too, though I think it might deal with the more well worn issues of deportation and life in the camps.

I was reading Sheila’s post about writing poetry with her kids and realized that I forgot to update you all on my own poetry challenge.

First, I now read the poem that Becky posts on Fridays instead of skimming over it or skipping that post altogether. Sometime’s I need to force myself to do it because my instinct is still to skim or skip. I discover that “it will not kill me” (as I say to Tigger about eating the odd raisin/bit of zucchini/etc) and that it isn’t even painful. I need to keep doing this until my instinct shifts a bit.

Second, I am hosting Teatimes when it is my turn with our homeschool group. My first session of that was this past Tuesday. I went to the library on Monday and grabbed a few things off the shelf to add to the collection of poetry books that we have. The kids each brought something. I made tea and fruit punch. Tigger made cookies and picked flowers from the garden for a centrepiece (and chose a tablecloth). Some of the kids were more enthusiastic than others. Some read more fluently aloud than others (2 speak German at home and are less confident about their English, I think). But everyone read. I said it was okay to choose short things. I also said we all had to choose one poem new to us. Baby steps challenges. It was fun. Some of them were practically begging to read another one. After an hour or so I dismissed them to go play.

One thing I noticed is that Tigger likes what might be called grown up poems. The stuff I find vaguely scary.  I don’t know what the other kids thought but I noticed a real difference in style between what she chose to read and what others chose to read. She also like Shel Silverstein and John Hegley but she chose to read other stuff. This is clearly an area where I need to take a lead from her and not be scared of this stuff.

So the book Sheila mentioned about how to write poetry sounds like something we could maybe do in our December meeting or next term or something. Though apparently Tigger wrote some poetry when she was on holiday in the Gaspésie recently.

Although I’ve been working pretty hard, other stuff is happening. The weather has been getting pretty cold at night and went down almost to freezing the other day. The tomatoes didn’t seem to be doing much anyway, so we picked all but the cherry tomatoes (which we’ve covered) and made a whole bunch of green tomato salsa. I don’t like either cilantro/coriander or chili but other people do and it makes great gives. (Yes, cilantro is coriander leaf. And I do like coriander seed. I’m one of those people who think the leaf smells and tastes like soap.)

We also canned a peck of pears and Mat is getting another peck today. We peel them and halve them and put them in a light sugar syrup. Despite Wisteria’s warnings about low-acid foods, etc. I just put the pears in the hot syrup, bring it back to the boil, put them in hot jars, fill them right to the top, put the lids on, and turn them upside down to cool. (Same thing I do with peaches; my grandmother’s method.) Didn’t kill anyone last year but ymmv. I do think that where you live makes a difference, probably, though I’m not sure how or why.

We’ve decided that we should do more tomatoes and beets and possibly beans. Mat was up early so went to the farmer’s market on his own. We’ll see what he comes back with. Tomorrow afternoon might be a busy one slaving over a hot stove.

Tigger has been keeping herself busy and seems to be fine with the level of neglect. Our little co-op has started and this past week it was at a friend’s who is close enough Tigger can go on her own on the bike so she got herself there and back. They were learning about elections, since we are now having one (on October 14th; Becky will keep you up to date better than I will). She’s also been writing like a mad fiend. She and her friend have decided to form a writing club and they spent all Thursday afternoon together writing and illustrating. She’s also been hanging out in her room writing a lot. I see that some of the new stories are up on the blog though I think a lot more has been written.

Tigger has also been working through the next book in the Key To Geometry series. The one on squares and rectangles, which might be the 4th one. There has been some violin practice, too. Her Nana brought her a full-size violin and fixed it up for her. And Tigger has been asked if she can play some sad/reflective music to go with poetry readings that the youth group will do for the Rembrance Day service at church.

Nana and Grandpa have now gone home. Everyone had a great visit. And Tigger has started her choir. Next week basketball and science class start as well as a 5 week babysitting class. So things will be pretty busy and there might be enough structure that I’ll know what day of the week it is

I have some things of my own going on, too. I decided to sign up for a class at church: Eclipsing Empire. It is very interesting. Historical context of Paul’s writings. I had been thinking about it and when I went to sign up, I noticed that many of the folks taking it were people I knew and liked. That helped. And I’m enjoying it. I am also back at my fitness class in the weights room. A bit stiff this week but I think that indicates how good it is for me to do it regularly. And I like the other women there. I’ve identified a 20 minute brisk walk route around my neighbourhood and am trying to do that regularly, too.

Today I think we’ll do a bit of housework and then we are off to a friend’s place for the afternoon. Have a good weekend.

I have used my bog-standard day planner to help manage the stress of this heavy workload season. Basically, I realized that after about 3 p.m. I can’t do any useful work actually reviewing grant applications (which is what I do). I can’t concentrate, and folks aren’t going to get my most insightful thoughts. And for what I charge, they should get insightful thoughts. So I sat down and worked out the numbers. Some days I can get through 4 applications as long as I get up early and no one is hanging around in my office (which is also the kitchen). Some days, I have things to go to, so that cuts down on what I can do. Do I need to miss those things? Well, I planned it out. And no, I don’t. The work I have to do can all be done before the end of the day on Friday, September 26th without having to miss some of the things I’m booked for (a class at church, a fitness class, etc) and without reviewing more than 4 applications a day (and fewer on most days). That is a pretty reasonable workload. It enables me to do my best work for my clients, get it done in a reasonable time-frame, and be involved in the rest of my life.

Knowing that it works also gets rid of lots of stress and anxiety. I don’t have to feel bad on days I only review 2 applications. I don’t have to feel guilty about stopping at 3 p.m. and writing a blog post or going for a walk or canning pears. I can go to a friend’s place on the weekend and hang out with my partner in the evening playing games and chatting after we’ve canned pears and green tomato salsa.

And I can futz around on the internet and mull over ideas about where this business might be going after this little seasonal rush.

Of course, I also determined that I didn’t have time to take Tigger to the opera today. We had purchased the tickets ages ago for a school performance of The Marriage of Figaro. But Mat stepped up and took her. He has work to do, too, but our relationship is a partnership and he’s as committed to parenting and homeschooling as I am. Also, I only get busy in September and May. And he’s going away to do a lot of intensive work in the first week of October. It all works out. Give and take.

I’m hoping that our new Busy Body Fridge planner will make that coordination less stressful. It only just arrived, so we’ll have to see.

I’m reading Madeleine L’Engle’s Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage and came across this today (page 125 of the edition I have).

There are many times when the idea that there is indeed a pattern seems absurd wishful thinking. Random events abound. There is much in life that seems meaningless. And then, when I can see no evidence of meaning, some glimpse is given which reveals the strange weaving of purposefulness and beauty.

The world of science lives fairly comfortably with paradox. We know that light is a wave, and also that light is a particle. The discoveries made in the infinitely small world of particle physics indicate randomness and chance, and I do not find it any more difficult to live with the paradox of a universe of randomness and chance and a universe of pattern and purpose than I do with light as a wave and light as a particle. Living with contradiction is nothing new to the human being.

Not that many of us think much about particles and waves but since I read that cloud book…

Becky put a good link in her comment on my recent lament about poetry. (Was it a lament? Perhaps not.)

So on the principal that a long journey begins with a single step, I have been listening to a few poems while cooking dinner. Apart from the annoyance of having to walk across the room to choose the next one, or pause it when the phone rings, it is rather a pleasant discipline.

The Poetry Archive has lots of recordings of poems read by the poets themselves. Always nice to see how they meant that to sound. And possibly one of my issues with reading it. I can never work out how the rhythm is supposed to go or if there is supposed to be one. (Does the line break have any aural function? Or is it merely visual? How does punctuation relate to the line breaks?) The trickiest part is figuring out where to start. Once you’ve listened to one, there seems to be a “where to next” link at the bottom of the page for something related somehow.

ALERT: If you have come directly to the page for this post (say, from a feed reader) you are going to get the whole thing. It includes solutions to the problem. I tried to put this after a break that you would have to click through to get but that only seems to work if you read it on the main page. Click here to go there now if you aren’t sure you want the solution.

Yesterday AnimalGirl came around to tackle this problem with Tigger, which I blogged about a couple of weeks ago. I thought I’d provide some detail of how they worked on it because I know some folks are interested. First go look at the problem. The girls read through the problem and then focused on the map. They weren’t sure where to start but one of them suggested working out what all the possibilities were and going from there. This was probably the best thing to do and they worked out what all the possibilities were pretty quickly and made a decision about where the princess should go. I thought that looked like a reasonable solution but something was bugging me that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I know that there is a solution provided on the nRICH site, so I went and got that for them. (There is a link at the top of the page I linked above.) Their solution was somewhat different from what the girls had come up with so the 3 of us tried to work out how and why they differed. In the end, they agreed that the other one was probably a better solution (and thought they should change their view of which room the princess should go in).

I pointed out that the difference between the two rooms wasn’t that great and talked a bit about how probability problems often come up with answers that require some judgement. Whichever room you choose, there is still a pretty good chance that the poor peasant is going to get eaten by the lions. This problem didn’t take them very long but they enjoyed it and it did make them think.

For those who want to know what their solution was and how we differed from the published solution, I’ve got that after the break.
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