Kathi's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Actually make that my terrible horrible no good very bad week, apologies to author Judith Viorst. I did not fall asleep with gum in my mouth, but:

• a parent in my neighbourhood asked me many penetrating, unsolicited questions about our trip, most prefaced with insulting preambles such as "are you really doing such and such?' and "do you actually think such and such?" (subtext being we are basically insane and irresponsible for dragging our helpless dependents aroung the world).
  

• another parent - and this one is actually a friend - suggested that I speak to my kids about the upcoming trip because she thinks . . . wait for it . . . that they don't know yet . . . because they don't talk about it much (are you kidding me? they just don't talk to adults period - but maybe this trip might change that). Should I tell her that we have maps and globes all over the house, that we talk of little else, that we have been going out for ethnic food at great little restaurants around town that parallel the places we're going to, that we've been reading books about all the countries we're going to, that . . . oh never mind, all I ended up saying was "actually yeah, they do know, kind of funny you have that perception, hmmm". I later asked the boys what's the deal and they said "we don't want to brag, people might feel bad 'cause they don't get to go anywhere". Sweet.
  

• one of my boys' teachers made an offhand comment about being worried for us next year what with one of my sons being so unfocused, inattentive and all . . . ouch.

And there were a few other things but I'm probably just a little tired and overly sensitive. I guess that's better than being insensitive. Otherwise I might sound like, oh you get it. Not one of my finer posts but there it is. Bring on Monday. I need a new week.

History & Geography

I'm excited to have found a great resource for teaching history and geography. It's a series by Susan Wise Bauer called "The Story of the World". And we are talking the whole story of the whole, wide world. Haven't you always wanted to get a better grasp of world history? I know I have. I was telling Mitchell that we will probably visit Vimy Ridge in France. He asked me many questions about it, including "so what started the First World War? What was everyone fighting about?" And what did I say, "umm . . . let me think . . . .I know that . . . something to do with an Austrian prince who got shot? Was that it? Ask dad". In other words, mom has no idea. Sad, very sad.

About the only aspect of history that I have a really firm handle on is the good ol' Louis Riel Rebellion of 1885 and that is mainly because I grew up in Saskatchewan and it was pounded into our heads through a variety of projects and assignments all the way through school. In addition, my parents had a farm very near Batoche, SK. We would often take visiting relatives to see the historic sites in the Batoche area - the church with bullet holes, the trenches where Gabriel Dumont and his rebel fighters took a stand against General Middleton, and the cemetary where many of these fighters now lie. My Dad loved to drive visitors around our farm proudly pointing out things like, "See that tree? Louis Riel pissed against that tree!" How do we that Louis Riel relieved himself against said tree? We don't actually but theoretically it was certainly possible, because of the location of my Dad's land, which is where history and geography intersect. Which brings me back to . . .

This series. That I'm very excited about. I was able to borrow both the books and the audio CDs from the library and I'm very impressed. As far as homeschooling goes, I have no intention of lugging a bunch of books from country to country so the fact that I can get the entire history of the world, told in a compelling narrative way suitable for kids, on CDs is a huge bonus.

The series is organized into 4 time periods:

Volume 1 - The Ancients (5000BC to 400AD)
Volume 2 - The Middle Ages (400-1600)

Volume 3 - Early Modern Times (1600-1850)

Volume 4 - The Modern Age (1850-1994)

I guess that would bring us to the post-modern age? In any case, I can see us reading these aloud, discussing them, relating the history to the places we're seeeing and, of course, writing about it. Another curriculum item I stumbled upon on Susan Wise Bauer's site had to do with teaching writing. "The Complete Writer" I think it was called. It also looked great. Somebody stop me. I think tackling the history of the world is more than enough for now.