Good finds of the week. . .

. . . and it's only Monday!


1. Thanks to Sheila for letting me know that Joshua Bell is featured in this month's Bon Appetit magazine.  An interview by Amy Albert can be read here.  The illustration (right) is by Masa.


2. Ten Dollar Dinners is a new cooking show on Food Network that the kids and I discovered after watching a marathon of "The Next Food Network Star" on New Year's Eve and Day (the show is the winner's "prize").  While I'm not sure our Massachusetts prices will allow me to make all of the meals for under ten dollars, I was pleasantly surprised to look at the recipes available and realize that a) most of the ingredients are ones I have on hand, b) most of the recipes contain foods my kids eat, and c) with a few minor modifications I can actually eat most of the foods prepared as directed (I don't eat eggs or soy in any form, and limit my dairy intake).  


Toujours bon appetit!

Good finds of the week and Book Sharing Monday

Since my good finds are all books, I thought I might kill two birds with one stone.

1. The Roman Army--the Legendary Soldiers Who Created an Empire, by Dyan Blacklock with illustrations by David Kennett. DS (11.5) loved this award-winning book--snatched it from his workbox and ran to the sofa with it, in fact. The illustrations have a refined graphic novel appeal, and the information about a specific part of Ancient Rome was a perfect focus in what can be an massive unit study. Another book by this team is Olympia--Warrior Athletes of Ancient Greece, which appears to be OOP.

2. National Geographic's Photography Guide for Kids by Neil Johnson. From "All about Cameras" to "How a Camera Sees," and from the composition of photographs to the choosing of subjects, this guide was enjoyed by both DS (11.5) and myself. DS had the book (with pages marked to read), our camera, and his nature journal in a workbox, with the idea that he would take photos of nature, pick his favorite, and tuck it into his nature journal, since getting him to draw in it has not been successful at all. The book doesn't have an overwhelming amount of information--just enough to catch the bug. Shutterbug, that is. ☺

3. Geography through Art--International Art Projects for Kids, by Sharon Jeffus and Jamie Aramini. I must admit we are in the early stages of investigating this book, but I like what I've seen so far. I've had the two older kids reading about chiaroscuro (the contrast of light and dark--such a fun word to say) in art in preparation for our first project (on deck for tomorrow), which is to create a representation of the Earth in shadow on black construction paper. Art-happy DD (8) will likely love this undertaking, and I'm hoping at the very least for cooperation from DS (11.5). I love that it ties in with our Earth Science studies, as well.

Book Sharing Monday is hosted at Serendipity.

Good finds of the week

1. Lively Latin

I don't know if it's Harry Potter Syndrome or what, but my kids have been after me to study Latin for a while now. We started with The Big Book of Lively Latin, v. I this past week, and it's been a big hit so far with both of the older two (11.5 and 8) and myself. I love how Magistra Catherine Drown has laid out the lessons--vocabulary, pronunciation, history, even diagramming (in Latin)!

2. PBS and David Macaulay's Roman City on DVD

We really enjoyed this DVD this week. I even stayed awake through it, which is saying a lot since I had about four hours of sleep the night before, and we watched at that sleepy time of the afternoon when it's hard for me to stay awake when I've had a good night's sleep. Narration by Macaulay as he walks around Ancient Roman ruins is interspersed with the animated story of a young Roman architect (voiced by Derek Jacobi), and it kept the interest of all three of my kids (11.5, 8, and 4.5). There are three more DVDs in the series: Cathedral, Castle, and Pyramid.

3. Yoga Pretzels

These made it into DD(8)'s workboxes this week. Each card has a yoga pose or activity or game on it. The ones I put in the workbox were ones she could do by herself, but there are also partner activities. The cards are divided up into the following groups:

Standing poses

Forward bending poses

Twisting & stretching poses

Balance poses

Breathing

Partner poses (such as "Warrior Friends")

Time in cards (guided meditations)

Games

The oversized cards come in a sturdy flip-top box. I expect to get a lot of use out of them!

More on our week of workboxes once I get some photos uploaded. Hopefully soon. . .

Good finds of the week

1. Stellarium: an incredible, free software program for a variety of operating systems, that turns your computer screen into a planetarium.  We've had lots of fun playing with it this week, especially since cloudy skies have kept us from stargazing.  

2. Clay Center Observatory: in Brookline, MA on the campus of Dexter/Southfield schools (where JFK went to school).  This Saturday from three until ten p.m. the center is celebrating Astronomy Day, and every Tuesday night in the spring and fall (weather-permitting) the observatory has free public telescope viewings.  The center has an LED-lit constellation court, plus a moon court and a sun court to check out.  Pictures from the center's website here.  Short video from our field trip below.

3. Inside Birding: a series of web videos to help hone your birdwatching skills, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All about Birds website.  So far, four episodes are online.

Good find of the week

We had Chicken with Saffron Rice last night. I tell you this not to toot my own horn (it feels like I've been making the same seven recipes for ten years), but to urge you to check out the recipe. I made it almost exactly as the Williams-Sonoma website told me to, though I did substitute a dry Marsala wine for the sherry, as I forgot to put that on last weekend's shopping list. The medium grain (Arborio) rice made the dish, and there wasn't much clean-up, as this is a one-pot meal. Delicious!

Music post coming soon!

Good finds of the week

1. Kundalini Yoga: the yoga that's currently (well, at least as far as I, in suburban MA, know) in favor with Hollywood types. I really like the way I feel after doing yoga in this style. It's not (that) difficult, even for someone who hadn't done yoga in a year; it's rhythmic--and the music has a beat, so it's fun to keep in time with it; and I feel very energized afterwards. I feel a little silly chanting, but that's just more incentive to get up and exercise before anyone else is awake. Ana Brett and Ravi Singh have many yoga cds in this style, but the Maya Fiennes (concert pianist and composer as well as yoga practicioner) dvd pictured left, is the one I found first at a local library.

2. Cherry-Vanilla Oatmeal: from The Food You Crave, by Ellie Krieger. To old-fashioned oats, add dried cherries and the appropriate amount of water (for two servings, or one cup of dried oats, I would use 1/3 c. dried cherries), plus a little salt. Cook the oatmeal like you normally would, then add a little cherry fruit spread (low sugar option) or some cherry preserves and about 1/2 t. vanilla per serving, top with your choice of milk (I used rice milk--DH used half and half!), and enjoy.