May Inspiration

Between home education, wedding planning and caring, life seems to be getting busier and busier. I'm trying not to let the important get wiped out by the urgent but it isn't always easy! 

Anyway, here are a few links.

Pam Barnhill has a podcast about morning time which is amongst my regular listening. This blog post has 100 things to do in morning time. Please note that Pam is a Roman Catholic and this is reflected in some of her choices. However, the "Religion and Virtue" section does include Little Pilgrim's Progress, How God used a Thunderstorm and The Children's Story Bible by Catherine Vos which I would happily recommend. There are so many other suggestions, in different categories: some of which we have used; some I plan to use and some unknown to me.

My Little Poppies has a post with many art appreciation resources. We are hoping to use Vincent's Starry Night and other stories, which is mentioned here, as part of our Morning Time next year.

A very practical post from The Frugal Girl about Reasons your grocery bill is too high.

Like many home educators, we don't have a specific room for home education. We use our living room, the kitchen and the garden. However, I was struck by this post with thought out areas in a homeschool classroom. The Jumping Station particularly appealed.

This list of Morning Time Games has ideas for games which might also work well over the summer. It doesn't include Monarchy perhaps because it is a US list but I would certainly add this  game! Do you have any games that you would add to this list?


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Not without tears: the Life of Favell Lee Mortimer

Last Saturday, I was at a curriculum fair where I was delighted to meet Christina Eastwood. Chris is a seasoned home educator with three, now grown up, children. She produced The Mother's Companion-a set of home education resources which we have used over the years. Chris has just written a new book: Not without tears: the life of Favell Lee Mortimer. 

Favell Lee Mortimer is almost unknown but was a best selling author in her day. Her books for children explaining the Gospel in simple terms may well have sold more than Alice in Wonderland.

Favell's life was completely unknown to me before reading this book but is fascinating. Descended from a slave and with uncles in the Prince Regent's circle, she was brought up in a wealthy household where her mother was converted through the witness of a governess.

Favell, herself, came to know the Lord after a family crisis but also after her mother had decided to send her daughters into high society, despite her previous convictions that this would not be right. After her conversion, Favell made the most of opportunities to teach children and became an expert teacher. She later used these skills in her books of which Line upon Line and Peep of Day are probably most famous.

Favell had some interesting friends. She was in love with the future Cardinal Manning, although was herself a convinced evangelical, and was entertained in the home of William Carus Wilson who was the infamous clergyman in Jane Eyre.

This book benefits from the discussion of characters and motivations. Sadly, Christina Eastwood didn't have access to the original letters which, apparently, still exist so she was reliant on secondary sources. Hopefully, the letters will be released at some point as they may well make fascinating reading.

This book is a quick read. It is worth learning about this gracious lady: Whose faith follow.
Highly recommended.

Chris Eastwood is due to speak about Favell Lee Mortimer at the Learn Free Conference, in Coventry, on Saturday, 19th May.

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Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my own use. The opinions are mine. I chose to write a review because I enjoyed reading this book and wanted others to know about it.

Second World War Learning Resources

Last term, we had a project about the First World War and this term, we switch to the Second World War. This is a plethora of resources which can be used for teaching children about the Second World War. These are books that either we have used or we hope to use soon.

Spine book
We are using the Usborne Introduction to the Second World War.

We read a double page spread each morning.

We have found that the linked videos for these books are often worth watching. I haven't seen all of them though!

Read alouds
There are so many Second World War read alouds. This is a small selection which we have enjoyed.

• The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig
  
  is the true story of a Jewish family deported from Vilna, then in Poland (now Vilnius in Lithuania) to Siberia after the Russians invaded Poland in 1941. 
• The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom is another true story about a Dutch Christian family who hid Jews. This book is quite sad in places. I recently read it with my eleven year old who thought it was one of the best books she has read, however, do avoid this with very sensitive children and I would suggest reading this together for children who are not yet teenagers. Christian Focus have a children's biography of Corrie ten Boom called The Watchmaker's daughter by Jean Watson. We read this before The Hiding Place. This book provoked discussion and led to the read of The Hiding Place.
• Number the Stars  by Lois Lowry is a fictional story about the escape of Jews from Denmark to Sweden. This book was read in my home education book club by children aged 9-13 and was well received. It uses historical facts to weave the story. 
• Chinese Cinderella is a rather different book which is set in China at the time of the Second World War and afterwards. This isn't directly about the war but brings to light how it affected China.
• When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is the account of how author Judith Kerr's family escaped Nazi Germany in the preWar years and their life in exile. This book is suitable for older children. I haven't read the sequels but my understanding is that they are not so child friendly.
• The Silver Sword is about refugees at the end of the War. I loved this book as a child although rereading as an adult, it seemed that the ending was unrealistically optimistic but it certainly gives ground for hope.
• Hero on a Bicycle, by Shirley Hughes, is a story about the Italian Resistance.

Picture Books

• Grandfather's Journey tells how an American-Japanese family was affected by the War.
• All those Secrets of the War is about an American father going away to the War.
• A new coat for Anna shows the devastation in post War Europe as the mother works to get her daughter a new coat.
• Boxes for Katje tells the story of how a friendship was forged helping the people of post War Netherlands.

Other Resources

• Family history/members. We have a Second World War diary written by the children's Grandfather and oral history about grandparents/greatgrandparents/greatgreatgrandparents. For us, this covers the Blitz, the Battle of Britain, rationing, the War in Italy and Africa, the Observer Corps and MI5 so plenty to talk about. I imagine that many families have a similar amount of World War Two history covered.
• Bombsight is a website which maps places where bombs fell in the UK during the War.

 Places to Visit

• Imperial War Museum has a permanent exhibition about a London family during the War. This is child friendly. We have been to this exhibition several times. There is also a Holocaust exhibition which is not recommended for children under the age of 14. I haven't seen this as I haven't been to the Museum without a child under 14 for many years. 
• The Jewish Museum do have a small Holocaust section which is suitable for younger children. 
• Cabinet War Rooms-I haven't been to these although one of the children went on a home education trip.
• Dover Castle-Secret Wartime Tunnels and Hospital.
• Chartwell-the home of Winston Churchill.

Please add your recommendations for teaching children about the Second World War in the comments.

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