A Net in Time

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Art Series: One Last Word

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Today I have a different sort of an art book for you.   It’s the art of words, words in poetry that can touch you heart and elicit emotions and conversation, that can have a child go “meh” and a mom go “I like this one”.   (and have the reverse happen).  A book of verse containing works of art that cause a boy to say “I like that one mom”.

This type of art is also good.  🙂

So let me then tell you of this book “One Last Word”.

This book is a tribute to the Harlem Renaissance poets.  Quite honestly I had NO idea what the Harlem Renaissance was, but the beauty and the imagery found within these poems had me searching for what it was.   According to History.com “Spanning the 1920s to the mid-1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was a
literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that kindled a new black
cultural identity. Its essence was summed up by critic and teacher Alain
Locke in 1926 when he declared that through art, “Negro life is seizing
its first chances for group expression and self determination.” Harlem
became the center of a “spiritual coming of age” in which Locke’s “New
Negro” transformed “social disillusionment to race pride.” Chiefly
literary, the Renaissance included the visual arts but excluded jazz,
despite its parallel emergence as a black art form.“

So a time when people of Negro descent were learning to take pride in who they were and not be beaten down by their past.   If you want to learn more…read more from The History site.

I read this poem in particular, and books like the Book of Negroes pops into my head, and I can imagine that pride of remembering who you are, and the carefulness of remembering where you have been.  How hard it must have been to separate the two.

Many of the poems in this book touched my heart…the art work and poems take up 94 pages in a 120 page book, hardcover.  The remaining pages are biographies of the poets and artists.

94 pages of beauty … some with hurt felt…but mostly of the joy and pride of a person or people recognizing who they are.  Some see God in the picture, others don’t.

Three sections: Emergency Measures has seven poems.    Calling Dreams has 14 poems and To a Dark Girl has 9 poems.

The poem “We Wear the Mask” made me think of more than just negroes who suffered but all the different people who struggle with hidden issues, hurts and sorrows, mental or physical frailities, but not wanting to diminish the pain of the black folks who suffered so.  Just made me think beyond you know what I mean?

 So much beauty in words and images, chances to see inside the soul of another person.. it is good, you know?   Art!  In its own way.

I thought I would leave you with one more poem to intrigue your heart.

IF you are learning about black history… do take in this book as it’s important part to consider.  If you like poignant poetry, or are searching for poems for your child to memorize, get this book.  It’s a great book of poetry and should you get your child intrigued, could provoke conversation…or just be nice to listen to!  🙂  you will find my affiliate links below, thank you for your support.

 One Last Word – Wisdom from the Harlem Resistance.
By Nikki Grimes
Published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
128 pages
Age Range: 10-14 (or up through adult)
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books.

Amazon.ca: One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance

Amazon.com: One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance

D is for DogSledding in Canada!

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You know… I was all set to talk about different Canadian river beginning with “D” and as I was browsing through books at Costco a kids Canada alphabet book had D is for DogSled…and that was WAY more interesting than talking about the Dubwant and Don Rivers!   LIKE WAY more interesting.

One of my dreams, oh… for such a very long time has been to go on a dogsled ride.   In fact, I had a dog when my lad was young who needed a job to do so I got her a harness so she could pull the lad around.  🙂   My goal was to help her become more accepting of the lad by giving her something she liked to do…work and feel useful!   (we didn’t succeed but at least had fun trying).   When the lad was I think 8 we went to an Archaelogy day and he got to go on a dogsled ride…man… I was jealous!!!  But they didn’t allow adults to go….ah well…

The world’s biggest Dog Sled race, as far as I know, is the 1000 mile race called  the Iditarod.  There is also the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest which runs between
Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska.   There is also the 211 mile long Hudson Bay Quest and the 200 mile Canadian Dog Sled Races which are among the biggest races just in Canada.

There are two main styles of dog sled hitches.   Fan hitch and gangline.  Gangline tends to be the more popular of the two for dog sled races.    They each have their own advantage.

 The fan hitch allows dogs to spread out their weight over a larger surface area, helpful on rough surfaces, treeless areas or on ice.   The Innuk often use this method to travel.

The gangline has the dogs held closer together which is excellent for running in forested areas or on narrow trails.  Numbers of dogs can vary in this type of hitch.

Travel by dog sled used to be one of the major forms of transportation in Canadian winters, particularly among the more northern peoples.    In fact, the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports states that
archaeological evidence shows dog sledding in Canada, North America, and
Siberia originated 4000 years ago.  (source)

Did you know the word mush came from a poorly understand early French Canadian word where the drivers of the dog team would say “Marche!” in encourage their teams to run well.  English explorers misunderstood the term and henceforth dog sled drivers were called Mushers.(source)

  A famous sled dog is Balto…who was the lead dog in a dog sled
relay of 1000 miles, in January 1925, when a deadly diphtheria epidemic
threatened the children of
Nome. Medicine to stop the outbreak was in Anchorage.  Balto’s team
covered the last 53 miles.  (source)  A statue of Balto can be found in Central Park, New York.

So there you have it, information about dog sledding and Canada.

Are you interested in linking up?   Great.

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Hymn Study: For The Beauty of the Earth

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Hebrews 13:15-16 – “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.” 


 Written by Folliot S. Pierpoint, this is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving and was originally written as a song for the Eucharist (The Lord’s Supper).

Pierpoint was the author of several poetry collections, including The Chalice of Nature and Other Poems (1855), Songs of Love, the Chalice of Nature, and Lyra Jesu (2nd Edition, 1858). The words of this hymn appeared in Lyrica Eucharistica, The Hymnal Noted (second edition, 1864).  (source)

Pierpoint was born in Bath, England in 1835.  He was educated at Queens College in Cambridge, and later taught at Somersetshire College, where he was a teacher of classics.

He wrote numerous poems, but For the Beauty of the Earth is the only one he is remembered for today. Not only did he write books of poetry, but also produced two hymnals.   He was 29 years old when he wrote this particular hymn.

 The song was inspired by the beauty of the countryside that surrounded
him.  Pierpoint wrote praises of God for the beauties all around him
into the lyrics.  Take for instance beauty of the earth and sky, beauty
of each hour, and the joy of human love that he incorporates into the
lyrics. (source)

The words to the original text can be found here.   The tune Dix was written by Conrad Kocher in 1838, also the tune used for As with Gladness Men of Old. 

Pierpoint died at age 82 having written 7 volumes of poetry. 

 Originally the last two lines of each verse read: 

Christ our God, to thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.

Lyrics
(1) For the beauty of the earth, 
For the glory of the skies; 
For the love which from our birth, 
Over and around us lies; 
Lord of all, to Thee we raise 
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

(2) For the wonder of each hour,

 Of the day and of the night; 
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
 Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise 
This, our hymn of grateful praise.
 (3) For the joy of ear and eye, 
For the heart and mind’s delight; 
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight; 
Lord of all, to Thee we raise 
This, our hymn of grateful praise. 
 (4) For the joy of human love, 
Brother, sister, parent, child; 
Friends on Earth and friends above, 
 For all gentle things and mild

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise.

(5) For Thy Church that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above
Offering up on on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love 

Lord of all, to Thee we raise 

This, our hymn of grateful praise.


STEM: 3D St. Peter’s Basilica

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I know that STEM is more than building 3D puzzles, it’s doing math, engineering, science and technology.  Using all those things.  I get that.  🙂  The way I see it though is… 3D Puzzles are engineering and technology.  The science eh… perhaps a bit iffy and the math well.. not really other than the need to finesse the puzzle as sometimes the pieces don’t fit perfectly.   So how do I add that to make this a proper STEM activity?

We can pick up the science and the math through reading and video can we not?

For instance I liked this video because it taught us to take care when looking at history, that looking at it from different perspectives broadens our knowledge.

And we can see the science and math of how they were built though videos like this:
Which broadens our understanding as we build a 3D Puzzle. 

What did we learn about St. Peter’s Basilica?

  •  commissioned by Pope Julius II
  • started in 1506 and completed in 1615
  • originally designed around the shape of a Greek cross, this was later changed to a Latin cross 
  • Michelango was a chief architect

And because video is more interesting to listen to and occasionally watch while building heres’s another video.

So building a 3D puzzle can indeed be a STEM project. 🙂   You just need to work around what it isn’t eh?  🙂

This build wasn’t an easy one to do. The pieces were sticky and quite a few of them needed to be trimmed in order to fit into the holes probably.  It tested the patience of the lad and I quite a bit.

Hymn Study:I Come to the Garden Alone

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“11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.”   John 20:11-18

Lyrics
 I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses. 
  • Refrain:
    And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
    And He tells me I am His own;
    And the joy we share as we tarry there,
    None other has ever known.

             He speaks, and the sound of His voice

Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
 

I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.
Charles Austin Miles wrote this hymn in March 1912.  In his own words he said “I was seated in the darkroom where I kept my photographic equipment and organ.  I drew my Bible toward me, it opened at my favourite chapter, John 20….that meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm.   As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene.  I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried “Rabboni!”…under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it has since appeared.   That same evening I wrote the music”.   Some sources add additional information about seeing visions which I don’t know what I think of.  🙂

Miles, started his career as a pharmacist, but later abandoned that in order to work as editor and manager at Hall-Mack.  he started writing gospel music in 1892.   Hall-Mack published his first gospel song “List ’tis Jesus’ Voice”.   He was very proud to be known as a gospel music writer.   His desire was to be of good use to the Lord God.   As he said in this “way I may be of the most use to my Master, whom I serve willingly
although not as efficiently as is my desire.”  (source)

Hymn Study: Precious Lord, Take My Hand

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I wasn’t aware of some controversy around this song until I started researching it. 

The controversy makes sense. There are two men bearing a similar name, living around the same time. Thomas Dorsey the big band musician and Thomas Andrew Dorsey musician.

I depended on Snopes to help wind my way through this quagmire. 

AND EVEN SO.. I still don’t really get it.  ALL I really understand is that Thomas Dorsey (white guy, big band) didn’t write this song.  Thomas Andrew Dorsey (black guy, jazz player) DID write the song.  The fellow who wrote it did have his wife and son die, and through his grief at the loss of both wrote this song Precious Lord. 

It’s important to get the names straight.   

This is a story that comes from a place of extreme grief.  Knowing that you were performing, doing the Lord’s work, while at home your wife is dying, giving birth to your son, and having your son die the next day.  

Pouring out your grief before the Lord in song….and struggling to come back to him in the aftermath.    In the midst of despair, a friend visited Dorsey and arranged for him
to be left alone in a music room with a piano. “It was quiet; the late
evening sun crept through the curtained windows,” Dorsey recalled. For
the first time in many days, he sat at a piano using his fingers to
browse the keys. Soon, the young artist experienced a personal
revival: “I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and
touch God. I found myself playing a melody, one I’d never heard or
played before, and words [for “Precious Lord”] came into my head—they
just seemed to fall into place.”  (source)

 Dorsey was raised in a Baptist home, but turned away from the Lord to pursue playing jazz and blues music.  Severe illness brought him back to the Lord.  Over his life time he composed over 1,000 songs, 200 of which were gospel songs.   To learn more, read this page.   He died in 1993 and is known as the “architect of modern gospel music”.

Lyrics: 
Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:
Refrain
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

When my way grows drear,

Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:
Refrain
When the darkness appears
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand:

Exploring the World Starting with Canada.

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Week Four of the Virtual Curriculum Fair which is hosted by Susan.  This week is all about exploring the world, history, geography, and science.

This year we are making a focus of using Canada to study
geography, art and history.

We have a spine that we are using for the history portion, and around it we are doing art, watching videos, reading books, and learning geographic terms for the various sites we see along the way.   Science in learning about animals, rocks, minerals etc (like the beaver we’ll be studying this coming Tuesday).

I still have a goal of traveling across Canada with him, going east one year and then west the next. But until we can do that… we’ll visit our fine country through books, video and study.

How about you?   What do you want to see with your children?

To that end I have found some excellent resources for broadening our study on Canada.

Mrs. Nelson’s Study on Canada.   Make a tour guide and vacation your way through Canada.  🙂

About Education will walk you through how to do a unit study on Canada.

ABC Teach has a variety of free and pay worksheets for learning about Canada.

The Eric Institute of Education Services is a government site that is searchable for documents related to a wide variety of information.  I found a ton of documents on First Nations people.

EdHelper.com has small unit studies on six of the Canadian Provinces.

I am looking forward to showing him the beauty of Canada’s National Parks.

Link to Learning helps grade six students understand more about Canada’s Trading Partners.

If you haven’t discovered it yet, the Canadian Geographic Resource Centre is a really great resource.

I’ll be using these Interesting Courses from SchoolhouseTeachers as well.

You might find some help here about understanding the Canadian Electoral System.

If you come to visit you might see some of the amazing animals that call Canada home.

And if you want to see more of Ontario, Check out the field trips we have gone on.  HERE and HERE.   It’s good to learn about Canada in a variety of ways you know?  🙂

Let’s keep the history, science and geography alive with our children eh?  

Please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers who are talking about Exploring Our World this week:

Note: all links will be LIVE by Monday 1/23 at noon EST.
Notebooking Our Way through History by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Studying the Where and How by Michele@Family, Faith and Fridays
The History of Our Mysterious Struggle With History by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
Social Science, Science and Exploring our World – Our Path by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Learning History Through Fiction by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset

History in Our Homeschool by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Exploring Our World Through History And Science by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World

Bringing History to Life! by Yvie @ Gypsy Road
History, Living Books and the Imagination by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Exploring our world comes in many different forms. by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Bible, History and Geography by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Beyond the Books – Social Studies and Science by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Exploring the World with Living Books by Brittney @ Mom’s Heart
High School History & Science without Textbooks by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Exploring the World Starting with Canada by Annette @ A Net in Time
Visit The World Through Video by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
Nature Study is Our Favorite Way to Do Science by HillaryM @ Walking Fruitfully
What A Wonderful World by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
The Time we got Lost in the Woods by Dana Hanley @ Roscommon Acres