Self-Inventory - Quiz #1

The Growing Up Born Again Self-Inventory
(from the book, Just As We Were: A Nostalgic Look at Growing Up Born Again;

written by Patricia Klein, Evelyn Bence, Jane Campbell, Laura Pearson and David Wimbish; c2002)

Question 1. A sword drill is:
A. an instrument of torture used during the Inquisition.
B. a cadet exercise at West Point.
C. a contest to see who can look up Bible verses fastest.
D. what a dentist uses before he says "Rinse and spit."

Question 2. When you hear the expression "the Fall," you immediately think of:
A. autumn.
B. Rome's decline.
C. man's depravity.
D. Lady Godiva's hairpiece.

Question 3. You generously contribute to YFC because you have a deep concern for:

A. Yiddish factory clerks.
B. euthanasia.
C. euthenafrica.
D. euth everywhere.

Question 4. Mom overslept and didn't start the roast before leaving for church. The family should:
A. go to a nice restaurant for dinner.
B. refuse to eat in a restaurant on Sunday since that would signal approval of working on the Lord's Day.
C. compromise by going to a fast food restaurant.
D. This is a trick question; born again moms never oversleep.

Question 5. Four cars with dashboard accessories arrive simultaneously at an intersection. The born again Christian's car is the one with:
A. the fluffy dice.
B. the plastic statue of Saint Christopher.
C. the compass inscribed with Psalm 103:12.
D. the lady's red garter.

Just As We Were

I had a wonderful childhood, fantastic parents and a brother and sister who were always there for me.

I grew up in the 50's in a Christian family. We attended a little Bible Chapel in St. Louis County and were there whenever the doors were open. Our social and spiritual life pretty much revolved around activities at the church or with church friends. Ever present at our frequent Potluck Suppers were tuna casserole and one or two molded jello salads internally adorned with canned fruit and miniature marshmallows. One Friday evening a month the youth group would go to Sunshine Mission to serve meals and conduct the evening service.

At home we had evening family devotionals, or "family altar time" as some at our church called it. Most of the time they were nice; a few Bible verses read and briefly discussed, then a closing prayer. However, one particular year my mother decided to try something new for the December days leading up to Christmas. She bought a big candle, one that was about 12 inches high and maybe 4 inches in diameter. Down the side of the candle, in a straight vertical row, she attached 24 sequins, equally spaced apart. Alternating the red and green sequins added a festive touch. Then, (Pay attention. Here's were it gets exciting) every evening after supper, we would gather in the living room, mom or dad would light the candle at the beginning of family devotions. Our togetherness would last until the candle burned from the top sequin to the next one down. The idea was to get to the last sequin on Christmas eve.

The devotion would go something like this:

• Dad would open in prayer, then read a chapter or two from one of the Gospels.
• Dad would expound on what we had just read and then ask for our thoughts.
• Awkward silence.
• Mom would interject something.
• More awkward silence.
• My sister would say that she had to go to the bathroom.
• We waited until she returned.
• Dad would add another thought.
• Say it with me: awkward silence.
• Dad would say something like "Well, if there are no other thoughts, then we'll close in prayer."
• Dad would close in prayer.
• We would run for the hills, vamoose, go while the getting was good.

It didn't take too many evenings of this before my brother, sister and I decided my folks needed an "intervention," for their sakes as well as ours. Well, okay, mostly for ours. So we took turns sneaking into the living room during the day when no one was around and we would light that candle and let it burn down a bit. Just a bit. Not all the way to the next sequin. No, that would be too obvious. But down enough to make the evening's togetherness a little more meaningful. A little more bearable. A little shorter. Hey, we had homework to do.

I don't remember hearing the phrase "born again" at that time, although we knew the verse "Jesus sayeth unto him, 'Ye must be born again.'" And we did sing a song that started with "Do you know that you've been born again?" I don't want my tone to be construed as cynical, because my parents were great (as I've already mentioned, but had to say again to cover any residual guilty feelings I may have in writing this), our church family was wonderful, always putting actions behind words. But it was the '50s and out of that emerged, I assume, the prevalence of the phrase "born again."

So do you have similar church memories? Come back tomorrow because there will be a multiple choice quiz that will help you determine your own personal born again quotient. It will be fun. I'll light a candle and tell you when you are finished.

Tree Octopi, Velcro Farming and Camping Computer

Every year I teach the fifth graders a unit on evaluating websites, tying it in with one of their research projects. I show them a variety of bogus websites and we discuss various methods for checking the "facts" presented there. There a quite a few available, but here are a few of my favorites that are appropriate for elementary students:

Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus - http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

Place a tenacle ribbon on your computer at work in a show of solidarity.

(Left): Rare photo of the elusive tree octopus



California's Velcro Crop Under Challenge - http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html This is a very simple site, but a good one for the students to think about. I mean, it is written with a serious tone, complete with a chart, even. Consider:

"Velcro, an engineered crop, consists of two distinct strains: hooks and loops. For obvious reasons, of course, the hook strain must be grown in fields separated from those with the loop strain. "

HA!

World's First Camping Computer - http://www.members.shaw.ca/carsondesign/pages/colemac.html

And then there's Dog Island Free Forever - http://www.thedogisland.com/
"Separated from the anxieties of urban life, dogs on Dog Island are healthy dogs who live a natural, healthy and happy life, free from the stress and hardship associated with daily live among humans."

And here are a few other bogus sites in case you need more:
P.E.T.PU. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Pumpkins) - http://www.geocities.com/petpu4/
Panexa - http://www.panexa.com/ from Merd Pharmaceuticals - read "Important Safety Information"

The Book Whisperer

I'm reading a book called The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. The author, Donalyn Miller, is a sixth-grade teacher who also writes a blog for teachermagazine.org.

The book is great and I would highly recommend it to any teacher, reading specialist, librarian, or parent interested in helping children discover the joy of reading without being overbearing. I am also enjoying some of the quotes scattered throughout the book. Here are a few:

"To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. " -- W. Somerset Maugham

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." -- Harper Lee

"Reading is not a duty, and has consequently no business to be made disagreeable." -- Augustine Birrell

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." -- Atwood H. Townsend

Miller also includes this little list written by Daniel Pennac. Do you disagree with any of these points?

1. The right not to read
2. The right to skip pages.
3. The right to not finish.
4. The right to reread.
5. The right to read anything.
6. The right to escapism.
7. The right to read anywhere.
8. The right to browse.
9. The right to read out loud.
10. The right not to defend your tastes.

Summer Vacation Begins

In an effort to keep from whittling away my ten glorious weeks of summer, I keep a reverse wish list. Rather than writing out a "to do" list at the beginning of the day, I see how many things I have accomplished by the end of the day and log those into one of my favorite free online applications: Evernote (www.evernote.com/). This way, I'm challenged to be productive each day, instead of feeling let down by what remains undone on my list.

Speaking of Evernote, here are some of the features that I like:

You can search your notes by tags, or what I like ever more, you can type in a word or phrase in the search box and if it appears in any of your notes, it highlights that word. This is how it helps me as a school librarian: I read hundreds of children's books each year, and as I complete them, I type the title/author into a note on Evernote. After the title, I write a few descriptive words. (Hills, Tad:What's Up, Duck? - picture book, opposites, birds, friends, possible purchase) Then, at a later date, if I need to put together a list for a teacher who is introducing the concept of opposites, by typing "opposites" in the search box, I will pull up all areas where I have written that word.

Another use: I have one note that has only my log ins and passwords for various sites that require log ins. Now, the only thing that I need to remember is the log in and password for http://www.evernote.com/. Of course, I don't use this for those few sites that need high security protect.

I also have a note that contains phone numbers that I use but don't have memorized: physician, dog groomer, library, etc.

Miracle Camp and BMA

After reading and commenting on a friend's blog entry about memorizing poetry and songs and Bible verses, I took a stroll down memory lane. It all came back to me: Bible Memory Association, Miracle Camp, Dr. W, and those wonderful little memory books. I suddenly recalled humid nights at Miracle Camp in Shreveport, LA and the song we would sing every night: "Miracle Camp." A few years later, when I heard the anthem "God of Our Fathers," I thought "Hey, they took the Miracle Camp song tune and changed the words!" (Yes, I lived under a rock.) Here are what I thought were the original words to the song:

Miracle Camp, we gather here again.
Miracle Camp, the place that God did plan.
Through many years, Thy wisdom did design
This lovely place for fellowship divine.

Here are the original lyrics:

God of our fathers, whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies.
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Which do you like the best?

Immigration Unit for Third Grade

Third grade does a huge immigration unit, usually toward the end of the school year. In collaborating with the teachers, I selected some books for read-alouds during the past few weeks. The first one, Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara, is not in my school collection but I read a review about it somewhere and was able to reserve it through the St. Louis County Library system. This is a wonderfully sweet book about a little girl, who in the midst of hardships in her native land of Ireland, is able to find the beauty in simple things. Her collection of special items, sewn into the hem of her dress is cherished by her family when they settle into their new home in America. Be sure to read the author's note at the end of the story for an interesting surprise about the genesis of this story.

Author: Elvira Woodruff -- Illustrator: Adam Rex

The second week I read two books. "She could have picked a chiming clock or a porcelain figurine, but Miss Bridie chose a shovel back in 1856". So begins the story Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel. We follow Miss Bridie as she leaves her home and family behind to travel to America. This not only is a story about immigration, but also about the usefulness of the shovel as it comes into play throughout Miss Bridie's life. Author: Leslie Connor -- Illustrator: Mary Azarian

Next up, Henry and the Kite Dragon, a Missouri "Show Me Book" nominee a few years ago. This story, a lesson in tolerance and understanding, takes place between two neighborhoods in New York : Chinatown and Little Italy. Written well, with stunning illustrations, the message is "there are always two sides to every story." Author: Bruce Edward Hall -- Illustrator: William Low

And, the third week, capping the unit off, students watched a "Reading Rainbow" episode from the Sea to Shining Sea: Stories of America DVD entitled "Watch the Stars Come Out." This is an inspirational episode, beginning with footage of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, through LaVar Burton's field trip up the scaffolding around the Statue of Liberty during it's restoration in the mid-1980s (look for the Twin Towers in the background), to an ethnic fair in New York city. Neil Diamond's "They're Coming to America" as the backdrop for the final footage in this episode was particularly moving to me. The students and their teachers really enjoyed this DVD.

Watch the Stars Come Out: author: Riki Levinson -- illustrator: Diane Goode

Revenge of the Spellmans

Revenge of the Spellmans, the third book in the Spellman Files series came out a few weeks ago and I have just finished reading it. It is every bit as good as the first two, The Spellman Files and Curse of the Spellmans. I love, love, love this series.

The Spellmans are a quirky family who run a detective agency, but spend a lot of time spying on/investigating each other. The author, Lisa Lutz, scatters footnotes thoughout the pages and her humor has me laughing out loud.

Last summer I ran into my local Saint Louis County Library branch to pick up a few books to take on our vacation. Curse of the Spellmans was on the "new releases" shelf, so I picked it up, never having heard of the author or her work. A day into our road trip I had finished the book (there's not a lot to look at in Western Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma) and upon returning home picked up the first book in the series. I know, that's not the order one would usually pick for reading a series, but I was hooked.

Lutz's writing style and characters remind me of the type of books that my nephew, Michael Snyder writes. His second book, Return Policy, should be released soon.

If you like funny stories with quirky characters and snappy dialog, this is the series for you. I've read that plans are underway to make the first book into a movie, though production has not yet started.

You can read more about Lisa Lutz on her website: http://lisalutz.com/

Libraries and Bookstores!

Most Interesting Libraries of the World

http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-libraries.htm

The reading room of the Suzzallo library of the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, was built in 1926 and has a Gothic interieur. Photography by Cap'n Surly Flickr.com

Most Interesting Bookstores of the World

http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-bookstores.htm

The Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal, is open since 1906 and is surely one of the most beautiful bookstores of the world. Photography by delviking Flickr.com

Will It Ever End?

We are tired of doing yard work, but we sure feel a sense of accomplishment with each task done. Today we cleared and mulched the ground around the trees below our bedroom bay window. Here are some pictures.