Update on Egyptian Mummification Project...

Oh, an update on the mummification process, Jay, my 6 year old now wants to mummify a chicken as well as an apple. Not sure how I feel about this one, but can see the value of the exercise so will give it a go and keep you posted.....

Spike Milligan's Silly Verse for Kids.

Hi Everyone,

Time for Bluebell Books fortnightly poetry review.... time flies! Today I'm looking at Spike Milligan's Silly Verse for Kids.

This book of verse is tightly written, irreverant, brilliant and as promised, very, very silly.


Spike Milligan is one of those staples of children's verse that I find never fails to cheer. His style is totally unique in it's blend of wisdom around the human condition and absolute craziness.


This combination in Milligan's poetry, along with it's lack of pretense or the sometimes caustic worldliness of other talented writers such as Roald Dahl is foolproof in getting people of all ages to have a giggle.


A sample of poems from Silly Verse for Kids are:


Said the General

Said the General of the Army,
'I think that war is barmy'
So he threw away his gun:
Now he's having much more fun.

(Page 21)


Failure


I'm trying to write the longest first line that poetry has ever had,
For a start that wasn't bad,
Now here comes a longer oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I know I cheated:
It was the only way I could avoid being defeated.

(Page 53)


Mary Pugh

Mary Pugh
Was nearly two
When she went out of doors.
She went out standing up she did
But came back on all fours.
The moral of the story
Please meditate and pause:
Never send a baby out
With loosely waisted draws.

(Page 13)


There's definately nothing else like it!

Cynthia Marston.

Ancient Egypt and Cafe Stuff

Hi Everyone,


We've been looking at Egypt for Story of the World and we made a display table complete with a 3D ancient Egyptian temple kindly lent to us by a friend, a crepe paper river Nile and grassy banks, domestic animals, and a playdough pyramid.


It all looks great, and our next project is mummifying an apple. I found a really cool experiment with the Museum of Australia where there are five controlled pieces of apple with a range of variables which you can record on a table and note differences in preservation, weight etc if you wish. This will give a fair understanding of the mummification process in practical terms, and is preferable (to me and my kids) to the 'mummification of a chicken' also recommended.


We looked at the detail and symbolism in the painting above in a fantastic book called Masterpieces in Detail. There are key pieces in this well known painting which are missing or hinted at that give a very clear picture of its context within Ancient Egyptian culture (hunting, hierarchy, tradition etc) which I learned about from reading the detailed account in this book ....fascinating!


I've come across some Ancient Egyptian paper dolls, an Egyptian Cinderella story book, stencils and stickers at the Book Depository which the kiddies can enjoy when they arrive...will keep you posted.







Oh, an update on Alexandra's Cafe Project....
she is still studying business maths, as well as researching recipes and food preparation for the project. She's also decided to organise and host a Cafe Day at our house....I'll be on staff for dishes etc..of course :)

Lex will create a menu with a couple of options for food and drink, set up the house as a cafe would look, and serve her guests with a smile.


She practised on us yesterday with a toasted sandwich for dinner and spiced Vienna Coffee with home baked sponge and cream for dessert...I'm certainly enjoying this experience!!


Will update you on how the day goes with some pics of Lex's gorgeous creations.

Talk Soon, Cynthia x

Book Review - Unconditional Parenting

Hi Everyone,
Today I am reviewing Alfie Kohn's Unconditional Parenting.
Kohn has written over 12 books and many articles including Punished by Rewards and Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. He has been a long time advocate for limiting standardized testing and empowering children in their relationships by treating them with respect through loving, authentic interactions.
Unconditional Parenting was the first of Kohn's books that I read and I freely admit that it turned my assumptions around children and parenting upside down.

Kohn proposes that rewards and praise are a way to manipulate children to comply to our agenda for them.

My interpretation of Kohn's message in this book is that with love, we traditionally assume that offering praise will cause a child to do the right thing. However, Kohn believes that children are naturally pre-disposed to make healthy choices (most of the time) if we trust them and deal honestly with them in a manner appropriate to their age.

For example, if a child paints a picture of a building, rather than give a value judgement such as 'wow, what a great picture' (whether the child has invested a lot of effort or very little), we could share a genuine appreciation for the work such as....'I like how this building contrasts with the sky', or simply hang up the painting and allow the child to draw his/her own conclusions about their work.

An experience I had at our local playground shortly after I read Unconditional Parenting gave me an amusing reminder of the concept of overpraising to the degree that children cease to rely on their own perceptions of the world. The mother of a toddler was pushing her child on the baby swing and each time the child swung back she would say 'good swinging'...I almost felt like patting this loving mother on the back and chiming in 'good pushing' as she was doing all the work, and I know I have done similar things with good intentions many times.

This experience allowed me a really clear picture of how we as parents can train our children to require positive feedback to feel that they're doing an okay job, rather than being self-referencing and secure as individuals.

Another important facet of this book is that children flourish when they are secure in the knowledge that they are loved unconditionally. Kohn alleges that while we assume that because we feel unconditional love for our children, they will automatically know this as the truth, this is not always the case. Unless we relate our enduring love to our children verbally and with our actions, they may assume we only love them as long as they meet our approval.

This surprised me, and I wasn't convinced at first. However, since I have been employing the statement 'I love you and will always love you no matter what....and now let's look at what happened' at the beginning of many significant discussions, I am experiencing an incredible shift in the energy of my interactions with our children. Immediately the child knows they are safe in my love, and need not be on the defensive, allowing issues to be resolved much more quickly and smoothly.
I will add here that unconditional parenting does not mean allowing children to do whatever they wish, whenever they wish. It does not mean allowing our children to disrespect others or run the household. It means not withdrawing our love and approval in an effort to change their behaviour, but working for a respectful exchange of wishes which are resolved in a win/win capacity for all parties.

Personally I really enjoyed reading Unconditional Parenting, even though it challenged a few paradigms for me and gave me a bit of a jolt initially :) I believe that by following it's basic principles, I now enjoy a much more relaxed and enriched relationship with my family and feel extremely grateful for this.

Talk Soon Cynthia x

Hi Everyone,

Another poetry book review, this time by Roger Housden. I just loved this book for its insight and warmth.....enjoy :)

Today I am reviewing Ten Poems to Change Your Life by author and poet Roger Housden. Published in 2003, this book is a collection of poems that have been significant to the author, but all are much more than that. These poems, beginning with the transformational poem The Journey by Mary Oliver (following) are powerful, moving.....

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice-
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend by life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do-
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

Gradually the poems and Housden's critique of each lead the reader from the beginning of the life journey to the end with insight and a connectedness that allows you to relate the verse to your own life experience

Other poets featured include Antonio Machado, Walt Whitman, Rumi, Kabir, Pablo Neruda, Galway Kinnell, W.S. Merwin and Derek Walcott, and a brief biography of each is included.

Subsequent publications by Housden include Ten Poems to Change Your Life Again and Again (2007) Chasing Rumi: A Fable About Finding the Heart's True Desire details are available on his website.

Talk Soon, Cynthia x