Author Archives: Amy Jane

Fire-Hunter– a book review

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I love this book because I love watching the way people think and learn.

It’s not the sort of book you read as a writer, to get ideas about form and word-choice, but I’ve enjoyed it every time.

The story is about two young people: Hawk (the spear-maker for his tribe) and Willow (the leader’s daughter whom Hawk is attracted to, but knows taboos about marrying within one’s own tribe prevent their pairing).

For different reasons they are both abandoned by their tribe.

To be left without the protection of numbers has always been a death sentence, but being unwilling to die just yet, they struggle on, finding new ways of providing for their basic needs.

Due largely to Hawk’s curiosity, keen to apply his observations to their survival, their lot improves surprisingly quickly. Kjelgaard, however, manages to make this sudden proliferation seem plausible.

Willow, also, makes a number of significant “discoveries” and (literally) keeps the home fire burning while Hawk is out making his own discoveries. I appreciate that this isn’t a story that implies one person could make it without help.

I don’t think that is very often true.

Modern reviewers (if this story were published today) would complain that the woman’s part is too small and domestic, but I would counter the story isn’t about her. And it seemed clear to me that those “small and domestic” contributions of hers were quite as important (if less dramatic) than Hawk’s weapons-progression.

She thinks both of creating a sort of chimney so they can hide safely in a cave, and she is also the one who thinks of how to provision it with water for an expected siege.

Considering the characters’ commitment to ritual and taboo, it unnatural that they have no powerful being (i.e. god) to either give or enforce these laws.

Jim Kjelgaard is an amazingly humanistic writer.

That is to say, God (or any supreme being, or “larger” plan, or expectation of outside help, or encouragement) is utterly absent from his writing. Man, specifically the main character, is “the center and measure of all things.”

This is true of all his writings. The nice thing, from a mother’s perspective, is that he is, at least, a moralistic humanist. One to whom there is a fairly clear sense of “natural law” and right or wrong.

Something I doubt the 40/50 years since his books has managed to produce or maintain.

Other favorite books by Jim Kjelgaard:

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Made for This

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Do you ever get the idea that you’ve been in training all your life for something, and didn’t know it?

And, maybe, the quirky parts of your personality that felt more distracting than helpful, that they advanced this something?

I have been wrestling the ugly side of my propensities for as long as I can remember (well, at least since 8 or 9), and my distaste of those things have made me distrust even the strengths that are related to those weaknesses.

And now (in the rare moments that allow me to think on it), I’m beginning to see things that I viewed in generous moments merely as distractions have a purpose.

~ ~ ~

Sorry for the lack of specifics, but wanted this to be applicable to more than me.

My example just now is very specific:

I have a propensity to latch onto an idea, research the snot out of it, collect what is interesting to me now or might be useful later.

Then it gets essentially left behind except for the (potentially) new angle it gave me of looking at reality.

Then after a while I do it again.

This is nearly compulsive for me; I may have mentioned here before that I get a type of buzz out of it.

It’s just recently, as I’ve been learning more about the teaching side of homeschooling (and solidifying how I want to do it), that I’m seeing this pattern is *very* conducive to my current plan of compiling and creating my own teaching content.

Anything you want to teach you must either know already or learn before/along with your pupil(s).

Something that embarrassed me (This is *such* a waste of time! Why do I love it?) has essentially been training for more purposeful stuff I expect to be doing increasingly in coming years.

~

Realizations like these are *so* encouraging, and I can see parallels in other areas that would be even harder to describe.

I may still be struggling with the same propensities and sins that I recognized at 9, and 14 ,and 22, and 27, but at least I can see they have become more subtle or disguised.

This is positive not because I delight in hiding things, but because it means I’m being faced with new– sometimes more challenging– tests, rather than the same ones over and over again.

I feel reassured that I am growing up.

T.V. When You Want It

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My husband found this recently.

It’s an encyclopedia of sorts with the first season of a lot of shows, including several I’ve wanted to see more of, like Life, and The Pretender.

I like things that have both a satisfying conclusion each show and a continuing storyline with characters that grow and change (I’ve mentioned Monk and House M.D. before).

Main problem: They’re all shows I’ll only watch after the kids are in bed.

Which means if it was a really good show (tension, humor, clever dialogue, good mystery and resolution, all crammed into that approximately 43.2 minutes), it’s a bit hard to wind down.

A bit.

Hi. I’m still up writing. It was a good show. :)

Enchanted

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I missed the movie while it was in the theater, so Jay and I had the DVD release on the calendar ;)

We watched it last night and I thought it was loads of fun.

The dragon took a lot of reassuring the first time through, but other than that, the ideas and interactions were great.

I loved the aborted divorce, and Giselle’s horror at the idea someone thought she’d *kissed* ( “or something like that”) another woman’s sweetheart.

And seeing in the prince elements of one of my characters was a hoot. I never would have had the guts to take him that far.

The beatific look on Prince Edward’s face after another man proved to be his bride-to-be’s “true love” was exactly the look Torb had when he saw that his brother—that he’d previously not even known existed, and who would most likely usurp his throne— was alive.

Fitting Your Medicine Cabinet in your Carry-on (WFMW)

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In these days of limited liquids in airline travel, a mom with the need to feel prepared should start considering tablet medications.

Most aren’t as cost-effective as the bottles of liquid meds, but for the comfort of having them on your person, it works for me.

They’ll even work for your kids under-two:

Just call your local pharmacy and ask for the proper dosage of your product. They’ll ask how much of each active ingredient and let you know what you can do.

For my almost 2-year-old, the dose has been half of big-sisters’ dose for more than a year. This has reduced the amount I need to carry by letting one product serve for all three kids.

The List of what we found to bring in the carry-on for the latest trip (NOTE: these are only safe if your child knows how to chew. Our boy gets 1/2 a child’s vitamin most days, so he’s had the practice).

  • Children’s Sudafed Nasal Decongestant chewables
    • I always give these to my kids before we board a plane, because I always take the adult version myself. (Seems to help with the pressure-changes)
  • Children’s Benadryl allergy chewables
    • Useful in case of a surprise reaction to something. We rarely need it, but when we do, we’re really glad to have it.
    • Some people give this product to their kids before boarding because they hope it will settle them down.
      • I don’t. I feel it falls into the unnecessary meds catigory and avoid it. (Some parents insist it is necessary for their kid. I’m not even trying to make that call.)
      • People hoping to use this method should be sure to check its affect before flight-day: some kids get *wired* by it instead of mellowed. You’ve been warned.
  • Triaminic Softchews: Cough and runny nose
    • This wouldn’t have made the list except we had just been through a bout of *yucks* and all my kids responded well to cough medicine.
    • Studies lately have insisted cough remedies are mostly snake-oil (medically ineffective). Just know-your-kid and what works.
  • Infants’ ibuprophen oral suspention
    • Normally I insist this is unnecessary after 6-months (assuming you child will swallow), but when liquid-space is at a premium, double-strong meds are worth it.
    • I always buy the store-brand. Significantly cheaper.

Happy traveling, here’s to hoping all your med-prep proves unnecessary. :D

The Queen Bee– a Tuesday Tale

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Once there were two royal brothers that went out into the world to make their fortunes, but they fell among the wrong friends and so failed miserably.

When their youngest brother found them, they mocked him, saying he was stupid in addition to being young.

“And if such clever fellows as we cannot find our way in the world, what makes you think you can, Blockhead?”

But, knowing that they were preparing again to travel he insisted on accompanying them, despite the abuse they heaped on him.

A few days into their journey the three princes came upon an anthill, and the elder two wanted to kick it apart, for the entertainment of watching the little creatures scurry about, seeking safety for their young.

Blockhead stood between them and the mound, and wouldn’t permit it.

A little ways on they came to a lake with many nesting ducks, and again the elder brothers wanted to destroy a nest for the sport of it, but Blockhead prevented them.

Finally the three came to a bee tree so full of honey it was dripping down the outside of the hollow trunk.

The elder brothers plotted together to burn the tree and steal the honey, but once more Blockhead interrupted their plans.

They eventually came, as all traveling princes must, to an enchanted castle.

It was empty of people, but they found three bedrooms prepared for their arrival and weary as they were they asked no questions but went in and slept.

Before he’d been asleep long the eldest prince was wakened by a strange old man.

“Would you take the chance to free this castle from its enchantment and win a princess?”

Of course he would.

The old man took him out under the trees and told the prince that 2,000 pearls were buried under the old leaves of the forest floor.

If the prince could not find them all by sunrise he would be turned to stone.

The prince then understood why the many stones about him were all human in form.

He began frantically to search, but succeeded in finding no more than 100 pearls before the sun rose, so he was turned to stone.

The next night the same old man woke the second brother, but though he, too, accepted the challenge, the second prince found only 200 of the pearls before the sun rose and he became the next human pillar.

When the third prince learned that a mere three tasks stood between him and the hand of a princess, he readily agreed.

But when he recognized the stone forms of his two missing brothers he began to despair of ever completing the task that they could not.

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If you promise not to make-fun

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You may go look at the curriculum I’ve finished collecting for Natasha’s first year (all disclaimers are on on that post).

~

Jay’s been correcting my effervescent method of presentation when I say we’re homeschooling.

“It’s so cool here! I don’t have to *do* anything!”

He says that it gives people who love and care about our children the wrong impression.

I hope that list will also reassure them.

Jay’s suggestion of much more mature and useful way for me to communicate our current goals:

“When I began researching in preparation to homeschool Natasha, I was surprised to learn that there are no set requirements in Alaska for parents teaching their own children.

“This is very exciting to me, because it gives me the freedom to create my own course of study that will meet our objectives for our kids’ learning.”

He says it will allow me to share my delight at the freedom available, while still making it clear we have standards and a plan.

And he’s right, of course.

Talk about planning ahead…

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I bought 3rd grade, middle-school and high school textbooks today.

That bookstore I’ve mentioned *loving* was having a half-off sale today for the last day of spring break and I was there for over two hours, combing the shelves (and, yes, I broke my resolution and bought some things utterly for my own reading).

Several of these were individual illustrated stories or collections of folktales, and so could be argued as for the children/education as well as for me, but a good handful were truly “unnecessary but interesting” books that I got simply because I was curious.

You might say I’m willing to buy outrageously far ahead because of the way I do the math.

I (think I) learned this formula from my mom:

Is the cost of storing the item greater than the cost of buying the item when you actually need it?

Since we don’t buy storage outside our home the question of cost is mostly about space.

With the extra set of bunk beds that have been taking up space in our garage for, hmmm, 5+ years, the calculation has always been right on the edge, but with books there is no question.

We have only one level in our smallish house, but we have a crawl-space under the whole of it.

This means that we literally have no need to get rid of anything we think we might use again— as long as it can go through the hole in the floor (sounds scary, doesn’t it?).

So the question really comes down to organization: whether we can create a system that allows us both to accrue what is needed, remember that we have it, and get it out at the right times.

As I’ve always bought my children’s clothes this way we are already aware both of the benefits and the dangers/drawbacks of this method.

But even with all the challenges it inherently holds, the cost/benefits ratio can hardly be quibbled over while we have any space.

For the nearly 3-foot stack of textbooks and reference materials that will be going under the house (including a *nice* Complete Works of Shakespeare that made up half the cost) I spent $27.50

God’s provision is so good.

Peers are more scary than the system.
A little.

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With my solid, unwavering expectation to homeschool it may surprise some of you to know that my dad is a public school teacher.

I’ve wondered for months now when or if he would say something in response to my assertions against my kids being in public school, and he finally did.

“You know,” he began, carefully as usual, “people objecting to public school seem to imply that the system or the teachers are the problem. Really it’s the other kids. I’ve seen what kids can do to each other.”

And my mom pointed out that “Broken homes make broken children, and they carry that where ever they go.”

And I rushed in to agree that he has some amazing and gifted teachers at his school, and they are an asset to the community and a blessing to the students they teach.

And I also agree that unhealthy peers are a large part of the reason I wish to avoid public schooling.

But I also know there are teachers out there with an unhealthy agenda (King and King— at first if it isn’t still– was an entirely teacher-driven choice as a grade-1 read-aloud).

I am quite sure there are good teachers here that my children could learn from, and classrooms that my children could be safe in.

But the amount of involvement I’d need to invest to be sure of that (with 3 children x 7-hours/day x 5-days/week) can’t be less work than I’m doing for homeschooling.

~

On a much less “logical” level, I will admit (almost unashamedly) that I am not yet ready to share my children’s affection with someone who does not share my passion for them.

This could be accused as insecurity on my part; an inability to “let go” of my children and allow them to “grow up.”

It may be true.

But no one I’ve yet met will disagree with the idea that (little) children are forced to grow up too quickly these days, and I am willing to look (and even feel) silly if that means I can also feel my children are safer.

My Appologies

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I just noticed how crazy my sidebar was reading in IE, but I think I’ve fixed it.

So sorry if I put you off with that.

Do feel free to let me know if something’s coming across weird– I don’t usually work outside of Firefox.