Phantom of the Opera

October is one of my favorite months. I like to make school a bit more fun by choosing subject matter that’s just a little quirky or gently dark. Phantom of the Opera seemed to fit the bill perfectly on both counts.

Truth be told, this was also my classic counterpart to the Twilight saga.

Spurred on by curiosity, both my daughter and I read parts of the popular vampire series over the summer. Neither of us cared for the writing, although in discussing the story line we did spend a lot of time pondering modern day fairy tales  – and that was a good thing.

Besides reading the book, Gaston Leroux’s tale also provided many great jumping off points such as:

• The history and architecture of the Paris Opera House
• Listening to Faust, La Boheme and The Phantom of the Opera musical soundtrack
• Symbolism in literature
• Masks – various types, uses and the psychology of, designing and creating
• An introduction to the city of Paris

We discussed personality traits and how each of has various faces we show the world, and then painted self-portraits showing two opposing emotions we might feel. (There was also an option to paint a portrait of Eric in this way, but neither of us chose it.)

Asha: Happy & Mad

Christiane: Peace & Rage

Halloween night was the perfect time to snuggle up and watch the movie version. The romance, cinematography, music and lavish costumes seemed to be just the right story for my 13 year-old girl.

The unit isn’t quite finished. Asha’s last assignment was to design, create and photograph the mask Christine might have worn to the masquerade ball. The mask is ready to go… now she just has to plan the shot and invite one of her friends over to be Christine for an afternoon.

Garden Notes

We’ve been putting the garden to bed. Jeff harvested the last of the potatoes and took down the beans. I cut back my herbs, gathered seeds from some of my flowers and cleaned up one of my strawberry beds. This weekend I hope to finish the rest of the berries and get them all cut back and tucked in for winter.

It’s survival-of-the-fittest gardening at our house. At first I was worried that our lack of time to devote to a garden might result in a lot of waste but, as we discovered this summer, with a little planning and very minimal effort it is possible to yield a good bit of food from a small space.

Since I don’t keep a garden notebook, I’m going to write my notes for next year here.

Raised Beds
I had Jeff build raised beds for my herbs and ever-bearing strawberries this year, just to see how I would like them. I love them! They look nice and seem to have fewer weeds. There may be more of these on the horizon.

Beans
Jeff’s pole beans were slow to get moving, but once they did… whew boy! And that was kind of the problem. We couldn’t pick them before they became old and knobbly and unappetizing. Plus I don’t eat green beans. Ever. Childhood bean trauma, you know. I hate to see the lovely frame my hubby made go to waste, but I think we can use it for something like snow peas or climbing spinach.

Tomatoes
Knowing our CSA would provide baskets of the most beautiful tomatoes, we planted just a few Romas for sauce. I find myself eating plates of big beefy tomato slices with sea salt and pepper in the summer, so I think we would be wise to switch it up a bit next year.

Potatoes
We got a little carried away on the potatoes. We’ll stick with red and yellow fingerlings and take a pass on the blue variety as all of us found their texture to be rather mealy and strange. I’ve given up trying to sneak them into anything and have them set aside to hit the compost pile… or maybe not, since they might love it there and reproduce.

Herbs
While I did meet my goal of increasing the amount of fresh herbs used in our summer cooking, I did not make full use of the plants as planned. This winter I hope to read up on things like tea blends and tinctures so that I might do more next season.

Cucumbers and Squash
These are both things we’d like to find homes for on our small lot. Over the last two years I’ve grown to love acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash varieties and would like to add those, as well as a pumpkin plant, to the mix.

Cleaning Food
I need to remember to clean harvested food properly before bringing it in the house. I gave the fridge a good scouring yesterday and was somewhere between disgusted and amazed at all the smudges, specks and unidentifiable tiny bits of stuff that I swiped up.  Note to self: purchase a garden basket for gathering and rinsing.

Using Space Effectively
This is another area I’d like to improve. Our privacy fence runs half the length of our lot, and I know we could make much better use of the vertical space it provides, even if it’s just to grow beautiful flowers that attract more birds and butterflies.

I think my appetite for tasty and inexpensive food is my garden currency… I’m just not a toiling kind of gal. As I grow older, I’m also learning to appreciate the quiet and functional beauty vegetable plants provide.

October Patchwork

For a homeschool blog, I’m not doing a stellar job of writing about school this year. Until I can come up with an interesting post about slope-intercept formula, I’ll offer you these snippets:

October Artist: Georgia O’Keeffe

:: Artist of the Month has returned. I keep it very simple – a few lovely coffee table books from the library, internet searches, a written summary and one or two favorite works added to the art history notebook. If Asha wishes, she creates an inspired work. If not, that’s okay too.

O’Keeffe inspired painting

:: October Photography Club’s assignment: fall foliage. On the sunny day we took these photos, the task seemed a bit lame. Now nearly naked tree limbs sit in front of gray drizzly skies and we think fall foliage was a grand idea.

Asha’s fall leaves in the cemetery

Pretty foliage on our block

:: Baked goods for a potluck, dessert for after dinner, cupcakes to share with book group. I send my daughter into the kitchen, treats magically emerge and my dining room table becomes a photo studio. Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes continues to be a favorite.

Sweet little sunflowers

Classic Red Velvet cakes with Buttercream icing

Monsters for book group

:: My long-awaited year of the ghost story has arrived! Now that a scare is a good thing (it’s different for every child, something you just can’t rush) we are enjoying two of  my favorite seasonal books – Jane Emily and The Witches Children by Patricia Clapp – under the covers on cold mornings.

:: The season for Resource Room has ended too. A special thank you to my dear friends Dawn and Anet for their participation and support, and to Wendy at Athena Academy for nominating me for Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog Awards.

R & B: Brown Rice and Pepper Risotto

We’re squeaking in a few more weeks of local organic produce thanks to a generous CSA extension. Our farmer’s pepper crop has been nothing short of amazing this year. I’ve been bringing home two or more pounds of peppers a week for more than a month: poblano, sweet red, orange, yellow, green, scotch bonnet, jalapeno. All this peppery goodness has spurred me to find some new recipes.

Creamy brown rice risotto is a nice seasonal transition for our family. In addition to being a great way to use up the sweet and smoky pepper varieties, it’s also budget friendly, easy to make and is part of our new winter plan to eat a meal based off rice or beans, or both, at least once a week.

I never knew it was possible to make risotto with anything other than arborio rice until I ran across this recipe in The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking. I’ve modified the recipe slightly to include soaking the rice, adding more garlic and peppers and a topping of parmesan cheese. With sliced apples and a quick salad, this makes a satisfying Autumn meal.

Brown Rice and Pepper Risotto

3-4 large peppers – sweet or poblano – roasted, skinned and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 14-ounce can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
Approx. 5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 c. brown rice, soaked
6 basil leaves, snipped
fresh ground salt, pepper and parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook over gentle heat for 5 minutes, then add peppers and bay leaves. Stir well and cook for 15 minutes more. Pour the stock into a separate pot and heat to simmering. Drain rice and stir into vegetable mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then ladle in enough stock to cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the stock has been absorbed into the rice. Continue to add stock in this way, making sure each addition has been absorbed before pouring in the next. When the rice is tender, season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes before stirring in basil. Top with fresh shaved parmesan cheese.

Sunday Stroll: Ghost Walk

Would you like to join me for a haunted history walk? A night out just for the grown-ups.

We’ll be strolling through the historic district of Canal Fulton, a small town near Lock 4 – one of the five most haunted spots in Ohio – on the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Our guide will lead us through the still, cool air and share with us the rich, varied and often surprising tales that bring together fact, legend and documented paranormal investigations.

On the steps of the good doctor’s house we hear the story of one man’s obsession with autopsies and liquor gone wrong… and the evidence of that he, along with one of his smallest patients, still visit this house from time to time.

The night is dark and crisp as we make our way to the library. A warm welcoming glow comes from the windows. The cheerful front door beckons us to come in, stay for a while… and make friends with a few of the spirits who live in this former mortuary.

Each stop takes us back in time and reveals another layer, another bit of intrigue.

The haunted church that is now a private residence… Mrs. Sourwine, the town witch who buried gold and turned herself into a black cat with eyes that glowed like embers… the tiny lace-clad ghost of little girl often seen gazing wistfully out the window.

We leave town and skirt the banks of the canal, stopping to pay our respects to the workers who dug it by hand so long ago. The work was hard and hazards frequent. Legend has it that each mile holds at least one unmarked grave.

We need to keep moving to stay warm. The mood is quiet and reflective as people from all walks of life move in single file to a small cemetery a few blocks from downtown. Dowsing rods circulate and a lesson follows, along with some information about the residents of this small enclosed resting place.

My companions and I, wanting nothing more than a girls’ night out, are skeptical at best. Soon our dowsing rods move in unison as we walk the property and we are 12 again, focused on nothing more than the thrill of our new toys.

The EMF monitors we watched so carefully in the beginning of the walk are all but forgotten as we leave the cemetery and head back towards town. The three of us are lagging behind the group and giddy from dowsing for the first time. So much so that we almost don’t see the light change color.

I grab my camera and the same image appears each time I try to shoot in the direction the meter is reading.

The meter continues to flash yellow… and then fades back to green as we join our group, finish the tour and make plans to take another walk together soon.

This is my last Autumn stroll. I’ll be back to capturing the seasons come January. To see who else is strolling today, visit The Quiet Country House.

ASL

Sign Language II started last night.

Last year Asha took a sign language class at one of the local universities and liked it so much we decided to declare sign language as her second language for school. Anything involving movement is fun and comes easily to her – she told me signing feels like dancing with her fingers – so it seemed like a natural choice.

Although each class involves a trek into the city and two and a half hours parked in Starbucks at the student hub for me (time to hone my knitting skills! journal! read!), it’s well worth the trip. The classroom, all college students or adults except for my girl, provides a very different experience than she’s had in the past. Last year she told me, “People listen, Mom. No one interrupts!”

Asha is also using sign language to learn vocabulary lists for home school each week which is, in turn, improving finger spelling speed. And, best of all, we couldn’t ask for a better teacher. The professor has taken to her and helped us to find a certified tutor just minutes from our house. Twice a month the tutor answers questions, teaches Asha slang and is beginning to have conversations with her using only ASL. Holding sweet baby Noah is also an attraction.

In between official classes, which use Signing Naturally, I check Signing Time videos out from the library. There are also quite a few apps available on the iPod, we just have to take the time to find the right one.

Beyond being happy for my daughter and her positive experience, I am happy that we are homeschooling and have these options available.

Sunday Stroll: All By Myself

The day was crisp and beautiful and I – I had spent most of it running errands.

That simply wouldn’t do. I drove home, got my camera and headed for the park.

I love this prairie most any day but on this afternoon it was extra-wonderful. There wasn’t another soul in sight. The birds, dry grass in the breeze and crickets were mine… all mine.

I gave some small cares to a sparrow who was happy to take them away.

And thoroughly enjoyed the last golden hour in the park.

All by myself.

To see who else is strolling today, visit The Quiet Country House.

Boo!

An art project guaranteed to make even the most mild-mannered homeschool mama look like an axe murderer…

I’ve wanted to sketch my portrait as reflected in the back of a spoon ever since I saw this done at the magnet school my daughter attended two years ago. The white pencil on black paper and hideous distortions make it perfect for October.

Besides being delightfully creepy, this is a great lesson for learning to draw what you see, not what you know is there.

Prop a spoon in some clay or beeswax (convex side facing you), grab a white pencil and let the freak show begin!

Sunday Stroll: Through the Graveyard

I’ve been preparing for an upcoming lesson block by reading The Phantom of the Opera. I’m enjoying the book and the study guide we’ll be using immensely.

One of the study guide exercises focuses on Christine’s walk through the graveyard as she is about to marry Raoul. This particular lesson held great meaning for me and, given the season, I thought I might share it.

Here are author  Vicki Hopkins’ original words (pg. 109), along with photos from my own walk through the graveyard near our house.

I believe there are times we too need to take a symbolic walk in the graveyard of life, to leave things behind that hinder us from reaching a new level of maturity. All of us experience broken dreams, hurts and emotions that we need to let go and bury.

If we do not lay aside what hinders us, we will never reach a new level in our lives and be able to move on.

Instead we doom ourselves to a life that is an emotional graveyard of cold monuments and ghosts that forever remind and haunt us of our pasts.

Do you need to take a walk through the graveyard?

I was surprised at how healing my walk was this week and will be sure to bury what I don’t need whenever I find myself strolling through the graveyard.

To see who else is strolling today, visit The Quiet Country House.

India Revisited

Studies have taken us back to India, a unit that has been on the request list for far too long. I’m so glad it’s off that list now; we had a wonderful 6-week visit via great books, good food, beautiful music, ancient tales, games, wise gods and goddesses, tragic love stories, folk art and the inspiring story of the difference one man can make.

Some of my favorite times were spent reading and discussing The Ramayana – its universal truths as well as comparisons and contrasts between the Greek, Nordic and Roman epics and holy writings from past studies.

There is a want for a higher level of water color proficiency. Right now I can’t offer much in the way of instruction, so my girl paints simply for the joy of moving the brush across the paper. An internet treasure hunt helped her to find many, many images for inspiration.

The morning I set aside for trying our hand at rangoli was unseasonably cold and blustery… not ideal conditions for making designs with powdery spices… so we shifted gears and used regular sidewalk chalk instead. The turmeric, salt, coriander and paprika (Hungarian, but past its prime and an ideal art project candidate) earmarked for outside designs became inside designs on colored paper instead.

Within minutes our tiny house smelled so good. Making circles and petals, pushing our fingers through those spices, it was incredibly calming and a good reminder for this teacher just how rejuvenating it is to get back to basics. I never want to stop these hands-on activities because my daughter is “too old.”

With that in mind, we looked at the court of Fatehpur Sikri and spent some time chasing each other’s dancers around the Parcheesi board, a game I have very fond memories of playing with my father, brother and sister.

Our sixth week of “India” has been about Mahatma Gandhi. Reading and paperwork are done and we have almost finished watching Ben Kingsley’s moving portrayal in the 1983 movie.

Tomorrow we will examine the raga and listen to some sitar music before bidding India a fond farewell… for now.