Parkerkids Homeschool News

Dulcie is beginning to transition from oral to written narrations this year, and her first efforts are narrations of Aesop's Fables which she does twice a week. The fables we are reading are in their original brief form; they are not the more lengthy modernized retellings. Here is Dulcie's version of a perennial favorite.

The Hare and the Tortoise

The hare made fun of the slow pace and the short feet of the tortoise. Laughing, the tortoise said, "Though you are swift like the wind, I could beat you in a race." The hare, thinking that was impossible, said OK. They agreed that fox would set up the goal. On the day the race was to begin, the tortoise and hare set off together. The tortoise kept on a steady pace, but the hare, trusting his speed, sat down to sleep. When he woke up, the tortoise was already at the finish line.

Written narration by Dulcie from the book The Fables of Aesop, illustrated by Edward J. Detmold.

During Bible time every morning, we drill our catechism, sing hymns and songs, practice our individual memory work and pray, and read from our Bibles. Dulcie is currently reading the Book of Isaiah and writing a one-sentence summary of each chapter. She plans to continue reading through the major prophets to fulfill a pin requirement for Keepers at Home. Kendra is reading her Beginners' Bible every morning and doing a narration and an illustration of one of the stories each day. Here's one of Kendra's recent entries.

Food From Birds

After Solomon there were bad kings. They forgot about God. Elijah said there would be no rain for a long time, and since then there was no rain. The people had no food. But God said there was a brook and Elijah went down to the brook and got some water, and every day there was meat and bread for Elijah. God sent it from the birds.

Oral narration and illustration of Elijah and the Birds by Kendra.

We all love to work in our nature notebooks each week, and we are continuing to refine them as we begin our third year of nature study. Here are some recent drawings of the local flora and fauna from the pages of the girls' notebooks. The maple leaf is from one of the trees in our front yard, and the turkey was a passing visitor who walked across the patio one summer afternoon.

Dulcie and Mom are studying the history and literature of Greece and Rome this year, and Dulcie has done some lovely narrations about Oedipus, Odysseus, and the Trojan War. We're both learning the Greek alphabet this year, and Dulcie is beginning her study of Latin as well. We're using this site for introductory Greek lessons, and we're using Matin Latin for our Latin studies and the Veritas Press Old Testament, Greece, and Rome curriculum for history. Here's a brief narration from Dulcie.

Homer

Homer was a Greek poet that lived in Greece. He is thought to have been blind and poor, but not always. People thought that he might have been robbed and blinded by pirates and left on an island. He decided to make a living, so he thought of a way that he could get money and please people at the same time. So, he went with his lyre, which is a musical instrument that has strings, and played and sang poems of Odysseus, and the destruction of Troy, and other Greek tales.

People thought his poems were lovely, because he sang them very beautifully. People got to know his poems, and they liked them so much that they made a group and followed him wherever he went. They sang Homer's poems too, and when he died, people wanted to know more about him and went to find his birthplace. They say that Homer was born on the island of Chios. People sent yearly gifts to Homer's birthplace because they liked him and remembered him for many years.

Oral narration by Dulcie of a chapter from The Story of the Greeks, by Helena Guerber.

The Trojan War

It is nighttime in Troy, and the Greeks come out of their wooden horse. Some of the Greeks go to the top of the wall and kill the guards. One of the Greeks lights a torch. This is a signal for the other Greeks on the island to sail back to Troy. All of the Greeks go through the little opening that the Trojans had made in the wall. Suddenly, there is shouting. The Greeks set fire to the city. The people wake up and find their houses full of smoke. They run outside to see what is happening. Priam wakes up too, in the palace. The warriors stumble around trying to find their swords. Many people escape by land or sea, and many of them are killed in the fire. The king, Menelaus, saves Helen and sails back to Greece, but Odysseus is not so lucky. He is captured, and it takes him ten years to get back to his wife and child.

Excerpt of an oral narration by Dulcie from the book The Trojan Horse.

In keeping with our theme, here's a printable word search puzzle that includes names and places from ancient Greece. Enjoy!