Here are two ideas for games suitable for homeschool children, history programs, birthday parties, or any time kids need to be active. We used to play these when we did history programs for children. The kids seemed to enjoy them while learning about draft animals. The Gee, Haw, and Whoa Game (“Are you […]
Preserving Your Heritage: Conducting an Oral History
“Mom, is that REALLY great-grandpa’s voice?” One of the best gifts that you can give yourself and your family is something that’s not expensive, but one day will be priceless: an oral history with older family members. For those of us interested in homesteading, sustainable living, or history, knowledge about agriculture and early 20th Century-style […]
Movie Review – The Wave, or Die Welle
Wow! My family just finished watching a very powerful movie. Since I am currently taking a German class, I was naturally introduced to German culture. This film, Die Welle (The Wave) was recommended. It is available through Netflix, is a German film, with a German setting, by German actors, in GERMAN! But it does have […]
Novel Destinations: China with “Wild Swans”
Wild Swans, by Jung Chang, is a non-fiction work about three generations of Chinese women, beginning in the early 20th century. Jung’s grandmother had bound feet, was sold as a concubine, and lived through the Kuomintang Revolution, The Cultural Revolution and The Great leap Forward. (None of them were as grand as they sound!) Her […]
“Before Ever After” Book Review: Of Baked Eggs and Being Off the Beaten Track
Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto is not the ultra-romantic read you’d think it is based on its whimsical title. “A penchant for not dying and an obsession with chickens” is how I remember Sam candidly describing the book’s hero, Max, when I first got to talk to her one afternoon at a casual blogger’s meet […]
“The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova: A Book Review
The great thing about reading outside your comfort zone is finding yourself in places and times you never thought you would, and learning from them anyway. The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova, is certainly not a book I would have chosen on my own, nor expected to find interesting. And yet I enjoyed the trip! As […]
