Nature Study in Australia - some free books to download

Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby

We have wallabies come into our garden from time to time but we hadn't seen any for a while and then this fellow turned up the other morning. We managed to get this photo but you can see that he was very intently watching us and he didn't stay for long. We have had a family of them in the past complete with a joey. I've had a gardenia, just to the left on this photo, which has never flowered and I think it's because the wallabies like the young leaves.

Some wallaby facts:

• They are distinguished from kangaroos mainly by size. Wallabies are generally found in rougher terrain; being smaller they can jump around the bush easily, and whereas kangaroos tend to be of a uniform colour, the fur of the wallaby is more variegated.

•  This particular wallaby is classed as vulnerable. They were found in abundance many years ago but in NSW between 1884 and 1914 bounties were given for their skins on more than half a million of them.

• The Brush-tailed wallaby was introduced successfully to New Zealand in 1870 and to Hawaii in 1916 

I've mentioned before that we use the  Handbook of Nature Study which is quite useful for us but for our uniquely Australian flora and fauna we need to look elsewhere. A couple of years ago I picked up First Studies in Insect Life in Australasia by William Gillies for next to nothing at an op shop. The book had at some time probably belonged to a student teacher - Sydney Teacher's College was inscribed on the inside - and the book was obviously written to primary school teachers. Much of what the author writes echoes Charlotte Mason's ideas on the study of nature:

'An excellent rule in the teaching of Natural History to children is, that the lesson should be given, not on the frog, but on a particular frog; not on the spider, but on a particular spider; not on the robin, but on the particular robin that has perched each autumn morning on the school fence.'

I'd been trying to find more of his books secondhand but by chance I found that Cornell University has some of them archived. I've downloaded them onto Kindle (not well-formatted) and as PDFs (my preference, as I have an ipad). If you have trouble downloading leave me a comment and I'll see if I can help you somehow.

Nature Studies in Australia

First studies in plant life in Australasia, with numerous questions, directions for outdoor work, and drawing and composition exercises

I've also found some books by Amy Mack. I read that she lived not too far from us and she recorded the wildlife around her as the city of Sydney was growing and the development was encroaching on the bush. We have a tract of bush behind us and even though we are only about 5 minutes from busy major roads it provides a safe corridor for natives such as the wallaby - unless they are unfortunate enough to get hit crossing the road which has happened from time to time.

These are lovely books and I was thrilled to find them free online.

Books by Amy Mack The Wilderness and  Bush Days

A Bush Calendar by Amy Mack Harrison (I presume this might be her married name?) - records the months of the year with information on what flowers are blooming, which birds are arriving and which ones are breeding.

Insect hotels?? 

Do people actually buy these? A new development in our local area

Christmas Ideas in a Charlotte Mason Education

Bible

This year we are using the Scripture readings from Focus on the Family for Advent. There are also some ideas for Christmas activities and traditions on this website.

Advent:  A coming; the coming of our Saviour.
From the Latin, adventus, from advenio, of ad and venio, to come.

I made this patchwork 'calendar' a few years ago to use for Advent. We start reading on the 1st December and count down the days until Christmas. This doesn't actually line up with the Advent Scripture readings above but it is easy to adjust them.  The readings are only a few verses so we do about 3 or 4 of the readings after dinner in the evening and each person takes a turn at opening a bag and getting their treat.

   

Picture Study

Fra Angelico The Annunciation

Handicraft

Salt Dough Decorations

Dough craft books can usually be found in the library. I picked up one second hand, Dough Crafts by Isolde Kiskalt, and it is amazing what can be done with a bit of dough and some 'tools.' A garlic press makes great fur or hair; toothpicks, knives, forks, sieves and cookie cutters are other useful bits and pieces.

Salt Dough Recipe

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup salt

3/4 cup water

Mix together. The dough is best to be a little drier if used by children. Add water or flour to get a consistency you'd like to work with.

Clear varnish applied after the dough is completely dry will make it more durable.

Nativity Scenes

There's a long story behind our lovely knitted nativity set but I'll just say a big thank you to two dear friends, Lydia and Pam!

Free nativity scene to assemble here.


Here's one made out of craft sticks.Very cute and a good project for younger kids.

Composer Study - Handel's Messiah

Hymn Study

Literature & Poetry

                             

The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

Patty was raised in an orphanage but longed to be part of a family. At the age of 13 she went to live with a family, and although they were kind and provided for her, her role was that of a servant. This is a short story with large illustrations on every page and would appeal more to girls under about 10 years of age.

We've enjoyed reading books that weren't actually Christmas books per se but included accounts of Christmas. The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder have some lovely Christmas accounts. It's refreshing to look back at the simple Christmas celebrations in these books and the thought that had to go into making presents with little resources.

The first couple of chapters of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is set around Christmas. An online version is here.

I read Gene Edwards book, The Birth, a number of years ago so it's not fresh in my mind but I did enjoy it at the time. I'm putting it here because my good friend, Joy, reads it every year at Christmas.

I've been reading sections of John Milton's poem aloud during the past week.

On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity

This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav’n’s eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.

 John Milton, 1629. See full poem.

Mother Culture and the Tasting of Books

'Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.' --Francis Bacon, Of Studies.

I decided to have a taste of some more of P.D.James' books after reading her futuristic novel, set in London in the year 2012, The Children of Men.

My interest in this author was piqued when I read that she had lost some of her following due to the strong Christian undertones on the sanctity of life in this particular book.

 (An interview with the author is here: http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/3380664.htm)

I've been rather hesitant to recommend this author. In all but one of her books I've read ( except for Death Comes to Pemberley) there was a description or event that assaulted my senses in some way. Her characters are very complex and she writes with depth and a realism which can be raw, but at the same time insightful. She doesn't dwell long on these descriptions, however, and they tend to vividly divulge an aspect of the character's personality or background.

Original Sin, also set in London and centred around a publishing house, is a story about ancestral sin, 'the sins of the fathers,' and the fruit of this sin after years of unforgiveness and schemes for revenge.

One of the minor characters in this book was a disgruntled author whose latest work had been turned down by the publishing house. She was a lonely, pathetic sort of woman caught up in her own sense importance, and in her peevishness went to complain to the manager of the publishing firm and walked into the wrong place at the wrong time.

After her murder two detectives walk into her dingy apartment with its echoes of insignificance and disarray and James writes:

‘“Lord, let me know mine end, and the number of my days: that I may be certified how long I have to live."

Surely few people could pray that prayer with any sincerity. The best one could hope for or want was enough time to tidy away the personal debris, consign one's secrets to the flames or the dustbin and leave the kitchen tidy.'

I felt an ache when I read those words and thought of the murdered woman's 'personal debris' and it made me want to make sure that I didn't leave any debris behind, physically or spiritually. In the P.D. James books that I have read, justice was eventually accomplished, the characters reaped what they'd sowed, loose ends were tied, and I was satisfied that the case was closed - maybe I'm an idealist, but I dislike unresolved endings. There is a real literary quality to her writing but for me a taste of her books is enough now and again. Her worldview often diverges from the Christian one, in my opinion, which is contrary to some reviews of her books I've read.

 P.D. James was an author I tasted but another author I  read wholly and with attention was Miss Read.  She is an English author and former schoolteacher, whose real name is Dora Jessie Saint (1913-2012). Her books centre around English villages, their inhabitants and the minutiae of everyday life in a way that is absorbing and evocative. She also describes the natural world beautifully.

My favourite is Miss Clare Remembers, a reminiscing by a retired school teacher who has lived through the two world wars. Miss Clare remembers her family and her school days, the death of Queen Victoria and the invention of the motor car. The engagements of both herself and her best friend (also a teacher) and their fiancés' subsequent deployment to France at the start of the war is remembered with pride. She poignantly recalls the death of her young man in action and the wounding and hospitalisation of her friend's fiancé and his decision to end the engagement and marry the nurse who had cared for him.

It was a very endearing story and so interesting to read about the impact the death of Queen Victoria had on her subjects and the developments that followed the world wars.

Miss Read has written a number of other books which centre around village life in England including, The Howards of Caxley, Winter at Thrush Green and Return to Thrush Green. She died in April of this year at 98 years of age.

"Miss Clare Remembers" by Enya was inspired by the beauty and simplicity of Miss Read's book. It starts at 17.54 min.

Christmas Carol - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

One of our favourite songs. There are so many great Christmas Carols we like to listen to so we start early! William Wadsworth Longfellow’s original poem was written in 1864 during the American Civil War.

See the story behind the song.

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,

The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth

The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent

The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"