TT - A Little Princess

 Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures.  I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books out there hiding on shelves so I invite you to blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library and add your post to Learning All the Time Favourite Resource Link Up. 



This week ...

 A Little Princess

Frances Hodgson Burnett

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
• Language: English
• Format: Paperback
• Number of Pages: 336
• Vendor:  HarperCollins (December 9, 1998)
• Publication Date:
• ISBN-10: 0064401871:
• ISBN-13: 978-0064401876 
• Author : Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Illustrator: 

 This is such a beautiful book.  I can remember my children begging Paul to please read the next chapter.  They would stand at the door waiting for him to come home from work so they could hear what happened next .

A Little Princess was originally written in 1888 and revised and expanded into it's present form in 1905. I almost think of Cinderella with a twist when I think of this book.
Sara Crew is a beautiful intelligent young daughter of a wealthy soldier stationed in India.  She is sent to London to receive a formal education. Miss Minchin dislikes Sara from the start but tries to be on her side because of her fathers money.
During her stay at the school she celebrates her birthday and it is during this celebration that Miss Minchin is informed that Sara's father has died and there is no money in his estate.  Sara is immediately stripped of all her possessions and sent to live in the atic with another young girl.  The two become fast friends and work to keep the school clean.  At night they share stories and vivid imaginary games become their comfort.
The story takes an interesting turn when the neighbour's butler takes an interest in the two little orphans living in the attic and blesses them with food, clothes etc.
By the end of the book Sara and her father are reunited and Sara's true character that of a Princess is revealed.

I love the romantic nature of this book and even more the depth of character revealed in Sara.  Ms Burnett weaves a story of character and sit on the edge what's going to happen next book.  Her wonderful vocabulary is enriching and so pleasant to read, but not so high that you need a dictionary to understand what you are reading. She is better known for her book The Secret Garden.

On a side note once we had read a couple of her books we were definitely spoilt and no longer could pallet reading "twaddle".

“Whatever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess 

Blessings

Available for purchase from: Amazon, Kindle,Christian Book, Fishpond, Fishpond,
For Free: Classic Reader,

Visiting Ancient Rome

 Last week we took some time to go and explore The Ancient Rome Exhibition which is currently in Melbourne (Extended till October 7th). "This exhibition is the life work of three generations of expert Italian Artisans specializing in the reconstruction of the ancient and lost technology of the World. With this exhibition they have focused their attention on the most significant  and important inventions and technology from the Ancient Roman Empire."

Where: Waterfront City Piazza in Docklands
When: Now till October 7th.
Open: 9:30am to 5:00 pm daily.
Cost:  A$22, Concession $17, Junior $12, Family $56 (refer to web for more prices).  It is well worth the cost.

Did you Know ? The Romans invented an incredibly long-lasting concrete, glass window panes, built large apartment blocks, designed extensive road networks right across the Empire and even invented the fire brigade! (Source)

 

The replica uniforms were full of amazing detail and each thing had a specific purpose.  For example the brass belts hanging on their waste made a noise as the platoon marched and warned the people that the army was approaching.

Plenty to see and learn about the army.  What an amazingly well oiled machine they were.  Dedicated and passionate. Each soldier carried his own pack with a weight of 50 kg each.  Every evening they dug a trench around the camp and impaled three wooden spikes into the ground.  If the ground was too hard they put the spike together to form a star and laid a blockade barrier around the camp.

Machinery was around every corner and we had fun learning about the different things they used.

Sir N tried his hand at spinning a potters wheel and had a look at some potters tools, he went on a excavation to find some mosaic pictures and looked at some gladiator uniforms.

We took time to look at a model of the cages beneath the Colosseum, weapons gladiators used, fresco paintings, Paul and Sir N played strategy games, had some fun playing with mosaics, a water machine used to scoop water and change it's directional flow and finished off with some army dress ups!

Sir N built an arch using roman techniques.

 My new hero from Rome: Julius Caesar, records indicate that he invented the book because scrolls proved difficult to unravel and read during long military campaigns. "He found that scrolls (known as volumina), were too voluminous and impractical for him and being the revolutionary that he was, he found it amusing to send his letters to the ultra-conservative Senate folded and bound, instead of using the traditional method of scrolls in capsules. Some of Caesar's letters to the Senate still exist."

The exhibition is full of interesting things to read and see.  I also purchased a great book which I am looking forward to using when we study world history next year.

On the website you can access FREE Educational Resources.  Click on the Schools tab and scroll to the bottom.
Educational Websites
Sourced from the Roman Exhibiton website: Schools

• BBC: Primary History Romans
• BBC: Primary History Romans - Teacher's Resources
• PBS: The Roman Empire - Technology and Medicine
• Ancient Rome for Kids
• Roman Worksheets
• Roman Worksheets - Year 7
• Make a Roman Mosaic online
• Roman Numeral worksheets

We intended to spend an hour or so here but ended up spending three hours exploring and reading information.  We had a wonderful time of learning and building memories together.

Blessings
Chareen

HSMJ let's study the Olympics

In my life this week…

I had a great time gathering information for us to tackle a unit study on the Olympic Games which we will be starting in two weeks time.
I have recently started using essential oils to clean my home and have been so impressed with the product that I hosted a party and invited my friends over to come and find out about Nature Direct.  Have any of you heard of this product or used it in your homes ?

In our homeschool this week…

• We visited WORZ and did a giraffe encounter as part of our South Africa studies. We even got to touch a rhino.
• We went to the Firestation which has inspired us to do a unit on Fire Safety.
• Sir N partook in a holiday swimming program.
• We reorganised our homeschool supplies.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…  

• 12 Most Loving Ways to Spark Creativity in Your Child.
• 12 Most Compelling Reasons to Homeschool Your Children over at 12 MOST.com interesting list written by a public school educator and administrator.
• 12 Most Infallible Ways to Improve your Writing
• Prayers for our Homeschool Days over at Mama Hall.

I am inspired by…

• Do You Struggle with Finding Your Value in Numbers? I was encouraged as I read this post.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

• This week we had the pleasure of helping another homeschool mom who needed to be in two places at once.  Her son came to play before holiday swimming lessons and was such a delight to have over.
• Holiday Swimming Programme at Paul Sadlar Swimland.
• Nieces and Nephews
• Night Zoo - Paul has been working at the night zoo and we have been enjoying going to explore the zoo in the dark and eating BBQ marshmallows!

My favorite thing this week was…

• Seeing Sir N delight in obtaining the next certificate in his swimming lessons.  So we are going to work on our Maxi Blue cert this term.

What’s working/not working for us…

• Going to the library on my own to source materials for our homeschool.  It worked so well that I think I might make this a regular occurrence.

Questions/thoughts I have…

• 
  

Things I’m working on…

• Completing the Expedition Earth - South Africa unit.

I’m reading…

• In Praise of Homeschools by the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
• 15 Fascinating Facts about the History of Home Education.
• Deborah, Erin and Vicky's 11 & 11 & 11 & 11 Meme responses.
• As some of you know I was given a DSLR a couple of months ago and have been on a quest to find information to learn to use it.  I just discovered Some Girl's Website and have been encouraged with her tutorials.  Here are a couple I have looked at so far:
  A Very Beginner’s Guide to Manual Mode in Low Light Settings
  Where to Start in Manual Mode on your DSLR (Free Printable Chart)
  Photography Tips for Better Indoor Photos  
• 12 Most Horrible Pieces of Blogging Advice.  Interesting balanced read.
• 12 Most Aspiring A Words for Bloggers.
• Macro Shots and Shutter Speeds.

I’m cooking…

•  Lamb shanks in the slow cooker (crock pot) it was very tasty.

On Pinterest I found... 

 iHomeschool has started a linky for you to list your Pinterest boards.  This is every homeschoolers dream.  So if you pin pop on over to iHomeschool: Homeschoolers on Pinterest and list your boards. (this list has grown by over a 100 today!)

I’m grateful for…

•  Gentle abundant life giving rain ...

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

"A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them. It is a wrong to his family. Children learn to read by being in the presence of books. The love of knowledge comes with reading and grows upon it. And the love of knowledge, in a young mind, is almost a warrant against the inferior excitement of passions and vices." ~Horace Mann

Blessings

Chareen

This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
iHomeschool