Book review - I, Juan de Pareja

I had heard of I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino, but had no idea what it was about.  When I was younger, I went through a phase where I wanted to read all of the Newbery winners, so surely I had held that book in my hands time and time again.  We decided to read it because it was recommended by our History book, Story of the World.  My own knowledge of the Renaissance is sketchy at best, so I thought it would be helpful to spend a little more time studying it.  Already, I know more than I ever learned in school.  I love that about homeschooling.

Juan is a slave in 17th C Spain.  He is owned by the court painter, Diego Velazquez, who painted Pope Innocent X, as well as many portraits of King Phillip IV.  This is historical fiction, so there is a thread of truth to it, and embellishments as well.  There is a fine afterword about which elements are factual, and why the author wrote the story as she did.  The language is beautiful, and challenging.  I recognized many words from my SATs!  It's rare now, I think, to find a children's book with language like this.  The kids were challenged to determine word meanings based on context, but it wasn't so difficult that they couldn't follow the story.  This book is rich with material for language/vocab study.

The themes of this story are racism, slavery, friendship, loyalty, family, truth, and art.  That's just what I can think of offhand!  Catholicism underlies the entire book.  Juan is a faithful man, who understands that his sin separates him from God.  He faces his own moral dilemma--he wants to paint, but as a slave, is not allowed to create art.  I cannot fathom a culture that would prohibit free expression (yes, that's so American).  I find it heartbreaking.  I'm not sure if he couldn't paint because if he sold his works, he would take profits from free men, or if people generally believed that he, as a slave, had nothing to express.  Or worse...that he DID have something to express, and that thing would cause a disturbance in the status quo.  Was a law like that just a means of keeping control?

I, Juan de Pareja is rich with topics that you can study and discuss with your children.  In a book world full of fluff, it's gratifying to read something that encourages children to think.

You can find a free study guide here.

There are a number of books on Velazquez.  I like this one.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

You may recall that I am doing a Victorian Reading Challenge in 2011.  I have finally finished my first book of the challenge (after a little detour into a different book).  Sadly, it took me about 8 weeks to finish The Picture of Dorian Gray.  It wasn't that I wasn't interested (quite the opposite), but more that I have book ADD.  I cannot remember a time when I wasn't in the middle of 2 or 3 books at once.

As for my thoughts on poor, sad Dorian... (yes, there will be spoilers)

I love this picture.  I am planning to watch this movie
version later this week.  I can't wait.

Well, I suppose that's it.  He's poor and sad.  I am of the school of thought that no matter what he (me?) may try, his (my?) sins always catch up with him (and me!).  I  thought it was interesting how Dorian hid away the ugly picture of himself, and even covered it.  But every now and again, he liked to pull down the fabric and take a look.  I guess he liked what he was doing--the power that he had over others.  It got me thinking...is there something I like about doing the wrong thing?  I keep on doing wrong.  I wonder.

As for the character I most identified with, I would have to say Lord Henry.  When I started reading this book, my first thought about Henry was, "This is what I would be like without Jesus."  Which might give you a little more insight than I might like into my thoughts.  I am ashamed to admit that I "get" Henry's fascination with pushing buttons and creating his own amusement.  An argument could be made that Henry is the real villain of this story, who preys on young, naive Dorian.  That may be true at first, but Dorian has plenty of time to learn to think for himself.  He just chooses not to.

I know some people don't like Oscar Wilde, for a number of reasons.  I have always found him amusing.  I actually want to read An Ideal Husband this year if I can.  I've seen The Importance of Being Earnest, so I'm going to skip reading it for now.

I have all kinds of thoughts about this book, some of which I am still mulling over.  For those of you that have read it, what did you think?



You can read here about what others are reading for the Victorian Reading Challenge.

Books I Read on my Christmas Vacation

Since my blog is ADD (covering homeschooling, cooking, etc.) I figure why not add more about the books I'm reading?  It's my blog and I can do what I want.

Easy by Emma Gold
I really hated the unnamed main character in this book for a good 150 pages.  In the end, I didn't abhor this book, but it was close.

How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
A very cute story about Santa's prior job experience (mail carrier, baker, etc.), which prepared him for becoming Santa Claus.

Rescue Bunnies by Doreen Cronin
I really love Click, Clack, Moo.  In fact, I would say it is one of my favorite children's books of all time.  This was just okay for me.

13 Words by Lemony Snicket
Excellent.  I love vocabulary.  I love Lemony Snicket (who also loves vocabulary).  A great book with wonderful art.

Snow is My Favorite and My Best by Lauren Child
I adore Charlie and Lola.  They have a great brother-sister relationship that is missing from a lot of books & shows (since it's also been made into a cartoon).  I especially like the cut paper illustrations.

The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis
We listened to the audio version of this, from Focus on the Family radio theatre.  It's a pretty close adaptation, and it totally counts as being read, for me.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Audio.  Excellent.

The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis
Audio.  I don't think I even really heard of this story until we got this set of CDs, but I really liked it.  It had a nice, tidy, happy ending.


I also started Cheap and The Burning Wire, but didn't finish them yet.

Victorian Book Challenge

So originally I had posted that I was doing an urban fantasy (think "Supernatural") reading challenge.  And I got to thinking about that, and decided that one of my goals is to read more...classical/difficult/challenging books this year.  I couldn't choose an adjective.  Anyway, so I stumbled along this challenge at books, books, books and it better suits my personal goals for 2011.

My desire to read more classics is directly related to my reading of A Thomas Jefferson Education.  How can I best educate my children?  By educating myself.  I love that philosophy.  If I could've just stayed in college forever, I would have.

I think it's best for me to choose some titles.  Whether I stick with them or not is another thing.  But I need something to start from.  I see a lot of people doing this challenge have listed Austen books, but being a stickler (she's Regency, not Victorian), I am not listing any of her's.  Which is a shame, because I still need to finish Emma, and I am currently reading Persuasion.  Oh well.

Because I am a chicken, I am reading at the Sense & Sensibility level, which is 1-4 books.

1.  Bleak House (Dickens) -- My friend Mike gave me this book in 1995.  I still haven't read it.  But that all changes this year.

2.  Wuthering Heights (E. Bronte) -- One of my all-time favorites.  I might read it first, for momentum.

3.  The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde) -- I have always wanted to read this one.  And I want to see the movie.  Which means I have to read it first.

4.  The Princess and the Goblin (MacDonald) -- Because I just know I should read this book.

Fall into Reading Wrap Up

Well, I did a so-so job at meeting my goals.  I really have a problem with distraction.  I am really good at setting a book aside and reading an entire other book.  I read Immanuel's Veins and Muppet Robin Hood (Muppet Graphic Novels), which were not on my list.  Oh, and Jane Austen Ruined My Life and Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart: A Novel (Modern Contemporary Fiction Po).  I started, but haven't yet completed, Jane Austen's Persuasion.  I feel like there might've been others, but they escape me at present.

I really suffer from book ADD.


See my comments after each title, below.


Visit the wrap up post on Callapidder Days here.

I'm participating in Callapidder Day's Fall into Reading challenge.  Some of these are books I need to finish, and others are books I want to read.

1.  When You Rise Up: A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling by R.C. Sproul, Jr.

I started this book about two weeks ago, and just need to finish it up.  I love that he is helping to remind me why I want to remain faithful to the call to homeschool.

I really liked this book.  I could definitely see why some people wouldn't like it.  I don't think it would change my mind if I wasn't already committed to homeschooling.  But I did like it; it worked for me.

2.  A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century by Oliver DeMille

This book describes ways that parents (whether homeschoolers, public or private schoolers) can help their children become leaders.

This book is full of great ideas, and offers a different way of looking at what constitutes a quality education.  It also includes a few book lists, which I always like, and some tips for leading book discussions.  One thing I took away from this was that I need to be reading more challenging books and exercising my brain.  Darn.  I started Persuasion because I read this book.  If I finish it and then find someone to discuss it with me, I will be so proud of myself.

3.  How to Pray: The Best Of John Wesley (VALUE BOOKS)

This is a very short book.  No excuses for not getting this one done!

Pretty funny that I wrote I had no excuse for not getting this done, as I didn't finish it!  I lost it for quite some time.  I will finish it, and I find a lot of what Wesley says to be helpful.  There are some good nuggets of wisdom in here.

4.  Toward the Sunrise (Daughters of Fortune, Book 3) by Judith Pella

This is a fictional story of 3 sisters during WWII.  I am really enjoying this series.

Hey, I finished this book!  When I started this series, I hoped it would be free of the typical traps of Christian romance (ie, someone has to become Christian for the plot to resolve).  Yeah, that didn't work out.  I enjoyed it anyway and it helped me remember how much I love Russia.

5.  Homeward My Heart (Daughters of Fortune, Book 4) by Judith Pella

Really, I am going to finish the whole series.

Yep, see above.

6.  Ezekiel in Life Application Study Bible NIV

I've read it before.  We're studying it in Sunday school.  It kind of makes my head want to explode.

I quit Sunday school.  Man, I'm lame.

Okay, I am going to just stop there.  I think this is a manageable list.  Yay for books!

Week in Review--Week 11

Where is the time going?

We had a pretty good week this week.  Did it look exactly how I thought it should?  Oh no.  But I am okay with that!  We learned all sorts of things.  We finally have a house cleaning routine.  (What's that?  Angels singing?)  Hub was off a couple days this week so we chucked the schedule in order to spend time with him.

On the topic of schedules, I have been reading Managers of their Homes.  It's been quite convicting, along with a few other messages I am getting about being proactive with my time, as well as getting up early in the morning.  Have I fully embraced these ideas?  Nope.  Will I?  I hope so.  We shall see.  The good thing about the schedule is it will give me direction when I need it.  I think the kids would absolutely love it.  They've been begging for a schedule.  I have been writing down what we're doing each day, but I think a blow-by-blow list with times would really excite them.  Is that normal?

Also, I've been thinking about workboxes.  I wanted to do them at the beginning of the year but the scrapbooking carts I had my eye on were so pricey.  They're all on sale now at Joann's online.  So I might just bite the bullet and do it.  I've discussed it with Hub and he likes it.  I'll keep you posted on that one.

Oh yes, now onto what we did this week.  That was my point, wasn't it?

It was mostly a nice week, weather-wise, so there was lots of time for playing outside before we're all forced to huddle up inside.

Funny raked all the leaves and then built a fort.
She's standing at the entrance.

For Social Studies, we wrapped up a study of the Byzantine empire with a mosaic.  We talked about the Hagia Sofia, which is elaborately decorated with golden mosaics.  You can see some examples here.  We were fresh out of gold, and so used glass stones (I'm pretending that makes sense) from the dollar store.

Pattern for our mosaic.

Everyone made things out of the extra stones.

Completed mosaic.

Clearly, we're focusing on some important skills this week.

Everyone is reading.  Oh happy day!

Some books read:  From Seed to Pumpkin (Welcome Books, Level 12), Shoo, Fly Guy!, Chicka Chicka 123... and More Counting Fun (Scholastic Storybook Treasures), Fantastic Frogs! (level 2) (Hello Reader)Spooky Riddles (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Kids Can Read!: Level 3 Read Alone)

Some foods cooked:  roasted pumpkin seeds, spaghetti

Visit the weekly wrap-up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Week in Review--Weeks 9 & 10

I was sick last week and so have little to report about it.  Scrappy learned to start the washer.  Funny really has had a helpful attitude.  There was a lot of cooking and dishwashing.  Everyone's been helping to take care of the house.  And so, I feel some of my goals are still met, even though I have no worksheets or similar to show for the week.  Character and life-skill development is what it's all about anyway, right?

This week definitely was more "normal," whatever that really means.  Lots of math, reading, science, etc. was done.  This is the first week I really pushed their AWANA verses and they really responded by reciting many of them at the meeting on Wednesday.  We spend a lot of time talking about what they actually mean, rather than just memorizing them.  That's important for us.

I spent a lot of time at home this week, but managed to entertain a few days and still get things accomplished.  This was a pretty balanced week for us.  Let me tell you, I'm normally quite unbalanced!

Some books read:  Football (Blastoff! Readers: My First Sports), Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl (3 times, by a former reluctant reader; I think it's her "gateway book."), Anglerfish (Underwater World), The Saturdays (Melendy Quartet) -- We really loved The Saturdays.  It's about 4 kids who pool their allowances in order to each spend one day doing the one thing they really want to do.  I definitely recommend it!

Some foods cooked (by the Flour Children, with my help):  garlic bread, cream cheese icing, chicken & veggies with pasta

Some academics covered:  telling time, doubles plus one addition, PA geography, the letter C, parts of speech, multi-digit addition, the difference between true seals and sea lions, rugby vs. football

Goofy tells time to the hour.

Curious about how others are homeschooling?  Check out Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

This week's Weekly Wrap Up is hosted here.