We’re raising a bilingual child in France, in a non-bilingual school within the French school system, but we want her to fully develop her English literacy skills. So, we’re working with her English teachers at school to choose materials appropriate for her level, that she can do during her ‘independent work contract’ time while other children are learning English at their level.

Her teachers have a ‘Word Study’ book (vocab and spelling development) that they’ll probably have her work in next year. I was looking for some more wholistic ‘language arts’ materials that would help her develop her writing skills more fully (she loves to write in both languages and is prolific).

What I would choose for her for the next year (grade 4) are these:

1. ‘Climbing to Good English‘, levels 3 and 4 (selected parts of level 3 this summer and level 4 at school)

2. ‘Reading Comprehension, Grade 5‘, by Spectrum publishers

3. ‘Writing, Grade 5‘, by Spectrum publishers

More on ‘Climbing to Good English’ –

I really like the ‘Climbing to Good English’ series, which lives up to the publisher’s description of being more advanced than most school grade levels. What I like most is that it’s a very integrated Language Arts program – spelling, grammar, writing – and it’s full of exercises that are ‘real life’ (if you live in a rural setting! )…and wholesome, and full of relationships between friends and family members…teaching ‘values’ in the process of teaching English. Not that I’m big on the need of materials that do this, but I was surprised at how refreshing I found it…how much I enjoyed reading through all the texts in the workbooks. This series is used in Amish schools, so there are very occassional uses of specifically Christian vocabulary; we’re comfortable with discussing the content of any such exercises as they come up as part of our daughter’s general cultural and religious education.

To use the ‘Climbing to Good English’ book 3, I’m changing the instructions for all of the ‘respelling’ exercises which are intended to teach children how to spell using an older version of dictionary spellings…not necessary in my book. However, the word lists that are used for these exercises are very good for focusing on sounds and their spellings, so instead, I’m having my daughter do ’sound sorting’ and ‘alternative spelling’ exercises that I sketch out for her, using these same word lists. (The ’sound sorting’ and ‘alternative spelling’ exercises are those I learned from ‘Phono-Graphix/Reading Reflex‘ materials, for teaching the ‘advanced code’ of English.)

I think the ‘level 4′ book is more appropriate to where she is in general, but there are a lot of important basics covered in book 3 that she hasn’t ever dealt with in her English instruction at school, such as recognizing and fixing run-on sentences, identification of parts of sentences, writing dialog, some punctuation and capitalization rules, plus stylistic things like choosing ‘good titles’ and ‘good beginning’ and ‘good ending’ sentences for stories. I’m choosing which exercises she should do. One could use the ‘Chapter Tests’ at the back of the book as assessment tools to decide where to focus a child’s work, if this book were used for remediation as I’m using it.

One can see some examples of the pages of these workbooks on using the links above. It’s notable that they’re ‘old fashioned’ in appearance, which might dissuade a parent or child…but I took others’ advice to not be disuaded by the lack of modern illustrations and up-to-date appearances as in some more readily available and modern language arts workbooks–I’ve bought and read some of these and have found some very difficult to read. I actually find these ‘Climbing’ workbooks more legible and more nicely organized, as they aren’t trying to squish a single topic on each page.

The series is produced by Pathway Publishers, SchoolAid. I bought my copies from JOY Center of Learning, located in Canada. Shipping to the US takes a bit of time…I think it was about 2 weeks for delivery. I don’t recall whether they even offer to ship to Europe.

More on the Spectrum books –

The Spectrum Reading Comprehension workbook has a mix of fiction and non-fiction, one-page texts, with comprehension, dictionary skills, word study and vocabulary questions on each facing page. Particularly attractive to me is the exposure to American culture through the fairly multicultural reading selections. The more modern and multicultural content help to balance the rather narrow, rural Americana content of the ‘Climbing’ series.

The Spectrum Writing workbook is also a good complement to the ‘Climbing’ series (which is quite strong in developing writing skills). What one gets with this workbook is more mainstream examples and topics and a modern, global presentation of the Writing process, the explicit teaching of which I’m a big fan. After looking at writing good paragraphs (topic sentences & supporting details) and introducing the steps of the writing process in the first chapter, each subsequent chapter leads the child through the process while doing different kinds of writing (Friendly letters, stories, etc). I particularly like the repetition of the writing process, the introduction of different kinds of prewriting exercises and the emphasis on editing and rewriting.

An advantage of these books is that they’re easy to purchase online, for example through Amazon, but one can also find them in big bookstores in the US, so it’s possible to look at actual lessons and see what suits a particular child.

Cows low wall (while?) the snow mows the low
Surrounding of dry grass.
I was standing there on a cold winter night.
An owl hooted, then I got scared and fell
Into the grand swimming pool of wonderful dreams.
(beginning of my dream)
In the night, an owl hooted for the morning.
It came, and I, me, as a boy, met a big eagle
that, to my surprise, picked me up, and I, me, for the first time,
Ate an eagle meal, in the eagle’s nest. I felt my
baseball cap fly away. Ahahahahahahahahahah
Ahahahahah! I yelled. And I said, My baseball
cap flew right onto the head of an
Ostrich. Funny! But there are things that
are more worth it to think about. Like the
fact that I woke up from my dream.

(written early this June, age 7.10. Published here with permission…)

This soup is always a hit and it’s very easy to make. For English-speakers, here’s the recipe on the Eating Well magazine website (originally published in Eating Well, January/February 1995).

While looking for a translation of “chicken stock” I came across the Hungry French Man website based in our hometown, San Francisco. Double-whammy nostalgia, tying my past and current lives together.

For French speakers who just want to make the soup (and not do an English exercise), here’s my translation of the Red Lentil Soup recipe into French:

Soupe de lentilles corail avec sauce épicée

Ingrédients
6 cuillers à café d’huile d’olive
2 oignons émincés
3 gousses d’ail émincées
2 cuillers à café de cumin en poudre
2 litres de bouillon de poule (maigre en graisse et sel de préference)
300 g lentilles corail, rincées
50 g de boulgour
2 cuillers à soupe de concentré de tomate
1 feuille de laurier
3 cuillers à soupe de jus de citron frais
sel et poivre moulu
1 cuiller à café de paprika
1 cuiller à café de piment de Cayenne

Comment faire
1. Faire chauffer 2 cuillers de café d’huile d’olive dans une grande casserole à feu moyen.
2. Ajouter des onions et cuire en remuant, 3-5 minutes environs.
3. Ajouter l’ail et le cumin et laisser cuire encore 1 minute.
4. Ajouter le bouillon, les lentilles, le boulgour, le concentré de tomate, et la feuille de laurier…porter à faible ébullition en remuant de temps en temps.
5. Couvrir et laisser mijoter 25-30 minutes. Enlever la feuille de laurier.

6. Mixer une partie de la soupe.
7. Ajouter et mélanger le jus de citron; ajouter sel et poivre.

Servir dans un bol avec un filet de “spicy drizzle” pour ceux qui aiment leur soupe épicée.
Spicy drizzle
1. Faire chauffer 4 cuillers à café d’huile d’olive dans une petite casserole
2. Ajouter le paprika et le piment de cayenne.

You may have noticed/been notified that your antivirus AVG-free is about to expire (May 31). You may be under the impression that you need to pay for the new version, but that is not true. AVG continues to produce a free version of their software. (They just don’t make it easy to understand, because they wish you to pay for their more robust product…).

You can download the free, updated version to your computer’s desktop from here: http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download?prd=afe

After the download is finished, you should double-click on the AVG 8.0 icon on your desktop (or wherever you saved it to), and the installation of the new software will begin.

During the installation, you’ll see a message that the old version must be un-installed; you should agree/say yes.

You’ll be prompted to restart your computer before the installation is complete.

Here’s an interesting presentation of coaching/learning spelling in English. The author uses the term ‘word mapping’ which is the same term used with the Reading Reflex Phono-Graphic Method that combines reading and writing/spelling from the very beginning.

The underlying concept for ‘word mapping’ is that words are composed of sounds (phonemes) and that we represent these sounds with particular symbols (letters and combinations of letters). The Reading Genie website presents a nice progression for analyzing a word and learning its spelling, in 9 steps, where one doesn’t look at the actual spelling until step 6. This approach really puts the emphasis on the sounds involved and then the code necessary to represent those sounds.

There are a number of aspects of the Reading Genie website’s information that I don’t appreciate, e.g. a focus on blending of syllables and developing discrete phoneme awareness last (which I’m not sure is necessary, despite its relative difficulty). But there are some very useful tools there as well, including Developing Fluency, and for parents/teachers, How to Count Phonemes in Words.

(composed this past weekend, age 7.6)

“The batle will be soon.
Blue and Red, shall fight but I shall not!
But you must o noble knit!
I shall not it is to dangerous for me!
O.K but not next time.

So the armese march twords us. We will not die!
(You can invente the end.)”

———
Re-reading the ‘Thae Magik Hetr’ story tonight made me realize how long it’s been since any of E’s ideas have been published here, and how much her writing has developed since the last time. Thanks, Heidi, for mentioning these entries over the weekend.

‘Tis the season of the “kings’ cake” in France…starting on the day of Epiphany (Jan 6) and continuing…well, apparently until the bakers stop selling their ‘galette des rois‘. This year’s research into what this holiday is really about (in the religious sense) brought in the information that the bible doesn’t mention “3″ kings specifically, just “3″ gifts. So the number of ‘wise men’ (or kings) is uncertain. Which is just fine for the galette tradition, where in a season or at a party, the number of kings (or queens) varies greatly. The kids (the 7 year olds) argued this year about whether the person who finds the one ‘feve’ (a porcelain figurine for us) gets to keep the paper crown or has to give it to his/her queen/king, and who keeps the feve? All this became much too confusing last weekend, and thankfully, the 5-year-olds saved the day by initiating a pass-the-crown sharing game, and we all just ate the lovely galette.

What we know for certain, however, is that the PRICE of these galettes at the local boulangerie is always shocking relative to the size, and we’re always left craving just a bit more of that luscious, fatty, lovely almond filling. So E. and I set out to make our own galette this weekend, seeking lower prices, more taste satisfaction and a really big galette for a large crowd. The French embassy in the US has published a simple recipe and background for Americans shopping in the states. Here’s the recipe we used…also written for American shoppers and interestingly, provided by a bike tour company (hmmmmm, that sounds good, too!). Below, our modified and annotated version, for English-speaking shoppers in France.

For a delicious and easy-to-prepare Galette des Rois:

1. Filling: mix together almonds and sugar. Add creamed butter, two eggs, and rum (optional); mix well together.

• 150 grams ‘amandes en poudre’ (ground almonds)
• 150 grams ’sucre glacé (powdered sugar)
• 150 grams softened, creamed butter (doux, unsalted)
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon dark rum (optional)

2. Unroll one of two ‘pâte feuilleté’ onto a baking pan, on the baking paper it was rolled in (so no need to grease the pan).

• 2 prepared ‘pâte feuilleté’ (“puff pastry”) from the grocery store (or, if they are out, 2 ‘pâte sablé’ will do, but “sablé” doesn’t ‘puff’)

3. Pour the filling in the middle of the pastry and spread it evenly, without reaching the edge.

4. Drop your “fève” in the filling, if you wish. Or you can go for a ‘democratic’ galette — don’t include a fève and elect your leader by voting — or just eat the cake and ignore all the power games.

• Your local boulangèr will probably sell you a fève…just ask; these would be the porcelain kind. You can also drop in a dried bean…much cheaper but not nearly as exciting to collect.

5. Carefully lay the second circle of prepared pastry on top of the filling. Press firmly all around (with moist fingers) to seal the “cake”.

6. With a knife or a fork draw some light curved lines for decoration. Make a few tiny cuts in the top pastry (to let out steam during cooking).

7. Cook for about 20 minutes in a preheated, 205 C (400 F) degree oven….but wait, this is the halfway point in the baking…

8. Glaze the surface with a beaten egg yolk.

• 1 beaten egg yolk

9. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and take it out when the top is golden…don’t let it go too long.

10. Cool a bit, but serve while still warm if possible.

We made today’s giant ‘king cake’ to take to our UU service, where we were celebrating and considering the life, words and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. I found it a nice turn on the usual English translation of the galette des rois: “King cake”… More about MLK day here…

Here’s a luscious winter favorite. Most kids we’ve offered it to find the concept too weird—they won’t even try it—leaving plenty for appreciative adults and more adventurous young palates. Serve with roasted/steamed potatoes, rice or fresh, warm corn tortillas.

I’ve slightly modified the recipe below for my use in Paris; it’s based on one found at recipezaar. Thanks to that author, Izzy Knight, and to Rose for bringing it our way…

Chicken (or Turkey) Mole

• 6 chicken breasts or 2 large turkey breasts
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic

1. In a heavy casserole, heat oil and cook garlic for a few moments to flavor the oil; add chicken or turkey to brown it, both sides. Remove the chicken/turkey and leave it in a covered dish.

2. In the remaining fat, cook onion, green pepper, pimento and tomato over gentle heat for 10 minutes.

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper (poivron), chopped
• 3 slices pimento pepper, chopped (in Paris, I just use a ‘piment fort’ from my local green-grocer, and it’s not very strong, despite its name)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400g ‘pulpe de tomates’) or 2 large tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped

3. Add chili powder to the onion mixture, blending well.

• 2 Tablespoons chili powder (…or to taste; not all chili powders are equal!)

4. Add broth, almonds, raisins, orange rind and seasonings. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes longer.

• 625 ml (2.5 cups) chicken broth (low sodium ‘natural’)
• 75 ml (1/4 cup) thinly sliced almonds (‘amandes effilées’), chopped
• 75 ml (1/4 cup) raisins or black currants (‘raisins de Corinthe’)
• grated rind of one (organic/bio) orange
• seasonings :
• 1/2 teaspoon (petit cuiller) cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (muscade)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (girofle moulu)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (cannelle)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar

5. Add chocolate, stirring until thoroughly mixed in.

• 55 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (2 oz unsweetened chocolate squares, chopped)

6. Put the chicken back into the sauce (either whole or cut into large chunks, as you prefer); spoon the sauce over.

7. Cover, and let simmer (or place in oven at 175C or 350F) until the meat is completely warmed through/cooked and is tender. (Time depends on how long you cooked the poultry to begin with. I usual cook it such that this last step is only about 10-15 minutes of heating. Be careful not to overcook.)

8. Optional: Warm 75 ml (1/4 cup) light rum, ignite it, and pour over contents of casserole; allow to stand a few minutes before serving.

Here’s the exquisite corpse we all made up two years ago on Halloween night while sitting around the fireplace at a friend’s country house. The authors include 2 six-year-olds and 5 adults.

Aujourd’hui je suis en vacances. Halloween is tomorrow — and I like its spookiness. Once when I was young, my friends took me to a cemetery on Halloween night. And there, I felt a chill wind on my neck, and I saw a scary sight. The sun had set, but the only color in the sky was red, plus a black bat winged its way towards the window in the old stone north tower. And guess who lived in the tower? You’re right! It was the shaggle-tooth, green-haired frog princess. And she obviously had grown younger since I saw her last, and she was a more luminous shade of green. We thought she was really funny with shining green … especially how the tip of her nose blinked on and off … when she lied. And the lie she was telling me now was a doozy: She told me that her friend got married and the cake was poison! I was shocked and wondered if the bride ate the poisoned cake or if she just had a bad tummy ache. Hoping for the former, I brewed her a cup of broth of eye of newt and made her drink it in an ice-cold bath. Suddenly, she had an inspiration that saved her from this fate: She would cross her toes, blow her nose, sing a song of sixpence, and finally, blow a kiss to the moon … and then all would be well in the world. –FIN–

The .pdf format is ‘universal’ for publishing and distributing documents because the software that ‘reads’ it is free and easy to obtain. On Mac OSX, the integrated Preview opens pdf; on PC, the free Foxit Reader (very small & light) or the free Adobe Reader (very big) open it. Most computers already have something installed that will immediately open a pdf file, and the recipient can immediately read and respond to what you sent (but cannot modify/edit the document).

Anyone can fairly easily create PDF documents to share using free software. On Mac OSX, pdf documents are easily generated from any ‘Print’ dialog–it’s integrated and therefore, immediately usable.

On a PC, you can obtain a free PDF creator called pdf995:

1. There are two files to download to your computer from that website. Then you install them by double-clicking on first one, then the other.
2. Once you have installed the two files, you will find ‘pdf995′ listed as a printer whenever you click ‘File>Print’ : click the drop-down menu where the name of your default printer is listed and you’ll see pdf995 listed; click on it to select it.
3. Open your document in the program that you created it in. Print it using pdf995: you will receive a prompt to name the file and choose where to save it; the same location as the original is a good choice.
4. Then you just attach the pdf version of your document to your emails and your correspondents will be able to automatically open the document upon receipt.

(You can choose to purchase an inexpensive “key” for pdf995 that will eliminate the opening of a “sponsor page” in your browser; I don’t mind just closing that window after it opens…it’s not worth $10 to me to avoid that.)

You could also use a free, online converter service that requires no download and installation to your computer (but then, you’re giving them your email address, and that might invite spam…so I don’t like this solution, and I haven’t tested this particular service, which may not work as advertised anyway…)