From my e-mail: a free event in the Davis area.
link
"The Yolo Vernal Pool Open House is on Sunday, April 6th, from 9 am to 3
pm. Once a year, the former Glide Tule Ranch now part of the Yolo Bypass
Wildlife Area is open to the public for vernal pool viewing. The pools are
on property purchased by the state in 2002 and grazed under lease by local
ranchers. The area contains some of the last remaining Central Valley
native prairie habitat."
I already have plans for the 6th this year, but if I find about this in time next year, I'm there for sure.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Books about Ancient Greece
Also from an e-mail (thanks, Zelda)
Where Was Atlantis?" Brian Innes (The legend of Atlantis may have been based on the destruction of the island of Thera)
"The Mystery of Atlantis" Holly Wallace
"The Hero and the Minotaur: The Fantastic Adventures of Theseus" Robert Byrd
"How Would You Survive as an Ancient Greek?" Fiona MacDonald
"You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece" Fiona MacDonald
"D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths" Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
"The Librarian Who Measured the Earth" Kathryn Lasky ( re: Eratosthenes)
"I Wonder Why the Greeks Built Temples and Other Questions..." Fiona MacDonald
"Black Ships Before Troy" and "The Wanderings of Odysseus" by Rosemary Sutcliff (highly recommend)
"Archimedes Takes a Bath" Joan M. Lexau
"Inside Ancient Athens" Fiona MacDonald
"Greek Gods and Goddesses" Geraldine McCaughrean (we really like this)
"The Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus" Aliki
"The World in the Time of Alexander the Great" Fiona MacDonald
"Ten Kings: And the Worlds They Rule" Milton Metzer (includes chapter on Alexander)
"People Who Made History: Ancient Greece" Nicola Morgan
Where Was Atlantis?" Brian Innes (The legend of Atlantis may have been based on the destruction of the island of Thera)
"The Mystery of Atlantis" Holly Wallace
"The Hero and the Minotaur: The Fantastic Adventures of Theseus" Robert Byrd
"How Would You Survive as an Ancient Greek?" Fiona MacDonald
"You Wouldn't Want to Be a Slave in Ancient Greece" Fiona MacDonald
"D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths" Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
"The Librarian Who Measured the Earth" Kathryn Lasky ( re: Eratosthenes)
"I Wonder Why the Greeks Built Temples and Other Questions..." Fiona MacDonald
"Black Ships Before Troy" and "The Wanderings of Odysseus" by Rosemary Sutcliff (highly recommend)
"Archimedes Takes a Bath" Joan M. Lexau
"Inside Ancient Athens" Fiona MacDonald
"Greek Gods and Goddesses" Geraldine McCaughrean (we really like this)
"The Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus" Aliki
"The World in the Time of Alexander the Great" Fiona MacDonald
"Ten Kings: And the Worlds They Rule" Milton Metzer (includes chapter on Alexander)
"People Who Made History: Ancient Greece" Nicola Morgan
Friday, March 28, 2008
Books about India
Also from my e-mail:
We like the R.K. Naryan versions of the stories. We picked up a book last time we were in
India that has both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and another section on Gods,
Demons, and Others. I just checked, and Amazon also has them separately, but not
together. You can also read others reviews their. We have only red the Ramayana so far.
Another set of stories we absolutely love, though they are not an epic, are the Birbal tales.
They are stories of a king, Akbar, and his wise, clever advisor, Birbal. My husband grew up
with these stories (he's from India), and we found a wonderful selection of them by James
Mosely called __The Ninth Jewel of the Mughal Crown__. This version is playfully
illustrated. He also has an unillustrated book calleed __A Caravan from Hindustan__ which
has many more stories in it.
We like the R.K. Naryan versions of the stories. We picked up a book last time we were in
India that has both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and another section on Gods,
Demons, and Others. I just checked, and Amazon also has them separately, but not
together. You can also read others reviews their. We have only red the Ramayana so far.
Another set of stories we absolutely love, though they are not an epic, are the Birbal tales.
They are stories of a king, Akbar, and his wise, clever advisor, Birbal. My husband grew up
with these stories (he's from India), and we found a wonderful selection of them by James
Mosely called __The Ninth Jewel of the Mughal Crown__. This version is playfully
illustrated. He also has an unillustrated book calleed __A Caravan from Hindustan__ which
has many more stories in it.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Books about Africa
For future reference, from an e-mail
the book series African Civilizations: Egyptian Dynasties and Nubian Dynasties
also include the beginning of two other books from the series since
in order to talk about ancient cities like Djenne-Djeno; Empire of Ghana and Empire of Mali. This is the most
complete series I have found for children about Africa.
African Beginnings by J. Haskins & K. Benson is a very brief
introduction to both ancient and middle ages African empires.
Splendors of the Past: Lost Cities of the Ancient World This book includes Sumeria, Jerusalem, Pompeii,
Kush, Ancient Khmer, Hittites, and Sinhalese Kings.
Middle ages Africa: include a lesson or two on the Copts of Egypt and Ethiopia. Egyptian Copts are considered the most likely descendents of the Ancient Egyptians.
For folktale studies I believe the rabbit tales are the oldest and
come from ancient times (Gerald McDermott's version is named Zomo but
various African cultures call him by various names). The Anansi and
tortoise trickster tales aren't quite as old but were firmly
established by the middle ages. We tend to use African folktales
retold by Verna Aardema even though her interpretations are more modern.
Ashanti peoples (under various tribal names) did exist in ancient times but the Ashanti Empire didn't reach its full power until much later. This empire made much of its wealth and reached the height of its power from the slave and gold trades of the 1600s. At our house we study the Yoruba and even the Ibo instead. Same part of Africa but they had a greater influence during ancient times than the Ashanti.
The Civilizations for Kids series lists an Ancient Africa video but it
looks like the featured empires are actually empires that reached
their power during the middle ages (ie. Great Zimbabwe).
the book series African Civilizations: Egyptian Dynasties and Nubian Dynasties
also include the beginning of two other books from the series since
in order to talk about ancient cities like Djenne-Djeno; Empire of Ghana and Empire of Mali. This is the most
complete series I have found for children about Africa.
African Beginnings by J. Haskins & K. Benson is a very brief
introduction to both ancient and middle ages African empires.
Splendors of the Past: Lost Cities of the Ancient World This book includes Sumeria, Jerusalem, Pompeii,
Kush, Ancient Khmer, Hittites, and Sinhalese Kings.
Middle ages Africa: include a lesson or two on the Copts of Egypt and Ethiopia. Egyptian Copts are considered the most likely descendents of the Ancient Egyptians.
For folktale studies I believe the rabbit tales are the oldest and
come from ancient times (Gerald McDermott's version is named Zomo but
various African cultures call him by various names). The Anansi and
tortoise trickster tales aren't quite as old but were firmly
established by the middle ages. We tend to use African folktales
retold by Verna Aardema even though her interpretations are more modern.
Ashanti peoples (under various tribal names) did exist in ancient times but the Ashanti Empire didn't reach its full power until much later. This empire made much of its wealth and reached the height of its power from the slave and gold trades of the 1600s. At our house we study the Yoruba and even the Ibo instead. Same part of Africa but they had a greater influence during ancient times than the Ashanti.
The Civilizations for Kids series lists an Ancient Africa video but it
looks like the featured empires are actually empires that reached
their power during the middle ages (ie. Great Zimbabwe).
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Orienteering!
Now that the spring is getting close, orienteering is starting to look more attractive again! Here's an upcoming meet that's pretty close to home.
Emerald Hills
Redwood City, CA
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Event Type: (C) Street courses: White course and Score-O (Western
Massachusetts rules [i.e., find x of y controls])
Contact: Steve Haas, 650-281-5280, stephen.haas@jda.com
Latest Information: http://www.baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/2008/Emerald_Hills
Join us for a Street-O in the hills above Redwood City. You'll enjoy
the crooked streets and terrific views. We will have a standard easy
White course for families and beginners, and a more-advanced course: a
Western Massachusetts Rules Score-O.
The White course for families and beginners will be about 2.2 km long.
The Score-O will use the "Western Massachusetts Rules"--that is, there
will be 26 controls in the Emerald Hills neighborhood, and you will need
to collect a certain number of the controls in any combination. There
are five length categories that determine how many controls you'll need
to get:
Short any 5 controls
Medium any 10 controls
Long any 15 controls
Longer any 20 controls
Longest any 25 controls
You won't need to decide which category you are in until you finish.
But note that there is no bonus for visiting more controls than you need
(i.e., 9 controls puts you in the Short category with all those who
found only 5). The results for each category are based on time.
You can start either course any time between 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM.
Everyone must be back by 2:00 PM.
This is a good event for beginners, and short beginner's clinics will be
offered on request between 9:30 and 10:30 to give you enough information
to be able to complete the White course. Groups of 8 or more, adventure
race navigation training groups, scouts, home school groups, JROTC,
etc., please let us know at least a week in advance so that we'll have
enough maps printed.
Volunteers are needed for the clinics, Start, Finish, and results.
Come out and enjoy a winter day with us.
Driving Directions
Roy Cloud Elementary School (3790 Red Oak Way, Redwood City) is located
at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Emerald Hill Road. The entrance
to the main parking lot is off Red Oak Way. There is also a parking lot
off of Jefferson Ave, northeast of Emerald Hill Road.
From 280: Take the Farm Hill Boulevard exit, and go northeast (toward
the bay). After one mile, turn left onto Emerald Hill Road. Drive 0.3
miles, and turn right onto Red Oak Way. The school is on your left.
From 101: Take the Woodside Road (84) exit, and drive southwest (away
from the bay) on Woodside Road. Go about 1.3 miles. Follow signs to
CA-82 (El Camino Real) and drive north on El Camino Real. After 0.5
miles, turn left onto Jefferson Avenue. Go 1.7 miles, and turn left
onto Farm Hill Blvd. Continue on Farm Hill Blvd for one mile. Turn
right on Emerald Hill Road. After 0.3 miles, turn right onto Red Oak
Way--the school will be on your left.
Public Transit
SamTrans bus #274 runs hourly, leaving the Redwood City Caltrain station
at 35 minutes past the hour, and arriving at Farm Hill Blvd. and Emerald
Hill Rd. at 49 minutes past the hour.
Emerald Hills
Redwood City, CA
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Event Type: (C) Street courses: White course and Score-O (Western
Massachusetts rules [i.e., find x of y controls])
Contact: Steve Haas, 650-281-5280, stephen.haas@jda.com
Latest Information: http://www.baoc.org/wiki/Schedule/2008/Emerald_Hills
Join us for a Street-O in the hills above Redwood City. You'll enjoy
the crooked streets and terrific views. We will have a standard easy
White course for families and beginners, and a more-advanced course: a
Western Massachusetts Rules Score-O.
The White course for families and beginners will be about 2.2 km long.
The Score-O will use the "Western Massachusetts Rules"--that is, there
will be 26 controls in the Emerald Hills neighborhood, and you will need
to collect a certain number of the controls in any combination. There
are five length categories that determine how many controls you'll need
to get:
Short any 5 controls
Medium any 10 controls
Long any 15 controls
Longer any 20 controls
Longest any 25 controls
You won't need to decide which category you are in until you finish.
But note that there is no bonus for visiting more controls than you need
(i.e., 9 controls puts you in the Short category with all those who
found only 5). The results for each category are based on time.
You can start either course any time between 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM.
Everyone must be back by 2:00 PM.
This is a good event for beginners, and short beginner's clinics will be
offered on request between 9:30 and 10:30 to give you enough information
to be able to complete the White course. Groups of 8 or more, adventure
race navigation training groups, scouts, home school groups, JROTC,
etc., please let us know at least a week in advance so that we'll have
enough maps printed.
Volunteers are needed for the clinics, Start, Finish, and results.
Come out and enjoy a winter day with us.
Driving Directions
Roy Cloud Elementary School (3790 Red Oak Way, Redwood City) is located
at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Emerald Hill Road. The entrance
to the main parking lot is off Red Oak Way. There is also a parking lot
off of Jefferson Ave, northeast of Emerald Hill Road.
From 280: Take the Farm Hill Boulevard exit, and go northeast (toward
the bay). After one mile, turn left onto Emerald Hill Road. Drive 0.3
miles, and turn right onto Red Oak Way. The school is on your left.
From 101: Take the Woodside Road (84) exit, and drive southwest (away
from the bay) on Woodside Road. Go about 1.3 miles. Follow signs to
CA-82 (El Camino Real) and drive north on El Camino Real. After 0.5
miles, turn left onto Jefferson Avenue. Go 1.7 miles, and turn left
onto Farm Hill Blvd. Continue on Farm Hill Blvd for one mile. Turn
right on Emerald Hill Road. After 0.3 miles, turn right onto Red Oak
Way--the school will be on your left.
Public Transit
SamTrans bus #274 runs hourly, leaving the Redwood City Caltrain station
at 35 minutes past the hour, and arriving at Farm Hill Blvd. and Emerald
Hill Rd. at 49 minutes past the hour.
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