Improving vocabulary

More Vocabulary with Dickens

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

Since I found so many interesting words in Great Expectations, I thought I’d share another one.  When I came across sagacious, as I have many times in the book, (sagacious must have been one of Dickens’s favorites), I guessed that it meant wise. (ie, sage advice)
Hurray, I was correct!
Sagacious \sƏ- ‘gā-shƏs\ adj from  Latin sagire,  to perceive keenly; of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment


Word Nerd Workout:  Use sagacious in a sentence.  My workout:

I learned about more than physics from Dr. Fisher, my sagacious professor in undergraduate school. 

Please don’t assume I majored in Physics; I had to take it as a prerequisite for P.T. school, and I nearly flunked.  Dr. Fisher guided me through the challenges with a firm hand and a patient smile.  She still sends me Christmas cards!
I look forward to reading your sentences, and thanks for stopping by!

Julia
How to encourage reading

Like Thomas Jefferson, I Need Books

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

Jamestown Settlement
In April, I traveled across Virginia with my daughter and 125 of her fourth grade classmates.  We took a whirlwind tour of important sites in Virginia state history:  Richmond, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Monticello. The buses rolled out of the school parking lot at 5am the first day, and we got back, bleary eyed, at 11pm on day two.
Sounds like a dream trip, doesn’t it?

Actually, it wasn’t that bad, and we saved the best stop for last: Monticello.  Thomas Jefferson chose a remarkable spot for his home: a mountain in the foot hills of the Blue Ridge, with gorgeous views of the valleys around it.  My energy level perked up when we arrived, but unfortunately, my excitement didn’t help the kids.
Monticello, Charlottesville, VA
Disclaimer:  I graduated from the University of Virginia, the institution of higher learning founded by the great Mr. Jefferson, and therefore I confess a bias.  However, although I admire Jefferson, I’m not oblivious to his faults.  The whole rewriting the Bible thing disturbs me.  And then there is Sally Hemings.
That aside, Jefferson’s home truly inspires awe.  He devoted his life to acquiring knowledge, which is evident the moment you step inside Monticello.  Maps and artwork cover the walls.  Nineteenth century gadgets occupy his desk, and my favorite is an early form of a copy machine.  The pen Jefferson wrote with was attached to another pen, which printed up a second copy.  Ingenious!  But the best example of Jefferson’s love for learning is his library.
Mr. Jefferson loved books of all kinds.  He believed books were necessary for learning, and that knowledge cleared the pathway to freedom. 

“I cannot live without books.”  Thomas Jefferson

According to the Library of Congress, by 1814 Jefferson had acquired the largest personal collection of books in the United States at the time.  After the British burned down the Nation’s Capitol and the Library of Congress during the War of 1812, Jefferson sold his library to Congress to replace what had been lost.  Records indicate he shipped 6487 volumes.  Wow. 
I smiled when our tour guide explained that Jefferson, in letters to his daughter Martha, urged her to read as much as she could and to plan every hour of her day to maximize her intellectual growth.   I looked down at my daughter and said, “See, I’m not the only one.” 
My exhausted 10 year old rolled her eyes.  But I grinned the entire time I walked through Monticello, because I love learning and books as much as Jefferson did.  
After the tour, in the noisy chaos of the gift shop (125 fourth graders, remember?), a patron standing near me picked up a mouse pad printed with the fine quote above:  I cannot live without books.  The man chuckled and commented:  “Isn’t this ironic, since the e-book is destroying books.”
I looked up at him with horror.  And then the Jeffersonian spirit filled me.  Books may assume different forms, but will never die, and neither will learning.  The future of our country depends on it.  We cannot live without books. 
Do you feel this same need for books?  How do you see their relevance changing, if at all, in our society?  What or who inspires your love of books and learning?  Share your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for stopping by.

Other posts you might like:


The Future of Books Depends on Barnes and Noble
The Pros and Cons of eReaders

Julia
Improving vocabulary

Word Nerd Vocabulary Review: June

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 11 Comments

We have reached the end of another month, which means it’s time to review!



First, thank you to everyone who participated in my first “WordNerd Vocabulary Quiz.”  I hope you had fun while stretching your brain briefly for the quiz.  Special congratulations to the Word Nerds who got ALL THREE questions right!  These awesome ladies are…        *Drum roll*

  • Susan Stilwell, who has two great blogs:  I Hope for Him, with prayers, devotionals, and great links every Friday, and Blogmama Susan, tips for starting and maintaining a blog, with an emphasis on the technical aspects of such an endeavor.  (She’s why I’m here!)
  •  Monique Liddle, who blogs about the how she copes with health challenges at Bends in the Road.  She offers resources and encouragement for all of us facing those big “turning points” in life.
  •  Sally Mayor, who offers website and blogging resources at Word Nerd.  (How can I not like this woman, another self proclaimed word nerd!?)

By the way, the correct answers were samovar, mellifluous, and inexorable.  See the quiz here.
I’ve decided a month is too long to wait for results.  (Right now, you’re probably scratching your head, trying to remember the quiz!)  Since I’ll be on vacation next week (yippee), I’ll announce the winners and share link love in two weeks.  From then on, I’ll congratulate the winners one week after the quiz. 
On to the next review! 

Word Nerd Workout
  1. Which word comes from Latin roots meaning “diviner by birds”?
    1. Supercilious
    2. Auspicious
    3. Gerrymander
  2. Fill in the blank for this analogy.                                                    Pedantic : academic :: pernicious : ________________.
  3. “Campbell offered several preternaturally bright ideas during Camp Invention.”  In this sentence, preternaturally is an (adjective/adverb- choose one) that means
    1. Ostentatious
    2. Literal
    3. Extraordinary 
Hope these get you thinking!  Leave your answers in the comments below, and  thanks for playing!

Julia
Book reviews

Historical Fiction: The Kitchen House

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 4 Comments

My book club read a historical fiction piece for May, and once again it made me SO thankful that I live in the 21st century!

The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom, tells the unusual story of Lavinia, a young girl from Ireland who sets out for America with her parents in the late 1700s.  Unfortunately, by the time her voyage has finished, Lavinia finds herself orphaned and very ill.  

The captain from the ship brings her to his tobacco plantation in Virginia where she begins her life as an indentured servant.  Since Lavinia is white, the captain places her in the kitchen house, one of the highest posts in the cruel slave hierarchy.   The story begins with Lavinia trying to make sense of her new life.

This book made me think about the lines that society draws, and how fluid or firm those lines can be.  We know that rigid laws existed in the 18thcentury:  blacks worked as slaves for whites and were considered property, not people.  Yet, The Kitchen House also explores how the lines could blur.   Black slave women nursed white babies when the mother could not or would not.  White men had long relationships, not always consensual, with black women.  White women loved slave babies as their own.

So I can’t blame Lavinia when she has trouble seeing, or adhering to, the lines established in her culture.  She grows to love the black family she lives with, and when she earns her freedom, marries, and returns to the plantation as a mistress, she wants to maintain the familial relationship.  However, society, especially her husband, tells her she can’t.  Ironically, the very same white man who forbids Lavinia from calling a beloved slave “Mama” also fathers several children with black slave on his property. 

It doesn’t make sense. 

Of course it doesn’t, because prejudice is inherently illogical.  (prejudice comes from the Latin prae + judicium, meaning previous judgment)  Judgment made before consideration all of the facts cannot be fair.
    
The excellent novel The Help also explores the issue of irrational lines in the society of 1960s Alabama.  In The Help, some white women think that black housekeepers are inherently “dirty” and need to use a different bathroom from the family they serve.  Yet those same housekeepers prepare all of the family’s food and serve as the primary caretakers of the children.  How can the white women justify their beliefs?

The lead character in The Help dares to question the lines that she sees.  In The Kitchen House, Lavinia has a harder time challenging the rules she doesn’t understand, but eventually, after enduring much tragedy, she and the other characters find their way to peace. 

Can you recommend some historical fiction that explores this issue of societal lines?  Do you see illogical lines that still exist in our society today?  Click on the comments link below; I’d love to hear your thoughts!  

Julia
Improving vocabulary

Improving Vocabulary with Dickens

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 4 Comments

I’m trudging through Great Expectations, our June/July book club selection.  (Thank goodness we allotted more than one month!)  I’ve found lots of material for vocabulary review, but the trick is to pick words still useful in modern diction. 

I read Great Expectations in college and the two things I remembered best about it were a creepy old woman and a very conceited girl.  They appear early in the novel, confirming my memories.  I don’t know what Pip sees in Estella.  Dickens uses a fantastic word to describe her: supercilious.

Supercilious\’su-per-‘sil-ē-əs\ adj, from Latin superciliumeyebrow, haughty; coolly and patronizingly haughty


I can picture a pretty young woman with an arched, condescending eyebrow, can’t you?
Word Nerd Workout:  Think of an antonym for supercilious that has at least two syllables.  We’re trying to avoid overused words like “nice.”  Leave your suggestions in the comments below.  Thanks for playing!


Other Word Nerd Words:
petulance
inexorable
auspicious

Julia
How to encourage reading

Mo Willems: My Favorite Picture Book Author

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

Picture books.  We can all name favorites, but have you found the ones with the very incorrigible pigeon begging to stay up late?  Or the idealistic pig and her best friend, the very practical elephant named GERALD? 

 Haven’t seen ’em?
Then you must go to a book store or library and find them, now.  Look under “W”, for Mo Willems.  Digital versions won’t do; you need the real thing.
My first encounter with Mo came when I picked up Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.  Willems uses a clever combination of photography and drawings to illustrate this hilarious family situation: Daddy loses Knuffle Bunny, the beloved toy of his young daughter, Trixie.  At the laundromat. 
When I read “Trixie went boneless,” I knew I had found the work of a fellow parent who had a great sense of humor.  (If you don’t understand “boneless”, you obviously haven’t dealt with an unhappy two-year-old.  Read the book anyway.  You’ll still laugh.)
The opening pages of Knuffle Bunny reveal Willems’ ability to combine kid friendly plot and humor with adult wit.  First, we see a happy, bright eyed couple on their wedding day.  Then we see that same couple with stubble (the guy) and bags around the eyes (both guy and girl), holding a screaming pink baby wrapped in a blanket.  I always chuckle at those pictures; the kids don’t understand why.

But they love Mo’s books too, and we check them out repeatedly.  I finally broke down and bought the entire Knuffle Bunnyseries in hardback so I can enjoy them whenever I want. The Piggie and Elephant books repeat words and phrases, great for beginning readers.  The story never gets boring because Willems puts such humorous expressions on his characters’ faces.

In an NPR interview, Willems explained that he enjoys writing for kids because to them, everything seems big and important.  That’s why his characters grapple with really difficult issues like injustice, loss, jealousy, and the desire to drive a bus. 
Best of all, Willems appreciates the important role of anyone who reads aloud to kids: teachers, librarians, and especially parents.  He calls us “his orchestra”, and he counts on us to be silly and zany when we read his books so that kids will see that reading is fun and books are cool.
 I love this guy. 
Willems has won numerous awards for his books and also six Emmys for his writing on Sesame Street.  You can find more information about him and his books at his website, and you can follow “The Pigeon” on Twitter.  (He’s really funny.)
Have you read any of Mo’s books?  Which is your favorite?  Reply in the comments below, and thanks for stopping by.
Julia