Carl’s Cosmic Calendar

Cosmos is the most watched American public television series in history, with over 500 million people having seen it. And you can add four more to that list.  

On these seven DVDs Sagan has intrigued my family as he discusses the origins of life, space, DNA, intelligent design, the diversity of life, the evolution of cities, the speed of light, constellations, terraforming Mars, natural selection and even the early explorers, the Rosetta Stone and the Alexandria Library.

Sagan had a gift for making complex scientific concepts clear, as shown by this explanation of the beginning of the universe to the arrival of humans on this cosmic calendar.




Ages 9 and up
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Free History DVD

The History Channel is giving AMERICA The Story of Us DVDs to any school, including home schools, that request it. Requests must be made by July 1, 2010.

King of the Wind

Sea Biscuit, Man o’ War and War Admiral were all extraordinary race horses that could trace their sire line back to one special stallion. That stallion is the origin of the Thoroughbred. Marguerite Henry tells a romanticized version of his life in King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian.

Sham, one of the Moroccan Sultan's many fine horses, is sent as a gift to the king of France with his mute Muslim stable boy and five other prized Arabians. When they arrive in Paris, they aren't much to look at after being starved by a cruel ship captain and then enduring a grueling overland trek. To add insult to injury, King Louis XV mocks the Arabians small size, as the preferred breeds in Europe were much larger. More misfortunes ensue for both horse and boy, including cart pulling for the horse, prison time for the boy, and exile for them both after Sham makes time with a beautiful mare, Lady Roxana, who was intended for a prize stallion at The Earl of Godolphin's Estate. But close to two years later Sham's offspring wins every race imaginable. So Sham and the boy, Agba, are retrieved from their swamp home and Sham is finally prized for the rest of his days. This is an enjoyable story for anyone, but is a must read for all horse lovers.

Awards: 1949 Newbery Medal Winner

Ages 9-12

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Activity: Can you match the breed of horse to their country of origin? To make your own poster, print this link (two legal size horizontal pages), and with color pencils, color the name of the horse breed the same color as it's place of origin. Color all of the horses and the map and cut everything out and glue on poster board. Shannon used a half sheet of standard poster board.

Here is Shannon's poster.

Shannon made the words Shetland Pony yellow and that
breed's country of origin, Scotland, yellow as well.

As stated earlier, the Godolphin Arabian is on Seabiscuit’s pedigree. And speaking of Seabiscuit, what a fabulous movie! It is an incredible yet true horse racing story that happened during the Great Depression. A down on their luck horse, jockey, trainer and owner came together to form an unbeatable team and provide inspiration to a down on their luck nation. Full of heart. I highly recommend it!

3, 2, 1, Blast Off!

Vaguely familiar. That's how I would have described my awareness of:
1. Graphic novels
2. Canine cosmonauts

Then I read Laika and discovered that graphic novels seem like a cross between a book and a movie and that a dog named Laika was the first living earthling to be launched into outer space. After reading about this 1957 Russian endeavor, I can't imagine being introduced to the story of Sputnik 2 in any other genre. Nick Abadzis accomplishes an amazing feat by combining impressive research, lively artwork and effective story-telling. This award-winning book gives insight into the Russian push to excel at space exploration, the bleak Communist lifestyle, and of course the people and the dog involved in this mission. Even though it is not a happy ending, it was a treat to read.

Ages 12 and up
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Reading about Laika brought to mind a movie my whole family thoroughly enjoyed and watched time and again. October Sky is the true story of some West Virginia school boys whose rocket project won the national science fair in the late 50's. In one scene, Homer, the main character is doing what he swore he would never do...going down into the coal mine to work (due to family circumstances). As he is lowered into the mine shaft he sees Sputnik 1 trekking across his last glimpse of sky. The cage begins it's dark descent and an old timer says to Homer regarding his headlamp, "turn your light on boy." We love this line!! My husband and I often tell our son as he is leaving the house for the bus stop on dark winter mornings, "turn your light on boy."

In real life Homer grew up to work for NASA. I highly recommend this feel good, family movie!

Ages 9 and up
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Activity: This is the rocket my son enjoyed building at school. It is only $6.58 and it has earned lots of positive customer feedback.

Knights

Have any of you seen A Knight's Tale? It's a fun, frolicking, follow your dreams, romance comedy starring Heath Ledger. The film has a charming way of mixing rock and roll with eye-pleasing medieval European scenes.

In comparison, I expected this book about knights to be d-u-l-l. But it turns out Fact Or Fiction: Knights isn't just about knights, and it isn't dull. I think a more appropriate title would be Cavalries—hmm, just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it? The author, Stewart Ross gives a sweeping history of the dynamic military duo: horse and man, from the Hittites in 1400 BC on up to their waning influence in the 20th century. Each of the book's 47 pages provides generous doses of information amid a heaping helping of illustrations.

Ages 9-12

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Activity: Here is a knight word search.

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

Replicas of Columbus' ships, the Nina and the Pinta, were in town recently. Shannon and I went aboard this floating museum that is currently traveling up the Atlantic coast. It really puts things in perspective to stand on a true to size version of a Spanish caravel. The question you keep asking yourself is “How did they stand it!!?” It's shockingly small, and when you factor in the amount of souls on board, their sleeping arrangements (on the deck because the livestock were in the hold), their lack of bathroom facilities, their exposure to the elements and the length of the voyage, it's hard to believe they made it at all.

Columbus' voyage is covered on the displays, but how the Nina was constructed in Brazil is heavily emphasized with plenty of pictures. In fact, this replica of the Nina was built completely by hand (no power tools!). Archaeology magazine called it “the most historically correct Columbus replica ever built.” This was the actual boat used in the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise starring Gerard Depardieu. If you have an opportunity to go aboard the Nina as it travels around the country, I recommend you do so.

Being on the Nina brought to mind a couple of great books we happen to have. One is titled Ship, by David Macaulay. In fact, when I looked at the acknowledgements in this book when I got home it mentions this same boat Shannon is pictured on and how the author was grateful for the chance to see it under construction. The book is organized in a really unique way. It starts with the search and discovery of a sunken caravel in the Bahamas. You really get a sense that you are looking over the shoulders of this team of underwater archaeologists. Then, midway through the book, a letter arrives from a fellow researcher in Spain who has uncovered a journal belonging to someone who commissioned a caravel in the sixteenth century. In a clever way the pages turn old-diary yellow and you follow the notes regarding the building of one of these ships. Amazing details! By books end you have gained a glimpse of the life cycle of a Spanish caravel from how they were built to how it's sunken remains were recovered. Well done and really interesting.

Ages 9 to 12
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The other title is for the younger set. It is called In 1492 by Jean Marzollo. A really cute, quick rhyme through Columbus' first voyage to America. Marzallo does a masterful job of introducing just a taste of the facts. It is illustrated with a light, whimsical hand compliments of Steve Bjorkman. I like it!!

Ages 6-8
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While I'm on the subject of explorers searching for gold and caravels crashing into reefs I'll share a stunt I pulled while on vacation in the Bahamas. I smuggled onto our boat a small treasure chest I had purchased at a tourist shop and stocked with junk jewelry, Bahamian coins and colored stones. When my son was the only one snorkeling I snuck in with the treasure chest and dropped it in about ten feet of water. I called out to Ryan while pointing at the chest, which I must say, seeing it sitting on the bottom among the corals made my heart pound a little. He dove for it and headed for the boat. This is where it gets interesting. I thought he would be exclaiming wildly to his sister and Dad about his discovery. To my surprise he quietly got on the boat and found a private corner where he could open the chest ALONE. Only after claiming what he most valued for himself did he share the news. Maybe this summer when you are on vacation at the beach or the lake you could try this with your children. It was fun.