Preserving the past by Saving Memories Forever

My Grandfather on my mother's side was born in 1900.  In the 90 years he was alive he went from living without electricity and having ice delivered by horse drawn wagon (which he also drove when he was in his early 20's) to watching a man walk on the moon in real time.  He lived through 2 World Wars, Prohibition,The Great Depression, Korea, Vietnam, the 60's and the 80's.  He had such wonderful stories that I try to tell my children now, but I don't always remember everything, making it hard for them to understand. If I had recorded his stories I could have played them for the kids and they would have heard it just like I did.

There is a website now that can do just that.  Saving Memories Forever www.savingmemoriesforever.com, was created by Harvey and Jane Baker after they created a wonderful family tree chart and realized that they knew their relatives' names, but not who they really were.

Saving Memories Forever is available in an app for both Apple and Android.  It can also be used on the website.  Start by going to the website and linking to the apps.  I put the app on my IPad and used the webpage.  The first thing you need to do is register.  It is very easy to do, free and secure. After you have registered you can start recording.  There are 6 life categories to choose from, divided by age, along with the more general categories of  jokes, religion, philosophy and other stories and songs.  When you click on a category it takes you to a list of prompts to help direct your stories.   These are open ended questions like: "What was your first "real" job?", "What kind of technology did you use?" and "What do you wish you could change?".  You click on the question you want to answer and you are taken to the recording screen.  This is a simple push to record set up so it is easily used by even the least technosavy person.   The suggested length of a recording is 5 minutes, but the program can accommodate up to 10 minutes of recording.   You can play back your recording to make sure you are happy with it and rerecord it if you want to before uploading it to the site for permanent storage.  You can also upload MP3 files that weren't recorded through the app or on the site.  For example, if we had recorded my son making his speech at his Eagle Court of Honor last year we could have uploaded it under his storyteller profile.

There are two options for membership in the site, free and fee paid.  The biggest differences are in the number of storytellers available per account and the ease of organization of the files.   If you are looking to do a lot of stories or have more than a couple of people you would like to include, the paid subscription, $3.99 per month or $40 a year, is well worth it.
   
Historians look to primary sources when they are studying a time period in history.  Many of those sources are stories told and written by ordinary people living in those times.  We as a society don't write in diaries or in letters like we used to, but we still love to tell stories.  I would definitely recommend Saving Memories Forever to help your family save those treasured stories. 

Hurray for Les Miserable

I know what you are thinking...if this is an educational blog why am I reviewing movies?   Well done movies are a great way to get kids who don't like to read exposed to great literature, and bring history to life.  The 2012 version of Les Miserable, staring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathoway, is one of these movies.  

In 1862, Victor Hugo published Les Miserable in French.  The book, set between 1815 and 1832, follows the life of Jean Valjean, a man arrested and jailed after stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew.  Though his original sentence is 5 years, Valjean ends up spending 19 years in prison because he continuously tries to escape.  The prison that he was held in is nothing like what we know as prison   The opening scene shows the prisoners pulling a huge ship into dry dock by pulling on ropes.  It is hard to watch, but what prisoners treated like during the first French Republic. This opening scene also introduces us to Javert, a guard who is committed to the law.

The story then follows Valjean's  life after he is "released".  While he is no longer in prison, he is considered a dangerous man.  He needs to carry papers with him that show that he is a convict.  He is rejected everywhere he goes and ends up desolate on the streets.  He is hungry, angry and hates everyone.  He ends up in a monastery and his life is changed by a man who showed Christ to Valjean by his deeds. This is a story of forgiveness, redemption, salvation, compassion and self sacrifice, but it is also a story of lust, evil, persecution, rebellion, violence, greed and death. It shows human beings at their best and their worst.  

So not to give away the story, I will not go any further into the plot.   Know that the movie is rated PG-13 for multiple reasons. The movie itself is almost 3 hours long.   The story is for older children and adults.  It could easily scare younger children and they would probably not understand most of what was going on.  There are a couple of curse words, which are used appropriately for the plot.  There are scenes where a woman is a prostitute, but prostitution is shown for the evil it is. There are scenes with a lot of drinking, sexual innuendoes, stealing and people being shot. In fact even a child is shot down. While this is hard to watch, it is really what happened in France at this time in history and if we are to learn the lessons of history, we need to see the good and the bad.

The 2012 movie is a musical based on the long running Broadway show, but this is like no other musical movie ever made. Until this movie the singing was done in a studio and lip synced by the actors during filming. That's why Julie Andrews could run through the mountains and still sing so fantastically. This film records the singing and acting at the same time. That makes a huge difference and allows the actors to really concentrate on the emotions of scenes as opposed to making the acting fit the prerecorded music.

If you want to see a movie of Les Miserable but don't want the musical version, I recommend the 1998 version with Liam Neeson. For a full study of the story I suggest reading the book (you can get it in ebook for free from amazon or project Gutenberg), seeing the non musical version of the movie and then the musical version. Comparing the parts that are left out or changed between the versions can be the basis for lively discussion.
Regardless of what version or versions you choose, Les Miserable is a story worth knowing.

Teaching Virtue

If you are looking for a curriculum for most subjects there is a huge number to choose from, with the exception of teaching virtues. What good is our children getting great SAT scores if they don't have good character?  That's where "We Choose Virtues" by Heather McMillian  http://we-choose-virtues.myshopify.com/ can help.

We Choose Virtues is designed for early childhood through elementary students, but can be modified for older students.   The twelve virtues that the curriculum covers are grouped into three categories: obey, be kind and be a helper.  These are the three rules of the course which are reinforced throughout the lessons.  The virtues under obey are obedience, attentiveness, self-control and honesty.  The be kind virtues are: kindness, forgiveness, patience and gentleness.  The be a helper virtues are: helpfulness, perseverance, diligence, and being content. 

The teacher's guide is laid out into two sections: how to teach the virtues and the tools to do it.  It needs to be read through before starting the course.  It is written as if it was being used by a classroom teacher but is easily adaptable to the homeschool setting.  The guide is very easy to read through, well laid out and includes stories, examples and activities to use with the virtues.

Some of the tools that you can use to teach the virtues are Teacher Virtue Cards, Kids Virtue Poster, flashcards and a coloring story book.  These tools are extra but you can buy the curriculum in bundles to meet your particular needs.  I would suggest getting the tools if you are dealing with young children, but not if you are adapting it for tweens and teens. The exception to this are the family assessment, the memory verses and the home improvement report.   I started by doing the family assessment to see what virtues were lacking in our family so I could concentrate on those first.

So if you want an engaging curriculum that isn't going to take up a huge part of your day, especially if you have young children, I would suggest checking out We Choose Virtues.