Investigate The Landscape: An education blog

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Give Away!

Today we have a lovely picture book, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, to give away! How kind of Book Depository to mess up one of my orders, leaving me with an unneeded copy of a Muslim book (I already have one) the week before Ramadan! In case it sounds like I'm whinging, they then sent me two copies of the book I'd actually ordered, so I'll have to give one of them away some other time when I rediscover the safe place I've put it.

Ramadan Mubarak to any Muslim readers we might have!

(This competition is definitely not restricted to Muslims and may be posted anywhere in the world, and will arrive providing the Post Office fairies are attentive to their duties. The winner will be announced next Sunday.)

To enter, tell us who would you like to win this for!

P.S. If you try and post a comment, the page might reload with a captcha, do scroll down and make sure you fill it in if it has or the comment won't post. If you don't like to parley with captchas, you may comment on the Facebook post instead: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Investigate-the-Landscape/1476070145956803?ref_type=bookmark

Saturday, 21 June 2014

Introduction to Indigenous Australians in Cinema 1936-2014

Once upon a time, around about a couple of months ago, I decided to subject my mother to a course of study on Indigenous Australians in cinema. Being an obliging sort of woman, she agreed to humour me. In this post I will outline my plan and in future posts, I hope to include some of her thoughts.

I have a rather extensive book collection and could have inflicted that on my dear mother, but I chose cinema as it's one of the most accessible types of media; after all 'everyone' watches TV and movies!

The Indigenous genre has been chosen not only because it's a favoured topic of mine, but because all Australians could do with learning more about those who have been here for tens of thousands of years. And if you, Dear Reader, are not Australian, you might like to explore this topic anyway, given these are the world's oldest continuous cultures.

We start with the 'First Australians' series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Australians) to provide an overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history since European Settlement. The seven episodes cover Indigenous history since white settlement in an approximately chronological way. The information presented is drawn from primary sources and shows several different people interpreting and reflecting on those sources, it also shows several different 'experiences of colonisation' to provide context later. This series is rated PG- parental guidance is recommended for children under 15 years.

If I was putting together a history syllabus I would certainly include books and other documentaries to fill in some important gaps such as the Myall Creek Massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre) which for a long time was believed to be the first time Europeans were brought to justice for killing Aboriginal people and the British Nuclear tests at Maralinga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nuclear_tests_at_Maralinga), however our focus here is different.

Now, having watched the 'First Australians' and have a knowledge base to work from, we can move onto the movies! After a great deal of searching I came across a page on the Creative Spirits (http://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/) site that seems to name every film depicting Indigenous Australians broken up into a list of those directed by Aboriginal people and those by non-Aboriginal people.

As we will have already looked at the history chronologically, rather than show the films in the order of time they depict, we will watch them in the order that they were made. This will allow us to focus on how Indigenous people are being depicted over time and allowing discussions around themes, mainstream cultural change and empowerment of film makers, as well as elements within the films themselves.

Below is the list I have collated with notation as to what form I have found them in. Some of the harder DVDs to find are available through Ronin Films (http://www.roninfilms.com.au/) and/or the Australian National Film and Sound Archive shop (http://shop.nfsa.gov.au/). The films range from 'Stoner Comedy' through to realistic drama with lots of swearing, so you may like to look at the IMDB or Wikipedia page/s if your audience is young and/or not a fan of coarse language or 'adult themes':

Uncivilised 1936 - Download - Rated M

Jedda 1955 - DVD - Rated G

Walkabout 1971 - DVD - Rated R 18+

Mad Dog Morgan 1976 - Download - Rated R 18+

Storm Boy 1976 - Download - Rated G

The Last Wave 1977 - Download - Rated PG

Backroads 1977 - Download - Rated MA 15+

The Chant of JB 1978 - DVD - Rated R 18+

The Right Stuff 1983 - Download - Rated PG

Where the Green Ants Dream 1984 - Download - Rated R 18+

Crocodile Dundee 1986 - Download - Rated PG

Babakiueria 1986 - Youtube - Rated PG

The Fringe Dwellers 1987 - Download - Rated PG

Tudawali 1987 - DVD - Rated M

Night Cries 1990 - DVD - Rated G

Blackfellas 1993 - DVD - Rated MA 15+

Serenades 2001 - DVD - Rated M

Yolngu Boy 2001 - Youtube - Rated MA 15+

Australian Rules 2002 - DVD - Rated MA 15+

Beneath the Clouds 2002 - Youtube - Rated M

Rabbit Proof Fence 2002 - Download - Rated PG

Cold Turkey 2002 - DVD - Rated PG

The Tracker 2002 - DVD - Rated M

Green Bush 2005 - DVD - Rated PG

Jindabyne 2006 - DVD - Rated M

Call Me Mum 2006 - DVD - Rated PG

Ten Canoes 2006 - DVD - Rated M

Australia 2008 - Download - Rated PG

Bungalung 2007 - DVD - Rated PG

Bran Nue Dae 2009 - Download - Rated PG

Samson & Delilah 2009 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Stone Bros 2009 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Mad Bastards 2010 - Download - Rated MA 15+

Toomelah 2011 - DVD - Rated MA 15+

Satellite Boy 2012 - DVD - Rated PG

The Sapphires 2012 - DVD - Rated PG

Mabo 2012 - Youtube - Rated G

Mystery Road 2013 - Download - Rated MA 15+

The Darkside 2013 - Not Yet Released - Rated M

Charlie's Country 2013 - DVD - Rated M

Around the Block 2013 - Not Yet Released - Rated M

Having now explored Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cinema from pre-WWII until today, looking at films made by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we will then look specifically at how First Australians are depicting themselves in television by watching both seasons of 'Redfern Now.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redfern_Now) This will allow conversation about differences in convention between film and television, about the different experiences of Indigenous people - even those who live in the same area - as well as relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within the modern, urban context. This will be followed by Gods of Wheat Street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gods_of_Wheat_Street) which combines elements of stage and television writing, Aboriginal experience and references to antiquity.

Next in the series
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Bock may be found cruising around Victoria, Australia when he is not making terribly insightful comments about Australian politics and societal issues on social media. Remember, if you Twitter and drive, you're a bloody idiot.

(Author bio delicately written by his sister so she could stop politely requesting him to do it.)

Sunday, 15 June 2014

History- The Story of Class Struggles

“That's wrong,” my five-year son old recently interrupted with indignation as I read about India's caste system in Story of the World. He quickly added that in our own society, Roma gypsies aren't unlike the Untouchables we just read about. They only do the dirtiest and lowest-paid jobs and are shunned by the majority ethnicity.

My older daughter asked why Romans liked to watch people die when she first encountered ancient history. When we read about Romans again because my son was doing Story of the World 1, she wanted to know if the word “fasces” had any connection with the word “fascism”. Next, she asked if Hitler and Mussolini had perhaps admired ancient Rome. I had been unaware of this etymological connection, and was amazed to find that she was right.

“Don't make him decide what he likes and doesn't like about ancient Rome; let him wallow in gladiators and chariot races,” The Well-Trained Mind told me when I first started homeschooling. “The immature mind is more suited to absorption than argument”.

The Well-Trained Mind made so much sense to me when I read it the first time. It gave me the confidence I needed, and the practical tools to go along with it. The neo-classical trivium seemed to be such a neat thing: first fill a child's mind with facts and basic skills, and then build on those skills. Isn't it impossible to analyze things we know nothing about?

History Belongs To All Of Us

Well, my kids turned out to be naturally-born critical thinkers with a heavy emphasis on the word “critical”. They did not “wallow in gladiators and chariot races”. They wanted to know why things happened and more importantly, why so many wrong things happened.

I believe there is a lot of value in a chronological progression of history studies, but I am also happy that I recently jumped out of that by turning to a document that was written much later on: The Manifesto of the Communist Party.

One doesn't have to be a communist to agree with its statement that “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. One doesn't have to believe in Marx's dialectical materialism or the inevitability of the end of class antagonisms to get something out of the Marxist analysis of history.

History is a story; a story in which earlier events create later events and later events are influenced by previous events. What kind of story is it? Is it the story of kings and knights, and empires that rose and fell in both ancient and modern times? Is it the story of far-away things that have no connection to us, rendering it hopelessly boring?

Since these are exactly the kind of things that many elementary-age history books focus on, it is easy to get that impression. It is easy, too, to get the impression that people at the bottom of society don't matter, that they're not included in history.

Unless we recognize that history is indeed the story of class struggles, we may get the facts but miss out on the plot line.

Beyond Metternich And Guizot

Yes, this small document provokes a bunch of questions beyond “Who were Metternich and Guizot?”, and it certainly requires follow-up. One question one might ask is: “Where will the story end?” Marx and Engels thought they knew when they wrote the Manifesto, and I'll admit that I thought I knew too, when I first read it as a young teen.

Now, I'm not so sure. By studying this booklet with my young kids — an act I discovered horrifies some Americans — I am not sweeping the heinous crimes committed in the name of communism under the carpet any more than reading about the Spanish Inquisition would justify religious hatred. Yet the Communist Manifesto plays an important, thought-provoking role in the study of history, and the study of human nature too.

Now that class antagonisms are more on our radar while we investigate history, the Manifesto and other communist writings still have plenty more material for debate to offer. Should we interpret the world or attempt to change it? Is turning to violence to overcome oppression or injustice acceptable? What kind of society is ideal, and is that ideal something that's also attainable? We all answer these questions, and other exciting ones, in different ways. Seeing how my kids tackle the profound stuff is hugely interesting and — I think — one of the biggest perks of homeschooling.

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Jack is the enthusiastic, opinionated mother of two kids who are frustratingly similar to her. They are "global citizens", otherwise known as perpetual foreigners. Happily, they're comfortable with being in a minority, and it's just as well because they're just about the only homeschoolers in their Eastern European country of residence and are multiethnic to boot. Jack enjoys knitting, redecorating furniture, and talking about things that shock people. She homeschools because she wants her kids to have a decent education and a childhood in which they can feel normal, despite being multiethnic, Jewish, vegetarian and raised by a widowed mom.

Saturday, 7 June 2014

Religious Calendar Curriculum- March

1st

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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2nd

- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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3rd

-Clean Monday (Orthodox Christians)

*Today is the beginning of Great Lent for Orthodox Christians. From today until Easter, they will eat fast day food, which usually means no red meat, no milk, cheese, eggs, wine or oil.

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8th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

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9th

- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

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13th

Fast of Esther (Jewish)

*Read story

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15th

-Purim (Jewish)

*Commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the Persians, thanks to intervention of Queen Esther.

*Read story

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16th

-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)

*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.

*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

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- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

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17th

-Holi (Hindu)

*This is a Spring festival also known as the Festival of Colours and sometimes the Festival of Love. Usually people have a bonfire the night before, then on Holi will chase each other around with water bombs and throw paint powder at each other in the street. Some people also walk around playing instruments, singing and dancing. Later in the evening, people, once they have cleaned up, go visiting friends and family. This is not a festival where people wear their best clothes! People are not only celebrating the end of winter and beginning of Spring, but the victory of good over evil.

*Read 'It's Time for Holi' by Amita Roy Shah

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19th

-St Joseph's Day (Catholic Solemnity also observed by Lutherans and Anglicans)

*This is a feast day commemorating St Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary, Jesus' step father and Patron of the Catholic Church, but as it falls during Lent, it's a meatless feast.

*Colouring page: http://catholicplayground.com/joseph/saint-joseph-coloring.html

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20th

- Ostara (Neo-Pagan)(Northern Hemisphere) Mabon (Southern Hemisphere)

*Also known as the Spring Equinox, pagans will observe it as convenient from yesterday through the next few days. This is the second of the Spring festivals and is about balance, renewal, friendship, love, and fertility so is when people are sowing their gardens since in most places the weather has finally cheered up a bit.

* Some people, particularly Wiccans tell this part of the story about their God and Goddess: The Lord is a growing youth. This is the middle of spring and everything is growing and maturing. The God and Goddess are both youthful, vibrant and innocent. As the days grow longer, the God and Goddess begin to notice each other with interest.

*Read the Ostara section of 'Rupert's Tales' by Kyrja and a colouring page from the matching activity book

*Mabon is the time for Not Spring Cleaning, since the weather has finally cooled down to civilised and really, Spring Cleaning needs to be done more than once a year… I'll also be beginning my winter planting. *If* my gourds grow, we'll do some gourd crafts to decorate because that would be snazzy. Ever seen Turks Head gourds? Look them up. Wouldn't they make wonderful decorations?

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22nd

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

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23rd

- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

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25th

The Annunciation of the Lord (Catholic Solemnity and Orthodox observance)

*Read 'The Annunciation' by Sister Elayne

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29th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

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30th

- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

Previous post in the series

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Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

April 2013- Early Winter

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

I was *terribly* impressed by this first picture here! I really think her drawing skills are improving, though we have quite some way to go before achieving brilliance in the style of the Edwardian Lady's journal. (Which is not necessarily a goal, but is certainly something to sigh wistfully about.) While I did have to remind her to give it legs, anyone from our part of the world would recognise this as a crimson rosella. These rosellas are seasonal visitors to us and they are so gorgeous I can't help but love them, even when they are making a mess in my veggie garden!

This next picture was from our trip to Steavenson's Falls, which we chose, for our nature study tours, as our 'wet woodlands' location. I'm not 100% thrilled with the site because there are a few too many invading blackberries and I'd rather there weren't, but it is accessible and we don't need to worry about coming back one day and finding it closed indefinitely for regeneration. I'm really not sure about the colours, but that is definitely her standing beside the waterfall.

Another spot we visit on our nature study tours is St Clair. There is nothing particularly remarkable about the site. It appears to be the location of an old township but is pretty much a paddock up in the hills. One of the major terrain types in our state is the alpine area, and this is the closest we can get that is accessible all year around, since it is a through road. And, this is very important, it doesn't cost us $50 to access like the ski resorts do in winter! Daughter was disappointed there wasn't any snow *again* but we got to see some sedimentary rocks just like the ones David Attenborough was talking about on the documentary we'd watched recently. Almost as good as snow is seeing things she's watched on documentaries. A very simple picture, but you're seeing the sedimentariness of those rocks, aren't you?

This picture was drawn at home. We looked out the window and saw a couple of young kangaroos fighting, with the swamp wallaby on the opposite watching them too. It was such an amusing picture (to me, anyway) that I suggested she draw it into her journal. For some reason known only to herself, she drew a mother and a joey instead. *shrug*

You remember those ants we saw at the Hattah-Kulkyne national park? Well guess what? They were still there this time!

And this picture is from another site on our nature study tour, the estuary at Barwon Heads, where we go to look at mangroves. Mangroves are cool. I really like this picture book, Mangroves by Glenda Kane and Lisa Allen, which I think is out of print at the moment. Rhyming books that you can read more than once a month without wanting to dig your eyes out should never go out of print. Boo hiss.

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Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Saturday, 31 May 2014

Horrible Histories by SOTW Chapter (V.1)

I love the Horrible History tv show. I like it so much I don't care whether my 7 year old learns anything from it or not and include it in our history studies anyway. I bet you like them too, or will when you get your hands on them, so I offer the list of Horrible History clips organised by Story of the World chapter we've used and enjoyed in our homeschool.

Story of the World, for those who don't know is the popular history curriculum for children in the early years of school, written by Susan Wise Bauer: http://peacehillpress.com/story-of-the-world/

STORY OF THE WORLD, VOLUME ONE- ANCIENT TIMES

Chapter 1, The Earliest People

*Series 1, Episode 1, Savage Stone Age: Stone Age Tool Set advertisement and the funeral of the chief of a tribe.

*Series 1, Episode 2, Savage Stone Age: Historical Hospital, caveman art show (preserving heads)

*Series 1, Episode 5, Savage Stone Age: HHTV News: Bob Hale's Stone Age Report. Rattus Rattus fantasizes: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens dine together

*Series 1, Episode 8, Savage Stone Age: "Caveman Love" (song, two parts). Ready Steady Feast

*Series 2, Episode 3, Savage Stone Age: Hunting trip preparations. The Caveman Workout, the low-tech way to get in shape (advertisement)

*Series 2, Episode 6, Savage Stone Age: Trepanadol. Stone Age Family Fortunes

*Series 2, Episode 12, Savage Stone Age: Historical Crime Squad: burial pit (death customs.) Caveman Art Show (hands)

*Series 3, Episode 6, Savage Stone Age: Stone Age farmer. Shouty Man: New multi-purpose string

*Series 3, Episode 11, Savage Stone Age: Stone Age Dragons' Den (two parts). "Stone Age Song" (song)

*Series 4, Episode 1, Savage Stone Age: World of Stone (advertisement). Early News: Bronze Age Opening (After looking at pages on tools)

*Series 4, Episode 2, Savage Stone Age: HHTV News: Bob Hale's report on the Evolution of man. Charles Darwin's "Natural Selection" song

*Series 4, Episode 4, Savage Stone Age: Historical Apprentice

*Series 4, Episode 5, Savage Stone Age: Historical Masterchef. Stone-age man plan to found a city

*Series 4, Episode 6, Savage Stone Age: The Early Show. Mammoth hunting (animated)

*Series 5, Episode 3, Savage Stone Age: Invention no. 28: Wearing clothes. Historical Top Gear (parody of Top Gear).

*Series 5, Episode 6, Savage Stone Age: Now That's What Me Call Music. Historical Springwatch.

*Series 5, Episode 9, Savage Stone Age: Words we get from the Stone Age. A Historical Place in the Sun.

Chapter 2, Egyptians Lived on the Nile River

*Series 1, Episode 7, Awful Egyptians: Egyptian mummy fantasizes: real estate pyramids. Meet the Gods (animated)

*Series 4, Episode 1, Awful Egyptians: Wonders of the Egyptian Universe. HH Games: Duat (the underworld

Chapter 3, The First Writing

*Series 2, Episode 8, Awful Egyptians: "Hieroglyphics Song" (song)

*Series 5, Episode 11, Awful Egyptians: Don't Tell The Corpse. Hieroglabble (Scrabble parody).

Chapter 4, The Old Kingdom of Egypt

*Series 1, Episode 2, Awful Egyptians: King Pepi's Super Sticky Anti-fly Honey Slave (advertisement). Rattus Rattus fantasizes: the first pyramid. Twisted Fairytales: "The Princess and the Pea" (deals with the killing of royal family members)

*Series 1, Episode 3, Awful Egyptians: "Making a Mummy" (song). The history of mummies. Shouty Man: All-purpose ancient Egyptian mummy

*Series 3, Episode 7, Awful Egyptians: Mysterious underground tombs. Shouty Man: Ushabti coffin dolls

*Series 3, Episode 12, Savage Stone Age: Comparison between Stonehenge and the pyramids (animated). Cliff Whiteley: Stonehenge purposes

*Series 4, Episode 5, Awful Egyptians: Egyptian Make Show. Mummification (a skit on Operation)

Chapter 5, The First Sumerian Dictator- none (wah!)

Chapter 6, The Jewish People- none (wah!)

Chapter 7, Hammurabi and the Babylonians- none (whinge!)

Chapter 8, The Assyrians- none (sook!)

Chapter 9, The First Cities of India- none (woe!)

Chapter 10, The Far East: Ancient China- none (boo hiss!)

Chapter 11, Ancient Africa- none (boo hiss!)

Chapter 12, The Middle Kingdom of Egypt- none (wah!)

Chapter 13, The New Kingdom of Egypt

*Series 1, Episode 5, Awful Egyptians: Pharaoh Phashion [sic] magazine. Mouse Fresh Max (advertisement)

*Series 1, Episode 13, Awful Egyptians: This Is Your Reign: Cleopatra and Hatshepsut, the first woman pharaoh.

*Series 2, Episode 5, Awful Egyptians: Real Tomb Raider. Scary Stories: "The Curse of Tutankhamun"

*Series 2, Episode 11, Awful Egyptians: Ready Steady Feast: peasant food. Pyramid Weekly (advertisement for a children's magazine)

*Series 4, Episode 11, Awful Egyptians: Historical Dentist. New Egyptian 2000 (advertisement)

*Series 5, Episode 9, Awful Egyptians: Historical Wife Swap: Pharaohs and peasants.

*Series 5, Episode 7, Awful Egyptians: Baldness cure troubles. Only For Men (advertisement).
*Series 5, Episode 12, Awful Egyptians HH Movie Pitch: Ramesses II, Building Site Queue.

Chapter 14, The Israelites Leave Egypt- none (wah!)

Chapter 15, The Phoenicians- none (wah!)

Chapter 16, The Return of Assyria- none (whinge!)

Chapter 17, Babylon Takes Over Again- none (sook!)

Chapter 18, Life in Early Crete- none (boo hiss!)

Chapter 19, The Early Greeks- none (boo hiss!)

Chapter 20, Greece Gets Civilized Again

*Series 3, Episode 11, Groovy Greeks: HHTV Sport: Ancient Greek Olympics. Stupid Deaths: Milo of Croton

*Series 3, Episode 12, Groovy Greeks: Historical Pet Shop. Fearne Polyester at a Greek Festival. HHTV Sport: Isthmian Games

Chapter 21, The Medes and the Persians

*Series 5, Episode 3, Awful Egyptians, Battle of Pelusium. I Love Cats (magazine). (525BC)

Chapter 22, Sparta and Athens

*Series 1, Episode 9, Groovy Greeks: Historical Wife Swap: Athenians and Spartans

*Series 1, Episode 11, Groovy Greeks: Stupid Deaths: Pausanias. The Court of Historical Law: Draconian law. Twisted Fairytales: "Sleeping Beauty" (disobeying the non-idleness law)

*Series 1, Episode 12, Groovy Greeks: "Brainy Greeks" (song, two parts). The first play in history. Stupid Deaths: Aeschylus

*Series 2, Episode 2, Groovy Greeks: Stupid Deaths: Heraclitus. Evil-Spirit-Prevention-Door-Frame-Tar (commercial). The Sibyl predicts Aeschylus' death

*Series 2, Episode 3, Groovy Greeks: Late schoolboy. "Spartan High School Musical" (song)

*Series 2, Episode 11, Groovy Greeks: Spartan school. Stupid Deaths: Draco

*Series 4, Episode 4, Groovy Greeks: Spartans form a phalanx. Pausanias

*Series 5, Episode 2, Groovy Greeks: Now Greek Battle Music. Don't Tell the Spartan Bride.

*Series 5, Episode 5, Groovy Greeks: Spartan cowardice. New Spartan Girl (advertisement).

Chapter 23, The Greek Gods

*Series 1, Episode 6, Groovy Greeks: Greek Myth Talk: The story of Kronos

*Series 1, Episode 7, Groovy Greeks: The story of Helen of Troy. Rattus Rattus fantasizes: the Wooden Horse

*Series 2, Episode 4, Groovy Greeks: HHTV Sport: Paris vs Achilles. Dodgy War Machines No. 14: elephants

*Series 4, Episode 8, Groovy Greeks: Bird messengers from the gods. Shouty Man: New Ancient Greek Tattoo Message

Chapter 24, The Wars of the Greeks

*Series 1, Episode 10, Groovy Greeks: Weapons store. HHTV News: the Battle of Thermopylae.

*Series 3, Episode 2, Groovy Greeks: Words We Get from the Greeks. Stupid Deaths: Greek boxer

*Series 3, Episode 4, Groovy Greeks: Words We Get from the Greeks. Historical Head Teachers: Mr Brasidas

*Series 4, Episode 3, Groovy Greeks: Socrates' prison break. "The Thinkers" (song)

*Series 4, Episode 9, Groovy Greeks: Words We Get from the Greeks. HH Investigates: False doctors

*Series 4, Episode 10, Groovy Greeks: Diogenes in his barrel. Stupid Deaths: Pythagoras

*Series 5, Episode 3, Groovy Greeks: Come Dine With Me.

*Series 5, Episode 12, Groovy Greeks Words we get from the Greeks. Wonders of the Greek Universe.

Chapter 25, Alexander the Great

*Series 1, Episode 4, Groovy Greeks: Historical Hospital. Alexander the Great's cities of Alexandria

*Series 4, Episode 12, Groovy Greeks: Words We Get from the Greeks. Historical Mastermind. The legend of the Gordian knot

*Series 5, Episode 6, Groovy Greeks: Alexander the Great's Conquest of Greece board game and song.

Chapter 26, The People of the Americas- none- (wah!)

Chapter 27, The Rise of Rome- none (wah!)

Chapter 28, The Roman Empire

*Series 1, Episode 1, Rotten Romans: Funeral Fights. Rattus Rattus fantasizes: gladiator school

*Series 1, Episode 9, Rotten Romans: Roman Gods Direct (advertisement). Appease the gods

*Series 2, Episode 12, Rotten Romans: Andabatae troubles. Stupid Deaths: Diodorus

*Series 5, Episode 1, Groovy Greeks: HH Games: Ultimate City Defender. Aesop and the angry mob.
*Series 3, Episode 5, Rotten Romans: Historical Hospital. Shouty Man: Criminal's head
*Series 5, Episode 6, Rotten Romans: Shouty Man: New Roman Dog. Cato the Elder and his cabbage cures.

Chapter 29, Rome's War With Carthage

*Series 1, Episode 6, Rotten Romans: Rattus Rattus fantasizes: Galley Safety Announcement (parody of passenger announcements, two parts). Dodgy War Inventions No. 7: the Onager (animated)

*Series 4, Episode 5, Wild Warriors: Hannibal and his Carthaginian ruthless battle tactics star in the blockbusters "Snakes on a Ship" and its sequel, "Elephants on a Plain" (Second Punic War)

*Series 5, Episode 9, Rotten Romans: Wonders of the Roman Universe. Battle of Drepanum sacred chicken. (Battle of Drepanum 249BC during First Punic War)

Chapter 30, The Aryans of India- none (boo!)

Chapter 31, The Mauryan Empire of India- none (sook!)

Chapter 32, China: Writing and the Qin- none (woe!)

Chapter 33, Confucius- none (wah!)

Chapter 34, The Rise of Julius Caesar

*Series 5, Episode 4, Rotten Romans: Thou Hast Been Framed!. Minted (song). Carthage

Chapter 35, Caesar the Hero

*Series 1, Episode 6, Rotten Romans: Rattus Rattus fantasizes: Galley Safety Announcement (parody of passenger announcements, two parts). Dodgy War Inventions No. 7: the Onager (animated)
*Series 1, Episode 8, Rotten Romans: the Battle of Avaricum (spoof of a movie trailer). The invention of decimation (Avaricum 52BC)
*Series 1, Episode 10, Cutthroat Celts: Home decorating with severed heads. Video game: Warrior! Romans vs Celts

*Series 1, Episode 10, Rotten Romans: Sponge on a Stick (two parts) and Viper Deodorant (advertisements)

*Series 1, Episode 13, Rotten Romans: Roman kitchen nightmares. Communal toilets (Britain invasion)
*Series 1, Episode 13, Awful Egyptians: This Is Your Reign: Cleopatra and Hatshepsut, the first woman pharaoh.

*Series 2, Episode 2, Awful Egyptians: Rattus Rattus fantasizes: Historical Desktops: Egyptian social network (Cleopatra)
*Series 2, Episode 7, Cutthroat Celts: Dodgy War Inventions No. 79: Romans try using stilts to cross marshland (animated). "Historical Wife Swap": An upscale Roman couple moves into newly conquered Britain and swaps with a traditional Celtic family.

*Series 2, Episode 8, Rotten Romans: News of the Empire Julius Caesar Special. Crimewatch BC

*Series 2, Episode 10, Awful Egyptians: Cleopatra's beauty regime. Historical Hospital: Dr Isis

*Series 3, Episode 1, Rotten Romans: Qualifying for the Roman triumph. The new aBook (pastiche of Kindle)

*Series 3, Episode 5, Awful Egyptians: HHTV News: Bob Hale's Tutankhamun Report. "Cleopatra" (song)

*Series 4, Episode 6, Rotten Romans: Army pay day. Conscription. God Compare (Gaulish Gods)
*Series 4, Episode 9, Rotten Romans: Julius Caesar: The Romeover and Laurel Leaves. HHTV News: The Roman Invasion of Britain report

Chapter 36, The Roman Prince

(Posted by Emperor order, rather than series and episode number, to save you trawling through Wikipedia like I did.)

*Series 5, Episode 7, Rotten Romans: Ambush in the Teutoburg Forest. HH Pictures: Augustus: the Movie.

*Series 2, Episode 6, Rotten Romans: Elagabalus' Romo Lottery Millions. Emperor Tiberius moves to Capri to avoid being murdered but still he is terrified of everything

*Series 4, Episode 12, Rotten Romans: Historical Dentist. Tarpeian Rock death sentences
(Ok, this one is not about an Emperor, but it still seemed like a good place to put it.)

*Series 2, Episode 11, Rotten Romans: Caligula and Mr Hand (two parts). Roman Army

*Series 1, Episode 4, Rotten Romans: HHTV News: Bob Hale's Roman Report. Caligula's speech

*Series 1, Episode 5, Rotten Romans: Caligula's attack on Poseidon
*Series 3, Episode 7, Rotten Romans: Caligula's recovery. "Evil Emperors Song" (song)
*Series 3, Episode 4, Rotten Romans: Historical Crime Squad: murders of Caligula. Arena fighter. Roman god body inspectors

Chapter 37, The Beginnings of Christianity- none (woe!)
Chapter 38, The End of the Ancient Jewish Nation- none (boo!)

*Series 5, Episode 10, Rotten Romans: Shouty Man: All New Roman Baths. Stupid Deaths: Emperor Domitian. (Domitian 81-96 AD)

*Series 5, Episode 11, Rotten Romans: Stupid Deaths: Pliny the Elder. Historical Apprentice: Maximus vs. Minimus. (Pliny the elder 23AD-79AD)

Chapter 39, The Romans and the Christians

*Series 4, Episode 8, Rotten Romans: Nero and the victims of the Great Fire of Rome. HH Games: Scorpus Chariot Racer
*Series 1, Episode 3, Rotten Romans: Nero's Christian candles. Rattus Rattus fantasizes: HHTV Sport: Lions vs Christians
*Series 2, Episode 3, Rotten Romans: I'm a Christian, Get Me out of Here!. Love You to Death, a movie about Nero and his wives. Ave! Magazine: Spiculus

Chapter 40, Rome Begins to Weaken

(Also an attempt at Emperor order)

*Series 2, Episode 10, Cutthroat Celts: "Historical Fashion Fix": A warrior gets an unusual pre-battle makeover and Boudicca song

*Series 4, Episode 7, Rotten Romans: the Praetorian guard. Shouty Man: New Emperor Statue
*Series 1, Episode 12, Rotten Romans: Titus' animal absence. Execution: Animals "Я" Us

*Series 3, Episode 9, Rotten Romans: Tabellarii messenger. Emperor Constantine's security

Chapter 41, The Attacking Barbarians- none (growl!)

Chapter 42, The End of Rome
*Series 3, Episode 10, Rotten Romans: Danke magazine. The fall of Rome

Next in the series

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Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Saturday, 24 May 2014

Give Away winners!

The little winners of our little giveaway are:

A small boy from Western Australia, whose grandmother has won him an Auslan book

and

A small girl whose fond friend won her a numbers puzzle.

Congratulations, kids and thank you to the adults who entered for them!