Knightly Wisdom

Everyone knows knights for their fighting abilities; however, that is not all they should be remembered for.  In the mid-to-high Middle Ages, knights valiantly served their King, the church, the people, and most importantly, God.  Joyfully, they obeyed the Code of Chivalry.  They gleamed in shiny armor.  Becoming a knight required much work.  Much can be learned by passing through the portal of time to take a closer look at these brave warriors.

In days of old, knighthood was thought to be a holy calling.  As a result, knights lived under the magnificent Code of Chivalry.  These were the standards that controlled their behavior.  Unlike any others, they obediently protected the feeble and women.  They were also commanded to guard the weak, never boast, and love the church.  Honoring their king and fighting for their country were important aspects of a knight's calling.  The requirements of knighthood were extremely difficult to meet.  Surprisingly, many succeeded.  Following the Code of Chivalry caused many to think that knights were called by God.

Knighthood also comes to mind at the mention of armor.  Originally, the armor was made of chain mail, a basic defense.  However, when the crossbow was invented, chain mail was not powerful enough to block flaming, zipping arrows.  Brilliantly, blacksmiths created a process of smithing metal plates which added an impenetrable defense to the chain mail.  There was just one problem: these new suits of armor were exceedingly expensive.  The price matched a modern tank's!  Without their famous yet expensive armor, modern people would not think of knights in the same way.

Becoming a knight was an extremely time-consuming process.  The training commenced at the mere age of seven.  Beginners were named pages.  They were taught how to fight with swords, how to wrestle, and how to hunt with falcons.  At the age of twelve, they could become squires.  Squires cared for their master's horse and polished his sword and armor.  Finally, at sixteen, they could become knights, if they were dubbed by their master.  Dubbing was when a knight taps his squire on the shoulder with his sword hilt.  This dubbing ended a long experience and began a new adventure.

Although they were not perfect, brave and courteous are terms to describe a knight.  They followed the Code of Chivalry from beginning to end.  Surprisingly, their brilliant armor remained shiny through many a bloody battle.  To be dubbed a knight, they had to persevere through nine years of hard work and trials.  Women and the feeble did not have to worry when a law-abiding knight was around.  Battling and living wisely, knights taught many lessons in their day which people today would do well to follow.

The Great Flood

The rain did pound the dying ground,

The lightning gave mighty claps,

The thunder boomed and roared relentlessly

While wavy wind whistled and howled.

The earth at its first end died in darkness.

Men on earth cried out with fear,

While Noah patiently prayed

And his family praised God with all their hearts.

When the rain stopped and the earth dried,

Noah took in the new earth,

His head spun,

His body jumped with joy to God.

From Noah's family a new earth would begin.

by Orville, age 11

The rain pounded the ground,

Lightning flashed repeatedly

Harsh thunder roared as the wind shrieked.

The earth shook and quaked.

Men felt terrified,

But inside the ark Noah prayed

And his family cried as the

Animals did the same.

When the rain stopped

And the land dried

Noah rejoiced in God's Name,

His body ached

And His heart pounded.

From Noah's family,

A new earth would begin.

by Wilbur, age 10

Rosetta Stone Give-away

Now is the perfect time to give your child the gift of possibilities for the holidays with Rosetta Stone Homeschool — and you can WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program, language of your choice (valued at $249)!


Right now Rosetta Stone is having a special Holiday promotion on our Homeschool Edition program and we’d like you to help spread the word! Everyone can save up to $150 on Rosetta Stone Homeschool by visiting our website at http://www.RosettaStone.com/hsw1110.

By helping us spread the word you can win a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Level 1 program, language of your choice, valued at $249.

This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever!

Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this program, copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR post about this contest on your facebook page. Then go to the original page at

http://www.othersuchhappenings.com/2010/12/rosetta-stone-giveaway-yay.html

and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post, and good luck!

The Hummingbird

by Orville

Recently, Nohnie, my grandmother, was going to water her plants in the backyard.  When she opened the door from her house to the screened-in back porch, there was a humminbird trapped in the porch. It could not figure out how to get free.  She startled it, and it flew everywhere, running into things.  Eventually, it ran into the siding and got stuck between two pieces.  Nohnie carefully freed the bird from the siding.  She held it in her hands and checked it carefully to make sure it was okay.  It was not moving at all, and she thought it was dead.  She went into the house to get a cup of water.  She took it back out onto the porch with the water and rubbed a little dab of it on the bird's forehead.  Then she gently blew on it.  Its eyes opened and its wings began to flap.  She knew it was alright and took it to the back yard.  The hummingbird flew away feeling fine.

This was based on a true story.

Backyard Bird Count List 2010

During the Backyard Bird Count, These are the birds we saw and heard


1 Great Blue Heron

4 Mallard Ducks

2 Snow Geese

2 Muscovy Ducks

22 Pine Warblers

31 Dark-Eyed Juncos

2 Lark Buntings

1 Carolina Chickadee

1 Brown-Headed Nuthatch

26 Eastern Towhees

1 Belted Kingfisher

2 Yellow-Rumped Warblers

1 Northern Mockingbird

15 American Robins

3 Ducks Unidentified Species

2 Red-Bellied Woodpeckers

1 Loggerhead Shrike

3 Blue Jays

1 Tufted Titmouse

4 Eastern Bluebirds

2 Northern Cardinals

My Chair

My chair is fabulous. It is the right size for me. It is not too big and it is not too small. It is not lumpy and bumpy but is smooth, soft, and comfortable. It also has five wheels which allow the chair to move easily. I tap the floor, and my chair rolls where I want to go. The back of the chair leans and lets me relax. I love my comfy chair.

by Wilbur

Circus Ad

Come see the circus

The crazy, cool circus show

There are games galore

And animals all around

The lions are loud

Like a big fireworks show

The elephants are

As big and tall as oak trees

It's amazing and

It's spectacularly great

The July fourth show

You do not want to miss it

by Orville