5,000 Year Leap Colloquium

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." ~Mark Twain

We had the 5000 Year Leap for this month's Colloquium. I read it a couple of months ago, but it is worth re-reading. I found this 5,000 Year Leap Study Guide with Group Questions online and while we didn't have enough time to go over all the questions it is an excellent guide.


I love colloquium. The thoughts, opinions, and ideas that are passed around during this time by intelligent people is inspirational. I always leave uplifted. I have two colloquiums that I belong to. One I am head of and one I participate in. The first one has the following books outlined for us to read:

A House United by Peck
Les Miserables by Hugo
Laddie by Stratton-Porter
Jane Eyre by Bronte
The Future of the Internet by Zittrain

And the second group is reading the following:

October: John Adams by David McCullough **Meeting Oct. 6
November: The Real Thomas Jefferson by Andrew M. Allison
December: The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean
January: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
February: Dearest Friend: Letters from Abigail Adams

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~Charles W. Eliot

Spontaneous Inspiration

Often on our family's personal blog, I write a day book post. Sort of a journal, but they were kind of boring and so I decided to post about daily, weekly or monthly holidays in order to give a sort of introduction and writing prompt for my journal entries. I like it, it gives me something to think about, learn something new and then I head into my typical discussion of thoughts and the kids. Its a great start to blog posts. Use it if you like, works for me.

So today is V-J Day! Yup, Didn't you know that?

Ok... I admit it. I had to look up V-J Day? What is that? It commemorates the day we took Victory over Japan in WWII or more specifically, "The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan's formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay."

Well imagine that! So I shared it with my kids, cause after all, I learned something new and I wanted to share that. It seem to take root in my oldest, though it was heartbreaking for him to learn that Japan was a "Bad guy." He likes Japan, especially Sushi and Samurai warriors. Yup... off he went to get our book on WWII to see if its correct. Inspiration at work. And my son is now pouring over it, and a flood of questions is pouring out and apparently a trip to the Library... again this week... is in order.

In Washington on August 14, President Harry S. Truman announced news of Japan's surrender in a press conference at the White House: "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would." Jubilant Americans declared August 14 "Victory over Japan Day," or "V-J Day." (May 8, 1945–when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany's official surrender–had previously been dubbed "Victory in Europe Day," or "V-E Day.")
Please enjoy this Spontaneous Inspiration today, do you have ways that seem to spontaneously inpire you and your children to learn something?