The sweetest picture I've ever seen

Curious what was keeping them so enthralled?

Dangerous Journey 

(illustrated Pilgrim's Progress for children)

School Year Planning [part two] - The Books

I don't know if I'm the only one, but sometimes I think that I chose to homeschool just so I could justify buying lots of books!!

Depending on which of the six people in the household you speak to our favorites run the gamut. With an age range of 21 months - 37 years we own bath books, board books, lift-the-flap books, touch and feel books, picture books, coloring books, early reader books, chapter books, reference books, classic books...the list goes on and on.

While I have pared down much of our collection, it is hard to enjoy all of our great books if they are not somewhat organized.

This brings me to how much I enjoy that each year our curriculum focuses on a particular time period and this year being Cycle Three we will focus on American History, Modern scientists, poets, artists, composers, writers, etc. Having done this cycle once before, I was extremely giddy to unpack my resources and look over what I hadn't laid eyes on in three years. Goodness, Jackson was only 5, Haviland was 3 1/2, Bennett was 1 1/2 and Whitaker was nowhere around!

I thought for sure that I was the only one to recall much of what was in the box, but as I opened the lid, Jackson and Haviland were all hands and shouting "I remember this book!" "Look how funny I wrote my name then!" "Mom, do we get to build our body in science again?"

The moment reminded me of Christmases past when my mom would pull out all the ornaments with great anticipation to trim the tree, but we'd get easily sidetracked as we reminisced about each thing we pulled out of the box.

While I am sure they don't remember much as I think, what I was most thrilled at is that they seemed to be getting reacquainted with old friends. I love that about good books.

Okay, I went off on a rabbit trail there, but my point is that by having less books accessible to them at once makes them notice what they have and hopefully they will be able to enjoy them deeper.

So, here is a look at how we organize the children's books.

• Favorites: We keep favorites by their bedsides for them to read at any time. These are books solely of their choice- primarily favorite picture and story books and I never bother or move them except to clean up or repair torn pages.

• Library books: We try (although never completely succeed) at keeping those on the living room side tables or in the library bag. Our house and car seem to eat library books faster than I can turn around so I am fairly diligent about making sure these stay in one place for fear of ginormous fines - right Ali??? :)

• "Quiet time" books- for lack of better words, these are books that I have chosen that fit into our curriculum, but I don't assign reading from these. These books are for them to explore on their own.

For quiet time in the afternoon they have one hour to either color, draw, or read from two shelves on a bookshelf in the play room.

Books I have chosen for Haviland are on the top left, Jackson's are on the top right and books that are for either are in the top middle and on the bottom shelf. Most of the books on the bottom shelf are resource books but they love taking them out and looking at the pictures in them. I have changed these out to reflect much of what we will will be focusing on in Cycle Three.

Bennett has his own bookshelf filled with early readers -no, he isn't reading, but at 4 he enjoys these "big boy" books- Go Dog Go!, Frog and Toad, Bob Books, Dick and Jane, Mouse Soup, Tea for Francis, Berenstain Bears, etc.

He is also immensely enjoying these small resource books (about the size of my hand) and a picture dictionary (think "First Words" dictionary, but with 12,000 words.

• Read-Alouds: These are books that I choose to read aloud throughout the year. At this stage of life I read one every 6 weeks so we get about 4-5 books in a year which isn't fantastic, but as much as I'd love to read the entire "Little House" series aloud this year, I'd have to cram them in and who wants to rush that journey???  So for this year,  I think I've whittled my read-alouds down to Little House on the Prairie, The Secret Garden, various poems by Robert Frost and Robert Lewis Stevenson, Number the Stars, and if I can handle it time-wise and emotionally- Where the Red Fern Grows.

I'd love to hear where everyone else purchases their favorite books and how you organize them. Almost every single one of these has come from our library's discarded book sale, yard sales, Marshall's/Ross/TJ Maxx, or 2nd & Charles.


In Part Three I'll be focusing on the needs of each child.



And now, some great quotes to leave you with. :)

  

   "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."— Emilie Buchwald

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

— Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting. She will not want new fashions nor regret the loss of expensive diversions or variety of company if she can be amused with an author in her closet."

— Lady Montagu, providing advice on raising her granddaughter, 1752

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

— Groucho Marx

Resource:  http://www.readingrockets.org/books/fun/quotable/

Twaddle Thought

A friend of mine let me borrow the out-of-print book, Let the Authors Speak, by Carolyn Hatcher. It is a guide for parents in choosing twaddle* free books.

Here are a few quotes from her introduction:

"Many parents are ready and willing to help their children, we just need to know what has worked in the past, and we also need a good dose of confidence in our own abilities."

"Ideally education involves growth over a lifetime. We are born with a desire to know, but if a child's first years of insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge are neglected or fed only junk food, these desires weaken, atrophy begins and apathy results. Just as the body needs the proper nourishment, exercise, and rest, so does the mind."

"Most children begin school with a strong, healthy curiostiy. They want to know- they're full of questions. Within two or three years, sometimes less, many have lost interest in learning. We are either not feeding them properly or we're giving them junk food. Even children get tired of a steady diet of junk food. If ideas are nourishment, then how do we present them and where do we find the best?"

*English educator Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) used this term to describe junk food books. I'd love to know what she found to be twaddle in her time. I think she's roll over in her grave if she could see what this generation is injesting!

Do Hard Things

This book, Do Hard Things, was recommended by a few people I know. It was a very fast read (I read it in two sittings while the kids were resting/napping) and I've added it to my book favorites at the right.

It was written by two 18 year old brothers as a rebellion against low expectations that our culture typically assigns to teenagers.

Quick quiz (taken directly from the book)-

The first documented use of the word teenager was:

a) Tyndale's first edition English New Testament in 1526
b) Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in 1623
c) Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac in 1739
d)Theodore Roosevelt's Strenuous Life speech in 1899
e) A Reader's Digest issue in 1941



Answer:
e. That's right, the word teenager has been around for less than seventy years.

Before that there were children and adults. Now there may have been young adults, but as an adult much more was expected, so therefore, much more was produced.

The implications of this book reached me as well as I daily choose to do the HARD THINGS. There are so many things that do not come easy to me but I know that I do have a choice and that God will give me the strength for things that he has asked of me.

Spending time in God's word, being a homemaker, a good wife, a mother who does not discipline in anger but with love and purposefulness, taking on the decision to homeschool. These are my daily struggles. However, I have been given my call and I will respond.


1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:1,2

Heritage building

Reaching their hearts. A quick checkup from time to time. Yup, you're good to go. If it was only as simple as this. If it was only as simple as this.

This year Simon and I have been walking through what we've considered to be our biggest parenting challenge to date- being purposeful in passing on a Godly legacy to our children. It has required so much more than we could have ever thought, but at every corner God has placed amazing people and resources in our path to lead us. So now it's time to share.

This has not been about raising good little Christian children and that "God is great, God is good". This is not about how much scripture they memorize. It is not about obedience on the outside. It does, however, have everything to do with reaching their hearts and pointing them to the One who is their constant hope, help and provider.

We take seriously the call to train them in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) and we firmly believe the only way to do that is to talk about them [the ways of the Lord] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:7).

It has so very little to do with attending church on Sunday, involving them in every VBS that comes our way, saying a quick grace before mealtimes. It's digging in, guys. A daily walk. Falling down, getting up. Finding that it's not sink or swim, rather a little of both. It won't always look pretty and no where near perfect. There will be days, heck- even weeks, when you will fail. I have. But it's that willingness to give up control and walk through life with the very children God placed in your family that will keep you humble and real in your walk.

Here's a quick fact sheet that sums up the VITAL role that parents play in their children's spiritual formation. I've also linked you to some of the books (at the right- first three books) that have helped guide us. Okay, here's my one disclaimer: these books are all great, but honestly, pick up God's word- The Holy Bible- that will encourage you and set you in the right direction more than any of these put together.

Enjoy!