4 hours ago
When it comes to homeschooling my kids, a huge benefit to me is that the person who has the most influence on them is going to be me - I'm the one who is with them day-in and day-out. I don't have to rely on the teacher lottery and hope they get a good one that will be a positive influence on them - I get to be that influence, along with the other adults that Derek and I allow to play a role in their lives. It's a huge blessing, but also a huge responsibility.
I also watch over what is influencing my kids in other ways, such as the books we read and the movies we watch. I don't let them watch or read just anything, because I want whatever influence their media has over them to be in a positive direction, as much as I can.
I was thinking about this the other day and it occurred to me that I am so careful with the influences that are coming at my kids, but I haven't been so careful with the influences that I've allowed to come at myself for the past several years.
How much have I been influenced by random people on Instagram to do certain things, buy certain things, think certain ways? How much of that influence has been good, and how much has not been so positive? In what subtle ways have social media influencers affected me negatively?
It's an overwhelming thing to think about, and I don't think it's really necessary to dissect everything I've ever done that has been influenced by something I saw online. I'm trying not to do that, but it's difficult not to go there.
For instance, do I really need those new trendy ankle boots I've been eyeing for a couple months? I've put them in my cart multiple times, the cursor hovering over the checkout button, before a take a breath and close the window. I have perfectly fine ankle boots that I like. Who says I need this specific style of shoe? Instagram fashion bloggers?
Or there is that book that I've seen mentioned multiple places that looks interesting. Should I try to grab it right off the presses to keep up with online book friends? Or do I sit it out and wait for my library to come through, even though I'm the 134th person in line for it? Do I really need to read it right away? Is it any less interesting if I read it next year, when Thriftbooks has it for $4, instead of right now for $23? I may not be able to to talk to people online about it when it's popular, but does that actually matter? I guarantee you if it's good, I'll have real-life friends I can convince to read it with me, and that discussion will be richer for being in person.
How many things have I felt like I "had to do" as a mom, just because other moms online were doing it? Things like themed birthday parties or specialized nursery decor. Were those things even worth the money in the end, or would we all have been just as happy with a simpler, cheaper version?
What about politics? How much stress have I allowed into my life over other people's online political discussions, which are almost always fruitless anyway? And even harder to think about, are there things that I should have stood up for that I didn't, because of online pressure? Or are there times where I felt like I "did my part" by merely sharing something on social media, instead of taking the harder but actually impactful step of getting involved in my real life in some way?
I don't know how to answer those questions. What I do know is that since being off Instagram, I'm much more aware of what kind of influences I'm letting into my life. It's just quiet enough in my mind now to see things clearly and make more directed choices.
I have not been as careful with online influences as I should have been. Who we allow to influence us online matters. And the most regret that I have when I consider social media is thinking about the ways I may have allowed certain "influencers" to make me into a less effective version of myself - as a consumer, as a wife, as a mom, as an American. Maybe even as a Christian. It's overwhelming when I think about it too hard.
All I know is that I am so thankful for God's grace in those moments when I get overwhelmed by my own failures. Jesus is my Savior - He paid the penalty for my sin, including the hidden sins of the heart that I've become more aware of through all this extra time to think. And as I pray for Him to make me wiser as to what influences I let in, I know He'll keep showing me the way I should go.
This is the first homeschool year that I haven't had any weekly homeschool obligations outside of the house.
When my oldest was in Kindergarten and first grade we did a community Bible study on Wednesdays. Even though it wasn't technically a homeschool group, lots of homeschool families attended the Bible study, so in a way it provided some homeschool social time for us.
When Wyatt was in 2nd grade, we started a weekly homeschool co-op, and we did that for two years. The first year we did Bible study and co-op, until I discovered that having two obligations during the week was too much for us. Last school year we did only co-op once a week.
Then toward the end of last year I made the decision that we wouldn't be doing co-op or Bible study this year. It ended up being a very good decision for us in this life phase, and I may write more about it in a separate post, but for now, I thought I would write out a few things to consider before jumping into a co-op.
(Our messy school area.)
Some of these points are things that I did think about before we joined our co-op, and some of them are things that I started to consider while we were in our co-op. I had a really great experience with our homeschool co-op, and I loved all the families who were a part of it! I may even consider re-joining at a future date, so I am not writing this post from either a pro-co-op or anti-co-op stance. These are just a few things to think about.
1. Does the co-op have a statement or belief or values? Does it fit with your educational philosophy?
I was blessed that the co-op we were a part of was a solid Christian co-op that shared our values. I cannot imagine being a part of a co-op that didn't consist of families with similar beliefs - because the classes in co-ops are usually taught by the moms, I think a situation where there is no unifying statement of faith or values could get messy very quickly. The second factor to consider is whether your educational philosophy matches up with the co-ops goals. Some co-ops are very focused on one educational philosophy, and if that is not a philosophy you are following, you may have a hard time keeping pace with the work. The co-op I was a part of was a classical co-op, but had a great policy that the moms where still in charge of their own children's education - so if there were aspects of the work I decided not to do, that was fine.
2. How much time away from the house will co-op take? How many days will we be out of the house?
If you are going to commit to something like a co-op, I think you need to carefully consider how much time it will take, and what other things you may have going on during the week. Even though I firmly believe it's fine to occasionally do school on the go, you still need to have a solid amount of time at home for your kids to be able to get their homeschool work done. This was the mistake I made the year I decided to do Bible study and co-op at the same time - I found that for us, we needed more than three days at home in order to make progress on our curriculum. If you are on the go too much, some things are just not gong to get done. If you choose to do a once-a-week co-op, you may end up having to say no to other things.
3. What subjects/classes does the co-op cover? How much homework does the co-op require?
Co-ops are going to vary widely on these two questions - most co-ops do not cover every curriculum subject, and it's helpful to think about what kind of co-op would be most useful for your homeschool. Would you like a co-op that covers some of the core subjects, like math, writing, science, and history? Or would you rather be part of a co-op that covers enrichment subjects and do your own thing for the core subjects? If the co-op does do the core subjects, do you like the curriculum they use? These are all things to think about. Another consideration is how much homework is given for the co-op classes, and whether there are consequences if you decide not to do any of the assignments (ie. how much control are you retaining as the mom). Unfortunately this is one thing you may not be able to know until you start the co-op. If the homework is significant enough that a good chunk of your week is going to be spent getting ready for co-op, I'd encourage you to spend some time considering if you are okay with that.
4. What kind of commitments does the co-op require from the moms?
For most co-ops, the moms are the ones teaching different classes, and if you are going to be part of the co-op, you have to be prepared to put some time into teaching a class as well. Make sure you are aware of how many classes you will have to help with or teach, and how much at-home preparation time and expense that will require.
Most organized co-ops also have a fee to join the co-op, and ultimately this is a good thing, because the co-op can pay for the shared class materials this way. If there is no defined fee (or even if there is) you'll want to find out what kinds of things you may have to pay for yourself during the school year. Make sure you know all the commitments up front, because co-ops are usually very reliant on every family doing their part in order to run smoothly.
5. Will participating in this co-op enhance the things that are important to our family, or take time or energy away from those things?
This question actually sums up my other four points - this is the question at the core. Before joining a co-op, I'd carefully consider the level of energy your family has in this stage of your life, the activities your family likes to do, the curricula you most want to use, and the values that are important to you, and make sure that participating in the co-op will work with those things and not against them. A co-op can be a really good and wonderful thing, but even wonderful things can take time away from the most important things.
For my family, we ended up taking a step back from our co-op ultimately for this last reason. I realized that after participating for two years, I needed a little more flexibility at this stage in our homeschool journey. At the time I had multiple preschool kids, and not having that flexibility to miss co-op when we had a rough week or one of the kids didn't sleep was really difficult during that phase.
If we had a week that left me drained of energy, just keeping up with the work for co-op was the best I could do, and some of the enrichments subjects I really wanted to incorporate were the things that were dropped. The last year of co-op I realized that we were just not getting to some subjects or books that I had slotted for the school year because of my internal pressure to keep up with the work we were doing at co-op. Though our co-op was wonderful overall, and no one put any intentional pressure on us, I decided we needed to step back for a bit so I could sort through what sorts of things were most important for our own family's homeschool, and make sure I was leaving space for those things.
Before last fall, I had never really had a year in our homeschool journey where I was intentional about how we would use each day, what we would spend our time on. I had too many outside activities that took my time and energy away from homeschooling (Bible study, MOPS, co-op), and those activities dictated how I needed to use some of our time at home. I decided I needed to cut everything out for a year so we could find out own rhythm for homeschooling.
That's what this year has been for us. We haven't had any regular activities that occur during the school day, leaving the entire week open for me to structure in the way that is best for our family. Because of our wide-open schedule, we have finally been able to commit more time to some of the subjects that were falling through the cracks before.
I've also been much more relaxed with the kids on our core subjects, because I know if we are having a rough time one day, the lack of things on our calendar give us the ability to catch up later in the week. That's a flexibility I find we need right now with preschoolers and young elementary kids who can't do their lessons on their own. As my kids grow and become more independent and responsible with their core subjects, we may find that we have room for a co-op again.
Have you ever been a part of a homeschool co-op? How did you find a balance between your co-op and the rest of your school week?
This week I thought I would take a cue from Michelle and share some photos of the week with you. One bad thing - maybe the only bad thing - about being off of Instagram is that I can't easily share the little things we are up to - the things that don't seem worthy of a whole blog post end up getting lost. I like the way Michelle has been sharing snippets of daily life on Fridays, and so I'm stealing her idea! Maybe it'll become a weekly occurrence. (I'm at least shooting for once a month.)
-We had out-of-town family to visit recently, and we ate Mexican food and then went on a hike. Gramie happened to know a lot about the history of the buildings in this particular area, so you can bet I counted it as a field trip! It was so nice to see our East Coast family - we always have such great conversations with Derek's brother and sister-in-law, and it had me itching for a visit out there again.
-We went out for a visit to our friends ranch a couple weekends ago! We enjoy taking the kids on day-trips like this, and I love catching up with these particular friends from my childhood. They make it so interesting for the kids as well, and it's a cool experience for them to get to see how a real ranch works! There were adorable lambs born the night before we went, and the kids loved feeding them. My friends were also quite impressed with how far my five little kids rolled that huge hay bail!
-Just a couple outfit pictures from my main opportunity to "dress up" (as in, not in sweats) - that would be Awana nights! My kids are in a perfect sweet spot right now, where all five of them can be in Awana at the same time, and you can bet we are taking advantage of this chance for weekly date nights! When Wyatt gets old enough to age out of the program I'll probably volunteer, but we have to take our opportunities while we have them. I'm trying to be cognizant of what kinds of pictures I share of my kids on here, but I wish I could show you their outfits for "Decades Night" at Awana - the girls were 80's, the boys were 50's. They all looked ridiculously adorable.
-A certain little child of mine turned 7 years old! He asked for a mountain bike and a Woody doll from Toy Story, and was so excited when his wish came true.
-Four of my kids gathered around the laptop for an art tutorial on a Friday Fun-day (Clyde was gone on his birthday shopping day with grandma). Gwen in particular has an artistic bent and has been asking me non-stop for drawing lessons. For now, online lessons will have to do.
-It has snowed a few times in the last couple weeks, after almost summer-like weather. The only time I have trouble with snow is typically in the spring, when we are teased with lovely weather and then hit with another storm - however, this last bit of snow has not bothered me at all. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the knowledge that summer is coming fast and the moisture will be so good for our grass. I think I also am feeling the freshness of spring anew this year, even snowy springs, after we were all locked down last April. I resolved last year to never complain about a normal spring again, mud and all, and so far my resolution has held. It also helps that in April and May snow melts off so fast. We got some drippy icicles in our trees the other day that were so pretty, but I had a hard time capturing them.
-On days when I can't make it to the gym, sometimes I do a quick walk to the mailbox instead, and the last couple times this crazy dog has been following me. I tried to make sure he was locked inside before leaving last time, but when I finally reached the mailbox, closed it and turned around, who do you think I saw? He used to be quite the dog about town in our old neighborhood, and we had to keep him on a collar to make sure he didn't roam, but in his old age he doesn't want to leave our sides. When we are home, he never goes farther than our driveway. When I go to the mailbox, he has to tag along.
Not pictured:
-Derek got a new job this month! He is still in accounting, but a more interesting version of accounting for him. He's excited about attacking a new challenge, and I'm excited that (for now at least) he still gets to work mostly from home. Having him home this last year has been a huge blessing - it has allowed us more family time together since he no longer has to commute, and it has actually made homeschooling easier, because when certain children are getting too distracted I can send them in to work with dad (which works in focusing them like a charm). It is also not lost on me how lucky we are that Derek has been able to work through everything that happened in 2020. I know that working situations have been so hard for so many people.
-April has been such a busy month in that we have been able to spend so much time with people we care about. We had a great Easter with my family, we got to see Derek's family, and we've had several dinners with various good friends. I've also been able to schedule some visits with our homeschool social group, and park days with individual friends. It's been a really busy month! It doesn't appear to be slowing down - Wyatt informed me that he has a busy couple weeks ahead with several events at church he would like to attend. When I contrast last April with this April, I am just so pleased with the difference. People are starting to relax with the arrival of the vaccine, and so much feels normal again.
Normal is a gift. I'm very satisfied with normal.
I hope you all have had a beautifully normal month too, friends - comment and tell me what you've been up to!
A pencil is scratching on paper, and numbers are being muttered under her breath. Occasionally she stops and asks me to clarify what she's supposed to be doing, but as I sit here waiting for my girl to finish a practice math test, I think this is as good a time as any to work on a homeschool-related post.
When I write about homeschooling, I occasionally get some good questions in the comments that inspire a whole other blog post, and that is what is happening today. Q&A posts are in the works for the next week or two. If you are ever curious about how I do something homeschool-related (or not homeschool-related, for that matter), now's your chance to ask! I will try to answer with a corresponding post in a prompt(ish) manner.
Here's the first question.
So I think you mentioned that Fridays are fun, does that mean you generally do the more academic subject 4 days a week?
Yes, I decided last year that we would assign one day a week to be our "fun day"! The way this came about is a long story. When I first started schooling my kids it took a lot of time to get our schoolwork done - for no other reason than that Wyatt and I weren't used to sitting down to do lessons. It took me a while to get into a daily rhythm I could stick to, and it took my kids a while to learn to focus and finish their lessons quickly. For the first year or two, it was all we could do to get through the basics, and I had no energy left for some more enriching and fun subjects.
Then the next year we joined a co-op, which we did for two years. With co-op taking up a whole day of the week, not to mention some of the things we had to do to get ready for co-op during the week, and we still didn't have much energy left for the "extra" subjects I really wanted to include. Things like music appreciation, Shakespeare, in-depth nature study, and science experiments happened very rarely, if at all.
I am very attracted to the Charlotte Mason and classical models of education (though I would describe our style as eclectic), and in both of those there is an emphasis on giving your children beautiful things to ponder, a "feast", if you will. We had no time for that sort of thing for the first several years of our homeschool, and it's one thing I was very dissatisfied with.
Last year, when we decided to quit our co-op, I realized that this was my chance to organize our homeschool in my own way, and I immediately remembered once hearing about doing a "Friday Fun-day". The truth is, it is still difficult to work in the beautiful extras on the same days that we are knee-deep in the "essential" subjects, especially when I have three (soon to be four) kids who need my help with some or all of their lessons. If we are going to have any time for what I deem "the fun stuff", I need to be really intentional about making it happen, and Friday Fun-day is the way I am doing that.
The way we make this work is by planning out our core subjects so that they can be accomplished in only a four-day work week during the school year. So I sat down with our math and reading and writing curricula at the start of the year to figure out how I needed to make that happen. For math, we had some wiggle room built into the number of lessons, so as long as we did four lessons per week, we'd be on track to finish in May. For our reading/phonics the curriculum only required two or three lessons a week. For writing/language arts, the curriculum we use has such short lessons, it is not a burden to double up one day a week to leave our Fridays free. And history and science we accomplish in 2-4 days a week anyway, depending on what we are studying.
Our Friday Fun-days are then free to get a little creative! Our favorite things to do are:
-Go on a nature hike. I have a ton of fun nature study resources, and this is our chance to use them. I mentioned some of our favorite nature study resources in this post.
-Do some music/composer study. I started out on this by using Kristi Hill's free music appreciation lessons - she has several on her website and in the archives of her blog posts, if you are willing to dig a little, and you can also sign up for her free "Music Lesson Monday" emails, which we have used on Fridays. We do "musical sketching", as Kristi recommends, and then read the information or story that goes along with the piece of music. My kids have learned to recognize different pieces of classic music from these lessons, and we actually signed up for one of her courses this spring. My kids seem to really enjoy it.
-Do an art/drawing tutorial. We like Art For Kids Hub on YouTube, and I have recently found some more nature-study focused tutorials for us to work through this spring. I have at least one art-oriented child, and learning to draw and paint is something she really wants to do. Friday Fun-days leaves us some space for that.
-Science experiments. When we do science during the week, it's mainly reading and notebooking activities, and we save the science experiments for Fridays! We went through Apologia Botany last fall, and this spring we are working through a few concepts from Building Foundations Of Scientific Understanding, which has really simple but effective science activities and experiment ideas.
-History read-alouds. This is something we have managed to incorporate during the week, but if I want to catch up, Friday is the day to do it! There are so many great historical chapter books and picture books, which I think is the best way to spark an interest in history for kids!
-See friends. It's important for homeschool kids to have opportunities to see their friends too, as every homeschool mom everywhere is reminded of by family members, grocery store clerks, and every random passerby (I'm not even really kidding). So we see friends frequently, and though we are pretty flexible with our schedule, playdates especially fit well on Fridays. If we can turn the visit into a field trip, even better!
Is having a weekly fun-day something we will do forever? Unfortunately, if my own homeschool experience is any guide, probably not. I know that when I was a homeschool student, as I got into my high school years my workload increased, and it would have certainly been more difficult to set aside a day each week for hands-on learning and extras. Which is all the more reason why I want to make time for a fun-day right now. Setting aside a day dedicated to subjects we may not normally include is one way I can keep our homeschool fun, give my kids opportunities to explore new things, and create memories with them that I hope will produce warm, fond feelings when they think back on it someday.
I'm going to hang onto our fun-days as long as I can!
It's getting to be that time of year when I start thinking about homeschool curriculum for next year. I think I am mostly continuing on with a lot of the same curriculum we've been using, but there are a few areas where I'll probably change it up a bit. I'm thinking of switching to a more structured history curriculum for my (soon to be) 3rd grader and 2nd grader, while still adding in the read-alouds we've been doing. I've done something similar with Wyatt's curriculum this year, using America's Story 1 as a spine, and adding in books from the BFB booklist. Textbooks are thorough, but there is nothing like a living book to bring history alive, and I wanted to make sure I was incorporating plenty of them. I've mostly been having Wyatt read these extra books on his own, but I was reminded the other day that it's beneficial for me to still read historical living books to him too.
I was reading one of Wyatt's assigned books to him. called "Of Courage Undaunted", about the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was having trouble getting into it, so I had him read some of it aloud to me, and then I read some of it aloud to him. I'm so glad I did, because I came across this quote by Meriwether Lewis:
This day I completed my 31st year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this sublunary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence and now soarly feel the want of that information which those hours would have gotten me had they been judiciously expended, but since they are past and cannot be recalled, I dash from the gloomy thought, and resolve in the future to redouble my exertions and at least endeavor to promote those two primary objects of human experience, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestowed on me; or in the future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.
I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago that I have been struggling through having more time for deep thought. You would think having more time for some good, hard thinking is a good thing, and in the wide view it is, but it's difficult to remember that when I spiral into hashing out a bunch of events from the past, regretting the way I've handled certain situations, or mourning the time I have sometimes wasted.
Since this has been my frame of mind lately, I was almost relieved to read this quote by one of our nation’s heroes, written when he was pretty close to my age, about how he had experienced and managed similar thoughts. I had assumed I was struggling through this because of the absence of social media, which I've admittedly used to numb myself from difficult thoughts for years now.
But maybe it's not so much of a result of leaving social media as it is the fact of being in my early thirties. Maybe this is the time that people usually evaluate how life has gone so far, how they could have done things better, ways to serve others more meaningfully in the future.
Knowing that someone else in history, well over two hundred years ago, worked through some of the same personal reflections that I am working through now, is comforting to me somehow. There is nothing new under the sun. People have gone through this before. Significant things often happen in the latter half of life, and misused beginnings don't doom a person to repeat the same mistakes forever.
I find it interesting that Lewis wrote those words when he was actually in the middle of the task for which he is remembered most. He bemoaned his wasted time while in the middle of what is considered his greatest accomplishment. It makes me wonder if he didn't see the importance of what he was doing at the time in exploring the Louisiana Purchase for his young country, or if he had some other accomplishment in mind as even more meaningful.
What did he do after that grand expedition? Apparently, according to the book, he settled down on some land and raised a family. And you know, I don't think he forgot about what he had written in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains. I like to think that in investing the rest of his future into his family, he did indeed further the happiness of the human race and advance the information of the succeeding generation, in all the hidden ways that every parent should.
March should have been a good reading month. I was reading a lot of middle-grade books for Middle Grade March, and we were stuck at home sick for a couple different weekends, which provides for a lot of reading time. Somehow though, I only finished nine books, which is good, but I expected to get through more! Thankfully the ones I did read were all winners, with one exception. You can read more below!
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale - This book is a bit like a fairytale meets The Bachelor (the way the Bachelor used to be, not the way last season was, ugh). Miri lives in a mountain village with her father and sister, and everyone in the village works in a quarry mining a stone called "linder". When the prince of the land becomes an adult, it is determined that he must choose a bride from Miri's village, and all the girls are taken to an old mansion down the hill for a princess academy. The plot of this book was really cute, a sweet coming-of age story as Miri sorts out her feelings of wanting to provide for her family by winning a better life for them, while also longing to be in her village and have a life there. I enjoyed it a lot. Content Notes: I will say there is one element in this book where an invented religion for this land is briefly discussed - the priests use some sort of magic to determine that the prince's bride must come from Miri's village. There is also a magical element to the linder that allows the quarry-people to speak to each other through their memories and songs. Because of those two elements I'd probably give my girls a disclaimer or talk with them about the book being fairytale-like before I gave it to them. I'd probably also give them my thoughts about the "religion" of this land and what the Bible says about divination. But it's a very minor mention in the book so it's pretty easily skipped over.
On The Edge Of the Dark Sea Of Darkness by Andrew Peterson - This is the first book in a series, set in the fictional land of Aerwear, where the lizard-like Fangs of Dang are oppressing the people and searching for the lost jewels that will give them power over the land forever. In the midst of all this lives a sweet little family, the Igiby's, with three children who explore and get themselves into trouble...until they set into motion a domino effect that has them running for their lives. The first part of this book was quirky and charming, and then the second part become very mysterious and action-filled as we find out more about Aerwear's history. What I loved about this book was (1) the funny tidbits hidden throughout, and (2) the really wonderful family relationships between the Igiby's. The grandfather is a gruff old man who protects his family well, the siblings learn more about taking care of each other and serving each other throughout the story, and the mother sacrifices for the sake of her children. I can't wait to read the next one! I'd probably let my kids read this one around 12 years old.
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - This is a semi-classic mystery novel, I guess for a younger crowd, but I would probably not let my kids read this until their teen years because of some of the spooky elements. A body is found in the old Westing house, and when the will is read it is revealed that the heirs have to compete to see who gets the inheritance. They set out to win, while also figuring out who may have killed Mr. Westing, and why he organized this crazy game. I really enjoyed the ending of this book, which I did not see coming. Content Notes: Some rather disturbing descriptions of corpses. I am sensitive to that sort of thing.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - Several times while reading this book I had to put it down and gush to Derek about how charming it was, so you know it was good! This is a story of four sisters, and the new friend they make when they go to a summer cottage in the countryside for vacation. Different chapters are written from the perspectives of different sisters, and they range in age from 4-12. I just melted every time the 4 year old was in the limelight, because she reminded me so much of my little girls! I also related a lot to the oldest sister as I remembered my youth, and I think this was a good time for me personally to read this book. Sometimes you forget what it is like to be a kid, what adolescence feels like, and somehow Birdsall has captured those childhood charms and dramas so well. This is the sort of book I would have loved as a middle-grader - what am I saying, I love it now. I immediately ordered the next book to read upon finishing this one. Highly recommend.
The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie - Any Hercule Poirot books are automatically going to get high points from me, but I think this is one of the better Poirot books. Poirot receives an ominous letter, and then a serial killer starts killing victims whose names start with each letter of the alphabet. Poirot has to figure out how each of these cases tie together. It is pretty action-packed from the start, and the ending is so tricky! I always love how Agatha Christie weaves her mysteries. Don't try watching the Amazon Prime adaptation though - we got through about 10 minutes before I was too annoyed at how they were butchering the book to watch any more.
Number The Stars by Lois Lowry - This is a book about two girls living in Denmark when it was occupied by the Nazis. The Jewish people are starting to be taken away, and Annemarie's family helps her best friend's family escape to Sweden. I was worried this one would be sad, but I thought this book was so well done for children. It gave a picture of how the Jewish people were persecuted, but because Ellen's family escapes, it was still coming from a hopeful perspective. I am bookmarking this one for introducing my kids to some of the horrors of World War 2 in an age-appropriate way.
On The Horizon by Lois Lowry - This was actually a book of poetry, written by Lowry based on her own memories of World War 2, and particularly of being in Hawaii and seeing the U.S.S. Arizona a few days before it sunk. I found this book so moving, and even got teary in a couple parts - it brought back memories from when Derek and I went to Hawaii and saw the Arizona Memorial. It's such a sobering story and a sobering place, and this book gave proper honor to it. It took me less than an hour to read, and I'd definitely recommend it if that sounds interesting at all.
Lizzie Bright And The Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt - Well, this is the first of Schmidt's books that I don't like. This book is about a minister's son, named Turner, who has moved with his family into a new town in Maine. His father doesn't really believe what he preaches, and nearly everyone in this town is a hypocrite or uses religion as a means to gain power - particularly in this story to force some African Americans off a nearby island. Turner befriends a girl from this island, Lizzie Bright, and the expected drama ensues. When Turner's father finally stands up for his son and for what is right, it is inspired not by any true understanding of God or the Bible, but by his study of The Descent Of Man by Charles Darwin (an irony, since no matter how someone interprets Darwin's intent, much of the racism and inhumanities of the 20th century may be traced back to the ideas in that very book). Schmidt's books are never just a story, there is always an underlying meaning, which is part of the reason I have enjoyed some of his other books. Unfortunately at the heart of this book is a very cynical, negative view of Christianity and religion in general. So I was not a fan, and will not be handing this book to my kids.
Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers - This book is about progressive Christianity, and how the teachings of progressive Christian churches are deconstructing crucial Christian doctrines and shipwrecking the faith of many people. It's written from a memoir perspective, as Childers recounts her own journey of first being introduced to progressive theology from a trusted pastor. She was able to reconstruct her faith after questioning so many of the things she had believed, but I do not envy her the process - she went through dark seasons of doubt as she struggled to hold onto her faith when it was under attack. I think this is a critically important book as more and more churches are becoming progressive in their theology while hijacking traditional Christian terminology. In this book, Childers answers many common progressive talking points (reliability of the Bible, universalism, the "cosmic child abuse" accusation, etc.) and points us back to historic, biblical Christianity. Even if you are not struggling with doubt, you should read this book. It will bolster you against the attacks of progressive Christianity as it continues to gain a foothold, and help you understand what may be happening in some churches (maybe even yours). As a mom, this also gave me a lot of things to look out for as my kids grow, and encouraged me in building up their faith now, as they will likely face more of these kinds of attacks on the faith as they become adults. Highly recommend this one!
What have you all read lately? Did you try to read any middle grade books in March?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
