16 hours ago
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?
(This is what it looks like at our house right now - spring vibes, some grass poking through the pine needles, and patches of melting snow everywhere. It's been snowing every couple days for the last two weeks! I don't hate it.)
Currently...
Feeling...stuffed up, as of the time I am writing this post, anyway, maybe not currently as you are reading it (it's taking me days to write this post, guys, ugh). I had plans to get more posts in the blog queue last week, but then our entire family came down with a rather nasty cold. We ended up laying around on the couch and watching a lot of TV for the rest of the week. My throat first started to feel sore the day after I did an ab workout for the first time in months. Of course. So coughing was particularly unpleasant. I felt pretty horrible over the weekend and didn't accomplish a single thing except finishing a couple books I was reading. This is, unbelievably, the first real sickness our family has had in over a year, we had the sniffles once or twice this winter, but this was the first cold. Now I kind of want to go get an antibody test and see if this was IT, but I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle, so we may never know.
Looking forward to...Resurrection Day! I had grand plans to start a whole Easter-themed unit study with the kids last week, but bad colds kind of put a damper on those kinds of plans. I am trying to make up for it a little this week with Easter activity sheets, books about Jesus's resurrection (we like the Arch books a lot), resurrection rolls, some crafty projects, and egg dying. Oh, and we are also doing resurrection eggs (these ones). We'll go to an Easter event at our church on Saturday, though I'm still debating about the Good Friday service because gas prices just keep climbing. And on Easter Sunday we are going to a baptism service for some of our extended family. It should be lovely!
Arranging...a homeschool support/social group (at least attempting to arrange one). Last fall I had the idea that I wanted to get a little group together of the homeschool moms I know, to chat and visit and support each other, especially for any mom friends that were going to be new to homeschooling this last year. I was able to schedule one fall visit, but I dropped the ball a bit over the holidays. As the spring approached, I decided to get organized and put a park day or a hike on the calendar every couple weeks, inviting homeschool friends to join us. Unfortunately, our sickness put last week's park day on hold, but try, try again! Next week we are going to do a hike with several families, and I hope it will be the start of a fun group for all of us.
Craving...Junior Mints. I kept telling Derek last week, when I couldn't breathe through my nose, that I wanted Junior Mints, but neither of us were healthy enough to go to the store. Derek recovered quicker than I did and picked up some yesterday. They hit the spot.
Discussing...where and when to go on vacation. We have the hardest time nailing down vacation plans every year. Does anyone else have this (first world, I know) problem? First we have to wait for our tax return to see how much wiggle room we have in the budget. Then we have to decide how much we are willing to spend, then we have to see what destinations might fit in with that. We inevitably end up with two or three possibilities that we vacillate between for months. We can only go in May or in the fall, because of Derek's work, which makes things tricky for certain cooler-climate options. Another complicating factor is that we have never had a strong preference on the type of place we go - we like mountains, we like beaches, we like desserts, we just like to travel and see the country. We've done a beach vacation for a couple years now, so I'm thinking we should try something different.
Enjoying...these "hairdresser reacts" videos on Youtube. I can't help myself, they are just so entertaining to watch!
Preparing...for spring and summer nature study! As the weather warms up, I hope to spend a lot more time outside and learning more about our native plants and creatures. From the months of November to April there isn't much botanical activity in the mountains that is conducive to consistent study. The trees are dormant, except for the abundance of pine trees, and I feel like we've examined pine trees to death at this point. I'm excited for the birds to come back and start nesting (hopefully not in our eaves), for the first crocus to work it's way through the snow, and for all kinds of bugs in just a couple months. I am stocking up on nature guides, art supplies, and activity ideas, and I hope we can go on nature hikes at least a couple times a week this summer.
I might hop back on the blog to wish you all a happy Easter, but in case I run out of time - I hope you all have a wonderful Resurrection Day, celebrating that we have a RISEN Savior!
Ever since my kids have reached school age, it seems spring is the time when my mind turns to homeschool planning for the next year. As I look at our schedule, I am thinking over how next year will be different as I add another kid into the mix.
Around this time three years ago, I had a first grader and a bunch of preschoolers running around, and I remember thinking ahead to the next year and wondering "How am I going to balance schoolwork with two kids instead of just one?" And of course, two years later, I was thinking "How am I going to do school with three kids instead of two?"
Now I'm looking ahead to this coming fall and contemplating homeschooling four kids in different grades, but I feel less stressed than the first time I had to add a new kid into our homeschool day. Because the truth of the matter is, you kind of just figure it out as you go. Our pattern for the year is typically a difficult season of getting into a routine in the fall, the most disorganized part of the year, but sometime around the holidays we hit our stride and the spring runs smoothly...just in time for a wrench to be thrown into our rhythms when another of my children reaches school age the next fall. But even though we have messy months or seasons, we always figure it out.
I want to share a typical homeschool day in our family, but I also wanted to preface it with saying that no family's homeschool day is a necessarily a blueprint for anyone else. You can perhaps glean ideas from seeing how other people do things, but you are going to have messy days (or weeks, or months), and every year (or term) you might have to re-figure out what will work in that season. But that's what homeschooling is, figuring out how your kids learn best, and tweaking your school to be the best system for your own family. Just experiment, allow yourself to try different things, and you will find your own way of doing things.
Morning
6:30-7:30 - I wake up, hopefully before the kids, and quietly do my morning routine before heading downstairs. Even if the kids are stirring at this point, they know they have to stay in their rooms until around 7:30, so I sit downstairs in the chair in the corner of the playroom. I have a bookshelf in the corner that was supposed to be for children's books, but since this has become my morning corner it's filled with all my devotional and Bible resources instead. This is when I read my Bible (I'm working through this reading plan), and usually a chapter of some other Christian or theology book. (Right now I'm reading this one and this one.)
7:30-8:00 - The kids come downstairs, after they are dressed with beds made and rooms clean. I make breakfast as they trickle down the stairs. Usually I make oatmeal with fruit, but occasionally we'll have cereal or muffins.
8:00-9:00 - This is the hour I have set aside for morning time. I probably could write another post about our morning time routine, but we usually start with singing a hymn, then reciting catechism questions and Bible memory verses, then a "funny poem". After that we will sing another memory song (U.S. Presidents right now), work on memorizing a Shakespeare passage, do a grammar activity (I added this in because I feel like we are weak on grammar terms right now). Then I'll usually read through a Bible lesson (Bible Survey For Kids) or one of our history read-aloud (usually a selection from Beautiful Feet Books). Ideally we will start at 8:00 sharp, but if we are late I cut morning time short so we can still finish by 9:00.
9:00:-9:30 - When we finish morning time I give Wyatt his stack of school books (history, science reading, language arts workbook, cursive, Bible study lessons) and he'll go upstairs to work. Derek works from home right now, so he and Wyatt work in the same room together. Working in the same room with Dad keeps Wyatt focused, and it's the quietest area of the house. I have Gwen and Clyde do their handwriting workbooks, and Gwen works on language arts (this is independent work for them). While they do that, I clean up and get organized for the rest of the school day. The little girls often run off to play in their rooms during this time, or if it's a particularly rambunctious morning, I'll send them outside to burn some energy off.
9:30-11:00 - When I am ready, I call Gwen and Clyde from whatever they are doing (if they've finished their workbooks, they usually are off playing in a different area of the house), and I get them started on math and reading. These are the two subjects that require me to sit with the kids individually. I've done this differently depending on the day, but I may get one of them started on math (go through the lesson, then give them their worksheet), and then start the other child on math, so they are working on math at the same time, and then do reading separately. Or if one of them is busy or playing nicely, I may completely finish math and reading instruction with one child, and then call the other child for their lessons. Usually I can finish both subjects for both kids by around 11:00.
11:00 - When Wyatt is done with his other subjects, I call him down and we do his math lesson together. He is older, so his math lesson is usually more involved. After I've explained the concept, he works on his worksheet, and I check it before lunch. If either Wyatt or Gwen have spelling lessons that day, I will usually give them their spelling phrases while I make lunch.
Afternoon
12:00-1:00 - Lunchtime! I have been trying to read our "fun book" over lunch, which is a nice break in our day for everyone. Right now we are reading Adventures With Waffles.
1:00 - I get Georgie down for a nap (we are hanging on to nap time for all we're worth, but it usually ends up being more of a "quiet time"). Clarice will sometimes have quiet time in my room while Derek works as well - she snuggles on our couch under a blanket with her books for a bit. The big kids may work on their independent reading, or play quietly. After lunch I record what we've done for school that day, and I'll look over the kids' independent work - if they need to correct or redo something, they'll do it in the afternoon. If we've had a smooth, non-exhausting morning, I may feel motivated enough to put some extra subjects in the afternoon, such as science or composer study or history. But often we will save those subjects for our "Friday fun-day", and we will either watch a history or science related video in the afternoon, or just call it quits for the day.
I don't know how a typical day will look next year, with four kids doing lessons instead of three. I may have to shift some things around, and it will likely take me a couple months to find out what works best, but I know we will figure it out! I've found that if I just start doing what needs to be done, eventually some sort of rhythm emerges and we find our stride.
If I left anything out, or you have any questions about specific things, please let me know and I'll try to write about it in another post!
A Quote
“He must have forgotten that in the mind of a boy, a warning isn’t much different from an invitation.”
-Andrew Peterson, On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness
(My boys, throwing snow in the air this last weekend.)
A Book
Since I just quoted it, let’s talk about the first book in the Wingfeather Saga! I read this book over the weekend, while it was snowing, and I loved it. We are introduced to the Igiby family, and their lives under the oppression of the Fangs of Dang, which are reptilian creatures that took over the land of Aerweair many years ago. Janner is the oldest, tasked with watching over his two younger siblings as they cause all kinds of trouble...until suddenly their quiet life falls apart and they realize there is much more to their family’s history than they thought. What makes this book is the completely quirky history of Aerweair, and the funny footnotes throughout. I am very anxious to read the next book in the series!
A Bit Of Nature
A snowy sunrise, the morning after we got two feet of snow (it doesn't look it because the snow didn't stick to the trees, but there was a lot of snow). One of these days I’ll put some effort into geting a different view for my “bit of nature”, but for now you get these shots from my porch. It’s cold out there!
A Recommendation
Since I only get to these posts every couple weeks, I hope you don’t mind if I include more than one recommendation.
First, I must reiterate my longstanding recommendation to update your pajamas every six months or so. Let’s be honest, after about six months to a year, most pajama sets start to look...grungy? Ill-fitting? Stretched out? They just don't look fresh anymore, and there is nothing like a fresh pair of pajamas! It makes me feel like I look cute in the evenings for Derek. He probably doesn’t care, but I think he deserves to not always see me in ratty pajamas (or maybe I deserve to not let him always see me in ratty pajamas).
(My newest pjs/lounge set, these were only $15 at Sam's.)
Next, I want to recommend this documentary on the life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones (free on Prime right now). I didn't know much about Martyn Lloyd-Jones before, and I was so inspired by his zeal and commitment to preaching the Word. We could use more of that today.
And finally, go watch this video from Matt Walsh, in response to a “Dear Abby” letter from a man who is disappointed that his wife wants to be a stay-at-home mom and thinks less of her for it (which, sorry-not-sorry, is so ridiculous to me). I loved Walsh’s point about the difference between phoning it in as a parent and parenting ambitiously. I agree that parenting is a highly worthy area in which to pour ambition.
A Moment Of Happiness
(Gwen, building a snowman.)
I realized on Wednesday that I had not given my children proper instruction on how to build a really good snowman. I struggled into my too-small snow clothes and went outside to demonstrate for Wyatt. Before I knew it, all the kids were outside requesting repeat demonstrations, and 30 minutes later a snowman representation of our family sat in the backyard.
Time well spent.
This day, Monday March 15th, has officially been declared a snow day.
Monday or Tuesday last week there started to be chatter about a "historic storm" that was going to blow in over the weekend. People were preemptively cancelling appointments, Sunday services, etc. Apparently the grocery stores were a madhouse (I will never understand this). It was supposed to be 2-4 feet of snow. Prepare yourselves! Don't panic, but do panic just a little bit!
All through the week, the meteorologists kept modifying the snow amounts down in 6-inch increments, but they still insisted the storm would be historic. So we made sure our flashlights had batteries and we had wood stacked on our porch, just in case the power went out. I had plans to hunker down and read and bake cookies on this historically snowy weekend.
The snow was supposed to start Friday night, so on Saturday morning I put on my glasses and looked out the window.
And we had maybe two inches.
I have to tell you, I was pretty disappointed. Where was the snow? What about my snowy reading Saturday? Call me weird, but I have a hard time justifying relaxing on the weekends unless I feel forced into it by the weather. If it's decently nice out I feel like I should be doing something productive.
I spent the morning reading anyway, in between shooting texts back and forth with a friend as we complained about the conspicuous lack of a "historic storm". The meteorologists kept saying, "don't let your guard down, it's still coming" (how do those guys keep their jobs?)! It finally started to snow in the afternoon, and to the weatherman's credit, it did actually continue for the next day and a half. By last night we had two feet of snow. So I guess they didn't have to keep modifying the snow amounts down by six inches after all (again, how do those guys keep their jobs?).
I am the first person to espouse all the benefits of homeschooling, from the important and academic to the frivolous and insignificant. Like the fact that we never have to wake up early if we don't want to, and I don't have to pack lunches for my kids every day (that's a huge benefit in my book). But one thing the public schools have on us is the fact that when it snows a lot, those kids get snow days. They don't have to do school at all, but most homeschoolers I know feel the need to keep up with their preset schedules and do schoolwork, even when there is a marshmallow world outside. We usually skip the snow days too, in favor of finishing earlier in May.
But today the snow is beckoning, and I thought, why should we not take a snow day? Who says we have to trudge through school when there are feet of white powder outside just begging to be formed into snow forts?
Hence, I've declared this a snow day. This amount of snow only happens once or twice a year anyway, and I am loathe to allow the schools to have any perceived advantage to my kids, even something as small as snow days.
The kids will be spending a large amount of time outside, I'm sure, after they finish their movie (yes, a movie in the morning - it's a snow day, after all). They started building some snow forts yesterday, and the snow will probably be just right for a snowman. I am going to bake muffins, have hot chocolate at the ready for the kids, read more books, and maybe finally get around to teaching myself how to embroider (I've only been wanting to learn how for the last year). Then maybe we'll watch something educational in the afternoon, or maybe we'll just build blanket forts and play games.
It's going to be the best-used snow day ever.
I hope you are having a good start to your week, friends! I'll be back on Wednesday with my Wednesday Five.
February was a surprisingly good reading month for me - it's a short month, but I was able to finish 9 books! Several of these I listened to on audio, one I read on Serial. I have been relying a lot on audiobooks to get through books quicker this year, and it seems to be paying off.
Without further ado, the books I read in February! I don't regret reading any of these, and there were several winners in the bunch.
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Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend - This book was about Morrigan Crow, who is a "cursed child" destined to die on the eve of her 11th birthday, until she is rescued by being whisked off to a fantastical world called Nevermoor, where she competes for entrance into the Wundrous Society. This is basically middle-grade fantasy, and I thought it was really quirky and fun overall! I probably wouldn't let my kids read it until they are older though (if at all), because some of the characters are traditionally evil creatures that are portrayed in a sympathetic light (ex: a lovable, melancholy vampire). I like to be careful about that sort of thing until my kids' worldview and sense of good/evil is well established. So as an adult I enjoyed it, but for my kids, we are going to hold off. Other content notes: There is a lot of talk of "curses", ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena in this imagined world.
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb - This is a memoir by a professional therapist about her experience giving therapy, and receiving therapy herself. I thought this was a really fascinating look into the world of therapy. I don't know that I agree with everything Gottlieb says in this book, but mostly it was just a well-written, interesting story. Content Notes: Language, some talk of intimate relationships, etc.
In Cheap We Trust: The story of A Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber - I'll say it again, I don't love the title of this book since the traditional phrase is "In God We Trust", which makes the title seem sacrilegious ...but, the subject of this book was very interesting. I picked it up because I am interested in reading more about frugality this year. This book doesn't give many frugal tips, but is more about the history of Americans' attitudes about frugality, and they way it has been interwoven with ideas of patriotism throughout our history. Pretty sure I don't agree with the author's politics, and there were the typical shots taken at Puritans which I find annoying, but overall it was full of a lot of interesting information. I'd recommend if you are interested in frugality as it relates to American history.
America's Expiration Date by Cal Thomas - Are you aware that most "empires" throughout history have either started to decline or fallen by around the 250 year mark? And that America is approaching it's 250th birthday? This book addresses what exactly led to the fall of different empires throughout history, and how America may be on the same track - and what conservative Christians can do about it. This book was worth it for the last two or three chapters alone. I love how Thomas points out the ways we can help America make a turnaround, and his ideas are not what you might think. I found it encouraging and inspiring overall, and I'd recommend it to those of the same political persuasion as me. It's also short, a little book that packs a punch - bonus!
The Woman In The Window by A. J. Finn - This book drew my interest because the protagonist is a woman with agoraphobia (meaning she can't psychologically leave her house). She witnesses a murder while looking out her window, and has to try to convince those around her that she isn't imagining it. In my opinion, this book was just okay. Typical physchological thriller with an unreliable narrator. The ending was creepy, and not that satisfying to me, and it wasn't clean. I wouldn't be apt to recommend it. Content Notes: Inappropriate relationships, an inappropriate scene I skipped (I listened on audio), too many curse words.
The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton - This book is the memoir of a man who was falsely accused of murder, and spent 30 (?) years on death row before he was proven innocent and acquitted. I did not agree with the author's viewpoints on everything, and the theology was sometimes questionable. The most interesting parts to me though were about his time in prison, how he overcame bitterness over his wrongful conviction, and particularly how he helped bring hope to the inmates living on death row.
Raising Grateful Kids In An Entitled World by Kristin Welch - I read this book because my book group wanted to try it. I have mixed feelings about it. I don't think it was a bad book overall, and I thought she made some good points in some of her parenting ideas to prevent entitlement in kids. However, most of it seemed pretty common-sense to me. I think my parenting style is very different from the author's, and I have different struggles, so I'm not the target audience for this book. Others may find the advice more helpful. I did not appreciate some of the very personal stories she told about her kids, which in my opinion would have been better left private. My one other beef is that these types of books often talk about "the gospel" a lot, but without ever actually explaining the gospel - why we need to be saved, how one can be saved, or what Christ has done to save us. This book talked a lot about being a Christ-follower, but never explained the message of salvation. When a book focuses on "Christian living" without explaining the gospel fully, what we are left with is a kind of moralism, and I felt like this book fell into that. So it wasn't one I'd recommend.
The Hound Of Baskervilles by Sir Conan Doyle - Would you believe this was my first Sherlock Holmes book ever? I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holmes and Watson have to track down a supernatural hound that is chasing members of a "cursed" family to their deaths. I really enjoyed reading a classic mystery novel from someone besides Agatha Christie (my go-to), and I thought the similarities between the detectives (Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot) were really interesting to see. I'll probably read another Holmes book in the future! Content Notes: Overall, clean. Possibly mild curse words (can't remember now).
For March I am focusing on middle-grade books for "Middle Grade March" (check out this post I wrote last year about why I think middle grade books are good to read as an adult). Hopefully I can have another long book post for you in a few weeks!
Have you read any of these? Did you read anything good in February?
A Quote
"Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!"
2 Chronicles 14:11
When I was trying to come up with a quote today, this quote from one of the kings of Judah, Asa, came to mind. King Asa started off so well - he prayed this prayer and the Lord gave him success in the battle, and then encouraged him later that the Lord would be with him if Asa kept relying on the Lord. And Asa did, for quite a while, removing idols and making a covenant to seek the Lord with all his heart.
But later, he forgot Who the help of Israel was, and he turned to the king of Syria as an ally instead of the Lord. Asa didn't seek the Lord but only physicians when his health went south. I don't think it was the act of making an alliance or using physicians that was sinful, but it's the fact the his heart was not loyal to the Lord at all, and that's why he went seeking help elsewhere (2 Chron. 16:9).
That was a sobering thing for me to read about this morning, on a personal note. I think it's worth considering in our own lives, whether we have loyal hearts to the Lord and seek Him first before turning to outside help or the wisdom of men.
I also thought it was interesting how growing older doesn't always mean growing wiser - in this instance, I'd rather be like the young Asa.
A Book
I'm going to mention a few books this week that have been enjoyable for my kids lately. First, Little Sure Shot is an easy-to-read book about Annie Oakley which I read when I was a kid. I gave Gwen a copy a couple weeks ago - she tore through it and subsequently announced that Annie Oakley is her favorite girl in history now. We've been on an Annie Oakley kick ever since!
We also have renewed our commitment to How To Teach your Children Shakespeare in morning time this week, and I was shocked to discover that even though we haven't picked this book up in two months, my kids could still recite the portion of "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" that we had previously memorized. We worked through more of the story of the play today, and it inspired some drawings of Tatania the fairy queen.
Also, anybody else stocking up on Dr. Seuss books this week? Guys. This you-know-what culture is complete madness. BUY PHYSICAL COPIES OF BOOKS. People were right to be suspicious of e-readers when they first came out.
A Bit Of Nature
A Recommendation
I wanted to point you all to this Easter unit study, which is on sale this week. I try to incorporate some activities and books throughout the year that will be fun for my preschoolers, and the Gentle + Classical preschool unit studies have been sweet. We used their Christmas study which inspired the Night Tree project, and I am excited to try the projects in this resource for the month leading up to Easter. I'm not a very crafty mom, so I need inspiration if any craft projects are going to happen around here.
A Moment Of Happiness
We had Wyatt's birthday party last week, which as I mentioned was a nerf war party. The way we structured it was similar to capture the flag, only in the house, with nerf guns. As you can imagine, it was chaotic, but overall very fun!
My moment of happiness came when I noticed Georgie (3 years old), walking around with her little single-dart shooter, pointing it at her Uncle Ben. She pulled the tiny trigger, and announced in the sweetest voice - "I got you, Uncle Ben! Come on, let's go to da jail." It cracked me up how even Georgie got into the game in her adorable little way.
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