Frequently, I am asked by a parent in my library for a book on “character.” They want help in teaching their children about right and wrong, about virtue, about how to know how to make wise choices. Sometimes, they want a book specific to building a certain character trait or overcoming a bad one, such as lying, or selfishness,… Read More Do You Have a Book on Character?
Andy and Carroll Smith of the Charlotte Mason Institute interviewed us in January of 2014, you can watch the latest segment on their website here. This fourth part discusses how to choose books for a Charlotte Mason curriculum. We hope you enjoy! Feel free to ask questions, make comments or contribute in any way below in… Read More Part IV of our Video Interview with CMI
My hat’s off to you! Your first book is a winner. Last year, I spent a good portion of my pleasure reading time reading through children’s fantasy fiction series to answer those who are always asking me, “what do you think about so-and-so’s series.” Frankly, fantasy fiction is not my favorite genre. I suppose I have been spoiled by… Read More Dear Mr. Smith,
Spring is finally showing its colors around here, and with it a scramble to get our early crops in the ground here on the farm…Between that and preparing for a seminar on using books in a Charlotte Mason Education in Charlotte, NC this weekend, I’m behind on my to-do list. Again! Instead of a new… Read More Top Picks: More Spring Books
I agree with C. S. Lewis’s pronouncement that “reading oneself to sleep,” is a “deplorable practice,” but I do think that bedtime reading can serve other purposes. When I reflect on my childhood, straining to recall my earliest memories, one that surfaces most distinctly is bedtime reading. My mother, whether consciously or unconsciously, fulfilled the role of “Super Mom.” She… Read More Bedtime Reading
If you have read my opinion about children’s literature very often, you know it is unapologetically emphatic in preferring old books over those written in the last 50 years. I subject “new” books to more stringent scrutiny and few meet my standards. For the record, I hold older books to the same standards, but many, many more of them… Read More Old Things Become New
I’m trying to get back into the habit of posting topics in our Top Picks section, every other Wednesday. (Now that that is in print, it’s a little scary! I hope I can keep up the pace with a new baby due in a few months.) This week let’s look at some great books for… Read More Top Picks: American Revolution
The house is quiet, the kind of quiet that makes listening easy, when you can hear the softest sounds: a page turning, a little sniff, the sound of someone shifting position In a chair. That’s the way readingtime sounds in our house. There are often little breaks in this quiet, groans of dismay or disgust at who-knows-what predicament,… Read More Family Reading
Part 3 of our interview with Charlotte Mason Institute is available now. In this segment we focus on what we’ve learned about Reading in the 21st Century.
Have you ever noticed that life runs at a gallop more than at a stroll? Time truly flies. Our children are growing up too swiftly. Do you ever panic at the things you haven’t managed to accomplish with them yet, or, like me, do you ever feel like that clock is your enemy? Time. It is… Read More Finding Time to Read