There are two words I do not allow my children to say–well actually, there are a lot of words I don’t allow them to say, but the two words “I can’t” are not permitted. Those two words usually pop out when they are facing a difficult task, or try to tackle something and fail. When they say, “I… Read More Where There’s a Will There’s a Way, or, Reasons Kids Don’t Read
Friday Emily and I got in the car at 5:00 a.m. and headed to Hendersonville, North Carolina in order to arrive two hours early for a big library book sale. We’ve been showing up for this sale annually since 2004, the year our friends, who are also book lovers, first introduced us to this special event. It is a… Read More If Your Son Asks For Bread
In the course of life, it is inevitable that we will go through difficult times, transitional periods that are trying, tough patches. In encouraging one of my married children who is going through one of these testing times currently, I can sympathize because we have had our share of rough seasons in life. Now, fifteen years down the road,… Read More Revelations
Suspecting many of you share this mother’s concerns, I have decided to quote her letter in full here: Dear Liz and Emily, “I want to first say how much I appreciate your blog and your vision (I’d like to call it a ministry!). My 10 year old daughter is the only reader child in our house… Read More There is a Time for Reading
For as long as I have been homeschooling, just the last twenty-five years or so, summer has meant all the usual seasonal activities–change of routine, vacations, swimming, family visits and outings, gardening, and leisurely reading. Even if we continue formal school lessons, the pace is relaxed. However, as the teacher, school is never far from the back of my… Read More Marking Time or Making History?
I know you’ve been gone from this earth nearly forty years and some will think it silly of me to write to you now, but I am pretty sure that you would not. I am writing to share how much your stories have meant to me, and will continue to, and also to disagree with your self-mocking remark: “I… Read More Dear Kate,
Though summer weather has been upon us for awhile, the official calendar summer begins tomorrow. I pause today on summer’s eve to reflect about summer. Growing up in a place where winter meant harsh weather, the prospect of the coming summer was a glorious promise – sunshine, warmth, beaches, freedom from school, leisure. Do you remember the bliss of “school’s… Read More Summertime: Pace or Space?
Several years ago at a workshop Emily and I were holding on Charlotte Mason’s method of education, we were addressing her way of teaching the Bible. A mother who was there shared a revelation she had recently had while reading a biography of the poet, William Blake, to her children. It dawned on her suddenly as she read of… Read More A Book for Good Friday
“Which book do you first remember reading as a child that pulled you into its world, where you became completely engrossed in its characters and events?” A friend asked recently. With barely a pause I could tell her. Without much effort I could be there all over again, on the Alm with wind buffeting me… Read More what is a LIVING BOOK? part one