When my second daughter was learning to read, she had trouble. She knew her letters and their sounds and could put them together into words but became discouraged and tearful before she finished a line. Her glasses were fine. She wanted to read. I was puzzled. I found out by accident, one day, what the difficulty was: she… Read More Learning to Read
Over the past few weeks I’ve been helping a friend choose books for a comprehensive science curriculum she is writing, a science curriculum depending almost entirely on living books for elementary through middle school. She had been checking out books to preview during her Living Books Library visits and then scouring the internet and public… Read More What’s in a “Living Book,” or, Why We Collect the Books that We Do
Years ago, a friend told me a story that I’ve never forgotten. Her mother was bedridden, in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease, and had a woman who came in to care for her. On several occasions, my friend would arrive to find this woman reading to her mother. She was a horrible reader – stumbling over and mispronouncing… Read More Hey, Will You Read to Me?
A friend of mine just returned from visiting the awe-inspiring New York Public Library last week. Her narration of their exhibits and collection is enough to give me strong pangs of envy. Alas, I must content myself in enjoying that august institution’s treasures vicariously through her exuberant descriptions. Still, though we are tucked away in the basement of a… Read More Library Visitors
This may look a bit different than our traditional “Top Picks” lists. Math is NOT a verbal subject and so books are more removed from the learning process than any other subject. We believe however, that living math books can help supplement the teaching of mathematics; papers like this one are being written that emphasize that learning… Read More Top Picks: Living Math
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