Author: esther7dancing

My Favorite Part of My Day

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The kitchen was in disarray, books were everywhere, witnessing to the fact that my kids do indeed read and the younger children had done an amazing job of turning my living room into a rather complex fort. In the middle of this chaos I found my somewhat frazzled self sitting down at the end of my day with a cup of tea and reflecting. Did I get any homeschooling done? Did I have a productive day? What is my definition of a productive day?

It was one of those typical homeschool days where I had felt like the day had flown by in a whirlwind of activities without being productive. I was determined on a daily basis to get my checklist of homeschool tasks done and yet it never seemed to get accomplished. Can anyone relate? Your days are busy as can be and yet you don’t seem to get to the homeschooling subjects that you wanted to. I began to realize in my early years of homeschooling that I needed to have a paradigm shift on what constitutes a productive homeschool day. This is when I discovered the beauty of “Morning Time”.

“Morning Time” is a phrase that I learned from Cindy Rollins who is a veteran homeschooler of 9 kids whom have all graduated from her homeschool. She is an amazing influencer and mentor in the homeschool community. She wrote a book called “Morning Time” that changed my perspective on what was important in my homeschool. I highly recommend reading her book to get an in depth look at what “Morning Time” is all about.

“Morning Time” is a set amount of time that I set aside with my kids to study the different subjects that I want them to learn. If we accomplish nothing more in our day than “Morning Time”, my day has been a success. These subjects are usually subjects that I have always wanted to study with my children, but we just don’t seem to get around to them. For example, we might study famous artists, Shakespeare, Plutarch, science, apologetics or a famous music composer. This is also the time that I do a continuous read aloud with the kids. My current read aloud with my teenage daughter is “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas and my current read aloud with my younger two children is “Prince Caspian” by CS Lewis.

This is my favorite part of our homeschool day because we come together as a family and learn about the truth, goodness and beauty in the world we live in. A Shakespeare play that we are listening to or a novel that we are reading can lead to thoughtful discussions. Another benefit of “Morning Time” is seeing a family book culture emerge in our home where my kids will remember reading certain books or topics and those topics will pop up in random conversations. My children’s humor or comments start reflecting the books we are reading. They see an artist’s painting or hear a piece of music and recognize who or what they are because of what we have studied. In my opinion, this creates more of an education for my children then simply filling out a worksheet. If my goal is to create a love of learning, then I want to introduce them to many different aspects of the world around us.

I don’t want them to learn math with the mindset of just having to fulfill a requirement. I want them to see the unique mathematic equations that exist in our world. For example, the sunflower is a mathematical creation representing the Fibonacci numbers. I want my kids to begin to see learning as an opportunity to see the world in a new way. When we study Vincent Van Gogh, what is the story behind his famous painting of Starry Night? When we enter the world of Narnia by C.S. Lewis what do we see? What is the story saying about the world around us? What are the Biblical Worldview questions that my kids are struggling with?

I cannot have these conversations when the kids are working on their everyday worksheets at their desks, but I can create a space for these discussions to happen. I began to see how this was the learning that I desired my homeschooling to have. I made a decision in my early years of homeschooling, that if we didn’t get to anything else, but we made space for “Morning Time”, we had had a productive day.

“Morning time” can look quite different depending on the ages of your kids and your family dynamics. I had years when we had little toddlers and the “Morning Time” had to be short and during the baby’s nap time. Our current “Morning Time” is actually split between my younger two kids and my teens. I wanted to read deeper books with the teens that were not as relatable to the younger kids. Our schedule has changed as the kids have gotten older and now I am able to do a “Morning Time” in the morning with my younger kids and a different time in the afternoon for my teens. Although for most of our homeschool years, I did keep all five kids together. It was logistically easier, at that time, to keep them all together and not split them up.

“Morning Time” does not have to be in the morning. There were a couple of years that we still called it “Morning Time” but my sleep deprived teens functioned better in the afternoons. Find a time in your day that works best to meet your families needs. It does not have to be complex or long. You can simply start by having a 15 minute read aloud time where you sit down and read with all your kids. You can study whatever you would like with your kids that you think would interest them. Perhaps you would rather listen to a Shakespeare play together, explore a science book or read an apologetics book as a family.

One more important thing to remember is that “Morning Time” is a journey with your kids that doesn’t always go the way you expect. There have been many “Morning Time” days that have gone far from what was ideal in my mind. I sometimes wondered why I was even incorporating it in my day. Despite the days we had of chaos, I kept cultivating the habit because I knew I was planting seeds. When you plant and water seeds, you don’t immediately see growth, but the seeds are still growing. I chose to believe that I was cultivating learning even if it seemed, at times, that they weren’t listening. As some of my kids have reached their teens, I can see the seeds that I had planted and how they have grown. The “Morning Time” was worth it! It is a lovely tool to help cultivate an atmosphere of learning. It is a part of my homeschool that I have never regretted doing.

If this concept of “Morning Time” is something that you would like to incorporate in your homeschool day, I will list some resources below that were helpful in my study of what “Morning Time” is all about. I will also list what we currently are doing for our own “Morning Time” to give you an idea of different things you can do with your kids.

Resources for “Morning Time”

“Morning Time” by Cindy Rollins (cindyrollins.net)

“My Morning Basket” by Pam Barnhill (Excellent podcast on the different parts of Morning Time)

“Back to School Conference 2019” (found at cindyrollin.net)

(Cindy did two sessions in the above conference on how “Morning Time” works and she also walked through a typical “Morning Time” that she had done with her kids. You can still purchase the recordings even though the conference was last year)

Book List-

“Morning Time” with my teens

The God who is There by Francis Schaffer

The Great Divorce by CS Lewis

Plutarch Lives- Alexander

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Count of Monte Christo by Alexander Dumas

The Classic 100 Poems Edited by William Harmon

“Morning Time” with my 8 and 12 year old

Bible

Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Poetry- Emily Dickinson

Picture Study- Van Gogh

Animals by Thorton Burgess

Grimms Brothers Fairytales

Prince Caspian by CS Lewis

First Day of School Traditions

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What does a first day of school look like for homeschooling? Can’t our kids just stay in pajamas all day? Do I really need a first day of school when we are just staying home? What is so important about celebrating the first day of school?

When we started homeschooling 12 years ago, I wanted to make the first day of our school memorable. I didn’t want our kids looking longingly at the school bus leaving our neighborhood, thinking that they were missing out. They weren’t missing out, they were just on a different adventure than some of their neighborhood friends. I wanted our kids to enjoy the uniqueness of homeschooling and what that might look like. Yes, they were staying home, but I wanted to create an atmosphere of excitement for the new adventure that they would be stepping into this year. The first day of school became a tradition that our kids look forward to each year.

I do something a little different every year, but they know that the first day of school will have a variety of delights for them to enjoy and remember as they begin a new school year. I thought I would share with you some of the different traditions our family have enjoyed over the years.

One of the first traditions that I do is to make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Right now, we are about to have our first day of school and the yummy cinnamon rolls are waiting downstairs in anticipation of the kids waking up to start their day. I think the only hard thing for me about making the kids cinnamon rolls is the temptation of eating them. I have to keep reminding myself that they are for the kids and not me.

Another tradition is school supplies outside their door when they wake up. I usually make a little card that says “Let the Adventure Begin…” and then put some kind of school supplies outside their door. This year I bought art supplies and a favorite book that I had picked for them to enjoy in their reading time. This looks a little different each year, depending on what school supplies they need and what my budget is for that year. This also depends on the age of my kids. For example, my teenage daughter is going to have new coffee mug and a book while my younger children get the art supplies. I try to pick a school supply that is part of a subject that they really enjoy learning. I have also had small budget years when the school supplies are minimal, but the kids still enjoy the anticipation of what is outside their door each year regardless of how much of a budget I had to work with.

The last tradition we do is to go on some kind of outing or field trip. This is the kids favorite tradition and unique to homeschooling. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we can do field trips while everyone else is in school. We have done a variety of field trips such as hiking, visiting a park, going out for pizza or even going to the zoo in the previous years. The zoo is quite fun without all those crowds of people.

It really didn’t matter what we chose to do, we just had fun celebrating our first day with a field trip. This year, we are going on a fishing trip with all their cousins. I am blessed to have my siblings, who also homeschool their children, live in the same area. We have all decided to celebrate the first school day together and take the kids to a lake for fishing. Choosing to go on an outing for the first day of school is wonderful way to celebrate your homeschooling. My kids look forward to this event each year. Again, this can be quite simple, and does not have to be a big event. I have simply gone to a park one year and the kids loved it.

Homeschooling is an adventure worth taking and one of the ways that we can communicate that to our kids is to celebrate the first day of their new school year. There are so many ways that you can celebrate that are simple and easy. I have done all kinds of simple “First day of school” activities throughout the years. We have made special lunches at home, read to them a story, or simply went outside and had popsicles in our backyard. Our kids have loved it when we have had a S’more night outside or played a family board game. Think of what your family might enjoy or what you occasionally do for fun and maybe it would be a good fit for celebrating the first day of school. The important thing is to celebrate the start of their new adventure. Kids will remember the moments, not how spectacular the field trip or activity ended up being.

What are some of your favorite first day of school traditions? What does your family enjoy doing together?

Hope you all have an amazing first day of school! Enjoy the adventure!

The Perfect Curriculum

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You are about to start a new school year and the planning of a new school adventure has already begun. One of biggest questions on your mind might be, “What would be the perfect curriculum?”. The truth is, there is no such thing as a perfect curriculum. In fact, I have found in my 12 years of homeschooling that I can use almost any type of curriculum and give my kids an amazing education. Perhaps this thought brings you relief or perhaps this thought brings on more fear because now what in the world do you choose to use?

The most important thing to remember is that you want your curriculum to serve you. You do not want be a slave to your curriculum. It is a tool that it to benefit your teaching not dictate it. I learned this lesson the hard way in my earlier years of homeschooling. I am a lover of the check list. I want to make sure that I check off all the boxes on my list, so that I can feel accomplished at the end of the day. In fact, if I have done a task that is not on my check list, I will put it on my check list just so that I can check it off.

Although I can appreciate my gift of being administrative, this love of check lists can have some negative effects. This became evident in my homeschooling when I was more interested in checking off the boxes instead of taking the time to cultivate a love of learning in my kids. I ended up being a slave to my curriculum because I had a desire to see all those boxes checked. Surprisingly, this did not end up being beneficial to the homeschooling of my children. I realized I needed to think about what my actual goals were and which curriculum would best serve the purpose of reaching those goals.

One of my biggest goals is to develop a love of learning so that when they have graduated from my homeschool they will still desire to pursue learning in whatever God had for them. I came to the realization that I didn’t need a certain curriculum to accomplish this feat. I needed to quit worrying about whether the boxes were checked or whether the curriculum was perfect and just work on cultivating a delight for learning. How does our family do this?

We read great books, we study the arts and music, we talk about how math isn’t just about formulas but is evident in the very universe we live in, we explore the kids interest and see where it takes them. Throughout my years of homeschooling, the search for the perfect curriculum became obsolete and my pursuit of creating life long learners was a more prominent goal in my mind.

Now you might be thinking these are all great ideas, but I have no idea what curriculum to choose! I am going to list a few of my favorites to give you place to start. Another thing to keep in mind is the lifestyle that your family is living and the environment that your homeschool will be in. If both parents are working and homeschooling, then you want to look for a curriculum that lays each day out for you because you don’t have necessarily the time to create your own. Even with the laid out curriculums, feel free to cut out things that your kids don’t need or you don’t want. Remember that it is a tool for you to use. If you want more of a literature based curriculum, then you want to look for curriculums that are heavy with good books. Our family uses “The Charlotte Mason” Method and the curriculum is free online at amblesideonline.com. If you are interested in “The Charlotte Mason” Method, I would encourage you to research it before you start. It’s a wonderful way to homeschool children, but if you don’t understand the method then the curriculum won’t make sense. I will list some of my favorite curriculum by subject.

Ready Made Curriculums:

(These are also very literature based. In other words, lots of books)

Sonlight

Amblesideonline.com

My Father’s World

Science:

Apologia.com

Spangler Science (Science kits with ready made experiments)

English/Reading:

Houseofhumaneletters.com (Excellent Reading and Lit classes for Junior High and High School)

Veritas Press (This website has excellent options for littles that need hands on learning for learning to read)

All About Reading

All About Spelling

Math:

BJU Math

Saxon Math

Teaching Textbooks ( This was more visual for my child with dyslexia)

Music/Art/Shakespeare:

SimpleCharlotteMason.com (They have excellent resources for the arts/music and Shakespeare)

If you are looking for more wisdom and insight into the world of homeschooling, I highly recommend the online 2020 Back to School Conference found at cindyrollins.net

Books that Every Homeschooler Should Read:

Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie

The Read Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie

Morning Time by Cindy Rollins

Picking curriculum and planning a school year can feel quite daunting, so feel free to message me any questions that you might have. Every homeschool family is different and each of our journey’s are unique, so I am in no way saying that all the favorites that I have listed are the only options. It is not an exhaustive list and it might not be what you need but its a place to start. There are many options out there, ready to serve your unique homeschool needs. Homeschooling is an adventure and one of the best decisions I made for my kids education. Enjoy the journey!

Creating space for growth

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Planting a beautiful garden to enjoy throughout the various seasons is a view I hope to gaze upon in my daily life. I decided this last summer to take a small step toward that dream and plant some flowers in my backyard. I had aspirations of sitting with my tea and favorite book out on my patio in the midst of my lovely flowers. Sadly, dreams are not always a reflection of reality or my abilities as a gardener. I was determined from the beginning to be faithful on taking care of my small garden. I watered my beautiful roses daily with anticipation of seeing them grow in beauty. What I didn’t realize at the time is that I was over watering my roses and I was slowly drowning them. As the rose bush slowly began to wither and die, it became apparent that I was definitely doing something wrong. We ended up going on vacation shortly after I realized my roses were dying. I hadn’t quite figured out what I had done wrong. We were gone for almost 2 weeks and when we came back my rose bush was beautiful again and had new buds growing everywhere. Without my daily over watering, my roses began to flourish. The rose bush needed space from my watering to grow.

Creating space in my homeschool leads to growth in my kids learning. Sometimes I will over plan my kids education. Okay, if we are being honest, I almost always over plan my kids education. This can yield the same results as my rose bush. What I intend to be helpful is actually hindering their growth. I am probably what you would a call a ‘Type A” personality. I love to be organized and researching homeschool curriculum is my happy place. I could literally plan each of my kids education to the last minute of the day. I feel compelled to give my kids the best education, so in my mind, that means the best program that I can put together for them. The truth is that this probably is not the best idea for my kids. In fact, I know its not the best plan of action because I tried it and it totally failed. Each of our kids are individuals with their own set of talents and skills that make them unique. I have learned through trial and error that I need to give them space to explore their own interests on this journey to creating life long learners.

What does this look like to create space for growth? Do you give up all thoughts of a schedule or take away the basics such as math and reading? No, creating space in our daily homeschool is not about giving up the basics, but it is about giving time for our kids to discover their own love of learning. My kids still get a list daily of what they need to get done, but I have also built in time for their own explorations.

Judah, who is my second born son, is brilliant young man who lives life to the beat of his own drum. When I started to homeschool him, I didn’t know quite what to do. I was this eager homeschool mom with my beautiful planners and I was looking into the eyes of a child that didn’t even like the word “school”. Judah would rather play then open up a book. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that Judah was meant for greatness and it was okay that he wanted to take his time to learn in his own way. I just needed to create space for what he wanted to learn.

Judah has a knack for solving problems and fixing things. He loves to fix anything that is broken. It was a normal occurrence to give Judah the broken vacuum or any other household items to fix. Judah’s room over the years as resembled a graveyard of broken computers and other broken technology that various people have given Judah to fix. Did I mention that I like my house to be orderly? Against my own personality, I would turn a blind eye to the chaos. This was my attempt at creating space for Judah.

When Judah was 14 years old, he came to his dad and I and announced that he wanted to start his own business.  My first reaction was to turn him down.  Start a business at 14?  This is not part of my plan.  He doesn’t know what he is doing and more importantly, he needs to get done with the school stuff that I give him each day.  My personality of being a control freak was freaking out at this moment.  But of course I answered calmly, “Well, as long as you get your school done first.” I didn’t understand during that time, that God was shaping Judah into who he was meant to be.  

Today, as I write these words, Judah is 17 years old and ready to take on life. There have been definite ups and downs in his business that he has created, but he is determined to master what he wants to learn and succeed at it. He creates his own schedule each day, so that he can attain his goals. He has a desire to create a successful business, master the cello and become a fireman. Even though he has a couple years left of homeschool, he has developed a love of learning that I know will always be part of his life. My agenda of what education looked like for Judah had to change. I had to create space for Judah to pursue what he loved.

I have learned that homeschooling is not so much about getting a list of school subjects accomplished or making sure my checklists are all checked, its about becoming a student of my children. Watching and listening to see what they need to learn to become what they were born to be. I desire to create life long learners because then I know even beyond their brief education in our home, they will continue to learn and pursue what God has meant them to be. So, even though checking off all my boxes each day is my happy place, I will choose daily to create space and maybe it will help them to grow.

Book Review- “A Curious Beginning” by Deanna Raybourn

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Synopsis: “A Curious Beginning” begins in the year 1887 in London where we meet the delightfully, intelligent Veronica Speedwell. Veronica Speedwell is a lepidopterologist (a butterfly collector) and has an uncanny ability to solve puzzles or mysteries. Her actions and mannerisms are unexpected for the time period she is born in. She is a spunky and strong heroine that is misunderstood in the world that she lives in. Our story opens with the loss of a spinster aunt and in the midst of her loss, an attempted kidnapping on Veronica’s life. She must make the choice to flee to safety which leads her on a mysterious adventure that she never intended to take. Veronica Speedwell ends up realizing that solving this mystery is a necessary part of saving her life and also discovering where she came from.

My Thoughts:

This is a delightful, fast-paced read that would be an ideal book to take on vacation or if you are in the mood for a lighter read. Veronica Speedwell, our heroine, is a strong protagonist that does not fit into the expectations of the women of her time. I enjoyed her intelligence and her tenacity to solve the puzzles put before her. This is not a mystery read that will keep you on the edge of your seats, but it has a more light hearted and fun aspect to the unexpected ending of the book. An interesting element to this book is that it centers around the different relationships that our heroine encounter just as much as the mystery. Veronica Speedwell enters into a friendship with Stoker who helps solve the mystery. Stoker is a grumpy and antagonistic character that fulfills an unexpected need of friendship in Veronica’s life. The combining of mystery and exploring the relationships that our heroine encountered made me enjoy the book even more. The author did a wonderful job of helping the reader to get to know the characters and what they were thinking.

An interesting fact that I just learned about this series is that the main character is based off a real woman in history who had a career of hunting and collecting butterflies. This woman was the inspiration for the author to create her character of Veronica Speedwell. A woman that spoke her mind or had a career was not the norm in society in the 1800s. It made the interactions of Veronica Speedwell with her fellow companions quite entertaining.

One of the things that I did not like about the book was how our heroine continues to be so strong minded and independent, she would alienate those around her. I love a strong protagonist but after awhile, it drove me a little nuts, that she kept doing things her way and never listening to anyone around her. Her likability as a character started to be affected as I kept reading the book.

Deanna Raybourn created a mystery that is a fun and enjoyable read. Reading her book is a lovely way to spend an afternoon. I have already ordered the second book because I want to know what is going to happen next.

Recommended For:

This is for people who love mysteries, but also like to explore what the characters are thinking and the relationships they encounter. This is also for people who are looking for a fast-pace, fun read with a strong female protagonist. It’s kind of a “Pride and Prejudice” meets “Indiana Jones” type of book.

Content Warning: Clean, but has adult themes. Some Language. In my family, this would be a book for adults not the kids.

For more bookish content, check out my instagram @booknerdmama5

Creating a Book Culture in Your Home

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“I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” – Roald Dahl (Author of “Matilda”)

Creating a love for reading is one of my favorite goals as a parent and a homeschool mom. I believe, instilling a love of reading in your children will lead them onto the road of developing an on-going love of learning. Sarah Clarkson, author of “The Book Girl” wrote, “Reading, rather, is a journey. Reading is the road you walk to discover yourself and your world, to see with renewed vision as you encounter the vision of another. Reading is a way of walking with the wise as you trek down the road of life, offering a hand to guide you, a voice to help you look up from the dust and discover the sunset, a friend in whose words you can shelter when life sends you a storm. Reading is a way to live.” (Book Girl p. 18) I believe reading books helps shape who my kids want to be. Creating a book culture in my home is part of helping them to become who they are meant to be.

The journey to creating a book culture is full of ups and downs. I have tried different things to incorporate books in our lives that have worked out beautifully and I have done other things that were total failures. I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse into our home of some of the ups and downs of walking out that journey of creating a bookish culture in our home.

3 Things I did that helped cultivate a book culture in our home:

  1. The simple activity of reading aloud. Reading aloud to my kids has taken many forms depending on the rhythms of our lives at the time. My favorite current way that we have included reading aloud in the rhythms of our life is “Morning Time”. This is a daily time where all my kids from teenagers to my youngest gather together and I read aloud to them. We read everything from the Bible to Shakespeare to fiction books that keep us on the edge of our seats. My goal with “Morning Time” is to read books to my kids that they might not pick up themselves and to create an atmosphere for great conversations. This is my favorite activity that we do as a family in our homeschool. It brings my kids all together and we have developed our own book culture and language based on the books that we have read. There are random references to books that we have read that will sneak their way into everyday conversations. These are the moments that bring me delight. Sometimes life has been so busy that “Morning Time” has become non-existent. Reading aloud with my family has looked quite different in the busier times of our lives. Another way that we fit reading aloud in is through the use of audible books. I remember a season where I never seemed to be leaving the car due to all the appointments that one of my children had to attend. I decided to take advantage of my captive audience and we would listen to delightful audible books. This activity ended up being one of my kids favorite things to do. Even now, as we start up the new school year, the lively discussions or you might call it arguing has started on what Audible book we will be starting with when we go to our co-op. If reading aloud is not something that you enjoy, audible books in the car are a great way to instill a love of reading in your kids. I try to remind myself in the busy times of our lives that even if I read aloud 10 minutes a day, I am still helping to create a book culture in our home. I need those reminders because sometimes, ten minutes is all the time I have to read to my kids. The rhythms of life can get busy and sometimes the last thing I have time for is reading aloud. The ten minutes a day helps me to not be overwhelmed and realize I can still delight in books with my kids, even in the busiest of times.
  • 2. Creating a Mother/Daughter Bookclub with my daughter
  • In the last year, I decided to start a Mother/Daughter Bookclub with my fifteen year old daughter. I am a mom of four boys and one girl. In our world of wonderful men, we needed some girl time. The love of books is a common language that my daughter and I share. The bookclub is simple to do because it consists of just my daughter and me. My goal in starting this bookclub was to introduce my daughter to literature that she might not pick up on her own and to facilitate great conversations that might come out of reading these books. We take turns on picking the books to keep the interest level high. My first book pick was “To Kill A Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee, my daughter’s first book pick was “Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. So we might go from classical to a dystopian society but the purpose of the bookclub is still in place. We are creating space for great conversations and developing a book culture in our home.
  • 3. Incorporating Books In the Love Language of my Children
  • Now I do have one child who if you asked him to read, it is probably the last thing that he would want to do. He does enjoy the read aloud time with the family or the audible stories in the car but he is going through a season where he doesn’t see reading as something you enjoy. So, how do you help develop that love of reading in the reluctant reader? You find something they do love and connect it with reading. This reluctant reader of mine loves hamburgers. So, we made a deal and decided that when he had finished the historical novel that I needed him to finish, I would take him out to his favorite hamburger place and we would discuss his thoughts on the book. The amount of books that your child reads is not important. What is important is that they learn to how to have a great conversation about what they think about a book. If you have a reluctant reader, don’t pile on the books. Pick the few books that you wouldn’t want them to leave home without reading. Pick books that are enjoyable and fast paced. There is nothing worse for a reluctant reader than a slow paced book.

3 Things that did NOT help cultivate a book culture in our home:

  1. My need to finish a book no matter what. My personality of needing to accomplish and finish what I have started has not helped create a love of reading. When I start a read aloud book with my kids, I am bound and determined to finish it until the bitter end. Even if we are all hating the book at the time. As you can probably guess, this does not endear a love of books in my children. I have learned through my stubborn mistakes that there are too many amazing books to read out there and I can indeed put the book down. I still have the strong desire to finish what I start, but I am open to the idea of putting aside those books that our family is not enjoying.
  • 2. Choosing all the books for my kids I am a bookworm at heart and one of my favorite pastimes is to curate wonderful and amazing books for my kids. What I didn’t realize is that no matter how brilliant my choices might be, my kids needed to develop their own reading life. When I started to allow them to have choices on what to read, their love of reading grew immensely. Then, it was easy to curate a book once in awhile that I wanted them to try. I still believe it is an excellent idea to expand your children’s reading taste, but I also have found the value in letting them choose.
  • 3. I didn’t create space in our daily lives for reading. Trying to be the most wonderful homeschool teacher and parent I could be, I would fill my kids day with wonderful learning and various activities that would give them the best education they could have or so I thought. What I didn’t realize at the time, I wasn’t leaving any space for reading. They had many different “required” reading assignments, but they didn’t have a time where they could read what they wanted. My ultimate goal as a homeschool parent wasn’t that they checked off all the tasks that that I have assigned, but that they develop a love of learning. My “ideal” way of doing our daily homeschooling was actually killing their love of learning. So, one of the ways that helped that love of learning to grow was our free-reading time. Everyday after lunch, they had free reading time where they could read whatever they wanted. This is now a favorite part of my kids day. Even my littles when they were younger and couldn’t read, would listen to audible books. This also created space for me to read as well, which was an added bonus.

There is no perfect formula to developing a book culture in your home. These are just few things that have worked for my family, but every family is different and perhaps, even at different stages in life. For example, when I had toddlers, the “free reading” time would have looked drastically different. It might have just been a small read aloud time with picture books. I didn’t even start to think of a book club with my daughter until she was a teenager. As my kids grow, I find that I need to change things up to meet their needs in the stage that they are in. Creating a book culture in your home is a delightful journey worth taking. It has been one of my favorite things to do in our homeschool journey.

My favorite resources for learning more about creating a book culture in your home:

  1. Read Aloud Revival- This site’s whole mission is to cultivate a book culture in your home. They have an excellent podcast and website full of resources.
  2. “The Read Aloud Handbook” by Jim Trelease
  3. “The Enchanted Hour” by Meghan Cox Gordon
  4. “The Read Aloud Family” by Sarah Mackenzie

Book Review- “Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes” By Jonathan Auxier

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Synopsis:

Peter Nimble, who is a 10 year old blind orphan, is the greatest thief of his time. On an ordinary evening of thievery, Peter finds a mysterious man with a cart. He ends up stealing from this man a box that contains an unexpected treasure. The small box contains three pairs of eyes. Unable to resist the temptation, Peter tries a pair of the eyes and is immediately transported to a mysterious island. On this island he is presented with a intriguing quest. A quest that needs his particular expertise. He is commissioned to be the reluctant hero who will save the Vanished Kingdom from its doom. Peter does not believe that he is the right person for the job. He doubts there is anything a 10 year old blind orphan could do that would save a kingdom. Eventually, Peter is persuaded to embark on the adventure of saving the Vanishing Kingdom. What our reluctant hero does not realize is that he is the key to the freedom of the Vanishing Kingdom. This journey is part of his destiny.

My Thoughts:

Jonathan Auxier is one of my favorite story tellers in children’s literature. “Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes” is an adventure that will keep the attention of any reader at any age. This has been our family’s current read aloud and all my kids from teenagers to my littles are captivated by the story that the author is weaving. This is a story of overcoming obstacles even when the odds are stacked against you. This is a story about having faith and walking out the adventure that is set before you. This is a story about finding your destiny that you didn’t even know existed.

Peter Nimble learns that the gifts he was given were exactly the gifts needed to bring freedom to his world. I love how the author gave us front row seat into Peter Nimble’s world. This book also had delightful and humorous characters that won’t easily be forgotten. For example, Peter’s loyal sidekick is a humorous knight who unfortunately encountered an evil curse. Therefore he is half horse and half cat. His name is Sir Tode and he is definitely part of the comical relief in this book. My kids have outright laughed at Sir Tode’s antics. This is an excellent choice for a read aloud with your kids. It has been one of our favorite books that we have read as a family. They have also made an excellent audible version for those long car rides if you prefer listening to your stories. My family is planning this fall on listening to the sequel, “Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard” on our way to different events this school year. Jonathan Auxier has definitely made me a fan of his work. This is a must read for all ages.

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The delightful practice of rereading.

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About a year ago, if we were in the middle of a conversation about books and our current reading life and you asked me if I was in the habit of rereading books, I probably would have thought that was a ridiculous question. Why would I ever want to reread a book, when there are so many books to read? This is a complete waste of time. In the past year, I have been persuaded otherwise. Now, I must say that not all books are created alike and some books are definitely not worth reading a second time. I would even venture to say that there are some books not even worth finishing. On the other side of that argument, there are many books worth rereading to discover the treasure you may have missed.

CS Lewis is probably one of my all time favorite authors. His thought provoking books will lead you on a journey into the world of literature he has created. The “Chronicles of Narnia” are an example of a book series that is worth rereading. The first time I was introduced to the world of Narnia, I was a child and I took considerable delight in the story that was set before me. Children enjoy the “Chronicles of Narnia” simply because its an amazing story. They are perhaps unaware of the deeper meaning embedded in the series, which you might see as an adult. CS Lewis once said “No book is worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally-and often far more-worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond.”

I started rereading the “Chronicles of Narnia” as a read aloud to my children. I am now convinced that everyone as an adult not just children should read the “Narnia” series. I loved the series as a child, but I loved it more as an adult. As a child, I enjoyed the story, but the deeper meaning of the text that the author was trying to convey went over my head. For example, there is this scene from the second book in the series called “Prince Caspian”. One of the main characters named Lucy and a lion named Aslan who is the King of the Kingdom are having a conversation. Lucy observes that Aslan has gotten bigger since the last time she saw him. Aslan’s response is “…every year you will grow, you will find me bigger”. I was sitting there reading this passage to my children and the meaning of this conversation caught me off guard as an adult. Aslan is allegorically a picture of Christ. As I grow in Christ, God becomes bigger in my life. As I understand who God is and what He is like, I understand more and more that He is the author of the impossible becoming possible. Reading this passage as a child did not have the same impact on me as an adult. I was slowly being persuaded that rereading might not be the waste of time I thought it to be.

I have recently joined a bookclub in the hope that it would help me expand my reading life. I am a creature of habit and reading the same type of books is a comfortable and easy place I don’t want to leave. The word “change” is a word I try to avoid instead of embrace. That being said, I knew I wanted to expand my reading life and a book club seemed like a motivating road to take. This month we read “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. This was my third reading of “Pride and Prejudice”. I enjoyed the book even more the third time, compared to previous readings. When you reread a book, you are able to slow down and see observations that you might have missed before, because you are already familiar with the storyline.

There were some observations that I noticed in reading “Pride and Prejudice” that I hadn’t in previous reads. What stood out to me was the pride and prejudice of Elizabeth Bennet. She had always appeared to be the heroine in my mind with very little flaws. This time however, I noticed how she seemed to have a prejudice against the women that surrounded her. Elizabeth Bennet’s character is quite harsh on the women in her life. Her observations of their behavior leads you to see Elizabeth thinking she is better than the people that surround her. On previous reads, I had always thought the title reflected Elizabeth Bennet to having the “Pride” and Mr. Darcy having the “Prejudice”. This time I noticed that the title actually reflects many of the characters having both pride and prejudice throughout the entire novel. I realized that perhaps Jane Austen might have meant a broader meaning in the use of her title. This was only one of the many new observations that captured my attention. “Pride and Prejudice” was definitely worth rereading.

My final example is a recent short novella that I read by Fredrik Backman called “And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer”. The first time I read this book, I thought it was a pleasing story, but I didn’t quite understand the plot line. I decided to read it a second time due to the author’s poetic style of writing with this novella. The first time, I had rushed through, wanting to know what happened in the story. I decided I needed to slow down to perhaps capture more of the message that the author was trying to convey. I am so glad I made the decision to slow down. Slowing down was necessary with this particular book to understand the beauty of what Fredrick Backman was writing. After the second time of reading this novella, I thought it was a touching and beautiful story worth reading.

Rereading great books is a delightful practice that I have now incorporated into my reading life. There are some books worth taking your time to read again. Rereading allows us to slow down and see perhaps things we might have missed on the first time around. I think C.S. Lewis gives us a thoughtful perspective on rereading in the following quote:

“We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savor the real beauties.”- C.S. Lewis

What are your favorite books that you have reread?

Do you think rereading is a waste of time or do you enjoy it as part of your reading life?

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Book Review: “And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer” by Fredrik Backman

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“My memories are running away from me, my love, like when you try to separate oil and water. I’m constantly reading a book with a missing page and it’s always the most important one.” (Fredrik Backman-“And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer”)

Synopsis:

This is a story of a Grandpa struggling to hold onto his memories and not forget those he loves. This is a story of a relationship between a grandpa and his grandson, and a dad and his son. They wrestle with the reality of having to say goodbye. Its a moving story about cherishing the moments you have with the ones you love. Being there to walk by their side until its time to say goodbye.

My Thoughts:

Fredrik Backman is a thought provoking author who takes you on a journey with his writing that allows you to become a part of his character’s world. I actually read this book twice because the first time, I was eager to see what happened, so I rushed through until the end. I decided to read it a second time at a slower pace. The first time I read it, I thought it was pleasing story, but I didn’t quite understand the entire plot line. Fredrik Backman writes in almost a poetic way with this novella. It is necessary to slow down to see the beauty in what he has written.

The second time I read this novella was an entirely different experience. I was able to comprehend the emotion and the beauty of the relationships between the Grandpa and his grandson. I had a front row seat to the struggle the Grandpa was experiencing as little by little, he was losing his memory. Alzheimer’s disease is an unfortunate reality for many elderly people in today’s society. Fredrik Backman gives perhaps a glimpse of insight into what a person might be going through as they fight the disease. He also did a beautiful job of showing what it meant to walk by someone’s side as they watch their loved one struggle with this disease. In the beginning of the book there is an author’s note where he states,

“This is a story about memories and about letting go. It’s a love letter and a slow farewell between a man and his grandson, and between a dad and his boy. I never meant for you to read it, to be quite honest. I wrote it just because I was trying to sort out my own thoughts, and I’m the kind of person who needs to see what I’m thinking on paper to make sense of it. But it turned into a small tale of how I’m dealing with slowly losing the greatest minds I know, about missing someone who is still here and how I wanted to explain it all to my children. I’m letting it go now, for what it’s worth” (Fredrik Backman)

Recommended For:

Fans of Fredrik Backman and those who love thought provoking writing that might give you insight into the world that surrounds us.

Book Review- “Educated” by Tara Westover

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Synopsis: Tara Westover is trapped in a family life that most outsiders would consider a nightmare, but in Tara’s mind, it’s her normal reality. Growing up in an extreme home life where they have a fear based belief that the government is after them was her “normal”. Her family did not believe in the use of medical care or in giving their children an education because it would result in a reliance on the government. She dealt with the craziness of her lifestyle based on the belief that this was how living life was supposed to be. This is the story of Tara Westover’s journey to rising above her circumstances and her quest to being educated. Her education was the key to her freedom.

My Thoughts:

Tara Westover is a brilliant author who captivates and holds the attention of her audience. I was caught up in the story and I desired to see what would happen next. I believe Tara accomplished what she set out to do as an author. She was able to convey her story and give the reader a clear picture of her experience and what she had walked out in her journey to being educated. I admire how she was able to rise above her circumstances, regardless of where she came from. The cards were stacked against her and yet she emerged out of the chaos victorious.

It took about 2 months to finish this book because of the disturbing journey that Tara had experienced. Tara Westover truly painted a captivating story but I wanted justice to be served. The abuse that the children experienced in the Westover home was unjust. Her parents should be punished for their treatment of their family. So, that being said, a pattern began to emerge with my journey in reading this book. I would read a few chapters and then let it sit on my shelf for a week where I would quickly pick up a happier book. This is probably a testament to the author’s amazing writing because of the anger it evoked in me to see her story unfold. If reading about abusive relationships is a trigger for you, this may not be the book for you to read.

What stood out to me about this book was the message about education. I believe each person is responsible for their own education. Each individual is responsible for their own desire to learn. Teachers can teach, but students have to embrace the learning. I can send my kids to the best schools or give them the best education possible, but they individually have to decide to learn. We cannot as teachers or parents force our children to learn. Being educated is a choice.

Education is a key to freedom. When my children attain a love of learning, it will open up more doors for them in the world. They will seek out the answers to the questions that exist daily in their minds. If my kids leave the nest, becoming life long learners, I have succeeded as a homeschool parent. I hope all my children make the decision to pursue higher education in their journey beyond my doors. Let my ceiling be their floor.

Tara Westover wrote a thought provoking memoir that will leave an impression in my mind for awhile. I am so delighted that she chose to rise above her circumstances and pursue an education.

Recommended For:

People who enjoy page turning memoirs that capture your attention until the end. Also, if you enjoy reading about a volatile family life that the protagonist is able to overcome, then you would enjoy this book. If abusive family relationships are a trigger for you, this may not be the book for you.

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