Spring is a whisper away, but I am already hearing the perennial rumblings of discontent. We are emerging from our winter semi-hibernation state. I’ve been hearing a lot of restless moms and children lately; moms are weary of lessons and children are swelling like the buds on the trees, their pent-up energy causing them to want to burst out. This can… Read More Spring Fever
Since we opened our library, I have learned innumerable astonishing things about children and their tastes in books. One of these surprises is that boys love poetry. My curiosity was aroused when I realized that so many young boys wanted to check out the book The Duchess Bakes a Cake. After all, it’s about a lady, 13 daughters, and… Read More The Way to a Boy’s Heart
Reading aloud to my children is one of the sweetest pleasures I know. I cannot even guess how many hours of my life have been spent reading to them. I do know the investment has had huge returns for them and for me. They have not all responded to being read to the same, however. I read to my… Read More Reminiscences about My Reluctant Reader
I’m beginning the day a little slowly as I was out late last night, late for me anyhow, with some dear friends. Every six weeks for the past three years, my daughter, Emily, and I have been meeting with some ladies who are interested in Charlotte Mason’s method of education. Our joint aspiration is to… Read More Have You Heard?
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes If your children on read one book about the events leading up to the American Revolution, it should be this. Apprenticed to a silversmith, the hero of this story learns the hard and valuable lesson of humility. After enduring an incredible set-back, Johnny finds his place in the world of… Read More Top Picks: For Boys
When I had been reading independently for a couple of years, I tackled David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I was an ambitious young thing and eager to prove myself capable of plowing through those 12 (Braille) volumes. I was nine years old. It was slow going and I quit after the first chapter. I looked… Read More I Finally Finished Reading It
As we’ve mentioned before, we are a library dedicated to Living Books. We enjoy beauty. We love the feel of sitting down in our favorite spot by the fire and letting some words, penned long ago, feed our souls. We long to connect with the refined, the lovely, the good, the upright, the godly in… Read More New at www.livingbookslibrary.com
Giotto Tended the Sheep by Opal Wheeler The author of the classic Composer Biographies wrote this story of Giotto, the medieval artist known as the “Father of Modern Painting.” Beautiful vintage illustrations accompany the text. Written for mid-elementary through junior high school readers. Millet Tilled the Soil by Sybil Deucher The beloved co-author of the Opal Wheeler Composer… Read More Top Picks: Living Art
One seemingly ordinary Monday morning, we began school singing the hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King.” As we finished I impulsively asked my eight-year-old son to look outside and tell me if the sunshine really had “golden beams” from the line in the first verse: “Thou burning sun with golden beam”. After a… Read More Golden Moments
Over twenty families visited the library yesterday and it was a fairly typical day of checking in and out books and making book recommendations. It is a marvel that so many parents are so deliberately looking after their children’s education. The day is full for us, going by in a blur as Emily and I enjoy conversations with… Read More Always Winter and Never Christmas