A Jane Austen Education

“I was twenty-six, and about as dumb, in all human things, as any twenty-six-year-old has a right to be, when I met the woman who would change my life.” – William Deresiewicz When our book club was discerning a few books to read in 2016, my dear friend Diane suggested A Jane Austen Education. I…

The Jungle Book

23 years! That’s how long it’s been since I first read Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.  That was the first year we homeschooled, and I was casting about our home library for literature I could teach from without having to buy curriculum at the last minute.  My father-in-law had admired Kipling, and my husband had…

84 Charing Cross Road

Marks & Co.84, charing Cross Rd.London, W. C. 2England Gentlemen: Your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books. The phrase “antiquarian booksellers” scares me somewhat, as I equate antique with expensive. I am a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books and all the things I want…

Pattern Blocks

My children love pattern blocks. Absolutely love them. Years ago I bought our first set and quickly learned that these were going to become an essential toy in our love of learning home. if you’re looking for something to promote logical thinking…They promote logical thinking, cultivate pattern recognition and they help to prepare the mind…

Year of the Black Pony

“It took stiff-necked courage and grit to ranch in Oregon country in the early 1900’s.” The Year of the Black Pony is a story about family and fortitude more than it is a story about a horse. The horse, however, is a character worthy of being in the title. This hard but beautiful story is…

Once On A Time, A. A. Milne

Many years ago, I first heard the famous quote by CS Lewis that “a children’s story which is only enjoyed by children is a bad children’s story.” That observation has served as a good reminder to me that books I cannot enjoy are probably not good books for my children overall. Looking for audio books…

War Horse

“I shall not call him my master, for only one man was ever my master.” Two books have made me cry in front of my class while reading aloud.  One was Little Britches, the other was War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.  It’s not that I only cry about horses.  It is the suffering of innocent…

All Creatures: Jim Herriot

“I, like countless of his readers, found the humour that runs through the stories to be one of James Herriot’s most appealing qualities. He himself had an acute sense of humour— an ability always to see the funny side of things— and it shows in his writing.” – Jim Wight of his father, Alf Wight…

Childcraft: Magic Of Words

Last week, we talked about Mathemagic – an annual volume that was so popular that later publications included it as #13 in the primary set. This week, we want you to fall in love with Magic of Words, an equally compelling volume. What Mathemagic does for math, Magic of Words does for language. Magic of…

Stepping Heavenward

This is part of Diane’s Literature Course II series. “Much of my experience of life has cost me a great price and I wish to use it for strengthening and comforting other souls.” I never go into our public library without checking out their discard/donation rack first. That’s where I got my practically complete “Great…

Childcraft: Mathemagic

In the series starter, I explained how I acquired my Childcraft set. Once I had it, however, I was still uncertain of how to use it.  As I participated in homeschool discussion groups, I noticed that many people would reference Mathemagic in the same conversations which included Sir Cumference, Greg Tang, and other math picture…

On Teaching Spelling

I have a confession, and I hope you won’t hate me for it . . .  Spelling is easy for me.  I started first grade in 1968.  They weren’t teaching phonics.  It didn’t matter—I already knew how to read.  Everyone else was working their way through Sally, Dick, and Jane.  What I remember about spelling…

The Winged Watchman

Hilda van Stockum’s The Winged Watchman is an edge-of-your-seat adventure story that paints a vibrant but challenging picture of WWII life for Dutch families in German-occupied Holland.  “Joris Verhagen was six years old when the Germans invaded Holland. At ten he could remember little of what it had been like before the war. Dirk Jan,…