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Friday, April 03, 2009

A Stellar Education


"I really believe that a curious mother and a library card

can offer a stellar education." Ann Voskamp


I copied this quote directly from this wonderful post by my friend Ann. If you are considering homeschooling, read this post. If you are already homeschooling, definitely read this post. She has included some great information.

Just this afternoon, my 9 yo daughter and I sat together and requested books that she wanted from our library's website. She has really taken off with reading and will read a book in one day a lot of times. I recently purchased her a clip-on reading light and she happily reads long after her younger sister (with whom she shares a room) has drifted off to sleep. We are also persevering in severely limiting the amount of tv they watch, and this has definitely coincided with her increased interest in reading. As I type this, she is up in her room reading my favorite book from my childhood, Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards.

Just for fun, I thought I would type up a list of the books we have requested from the library or already have checked out. Ann, I totally agree with your thought... libraries are wonderful places filled with information there for the taking. I am certainly grateful for ours!

Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Doreen Rappaport

Big George: How A Shy Boy Became President Washington by Anne Rockwell

A Child's Day: An Alphabet of Play by Ida Pearle (great way to learn verbs!)

Day By Day A Week Goes Round by Carol Diggory Shields

Month By Month A Year Goes Round by Carol Diggory Shields

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson

Nature In The Neighborhood by Gordon Morrison

Nature In Your Backyard by Susan Lang

A Packet Of Seeds by Deborah Hopkinson

Pond Year by Kathryn Lasky

The entire Cobble Street Cousins series by Cynthia Rylant

(HT: Painted Rainbows and Chamomile Tea for excellent picture book suggestions, as always!)
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5 comments:

Julie Zine Coleman said...

Marybeth:
One book you should surely add to your daughter's must-read list is a book written by my father-in-law, "The Shining Sword." (Charles Coleman) It is an allegory of a young man who becomes a follower of the King, who fights exciting battles with the enemy and uses his armor(Eph 6)in interesting ways. I used to teach the book in fifth grade as part of our reading curriculum and the kids all loved it. It has lots of great applications into the Christian life-- and gives lots of opportunity for great discussion. You can order it through "The Book Peddler" website-- which is a homeschooling market publisher.

If you decide to use it with your kids, I have a whole curriculum I would be happy to send you.

Jenny said...

How exciting for your daughter and you! My foster son (7 1/2) is starting to finally like reading. I need to take my boys to the library. My problem is that I've been so unorganized that we lose the books and have to pay huge fines. But perhaps this is the year...

Anonymous said...

Marybeth, thank you so much for the kind words. I hope you enjoy all the books. Sometimes, I am not sure if blogging is worth my time and then someone lets me know they appreciate my suggestions and makes it all worth it. Thanks again.

Carol said...

Oh, I loved Mandy!! I haven't thought about that book in years!

Alijoy said...

Mandy is my total favourite too! Very people seem to know about it but I try to reread it every year. I'm not sure what age these would be good for but Francine River's Lineage of Christ series were more simple reads that I'd recommend - and I remember reading Janette Oke's books many years ago too. It is so amazing when the love of learning is evident. Happy reading!