August 2015 Book Reports

 The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures and Connect Kids to Nature by Helen Olsson covers just about anything you might want to know before camping with children. Kansas Dad and I were planning a trip to the Great Sand Dunes and this book helped me feel slightly prepared. It covers all the important topics like food and wildlife in a light-hearted tone. Highly recommended, if you intend to venture into the wilderness (or a developed campground) with children. (library copy)

1776 by David McCullough was a great book to read as the children started to study the Revolutionary War this fall. Though I expected the book to center on the Declaration of Independence and the Continental Congress, it followed George Washington much more closely than the activity in Philadelphia. Fascinating reading. (library copy)

Osa and Martin: For The Love Of Adventure by Kelly Enright was a Kansas Notable book recently. I've been interested in Osa Martin since I found From Kansas to Cannibals: The Story of Osa Johnson at the library. This book follows their adventures closely but read a bit like a list of places they went and things they did. (library copy)

The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events #8) by Lemony Snicket. The kids and I are going through this whole series. It's starting to drag a little, but now even I want to know what happens in the end. (library copy)

A Nice Little Place on the North Side: A History of Triumph, Mostly Defeat, and Incurable Hope at Wrigley Field by George F. Will - my review here. (complimentary copy from Blogging for Books)

Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus by Pope Francis, written mainly for priests, often spoke to my experience as a catechist. (purchased Kindle version when it was free for a promotion or something)

I'm pretty much caught up! Hopefully September's list will be published in a timely manner...

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order). My homeschooling budget is always grateful for any purchases.

These reports are my honest opinions.

July 2015 Book Reports

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Craft Rubin is a book Kansas Dad brought home from the library and I read because I know habit formation is one of the pillars of Charlotte Mason's philosophy. I was hoping it would give me some new tools in the habit formation of my children. There is not much new in this book for those who have already thought and read much on habit formation. The main addition, I think, is her suggestion to identify the type of person you are in terms of how you decide to change your habits. Using that identification, you can sift through the recommendations for changing habits to choose those that are most likely to work in conjunction with your type. Kansas Dad, for example, is a man of logic. Convince him his life needs to change and he will change it. I'm what she calls an Obliger, which means I'm more likely to start and maintain a new habit if I feel like someone else is depending on me. Unfortunately, the book rambles a lot and the most useful tools for each type are much more difficult to find within the text than I would have liked. It's not a difficult book to read and didn't take very long, but I think it could have been cut to about a third of its length and made more immediately useful. (library copy)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car by Ian Fleming is a delightful story. I think it's recommended as a read-aloud on one of the Mater Amabilis pages, though I can't find it now. The Pott family adventures are a delight and I look forward to reading this book aloud to my children next year. I think they'll all enjoy it (from 11 down to 5). (library copy)

Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll was a book I read aloud to the children over the summer. In general, I don't think we enjoyed it as much as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but it was worth reading. (library copy)

The Good Galilean by Alban Goodier is not a book on the historical Jesus, but rather one that delves deeply into the Scriptural Jesus, who he was and how he behaved in his time on earth as reported in the Gospels. It would be a good choice for reading before the Blessed Sacrament. (purchased from the publisher during one of their excellent sales)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Made Easy) by William Shakespeare. We memorized pieces from this play last year but I didn't get around to finishing the entire play myself until the summer. I read from this Shakespeare Made Easy version which has a modern English translation alongside the original. I only read the modern version if I'm not sure what's going on but I find it helpful to have alongside. I love to read the plays when we are studying them, even if the children never hear the whole play from beginning to end. (copy requested from PaperBackSwap.com)

The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events, No. 7) by Lemony Snickett. I might post about this series when we finish it. (audio version from the library)

I'll skip the list of books in progress until I catch up on my book reports

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order). My homeschooling budget is always grateful for any purchases.

These reports are my honest opinions.

Mind to Mind Giveaway Winner!

Here's my Rafflecopter. He's much cuter than that one you can insert onto the blog.

First Daughter likes to help with everything.

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Sally! I've sent you an email asking for your mailing address.

I hope the rest of you have a chance to read Mind to Mind.

Book Review and a Giveaway(!): Mind to Mind

Mind to Mind: An Essay Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason and Karen Glass

Karen Glass, a member of the Advisory at AmblesideOnline, has abridged Charlotte Mason's sixth volume, Towards A Philosophy Of Education, in an effort to provide a clear and concise summary of Mason's most comprehensive book.

A Charlotte Mason aficionado might gasp at an abridgement, but I think Ms. Glass has done a great service to the modern educator, at home or in a school. Her website states:

If you cannot bear to think of reading anything less than every word Charlotte Mason wrote in her original volume, this abridgment is not for you. (I confess that I fall into that category, myself.) But if you have tried to read Charlotte Mason’s volumes and found the Victorian-style prose hard going, or simply lack the time to tackle the long books, this shorter version may be exactly what you need.

Very carefully, Ms. Glass has removed references to events and people unfamiliar today while maintaining the heart of Mason's philosophy and exhortations. She has not altered any of Charlotte Mason's words, merely removed some of them. Though I am not an expert, I could find no instance where the removal of words altered Mason's assertions. Mind to Mind flows seamlessly without jarring instances where the reader notices something missing. In addition, Ms. Glass also added helpful chapter divisions and introductory paragraphs. Some sections of complete text appear in one of the three appendices.

I read Towards a Philosophy of Education years ago when my oldest was just beginning school. With four young children and a part-time job, my ability to concentrate suffered greatly. A book like Mind to Mind would have introduced me to the philosophy of Charlotte Mason without wading through as much text. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in an introduction to Charlotte Mason. After reading Mind to Mind, it would be a smooth transition to read not only the complete text of Towards a Philosophy of Education, but any of Charlotte Mason's five other volumes.

Giveaway

With the permission of the author, I have decided to give away my review copy of Mind to Mind. It's the one I read and the cover looks like it's been carried around a bit, but the pages are clean and I didn't write or underline it in. If you'd like to enter, just leave a comment below (make sure I can contact you) before midnight Central time on Monday telling me why you'd like to read Mind to Mind. Friends and family are welcome to enter, but US addresses only. I'll use a sophisticated method to choose a winner (writing names on pieces of paper and letting my one non-literate child pull one out of a bowl).

Mind to Mind officially releases tomorrow, September 4, but I see Amazon is already shipping copies, so you can order now and have your copy in hand before my giveaway is over and the Matchbook price for the Kindle is $0, so you could start reading the e-book within a few minutes.


I received a free copy of this book from the author for an honest review. Links to Amazon are affiliate links, but links to the author's website are not.

June 2015 Book Reports

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente is a modern fairy tale written for middle grade readers. It's fully of grand statements and is an interesting story. If you are concerned about witches, dragons, or the use of magic, it's not the series for your family, but I think it's a fun one. I was disappointed myself simply because I didn't find myself wanting to read it but I can't point to anything within the book itself to explain my disinterest. (library copy)

The Great Whale of Kansas by Richard W. Jennings - my review. (library copy)

The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery - my review. (purchased copy)

Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin - my review. (received through PaperBackSwap.com)

Since it's already nearly September, I'll skip the list of books in progress on this post.

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. As an affiliate with Amazon, I receive a small commission if you follow one of my links, add something to your cart, and complete the purchase (in that order). My homeschooling budget is always grateful for any purchases.

These reports are my honest opinions.

Review: A Nice Little Place on the North Side

A Nice Little Place on the North Side: A History of Triumph, Mostly Defeat, and Incurable Hope at Wrigley Field
by George F. Will

I selected this book to review because I knew I could pass it on to my dad after I read it. He's a sports fanatic and a Cubs fan. Mr. Will's self-deprecating humor suits the subject perfectly.

But one thing led to another, as things have a way of doing, and in 1948, when I was still not as discerning as one should be when making life-shaping decisions, I became a Cubs fan. The Catholic Church thinks seven-year-olds have reached an age of reasoning. The church might want to rethink that.

Extensive notes and bibliography attest to the wide-ranging research of the author, though from the tone of the book, I'm inclined to think he reads widely and recognizes connections between diverse sources. He interweaves quotes from poets, fictional accounts of historical Chicago, and newspaper articles seemingly unrelated to baseball, and reveals how they intersect with Cub history to reveal surprising truths about Chicago and the Cubs.

Of course, Mr. Will doesn't neglect statistics of the Cubs themselves. In one section, he relies heavily on a 2011 book by Tobias Moskowitz and L. John Wertheim in which they show how attendance at Wrigley Field remains steady (or increases) even when the Cubs lose.

And speaking of incentives and, as any baseball person must, of beer, they also say, "Attendance at Wrigley Field is actually more sensitive to beer prices--much more--than it is to the Cubs' winning percentage."

Baseball franchises, like all major sports today, must balance the historical with the modern. A bit of time contemplating Wrigley Field's history, the momentous and the mundane, knowing change might be nearing, helps us honestly assess what places mean to us and how those meanings can continue or grow amidst progress. (Alternatively, it could spur someone to invest in a baseball team to prevent change, if someone had that kind of money, I suppose.)

Which is why we care so much about what happens in places like Wrigley Field. What happens, really? It is just a game. Yes, like any craft, it is worth doing well. And excellence, wherever it occurs, is worth savoring and honoring. But, in spite of the unending attempts of metaphysicians in the bleachers and press boxes to make sport more than it is, the real appeal of it for spectators is that sport enables us, for a few hours, to step out of the river of time and into a pastime.

This book is enjoyable for anyone interested in sports, history, Chicago, the Cubs, or architecture. My dad is going to love it!


I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. The opinions above are my own.

Homeschool Review: Writing with Skill Level 1

Writing With Skill, Level 1: Student Workbook (The Complete Writer) by Susan Wise Bauer

I selected this text for First Son based on the success we had with the Writing with Ease series (I wrote about Year One here.) and because a friend with a slightly older son had used it successfully. The Writing with Skill series is a continuation of Writing with Ease, building on the skills developed by narration, copywork, and dictation. In the first book of Writing with Skill, the student starts with the basic skills of narration and outlines. Over time, the student practices skills like incorporating descriptive words, understanding metaphors or similes, and transforming indirect objects into prepositional phrases (and vice versa).

For each day, the student reads through the lesson in the book, practicing skills along the way. Some of the exercises are designed to be done right in the book. These we did orally. Most of the others are done in a writing notebook. The text recommends using a computer, so First Son had a few documents in GoogleDocs.

The excerpts used in nearly every lesson were interesting and at an appropriate level for First Son in fifth grade. His reading level is probably a little above average for fifth grade, but his interest level in anything "school" is low. He found most of the readings accessible, only needing help in understanding a few of them. More importantly (for him), most of the readings intrigued him so he was encouraged to keep reading.


The Instructor Text is a separate book, just as large as the student text. It does not contain most of the excerpts, but does include all of the student text instructions. I found it invaluable when working with First Son. It provides examples and potential answers (many exercises have more than one correct answer) as well as helpful questions to ask the student to guide him or her through exercises found difficult.

For a student willing and able to read a text and work independently on writing, this book is an excellent choice. I would have loved it as a student myself.

For First Son, however, who had no interest in learning to write and even less in reading a text book on learning to write, it was nearly a disaster. He struggled with simple requests and then would quickly become frustrated when I tried to work with him. He neglected to read the directions carefully and would become angry when I pointed out that he had either not done part of the lesson or had done it incorrectly. Many of the finer points never showed up in his writing until I specifically asked him to rewrite part of the lesson to incorporate something he had "learned" previously.

I'm still considering my options for next year, but it will not be Writing with Skill. There was simply too much frustration on both sides. I think I need something more formal than simply written narrations to help guide him to better writing, but I'm not sure how much time I want to devote to it.

Prereading: Daughter of the Mountains

Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin

This book is one of the options at Mater Amabilis for Level 1A Year 2 People and Places. The site notes that there are references to Buddhism and astrology in the book which would need to be discussed, and that is certainly true. I didn't consider this for First Son because I figured he'd prefer to read about a boy than a girl, but I had a copy and decided to read it in case I wanted to use it next year. It's simply fabulous.

Momo, a young girl of Tibet, follows thieves and her stolen dog down the mountains and into India. She meets friends and allies along the way and helps others in her turn as well. The descriptions of the geography are wonderful. I almost wish I could go hiking in Tibet!

While she was still near the top of the mighty Jelep La, she could see far down and away to the end of the world, it seemed. Her eyes passed lightly over the lower ranges of the Himalayas, crowding together in upsurging, jumbled heaps of blue and green. Far, far below these solid hills the earth lay flat, a deep turquoise blue, and shimmering away in the distance till it melted into the paler blue of the sky. As she gazed, Momo could hardly tell where the earth ended and the sky began.

I'm please with the People and Places as I've planned it without this book so I don't think I'm going to change it to put this one in. I like it so much, however, that I'm going to put it on the list of our read-alouds for next year. It'll be nice to involve Kansas Dad, too, who can tell us how Catholics should respond to Buddhist beliefs.

First Piano Recital

First Son and First Daughter started piano lessons last fall. A very dear friend of mine is their teacher and I think she's fantastic. The recital was also perfect - all kids we knew, one right after the other, with lots of fun and fellowship (and scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and vanilla scones) afterwards. Just so it's on the official blog record, here are the videos.

She was a lot more nervous than she thought she would be, but she kept on going.

First Son was one of the steadiest players that day. He came. He played. He ate cookies. Just another day. (Maybe it was his previous performance experience.)

Prereading: The Reb and the Redcoats

 The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery

This is one of the possible resources listed for RC History's Connecting with History Volume 4A (American History). 

A captured American soldier-colonist, the Reb, is held at a private residence in England. The action of the Revolutionary War is far away, but the book shows some of the effects on those who return from war or have friends and family in harm's way. It's a book about honor, chivalry, friendship, and seeing the humanity of those who are our political enemies.

It would be appropriate for reading aloud to the whole family and I think I'd like it a lot better than reading Mr. Revere and I, which I'll have as an option for First Son (sixth grade) or First Daughter (third grade) to read independently.

The links above are affiliate links at RC History. I purchased this book directly from the publisher, Bethlehem Books, during one of their many great sales. (I actually purchased the Kindle version from the publisher a year ago, but we didn't get to this unit last year and I took advantage of a sale to get a real book for the kids to read.)