Skip to main content

April Titles // 2017

The gorgeous Wild + Free nature journal by Kristin Rogers! 

This was another lackluster reading month for me, and I fear May is going to be even worse! I was stuck between three books, one I had to read for a deadline, one for book club (still going strong, but it's loooong) that I didn't finish, and another that I was at the head of the line for, and promptly took me two days to finish. I also finished book five in our Chronicles of Narnia series, and have two more to finish before school's technically over. Although I finish school early June, out here the kids finish late June. Can you even imagine?! Horrid. I hope, at least, to finish The Last Battle by the end of June. 

Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamott - I love my Aunt Anne. I mean, she's not really my aunt, but she's been a part of my spiritual formation over the last 10+ years and therefore I see her as family. I read everything she writes and put my name in the request slot at the library the second I find out she has a new book coming out. Hallelujah is about mercy and it's just like the last few books she's written: funny, tidy, solid, and quotable. It's not my favorite of the series (Help, Thanks, Wow; Stitches; Small Victories) but it's a solid 3.5 stars. If you like Anne, then yes.

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider - This memoir is written about the 10 months that the Oxenreider family took to travel around the world, and their reflections of home, wanderlust, and spiritual longing. I was on the launch team for this book, which was fun, but I forgot how dreary it is to read a book on the computer. Once I figured out how to transfer a PDF onto my kindle app, it was much better going! The book's chapters follow every country, which I appreciated a fresh new start and a clean ending, but I felt this book was more, "this is what we did in this country" and "this is what I love to eat here", rather than a travel memoir. I think I may have liked it better written in a coffee table format, with tons of photos and travel memorabilia (think train tickets, maps, etc). I just didn't love this as a memoir. It's a good book, but perhaps my expectations were too high. I'd give it a 3. 

Read Alouds with Kids

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis - This is the story of a young boy, Shasta, a young girl, Avaris, two talking horses, Bree and Hwin, and their journey into the heart of Narnia to warn off impending battle and doom. The two main characters are runaways, and are desperate to get away from their previous lives. The talking horses provide a bit of comic relief, and the pressure is on! This is the first book in the series, since we've been reading them chronologically, that I found didn't fit in with my original plan of reading by year. This really should have been read right after The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, how Lewis wanted it. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To: DIY Sand/Water Table

How To: Build A Sand/Water Table for Under $30 ! Sorry this took me so long to blog, but I had to have a tool list and full instructions before I could do so. A little history on my love for the sand/water table . I love the idea behind tools for tiny hands, i.e. the Montessori Method , and like to have Lukka 'figure things out for himself', even when he is playing. I try to have the most simple and basic toys available for 3 reasons: a) simple toys generally have less parts, which means less of a hassle for me b) simple toys inspire way more creativity and imagination than do 'exact replica' toys c) they are much more aesthetically pleasing to look at, therefore, not making every nook and cranny of our house an eyesore! I know the last reason is just for me, but it's true. Plastic things don't generally last 1/2 as long as wooden or fabric toys, and they are unattractive. For this reason, I started to look for a wooden sand/water table as opposed to a pl...
11 comments
Read more

Home School Activities: Board Games We Love

My children have recently become enthralled in the world of board games. I was never a board game player. Sure, I remember long summer hours (days? it seemed like it..) spent around a Monopoly board, but I was never one to suggest to get out the cards, or a game. As my children have grown and they are now able to do activities with me, I started noticing that they really took to puzzles (when done all together) and the one or two board games I happened to have kept in the storage room. They were always asking to play Candy Land and so I figured I should branch off a bit. Over the course of the last year, I have found GREAT games, even ones that I love to play alongside them. The amount of 'teaching' they have gotten through games is jaw-dropping. Counting, team-playing, math related patterning, are just some of the skills I've watched develop. I asked before Christmas on facebook what my friends and their own kids loved and I was thrilled with the response. We have found ov...
3 comments
Read more

November - December Titles // 2024

 a moody December scene at Glen Valley I am just squeaking into the final few days for this post, and I am so glad I had Christmas break to boost a few more books into this somewhat meagre offering for Fall of 2024!  What did you read that you loved?  No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot by Wes Hall - This was a memoir I read for my bookclub, and although I found the first part very interesting, I read at least 75+ pages of his job (working his way up the 'wall street of Toronto') and I still don't know what he does.  This author grew up in Jamaica and honestly his ingenuity, quick learning ability, and resourcefulness helped him achieve amazing things, but it did feel a bit hollow toward the end. I don't think that was the intention, I just didn't overly love it.  The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo - Again, I will read anything DiCamillo writes and be the first to have it ordered to my library! This lovely, nostalgic, and somewhat dour (at times) little middle...
Post a Comment
Read more