The Giver by Lois Lowry is phenominal. I recommend it to everyone. And if you read it in high school, it will mean something completely different to you now. It was a very easy read with some extremely challenging concepts. It was odd and addictive. I loved it! I read it in 2 days and then my husband picked it up and did the same!
Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide by Lucy Calkins was interesting. I checked out the book because I liked her book on writing instruction. But the ideas in this book seemed a little unreasonable and fluffy. I liked the main concept of the book, but it reeked a little too strongly of constructivism and humanism for my taste. I love the idea of providing a rich environment in which children can discover, explore and create on their own. But, I do not believe that goodness and knowledge are bound up inside of a child waiting to be discovered. I think these things need to be imparted (by the work of the Lord through instruments of His grace) and nurtured. Surely there is a balance between organized instruction and free exploration. That is the type of environment I am seeking to create. Maybe that's why I am holding on to the hope that I can mix Charlotte Mason's ideas with a classical curriculum!Next on my reading list are:
Teach Them Diligently (Lou Priolo)
This Heavy Silence (Nicole Mazzarella)
Relationships: A Mess Worth Making (Tim Lane)
What are you reading? Any suggestions?
2 comments:
On my nightstand now ... Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - just a 115 pages in and though it is not a fast read it is a wonderful book, just love the writer's eloquence and description of every scene. Small Acts of Grace by Alice Gray - has many really rethinking the way I see volunteering. Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola, because I never tire of reading up on the Charlotte Mason style of teaching/learning. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick - kids and I are reading together, what a beautiful book!! So that is it ... don't you just love summer when you can do so much reading!!!
Well this is a question I can't refrain from answering. :)
I always have a stack of books waiting to read, but I've got three I'm working on currently. (I used to have a strict rule: only ONE book at a time! But life has changed, and I've found there are times for fluff and times to think. So I usually keep one of each in hand, just in case. :) )
1. The Law and the Gospel, Reisinger
Obviously that's the thinking book. Our pastor recently did a sermon series on the 10 Commandments, thus the book choice.
2. Jenny Walton's Packing for a Woman's Journey, by Nancy Lindemeyer (she used to be the editor of Victoria Magazine). Just a lovely little feminine book of essays about growing up.
3. A Year in Provence. Since we're learning French and all. :) I found it on the bargain table. It's vacation season, after all! :)
I love books, don't you?
Hope you're having a wonderful summer. We're packing it all in this year, that's for sure. I suddenly missed my bloggy friends, though, and had to spend a bit of time tonight catching up.
Try to stay cool! It's scorching out there!
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