Fragrance wafts across the air, Bids me on and leads me there, To the garden, dark as night… While everyone is sleeping. Many of our readers probably recognize the name Sarah Mackenzie from her faithful presence in the read-aloud world. Sarah is the host of the popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, encouraging parents, teachers, and adults…
Last month we took a trip together, which gave me some extended time with our older kids. I asked them what they would say if I asked them about all-time classic picture books of their childhood. It was interesting to observe the difference between them and my younger kids; it almost appeared that they’d had…
Perhaps you work at a job that you don’t find very fulfilling, or you wonder how long you can stay in the place you’re in. Maybe you are looking around for meaning from a spouse, or kids, or the life you thought you’d have. It’s in these unanswered questions where fear takes hold: are we doing something wrong? Do other people feel this way?
Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. It feels like the very pinnacle of summer. In our home, planning and preparing for next year’s school year doesn’t happen until after July 4 — even when I was homeschooling five kids at a time. Below you’ll find some books about the USA and its history,…
Remember the scene in Pixar’s 2009 film Up where we see the sweet little house dwarfed by towering skyscrapers? That shot has always reminded me of a book I’ve loved sharing with my children: Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House. In Up, the house is pulled up by an enormous colorful bouquet of balloons; in…
In 1940, a young illustrator saw a series of photographs in Life magazine from Liberty County, Georgia. The photographer captured the day a state health officer visited a school to test the students for malaria. The little boy pictured looks hesitant, holds his hands out, and eventually cries from the pain of the blood test….
Children recite stories, create stories, act out stories, and rehearse stories. It is part of how they arrive to this earth, and if we are careful not to toy with them, it is how they will remain.
Last fall I dropped by the church office to drop something off. After a few minutes of chatting with the staff, I picked up my keys to go home. One of our interns then asked me the question, “what would you say to someone who thinks it’s not valuable spiritually to read fiction?” I put…
Last fall I dropped by the church office to drop something off. After a few minutes of chatting with the staff, I picked up my keys to go home. One of our interns then asked me the question, “what would you say to someone who thinks it’s not valuable spiritually to read fiction?” I put…
Last fall I dropped by the church office to drop something off. After a few minutes of chatting with the staff, I picked up my keys to go home. One of our interns then asked me the question, “what would you say to someone who thinks it’s not valuable spiritually to read fiction?” I put…
Last fall I dropped by the church office to drop something off. After a few minutes of chatting with the staff, I picked up my keys to go home. One of our interns then asked me the question, “what would you say to someone who thinks it’s not valuable spiritually to read fiction?” I put…
NOTE: We plucked this one from the archives, because I think Kelly’s lovely welcome to new readers should be repeated for ALL new readers! – JDW Dear Child, Today you read your first word. It was “at.” You then proceeded to read “am,” “an,” and “ad.” These are small words as the English language goes…
