The Concrete Embodiment of Imagination
November 29th marks the 127th birthday of C.S. Lewis and the 193rd birthday of Louisa May Alcott.
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Saying Goodnight to Anxieties…and the Moon
“In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon…” Chances are high that you can keep reciting the next lines in your head. Goodnight Moon is one of the most famous and beloved children’s books of all time. Its words are…
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A School Supply for Parents
A Review of The Redeemed Reader: Cultivating a Child’s Discernment and Imagination Through Truth and Story Add The Redeemed Reader to your school supply list this autumn. This helpful resource is a collaborative effort by the book reviewers at RedeemedReader.com, published by Moody Publishers. Janie Cheaney, Betsy Farquhar, Hayley Morell, and Megan Saben consider the…
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Summer on the Mountain
Anything might happen when we pay attention, experience life alongside our kids, and take time to reflect on all that God has done.
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Cultivating Flavor
“Home is the kingdom in which we have the daily choice and power to make our tiny domain one of light in darkness.”
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Summer Reading… from Chore to Adventure
When someone mentions a summer reading list, I think of the year I switched schools. It was before fifth grade, and I had never heard of a summer reading list. I felt the full impact of that terrible list. The books were hard. They were boring. They were long. “But you love reading!” my mother…
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A Pocketful of Wonder: A New Adventure Guide for Families
Second grade science has not been very methodical at my house. Everyday, I hand my son a notebook and tell him to go observe something, draw it, and come talk to me about it. No matter the season, he heads out the door, pencil in hand, compact microscope in pocket, and looks for something amazing….
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Just the Right Time
As a home educator, I have one of those closets in my house. You know the one I mean. It’s the closet that won’t shut and is the black hole of everything homeschooling. Puzzle pieces, math manipulatives, parts of speech sorting activities, and dice all go to the closet to die. (Pun intended.) When I…
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Letters from Father Christmas: A Review for the Advent Season
In 1920, a small boy asked his father a simple question: “What is Father Christmas like and where does he live?” In answer, the father began the tradition of writing a newsy letter from Father Christmas to his children, detailing the preparations for the holiday, the past year’s events, and other fun tidbits from the…
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On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: A Book Review and a Memory
When I first read Andrew Peterson’s title, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, I remembered being there myself. My father was a fisherman, and it was nighttime on the Atlantic in January. The slap of gentle waves against the ship made me sleepy as we sat silently side by side, staring out…
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On the Hunt for Adventure: Why our Preteens are Searching for Dragons to Fight, Damsels to Save, and Battles to Win
My eleven year old burst into tears while sitting on the couch. As I rushed over to investigate, I noticed a worn copy of Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in her hand. “What’s the matter?” I asked. “All the adventures happen in books and never to meeeeee…” she cried. Her tears and distress were…
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Dear Josephine
In Beatrix Potter’s imagination, Josephine Bunny was the hard-working single mother of Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-Tail, and Peter and was licensed to sell tea and tobacco. With a business to run and four little ones to raise, Josephine had her hands full. She was exasperated when little Peter did not go obediently down the lane, like…
