The Warren & the World Vol 6, Issue 33

The Warren & the World is Story Warren’s weekly newsletter, providing a round-up of our favorite things from around the web as well as a review of what was on our site over the past week. We’re glad you’re here!

Around the Web

Music as Heard Geometry

Greg Wilbur writes at the Circe Institute on the idea that music is made of numbers.

I recently made the comment that “music is heard geometry” in my conversation with Andrew Kern about the Great Dance on the “Ask Andrew” podcast. A friend asked if I could unpack that phrase and hopefully bring some understanding to that idea.
The disciplines of the Quadrivium lead naturally from one to another by the ideas of number and quantity. Part of rediscovering these connections requires us to understand more fully arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy as the classical liberal arts.

How to “Read” Wordless Picture Books

Erica at What Do We Do All Day gives tips for parents working through wordless picture books to their kids.

After my list of Wordless Picture Books, some parents said they felt lost and didn’t know how to read wordless books with kids. Others commented that their kids didn’t like books without text. I admit that it took me some time before I learned to enjoy reading wordless books and it wasn’t until I felt comfortable with the format that my kids started to enjoy them, too. Since I’ve “been there,” here are my tips for “reading” these books and how I learned to love wordless books.

Putting the Basket in the Water: Trusting God in the Next Phase of Your Child’s Life

Whether you’re sending your oldest off to college or transitioning from preschool to Kindergarten, transition is hard and trusting God is key.

In the Christian faith, Easter is the crescendo of our year. It’s our Super Bowl. The day that makes it all worth it. It’s the time that marks the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day He burst forth from the tomb and conquered death. But this past spring, as I sat in church after Easter yet still meditating on those days of old, a thought entered my mind: It’s over now. Jesus had been reunited with the Father. The disciples were on their own. The Bible gives us an account of what the disciples were thinking and doing after Jesus ascended into heaven, but what was the Lord thinking? Was he watching over them, wondering, ‘Was it enough?’

Review: Rebecca Reynolds’ Courage, Dear Heart

Rebecca Reynolds has written a book–one that, according to Pete Peterson at The Rabbit Room, forges “for the wounded of the world a shield against the problem of evil, the spiral of loneliness, the cataract of suffering, and the temptation of doubt.” If you are world weary, this one’s for you.

Courage, Dear Heart is presented as a series of nine letters written to those in the midst of abuse, disillusionment, doubt, and pain. And this format gives Reynolds leeway to engage her substantial powers of empathy. Such intimate powers coupled with her gift of language come together to create a work of incredible insight, beauty, thought, and grace. And those qualities are dearly needed because on every page she grapples with monumental powers of darkness.

Around the Warren

Mama Guilt and Afternoon Rest

Lisa Howeler writes about the struggle and joy of being mom all day long.

She woke up this morning, looked at me and said “pretend you’re mama puppy.”
That meant she was baby puppy and barked and whimpered at me while I was mama puppy and had to bark all my answers at her. It was a bit too early in my day to be barking morning greetings to my child but she asked and she’s cute and I would rather be greeted that way then with the morning news or an angry text message so I obliged her.

Book Review: Trumpet of the Swan

Aaron Johnson re-introduces us to a classic.

Every year, Sam Beaver travels with his father to a remote cabin in the Canadian wilderness. Sam is a young naturalist who loves to observe the world around him and jot down notes and questions in his journal. One day, he notices a peculiar thing, a baby swan (called a cygnet) who has no voice. The young swan, Louis, cannot honk. And because he cannot honk, he is doomed to never find a mate—until father swan risks life and limb on a brave mission to acquire a trumpet for his son.

Something to Do with Your Kids

Think Rock, Paper, Scissors, is a little dull? Have a crew of kids with boundless energy? Try this version of Rock, Paper, Scissors where teams compete to get to the other end of the room by winning Rock, Paper, Scissors battles…It’s a little tough to explain, so just watch this video to get the idea.