(And All My) Work Be Praise

Here it is! So many books this year. I attribute this partially to the fact that I got used to listening to audiobooks at 1.75x speed (or sometimes even double speed). The focus is still primarily on middle grade novels, prereading for my precocious fourth grader, but I'm trying to keep up with my 9th grader's American literature list and continue expanding what I know about the world, too. This year for the first time I have a "middle grade nonfiction" section! Toby blazing through Paradise Lost in an afternoon.  As usual, I gave brief explanations when possible. I  highlighted in green  books that I especially loved,  highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and  highlighted in red  books I do not recommend. Books we (or I) read as part of our history studies have one asterisk (*); books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**). Feel free to ask if you want more nuanced opinions on anything! The Bible : the whole t...

I've always bought into the "one-room schoolhouse" ethos, but this year, it feels especially true. I have five school-age children! We are busy busy busy, but settling into our new school year routines in what seems like a manageable way.  Levi: 9th grade Levi was accepted into an amazing scholarship foundation at the end of seventh grade. His schoolwork and even some extracurriculars are now paid for by the foundation, opening up doors not just for him, but for the whole family as that part of our budget is assisted significantly. Math: AoPS  Intermediate Counting & Probability and  Introduction to Number Theory Science: physics 1 and 2 , in preparation for both AP tests History: American history (to 1877), with Land of Hope  as a spine, plus various other online resources Literature: a combination of Excellence in Literature American Lit and Apologia American Lit  (again, just the material up to 1877) Language Arts: IEW's Advanced U.S. History-Based Writi...

People tell me every year that they love to see my list, so I shall continue the tradition! Here's last year's , which also has links to previous years. A note: I gave brief explanations when possible. I  highlighted in green  books that I especially loved,  highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and  highlighted in red  books I do not recommend. Books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**).  The Bible : the whole thing, twice for the New Testament (still following  this reading plan ) Christian Non-Fiction **On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books **M is for Mama: A Rebellion against Mediocre Motherhood The Secular Creed More than a Carpenter The Meaning of Marriage Partners in the Gospel (devotional for pastors' and elders' wives) Habits of the Household Parenting Teens with Love and Logic Philippians commentary by Ralph Martin Teaching Psalms, Volume 1 by Christopher Ash **The Astronaut...

Nine years ago, I wrote names on a bunch of popsicle sticks, labeled a jar "prayer," and started praying occasionally with my then-very-little boys. You can read it about it here: http://workbepraise.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-prayer-jar.html.  Not long after that post, I unexpectedly got pregnant with Toby. To put it very mildly, that fourth boy in 4.5 years threw everything off kilter, and even little routines like the prayer jar fell by the wayside as we merely survived. Then we moved 800 miles across the country. Then we had two more kids. And while we have definitely developed routines of all sorts over the last decade -- our homeschool days have been predictable and manageable for two years now! -- I've had no success getting morning prayer (or morning anything, really) to stick. But here are at the end of our second month of school, and we're doing it! I really only made one major change: I don't wait for everyone to be at the table . I have kids who rise at ...

At this point, you can pretty much count on three blogs a year from me: my end-of-year reading log, my fall curriculum post, and something else that strikes my fancy somewhere along the way. But because I like to see what other people are doing, and because I like to look back on my old curriculum posts and laugh at how life didn't turn out like I planned, I'm sticking with it! T-10 days till our official first day, and here's what's on the docket: Levi: 8th grade Math: still undecided. Wait, what?! For my most mathy kid? Yes. We're waiting to hear about a scholarship opportunity before we decide how to proceed. Right now, at 11am on Aug. 19 while I'm writing this, he's taking his college algebra and  precalculus CLEP tests, one right after the other.  Science: finishing up Apologia biology, then studying other resources for two months in the hopes of taking the CLEP test in December. (And then, being done with biology forever. He hates it.) History/literatu...

Friends, the truth: I read like a maniac this year. Some things I read because I enjoyed them. Some things I read because I felt obligated to finish them. Most things I read to determine suitability for my children, who are also voracious readers. (Toby comes to me at least once a week, book in hand, asking, "is this appropriate for me?") If my Goodreads account is accurate (sometimes I forget to mark things down), I've read 170 books this year. A note: I gave brief explanations when possible. I highlighted in green books that I especially loved, highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and highlighted in red books I do not recommend. The Bible : the whole thing, twice for the New Testament (still following this reading plan ) Christian Non-Fiction Parenting (Tripp) Does God Care How We Worship? (Duncan) Chosen by God (Sproul) CASKET EMPTY (commentary/Bible study guide) Keep a Quiet Heart (Elisabeth Elliot) The Hiding Place (ten Boom) Becoming Elisab...

With no lengthy introduction needed: 21 things I’m grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day of 2021. My tribe.   1. Our pediatrician, who is affirming and supportive of ME. (Hey, I see him six times a year at minimum, which is more than a lot of my friends. It adds up.) 2. Two sets of Jesus-loving parents/in-laws, so I need not fear an explosive holiday dinner (even if we don’t agree on politics).  3. The privilege of purchasing and preparing a gigantic meal, with no concern for the cost in money or time—and, the growing awareness of how much a privilege that truly is.  4. My husband, who is so, so gracious when I am so, so irritable.  5. All of my kids’ fine arts teachers, who handle our varying presentations of perfectionism with patience and care.  6. Facebook (yes, really), for the community I get in groups of like-minded people. (Note that “like-minded” does not mean we all agree all the time.) 7. Levi and Silas and their friendship, currently being forged str...