Book meme – blast from the past

This month is my one-year blogging anniversary. In celebration of this milestone… a recycled post from my old blog. It’s a book meme so it fits in well here. It was first published June 21, 2005.

Book tag

Spunky tagged me a few weeks ago for the five book-related questions. Here are my answers.

1. Number of books owned: I’m not too sure. Maybe 500? I do have a lot of books; I’ve given away many books, too, to make room for new ones. I’ve been conservative in my purchases these last few years because I live in a small house. In my single days, when I worked in a bookstore, I bought books on impulse all the time. Now that our home addition is almost done, I can start filling up more bookshelves.

2. Last book bought: Joe’s Father’s Day present A Year with C.S. Lewis Daily Readings from His Classic Works. A lovely devotional. If you are a Lewis fan, you’ll love this book.

3. Last book I read: On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Mommy Life recommended it first, I noticed Spunky reading it, so I had to see what all the fuss was about. Excellent resouse for writers. I’m spending much of my regular reading time right now browsing blogs, so it’s taking me longer to read the Zinsser book. I have a few library books needing my attention, too, like The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit and Goodnight, Nebraska by Tom McNeal.

4. Five books that mean the most to me:
1. God’s Word – the Bible. The one book I should read the most, the only book that is alive and has the power to change me… so why don’t I read it more??

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I remember being awestruck by what Christ did for us on the cross when I got to the part when Aslan is slain by the witch. I was ten. I know some Christians condemn fantasy, but Lewis – and the Lord – really used this piece of fiction to bring me closer to Him.

3. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. If you have read it, then I don’t need to explain. If not, go get it and start reading.

4. Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert A. Bradley. This book about the Bradley method transformed how I approached having a baby. I wish I read it before my firstborn and I’m so glad I had read it for the next three babies.

5. Elisabeth Elliot’s books. Missionary. Wife. Mother. Writer. Public speaker. Her books are full of godly wisdom but it may be her life that inspires me more.

Home schooling books for a seven-year-old girl

For awhile now I’ve wanted to write regarding my eldest and the books used for her home education. (I really prefer home education to home school, but since so few people use it, I usually stick with the more popular term.) Susan will be eight next month, so I figure now is a good time to record the books we used for the past year. As home schoolers, we care deeply about our books, but do not rely totally on them for learning. More on that some other time.

Now for my records, and perhaps, for your amusement, the books:

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mnd by Jessie Wise
Prima Latina (Introduction to Christian Latin) by Leigh Lowe
Spelling Workout A and B by Modern Curriculum Press
The Harp and Laurel Wreath (Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curiculum) by Laura M. Berquist
Chrisitan Liberty Nature Readers Books 1 and 2
Stories About God’s People (a Rod and Staff book)
1-2-3 Draw Super Fun Stuff by various authors
United States coloring book

Susan also read various pictue books that I meant to keep a list, but it never happened. All are books from our home library and many were Magic School Bus books. She did read the first Little House book aloud to me with much complaining. Susan is a fine reader, but the passion for books is not there yet. As her mother and teacher it’s hard not to push. It would break my heart if she turned away from loving books and reading because I tried to force it. We still have lots of time. And she has come along way. At the moment she is sitting on the sofa reading aloud from a book about reptiles to her brother.

Math consisted of Rod and Staff workbooks, real-life situations and at the beginnings of Math-u-see Beta. I’m not going to link the books to any other websites; they’re easy to find on Amazon or through Google. Last year I attempted The Story of the World vol. 2 but it didn’t work for us. Too much information for a little girl still learning to tell time? Too overwhelming? Too boring? We’re going to try again with history in the Fall.

Field day

Our homeschool co-op Field Day, complete with shot put, standing long jump, relay races, topped off with pizza and ice cream, finished our academic year today. All involved had a blast and I’m bet I’m not the only mom to crash on the sofa this afternoon.

I like to keep a relaxed schedule in the summer with math (facts, mostly) and reading (of course!). Summer is perfect for critter catching officially known as nature study in my house. Catch me a snake, I tell them. And they rarely disappoint.

Finished His Majesty’s Dragon yesterday

Like I said the other day, I’ve a good number of books in my stack from the library, so I don’t have the time to read at a leisuely pace. That’s okay, I’m a fast reader, especially when I have a page-turner like His Majesty’s Dragon. I did go to the author’s livejournal blog the other day and enjoyed poking around. What’s next? Hmmm.

All my children – my own personal drama

One reader, one learning to read, one almost ready to learn and one who likes to rip the pages. Care to guess who is who?

In the doctor’s office the other day, a nurse asked me in amazement, “Are they all yours?”

And I was ready with my reply, which I’ve been looking forward to using on an unsuspecting victim.

“No, I just found them in the parkiing lot.”

Ha ha ha. I love those quick comebacks reserved for when people ask me silly questions. What would you have said?

A new type of dragon?

I’m enjoying His Majesty’s Dragon immensely. A talking dragon and one who likes books too! I think Temeraire and I would get along very well. Usually the dragon is reserved for fighting the sword-yeilding hero at the climax of the story, but not this one. I’m tying to think of any other intellegent, well-read dragons in literatue, but I can’t think of any. If you know of such a creature, please let me know.

Uh-oh. I just discoved the author’s website and blog. This could prove disasterous to my ability to keep the house clean, laundry done and dinner on the table in time. I could give up sleeping… Here’s the link: Temeraire

What I’m reading

I snuck off to the library yesterday afternoon without the kids. Here’s my haul, all, except one, from the “14 day” shelves, so I better get a readin’

The Minds of Boys by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens
Weekend Makeover by Don Aslett
Supernanny: How to Get the Best from Your Children by Jo Frost
Great Books for Girls by Kathleen Odean
Through the Looking Glass (Further Adventures & Misadventures in the Realm of Children’s Literature) by Selma G. Lanes
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard

and the book I went to the library to get specificly: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novick

My toddler was not a happy camper

My 13-month-old spilled scalding hot coffee on herself Friday night, so my holiday weekend was spent at the Burn Center in Saint Barnabas Medical Center. We had just finshed setting up our camp site, and had started our dinner of hot dogs, when Lucy grabbed the coffee cup. I’m thankful my EMT brother-in-law was with us for he knew exactly what to do. I guess I better familiarize myself with The American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook.

Lucy suffered second-degree burns on her tummy and upper thighs, which are now healing nicely. She’s a trooper alright – she charmed all the doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital workers. I’m glad she is too young to remember a thing about the ordeal. (We did get to ride in a helicoper. That was interesting.) That’s my husband holding Lucy in the photo above.

“I want it!” “No, I had it first!”

Every now and then my local supermarket has a huge pile of bargin books for sale in the meat secion. (Why next to the frozen turkeys? I have no idea; this just seems to be the only available space in the store. Sometimes the same spot has Beanie Babies.) It’s a good sized amount of hardcover books, cheap (!), but sadly, I’ve never seen anyone hunt for buried treasure in the pile like I do. I guess most people are in too much of a rush to take a few minutes to dig though a pile of discounted books.

A few months ago I found Life Cycles of Nature Flip Charts. My latest find is simply called Animals Foldout Book which is about animal classification. Both books have wonderful illustrations and have proved very popular around here. The kiddos were actually fighting over the animal classifical book in the car on the way home. How cool is that? Normally I don’t tolerate such behavior but they were fighting over a book. That’s worthy of some fisticuffs, I think.

It’s that time of year again

Homeschool convention time! Gotta love it… the workshops, the book vendors, browsing the book stalls looking for that perfect curriculum that makes children clamor to hit the books. Of course, that perfect curriculum doesn’t exist, but it’s fun to check out all the wonderful books. I’m going to be a good (thrifty) girl this time around though. I hope. I don’t really need anything until the Fall. I just hope I can stick to my convictions and not buy something just because it looks tempting.