Christmas Picture Books

Dear Precious Anna (my first daughter to marry and have children of your own):  You asked for a list of picture books to read to Jacoby this month so I thought I'd compile it here....  with all my love and joy in sharing the joyous journey with you!  Some are repeats from the post from December 2015

• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, is still a favorite! It's a beautiful story with lovely paintings!
•  Gift of the Magi, by O'Henry is a moving story.  There is generally quite a bit of text on each page, so look for a copy with worthy pictures.
• The Gift by Jan Haley is on sale here from Focus Publishing for $3.00.  I'll look for my copy to share with you.
• Twelve Days of Christmas in Minnesota looks like it might be fun....there are two copies available in our library...
• I Spy: Merry Christmas as with the other I spy books, it's fun to look for the details in the photos searching for items together.
• Have You Seen Christmas by Vicki Howie.  Looks like a good book....
• The Night Before Christmas Illustrated by Clement Clarke Moore.  I know this is a silly poem and isn't really about the real Christmas, but it's still fun - and this one looks like it might have nice artwork...
• Prairie Christmas by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
• The Little Boy's Christmas Gift by John Spears looks like a book to check out.  It's about a little boy who follows three wise men to see the Christ child.
• Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne - Nice artwork and it explains the why behind the Christmas Tree....
• Christmas Candle Richard Paul Evans - On a snowy Christmas Eve, a young man named Thomas on his way home for a family celebration realizes that the candle in his lantern is about to expire. He stops in a chandler's shop filled with fantastic wax creations, but instead of admiring them Thomas scorns the chandler for wasting his time on sculptures that will only melt. The mysterious old chandler sells him a special Christmas candle. Back on the bitterly cold street, the young man is accosted by an old beggar woman. When he lifts his lantern to get a better look, the candlelight reveals that she is his mother. He gives her his cloak and only then sees the truth: She is not his mother after all, but a stranger. The candle tricks him again before he reaches home, cold and penniless, but richer for his newfound realization that we are all part of one family.   This intriguing original fable about charity is accompanied by lavish, mood-filled oil paintings by artist Jacob Collins. Together, author and artist have created an exquisite holiday gift book that will be treasured by the entire family.
• TheVery First Christmas by Paul L. Maier
• Rocking Horse Christmas by Mary Pope Osborne -- A rocking horse, outgrown by its little boy owner, faithfully waits by the attic window for his friend to return, in a holiday-appropriate story in the spirit of The Velveteen Rabbit.
• Marvin's Best Christmas Present Ever by Katherine Paterson - Christmas is coming and Marvin is worried. He wants to make the best Christmas present ever for his parents. His sister May always makes great presents; Marvin's are never as good. This year Marvin is determined to make not only the best present, but one that will last forever. Katherine Paterson's heart-warming story and Jane Clark Brown's charming illustrations create a book that will keep the spirit of Christmas alive throughout the whole year.
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss - Silly but fun....
• Christmas in the Big Woods, this is a picture book based on Laura's telling from Little House in the Big Woods. If it stays faithful to her writing it would be a good book... if it's rewritten it might not be as wonderful.
• Just in Time for Christmas, Louise Borden -- A young boy, living in rural Kentucky, looks forward to the annual Christmas festivities, especially the traditional family cream candy; but, when his favorite dog disappears, he comes to realize that tradition and family have a deeper meaning.
• The Trees Kneel at Christmas by Maud Hart Lovelace -- After Grandmother explains why the trees in Lebanon kneel at Christmas, Afify and Hanna hope to witness a similar miracle in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
• Newbery Christmas: Fourteen Stories of Christmas by Newbery Award-winning Authors
• The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot.
• The Christmas Box by Eve Merriam looks like it might be fun...
• Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble -- In 1881, when their apple tree is felled by a storm just before Christmas, a young farm girl and her family discover that the tree was important to each of them for different reasons.

By no means an exhaustive list, but a place to begin, a start for your Christmas book a day in December!  I'm so proud of you for how you are raising your children and enjoy sharing the joy of reading with you and with them!! 

Math Antics

J age 11 is struggling with his math, getting slower and slower and making less and less effort, so today I asked what was making him not want to do his math.  He said it has gotten too hard, he wants to go back to an easier book.  Well, having gotten this far it seems a shame to go back, so I decided to look and see if I could find an internet lesson on the place value we've been working on that seems hard to him.  Up came a video by Math Antics you can see  Youtube to find particular videos or use their website. We did Math Antics - Place Value and Math Antics Decimal Place Value. A few minutes later he was cheered and enthused and back at his math book saying, "I'm already on number 5 and this is easy!"  So if you're needing a bit of a change and a little tutoring in a given Math topic, try Math Antics.  

Blackwater Ben and The Broken Blade

   We've just finished the two books by Minnesota author William Durbin, The Broken Blade and Backwater Ben. The Broken Blade is about a young man who goes to work as a Voyageur when his father is injured and unable to work for their family and Backwater Ben is about a boy who works for his father who is a head cook in a logging camp in the early  1900s.  Both books give a good feel for the challenges men faced in these jobs.  They are written with realism and a bit of humor.  Both feature jobs with really rough men but are presented cleanly.  My Great Grandfather was a cook in a lumber camp in Northern Minnesota and we love visiting Lake Superior so both these stories feel like part of our own local heritage.  Both are great historical fiction.

Herein is Love - Genesis by Nancy Ganz

We began our study of history this year at the beginning again.  I chose as our main text, the best book in the world, the Bible (which happens to be an original source).  I had a copy of The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History that we had used years ago and I've used that some, but I also found this wonderful commentary for children - Herein is Love: Genesis, a Commentary for Children.  We just finished Genesis and are ready to start Exodus (with her accompanying commentary for that book).  We read the passages from the Bible first (usually a chapter from Genesis or Exodus and an accompanying Psalm or New Testament passage as well). Then read Nancy's commentary!   I love this pastor's wife's writing!! She is VERY insightful and has a beautiful way of telling the story.  My children haven't minded hearing the story a second time as she retells it.  The second half of the book is a Teacher's Guide and includes memory verses, crafts, visual aids, review questions and field trip ideas for each lesson.  I highly recommend this resource.

Spring is Here!

I love the natural learning that takes place in the Spring and Summer....  "Look what I found, Mom!"as they dash in from outside, "Come out and see!"  or "What do you think this flower is, Mom?"

R age 12 collected a small container of tadpoles from the pond right by our church and brought them home to grow in a gallon jar.  She put broken up bits of lettuce in the top and the tadpoles have been eating and growing. 

We're trying to get ant farms established in glass gallon jars.  J age 10 found a whole bunch of teeny tiny ants in an old can in the woods along with some little white eggs and what he thinks is the queen so we're started! We have our gallon jar full of sand with a pop can in the middle filled with water and a cotton ball in the opening.  Then we put a drop of honey on the top of the can for them to eat.  We wrapped our jar with black paper and will take it off one of these days and see if there are any tunnels visible.  We have tulle rubber banded over the mouth of the jar so they can't escape.

We're planting seeds of many kinds including lemon, avocado, mango and a pineapple top.  We live in the north so probably won't get fruit but will enjoy the foliage. Should be fun to see what we get.  We'll start work in the vegetable garden soon and each of the children has their own flower bed to work in. 

Winter in Minnesota being long, the Spring and Summer seem especially dear.

An AO Conference I'd love to attend...

I've been following Ambleside Online informally for a few years now and Charlotte Mason for many more.  I'd love to go to a conference like this someday!  For now, I'm just putting my name in for a drawing for a mug and tote.  If you're interested in the conference here is a link:  http://preview.tinyurl.com/AOConferenceHeartofAO.

Science Stories - Marie Curie's Search for Radium

 J-10 just read a wonderful biography called Marie Curie's Search for Radium by Beverly Birch that I had picked up at a used book sale. He really enjoyed it.  Every page has a beautiful painting by Christian Birmingham. The text is interesting and the paintings are lovely. I picked up Pastuer's Fight against Microbes at the same sale.  It is also illustrated by Christian Birmingham.  I noticed in the back of the book that there are two other titles by Beverly Birch in this series.  These two are illustrated by Robin Bell Corefield.  So if you're looking for easy science biographies that are interesting and beautiful I recommend these, published in the U.S. by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.  Here is a link to Dealoz books by Beverly Birch.
 

Learning Science Along With My Children

One of the things I love about a Charlotte Mason education is that I get to keep learning right along with my children.  There is so very much to discover and understand about God's wonderful world, so many things to explore and learn!

I feel blessed to have a microscope now.  My husband bought one a few years back with money his Mom gave him for his birthday. Years ago we didn't have this privilege.  Today J-10 was looking for insect eggs on the backs of dead leaves as we are studying life-cycles in insects using Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  I recommend this book.  Anna (who is grown up and a mama herself now) says that Apologia's elementary science, with all their hands on projects, was her favorite science.  As an adult I am still learning with them and enjoying the text and their narrations for their science notebooks.  We've used three or four others in this series and I can recommend every one.

 S-17 and M-14 are in Apologia Biology this  year.  We are only on the third chapter, but we've learned a lot and were again using the microscope today  to look at a mushroom.  We're studying Kingdom Fungi. I didn't realize it would turn out to be helpful but this Fall we focused on mushrooms gathering them on our weekly nature walks for a month or so studying the many different kinds we could find (and there were lots!) and recording them in our nature journals.








 
 So it's fun now to be learning about how they reproduce and the more intricate hidden details as well as the nomenclature. With it being winter we had to use a store-bought mushroom for our study.  M-14 wondered if it would have spores since it was from the store rather than out in nature.  She said she thought they might irradiate it or something that would kill the living parts.  The mushrooms we used weren't very open, but we could see what certainly looked like spores - tiny perfectly round shapes that looked like minature brownish sesame seeds spread all along the gills.  I'm not sure I'll ever need my new knowledge that mushrooms are in Kingdom Fungi-Phylum Basidiomycota, or if I'll even remember that long name next year, but I'm pretty sure I'll remember how they grow and reproduce!

Cry the Beloved Country

M-14 is reading Cry the Beloved Country this year.  I haven't read it since I was in high school, so I've been reading it again, so we can discuss it.  She got ahead of me, but I finally caught up today....  There is a lot of pain, along with a lot of beauty in this book and terrific insight into the problems in South Africa.  It's a moving and beautifully written story.  M isn't so sure she likes it - it's challenging reading.  I re-read aloud for her one passage from today's reading that I really liked.  She hasn't been very enthusiastic about  narrating this particular book - perhaps because it is a challenging read, but even if she just takes away a sense of the struggles and challenges in South Africa it will have been worth her efforts.  I think though, that she can't help but be influenced by passages like this:  "Therefore I shall devote myself, my time, my energy, my talents, to the service of South Africa.  I shall no longer ask myself if this or that is expedient, but only if it is right.  I shall do this, not because I am noble or unselfish, but because life slips away, and because I need for the rest of my journey a star that will not play false to me, a compass that will not lie.  I shall do this, not because I cannot find it in me to do anything else.  I am lost when I balance this against that, I am lost when I ask if this is safe, I am lost when I ask if men, white men or  black men, Englishmen or Afrikaners, Gentiles or Jews, will approve.  Therefore I shall try to do what is right, and to speak what is true." 
 

School in December - Focus on the Birth of Christ

I've decided to change up our routine for the month of December so we can concentrate on celebrating the birth of Christ.  I went to the library yesterday and chose Christmas story books and craft project books.  I made out assignment sheets and check off lists for our four students for the month.  Only the oldest wants to continue with her normal weekly readings, the rest will read stories and books related to Christmas. We'll still continue with math otherwise we'll focus our other subjects on the birth of Christ. We will be listening daily to Christmas stories on Librivox.  The youngest is hoping to download a collection of stories on his new MP3 player.  There are so many it is hard to know where to start. 

Last night I read our first Christmas storybook to the two youngest, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, a beautiful story with lovely paintings! Other titles I got from our local library include, The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado, Room for a Little One: a Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell,  Madeline's Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans, The Little Boy's Christmas Gift by John Spiers, The Nutcracker retold by Anthea Bell and Christmas Song of the North by Marsha Bonicatto.  I haven't read all of these yet, but they each looked promising. 

 I'm hoping to read some longer books aloud, including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which is a wonderfully hilarious tale of a church Christmas pageant.  The nativity is seen through the eyes of a poor, unchurched family who comes to participate.  Sometimes we become too used to the Christmas story and forget the wonder of it.  I found a couple of books listed at Living Books Library under their Christmas heading and ordered some from our state inter-library loan including a couple by Alta Halverson Seymour who is a new author to me.  She has written Christmas stories set in different countries.  I'm looking forward to trying them.

Dickens' A Christmas Carol, has become a tradition for us.There are many wonderfully illustrated editions.  I'll choose a couple from our library.

  After reading it we'll watch a video of a musical called "The Gospel According to Scrooge".  My sister and niece perform in this well-done production of this wonderful musical.  We purchased our copies for $10 each through DTV20, 831 Main Street South, SaukCentre, MN 56378 or you can call 320-351-7288.  It was performed a few years ago so I'm not sure if they still have it, but it is well worth the $10 and has become a tradition for us to watch. 

 
Speaking of films, we plan to watch "It's a Wonderful Life".  Which has been a tradition for my sister's family for years.  



For picture study we will be looking at about a dozen paintings of the Annunciation to the Shepherds.  You can follow along with us on my art, music and poetry blog, All Things Bright and Beautiful.

We're also hoping to each make some sort of artistic expression of the angel's announcement to the shepherds.

I've asked the children to begin planning a book that they will write and illustrate this month.  It can be a poem, the story of Christmas (they will each be writing this narrative sometime during the month for writing anyway) or a story about someone celebrating Christmas.  It will be fun putting the books together and even more fun to read and reread them through the years. 

There are several pieces of classical music including Handel's Messiah I hope to enjoy together as a family.  You can find these on my blog along with the picture study and poems for the season.  

Just found a wonderful resource for an advent devotional using hymns.  It has links to youtube videos of each song.  I downloaded it free this morning and we listened to the first two days to catch up. You can find it here. 




I found three books of carols, two for piano and one for guitar.  Our students are not very advanced yet, but may find a song or two they want to learn to share with the family on Christmas Eve.   And I just found a site for printing free Christmas Piano Pieces.  It looks like they have some nice easy to play pieces.

Other projects may include modeling a clay manger scene, painting, stitching projects and making wrapping paper, cards and gifts.  I'm really looking forward to this joyous season! 

Drawing Birds with John Muir Laws

I've been using Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and enjoying it very much.  This week we added some bird drawing lessons and I was impressed with the results.  The book we used is The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds.  This book is packed full of wonderful information, diagrams and assignments.  I think it could be used for a whole year of art and science lessons just in itself.  I highly recommend it. We have used some of John Muir Laws You-tube videos on drawing from nature and found them helpful.  This week we did a two-page demonstration--assignment with 18 steps to drawing a warbler from this book.  The book has comprehensive information on bird anatomy along with detailed art lessons specifically geared for drawing birds. 

Meaning vs. Technique

Yesterday S-16 started Jensen's Format Writing which her older sister had loved a few years ago.  She had asked me for something that would shore up her writing skills in case she decides to go to college.  The first assignment was to take a sentence and using the various parts as a connection write  second sentences to go with it.  For example if the subject of the first sentence was Sam you would write another sentence starting with Sam, then one with a pronoun and perhaps one using the predicate or a second noun.  She asked if the sentences had to be about the same thing and I said that technically they didn't need to - they just had to have the same subject.  I gave a random example where the topics were completely unconnected except that Sam was the subject of both.  She dissolved into tears - very frustrated because there was no meaning, no real connection.  I told her it was better to make more connection - that is how it would be in real writing so that is how she did the exercise.  For me this was "just an exercise" - I grew up following the directions, getting by, not caring about the meaning (there often was no obvious meaning in my public education), doing the exercises as a game, (I did get good grades) but S, having grown up with a Charlotte Mason education feels that the meaning is the point.  Thinking about this makes me glad for her frustration and insistence on real meaning.  Her sentences were good and interesting besides. This morning I realize that I am perhaps more "successful" than I deserve to be in educating my children.  God's grace giving benefits I wouldn't have known to seek.  Maybe it's just her personality, but I think probably it has a lot to do with using a Charlotte Mason style of education and a God who is bigger and better and gives us more than we could ask or think.  

Bequest of Wings

Someone recommended Bequest of Wings by Annis Duff so I ordered it in through our state interlibrary loan program.  It is a wonderful book!  She says what I feel about books and reading with children, but in such beautiful language!  Here are a couple of sample paragraphs from the first chapter.
     "The dictionary defines education as the 'cultivation and development of the various physical, intellectual, aesthetic, moral and social faculties; instruction and discipline.'  The responsibility for all of this is laid on the parents.  Nature, in effect, simply hands over a parcel of assorted energies, and says, 'Here, see what you can do with this.' And all that two blissful and bewildered people have in the way of preparation for the job is what they have been able to learn from life, up to that point, and what they go on learning as they grow up with their children.  We were as awkward a pair of parents as ever launched blithely on a career of exploring and developing human personality.  But we knew without much discussion what our hope was for our children--that they should grow fully and robustly and merrily into a fine abundant life, rich with all the things that had brought so much joy to us as individuals, and to our relationship as friends.  We had no clear idea of how we should show them the way, except that we must give them as much of ourselves as we possibly could."

"...It includes all the honest books, that are written with knowledge, insight, humor and imagination, and put together with the skill and artistry that respect for language and style demand.  These are the books that come to live in the family library, especially when the need for careful spending dictates fastidious choosing.  Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows can rub shoulders with The Crock of Gold and the Plays of William Shakespeare, without incongruity; for they are made of the same permanent stuff, laughter and pain, hunger and satisfaction, and an infinite love of all the bittersweet ingredients of human life.  These are the books that I mean when I speak of coming closer in sympathy and understanding, through reading, to the whole of the human family."...

And from chapter two, "So, from the sharing of books in intimate family pleasures with the smallest of bairns, comes, for the family as a unit, stability and kinship of spirit; and for the little child, the dignity of the persistent striving of humanity toward the Good Life.  So, too, from these early beginnings comes the growth of the mind in perception of 'that which cannot be thought about in words, or told or expressed...all the secret and quiet world beyond our lives, wind and stars, too, and the sea, and the endless unknown.'"

That's as far as I've read so far, but I'm excited about this book. Reading is such a part of family life for us. Annis Duff refers to lots of titles we've also enjoyed together as a family!  It's like having tea with a kindred spirit talking about favorite books and getting recommendations for new ones. 

Secrets of Heathersliegh Hall

I'm starting to think about books for Fall for my students.  I continue to follow Ambleside Online loosely, adding and substituting books we have or that I find and want to share with my children.  

I've just finished a series by Michael Phillips, Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall.  It is set in World War I which I knew next to nothing about before reading these books.  I'm planning to assign this series to Sarah this year as I think historical fiction is a great way to get a feel for other times and places and this is right where we are in our chronological study of history.  These books are also a great choice because of the depth of Biblical insight in challenging issues - women's rights, the Father heart of God and the atonement, forgiveness, obedience and suffering, as well as how wealth does not bring happiness rather fulfillment comes in learning to give and serve.  These concepts are beautifully spoken in story form by characters you've come to love and admire, so they are easy to take in and digest.  I'm looking forward to discussing these issues with her as she reads. 

Reading worthy books

I rejoice in the beauty of what my children are reading!  I remember in high school reading short stories about death, suicide and hopelessness and a novel about violent street gangs. I can only imagine what today's high schools include for literature! Yesterday my daughter was recounting to me the chapter she had read/listened to from Les Miseables, with the beautiful picture of  Jean Valjean seeing his moment of choice between a life of depraved hate and violence or a new life of goodness and love. I was inspired listening to her tell it, even though I haven't read this novel yet myself.  I love how Charlotte Mason's ideas encourage us to give our young people beautiful and worthy things to think about.  Recently my daughter has been reading Speak Love by Annie Downs. This isn't a school assignment but a book she chose on her own. I am blessed that she chooses and has time to read worthy books by Christian authors building her walk of faith even beyond what is assigned for school.  We use Ambleside Online loosely and so are introduced to many wonderful and inspiring books we would otherwise miss. Thank you to the ladies at Ambleside Online who have so generously shared of your time, wisdom and experience so the rest of us can benefit!  

The Door in the Wall

We're reading aloud The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli and there have been several passages that have moved me so much by their beauty and truth that I want to write them in my commonplace book.  I paused, then reread part of this one yesterday during circle time:

     "One day, late in October, as the friar walked with Robin along the side of the hill leading down to the river, D'Ath following, Robin stepped in the path.
     'Think you it is really helping my legs to swim?' he asked anxiously, 'I cannot straighten my back, and can walk only as before, halfway bent over.  What think you, Brother Luke, shall I ever straighten?'
     'I know not what to think about that.' Brother Luke sighed.  Then he lifted his head and said firmly, 'God alone knows whether thou'lt straighten or no.  I know not.  But this I tell thee.  A fine and beautiful life lies before thee, because thou hast a lively mind and a good wit.  Thine arms are very strong and sturdy.  Swimming hath helped to make them so, but only because thou hast had the will to do it.  Fret not, my son.  None of us is perfect.  It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit.  We can only do the best we can with what we have.  That, after all, is the measure of success: what we do with what we have.  Come, let us go on.'"

     What beautiful things are you finding in your reading this winter?

Too Much of a Good Thing - It's All Too Much

I follow Ambleside Online loosely.  I deviate a bit so I can keep us all together as we work through the timeline of history and substitute occasionally with books I have on hand.  We ended last year with the Roman Empire and Life of Christ, so this year we started with the Early church and the fall of the Roman empire. There were so many good "spine books" for the time period. I didn't want to miss anything and I didn't know which would be best so I decided to try all that I had on hand.  We're reading The story of Mankind - this year we covered the first half of the third book. I also purchased The Story of Europe because I like another book we'd used by H.E. Marshall and her books are highly recommended.  I already had A Child's History of England (I love anything by Charles Dickens), and we've been reading through a copy of The Church in History that I've had for years.  We also read the first part of Trial and Triumph and Great Astronomers. My two junior high aged students were reading Birth of Britain but both found it difficult reading.  I'd hoped to include some historical novels as well, but the schedule was pretty full....  With more than half the year behind us, I'm finding that we are too heavy on the overview books, but I've been reluctant to let any of them go as each has its own appeal.  Finally, yesterday I decided that I will cut out all but The Story of Mankind, Great Astronomers and Trial and Triumph.  We've learned a lot from The Church in History and I love Dickens' stories, H.E.Marshall's narratives are also excellent, but it's all too much.  So even though I haven't heard anyone else talk about the books, The Story of Mankind: A Picturesque Tale of Progress, by Olive Beaupre' Miller, it turns out that this is my favorite series.  I inherited this four-book set when my Dad cleaned off his bookshelves. There are pictures and maps on pretty much every page, though that isn't what draws me.  I like her storytelling.  The chapters are quite long, but there are breaks with headings if you want to use shorter readings.  I also like the fact that I can cover the whole span of history using one author.  We just finished book 3, part 1 of the series (each book is divided into two parts).  The thing I like about Trial and Triumph is that each chapter is a biographical sketch of a man of faith.  Some of the overview books we were using covered so many people in each chapter that your were left trying to remember names and dates.  For this reason I'm excited about reading some historical fiction where you actually feel like you get to know the people and settings in detail.  I'm hoping to get through the following and more if possible, we've actually started three of these already. My list includes:

•  The Door in the Wall, Marguerite DeAngelli
•  The Namesake, The Story of King Alfred, C. Walter Hodges
•  Messiah! A New Look at the Composer, the Music and the Message! N.A. Woychuk (of Scripture Memory Fellowship)
  
•  Son of Charlemagne, Barbara Willard (Bethlehem Books)
•  Adam of the Road,Elizabeth Gray Vining
•  Wulf the Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest by G.A.Henty

My students also have other biographies of this time-period they are reading individually.

I'd be interested if you have recommendations for other biographies or historical novels from this time-period?

Memorizing Scripture

We're memorizing a couple different longer passages from the Bible this year, actually we started most of them last year but are continuing with them. One of them is Romans 6-8.  I found a CD of Romans 6-8 put to music.  This is such a great passage of Scripture, but it is complex and difficult to memorize. We're finding it much easier to music. Here is a link to the website for Songs of Scripture.  The Romans Project is the one we're using. 

 We've also been working on the Sermon on the Mount. We've been working on it on our own, but I have a DVD of Keith Ferrin quoting it with meaning and passion and I think I'll try using it for our memory-time.  You can get this Keith Ferrin Sermon on the Mount 

DVD here.  Keith Ferrin has lots of resources for helping you and your family memorize and meditate on Scripture.  His website is That You May Know Ministries.

I told my children this week that we really don't know what the future will hold for us as Christians.  It may be that we are in prison someday and it will be a tremendous gift to have the beautiful Word of God stored in our hearts.  Actually, if we memorize it we have it ready for meditation anytime and anywhere....  

What do you use to help you memorize?  

The Silver Chair - C.S.Lewis

We're reading The Chronicles of Narnia as a family and I'm finding deep insights I somehow missed as a child when my parents read them aloud to us.  Maybe they're like any really good allegory, they fit on many levels and they grow with you.
We just completed The Silver Chair.  I didn't have an attachment to this book in particular, but this time around it seemed to have a lot to say to me.  I'd like to record a few of my thoughts and musings from this reading of it.

Jill and Eustace have called on Aslan asking if they can go to Narnia.  When Jill meets Aslan a few moments later and he is talking about the task for which he called her, she responds, "I was wondering--I mean--could there be some mistake? Because nobody called me and Scrubb, you know.  It was we who asked to come here.  Scrubb said we were to call to--to Somebody--it was a name I wouldn't know--and perhaps the Somebody would let us in.  And we did, and then we found the door open."
     Aslan's response is, "You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you."
And how precious it is that our LORD is calling to us! and we have the privilege of responding by calling on Him!

Then they find themselves in Narnia and are ushered into the castle.  "Supper in the great hall of the castle was the most splendid thing either of them had ever seen;..."  This second chapter ends with this paragraph:  "When they were dragging themselves upstairs to bed, yawning their heads off, Jill said, 'I bet we sleep well tonight,' for it had been a full day.  Which just shows how little anyone knows what is going to happen to them next."

The journey their assignment took them on was arduous and uncomfortable.  It was a reminder that our comfort isn't the issue at stake, it is the call to bring glory to God and to serve Him and His Kingdom that shapes our lives.  

Later in the book as the evil enchantress is working her magic and trying to deceive them, I saw interesting parallels to the deceptions of worldly philosophies that currently pervade our culture questions about what is real and what is true.  The deceit was so subtle and they were vulnerable to it.  It took pain and intense struggle to wrench them back to reality and truth. 

I highly recommend these books!  They are full of spiritual insights! 

Common Redpoll

While we were working on our gingerbread houses a female Common Redpoll hit the dining room window and crashed to the snow below.  I noticed four or five at the feeder, some were males with the pink bib.  Ruthie went out to check on it.  The wing was splayed in an unnatural position but she gently picked it up and brought it in.  She said the little heart was still beating so we found a cage to set over a box so it wouldn't panic and fly around the house when it came out of it's stupor. 

When she came around we took the cage outside and lifted the cage off of the box to let her go.  She immediately flew off into the woods.  I hope they stay around at our feeders awhile.  So far we've had mostly chickadees and a nuthatch.