Books Read in 2011

I had so much fun recording the books I read (and refused to finish) in 2010 and 2009 that I thought I'd keep at it. I think that last year's count was somewhere around 72 books. Looking forward to the coming year of reading.
January
Here Come the Brides - Bernard Glemser (I remembered reading this one out of one of my grandmother's Readers' Digest Condensed Books volumes and loving it. It was much funnier that I recalled. I don't think I was able to pick up all the little digs at personalities that he throws in. I was chortling so much that my dh picked it up and read it after me. He thought it was hilarious too.)
The Hunger Games - Susan Collins (Another book that I read and handed straight to dh. It is really quite good and left me eager to find the sequels.)
A Carribean Mystery - Agatha Christie
The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie (I have enjoyed all the Christie that I've read, but this one was especially interesting. It was the first work published and introduces Poirot as a Belgian refugee during World War I.)
Catching Fire - Susan Collins
Mockingjay - Susan Collins (I enjoyed the rest of the Hunger Games series as much as the first, although the pacing in the end of the first book did throw me a bit. Looking forward to having the older kids read it so we can talk about it. It manages to pull off a distopian situation that still provides a right path for individuals to tread. In an evil situation, one can choose well.)
Village Centenary - Miss Read (More of a chronicle of life in a village than a story with plot. But the most spot on character sketches.)
Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things - Frandy O. Frost & Gail Steketee (I think even if hoarding doesn't directly effect your family, it is worth considering the emotional entanglements we have with our possessions.)
January total: 9
February
Betsy - Tacy - Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy - Tacy and Tib - Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill - Maud Hart Lovelace (I read these a few years ago, back when I was indulging in a lot of childrens' lit that I'd missed in my own childhood. Reading that three of the related books were going to be re-released reminded me of how much I'd enjoyed these. So I'm working through the books about Betsy and Tacy in order to better enjoy the new to me stories of their friends Winona and Emily. Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown has one of my favorite descriptions of a reader's feelings toward a library. Betsy and the Great World is a lovely description of Europe just before the darkness of World War One descends on the continent. And I was intrigued to learn that Heavens to Betsy was often not available in libraries because the topic of Betsy and her sister Julia changing churches was too controversial.)
Borders of Infinity - Lois McMaster Bujold (Two of the stories in this collection were in Young Miles, but the third was new to me. I think these are great stories for considering the meaning and responsibilities of leadership.)
Brothers in Arms - Lois McMaster Bujold
Shards of Honor - Lois McMaster Bujold
Cryoburn - Lois McMaster Bujold (This series has been some good comfort reading during our unpacking and settling in time.)
Year's Best SF 15 - ed. David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (Not the best of the best in my mind, but several were entertaining. Probably constrained by the short story requirement.)
Thrush Green - Miss Read
Methuselah's Children - Robert Heinlein
Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe - Todd Wilson (There were some good lessons in this book about the lies whispered in our ears about not measuring up to other homeschoolers. But I also think that he's too quick to dismiss possible shortcomings and failures as myth. It is possible to live in a way that offers our children a stone or a snake in place of the bread or fish that they are asking for and need. I'll try to write more on this one later.)
February total: 11
Year to date: 20
March
Neuromancer - William Gibson
March total: 1
Year to date: 21
April
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
The Evolution of Calpernia Tate - Jacqueline Kelly (I was a little hesitant to read this book when it came out last year. I've learned to be cynical about young adult books that are being pushed as the latest great thing. And I'll confess that I feared the book would have a plot pitting a plucky girl held back by her superstitious and stupid family. But this was a charming read. Calpernia is best described as curious and wondering, not bad traits to want to encourage in young readers. I thought the family was depicted gently. Not everyone holds Calpernia's interests in high esteem, but I never got the sense that the parents were being made fun of. If her mom is putting a higher priority on sewing and cooking, it is because she sees that the reality of life is that Calpernia's future family will have to depend on these skills. I enjoyed the story and hope there will be more Callie Vee stories to come.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J. K. Rowling
April total: 3
Year to date: 24

May
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner from Azkeban - J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling (I could say that I'm rereading these book to get ready for my writing class. And that was part of why I picked up the first one. But I have to confess that I also very much enjoy reading these books and love the special little touches she throws into the stories.)
Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly - Gail Carson Levine (This is a nice writing book suitable for adults or for children. Chapters include some good authorship encouragement as well as some nice writing exercises. I like that she is a sucessful author, who remembers what it is to struggle with getting words onto paper.)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling (My reading this prompted my older kids to reread it too. Now we're ready for the last movie.)
May Total: 7
Year to Date: 31

June
Shop Class as Soulcraft - Matthew B. Crawford (An interesting book about the emotional and mental satisfaction that comes from working with one's hands. The book is an expanded version of an article on the same topic. Definitely worth a look.
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor - Stephanie Barron (I'm fast coming to the conclusion that some of the best writing is contained within mysteries. They weren't much to my liking when I was young - except for Dick Francis. But a well crafted mystery very much satisfies now. This series has Jane Austin as a sometimes sleuth. I thought it was well done.)
Hannah's List - Debbie Macomber (I have enjoyed this author and even the series this was from. But this wasn't her best. I forced myself to finish it and then forgot to add it to the list when I updated it.)
Jane and the Wandering Eye - Stephanie Barron
The Lost Hero - Rick Riordan (First book in the new series that follows the Percy Jackson series.)
The New Rules of College Admissions - ed by Stephen Kramer & Michael London
Acceptance - Dave Marcus (Exceptional book about the college admissions game.)
June Total: 7
Year to Date 38

July
The Homeschool Liberation League - Lucy Frank (Affectionate YA novel about school and homeschooling.)
A Presumption of Death - Dorothy Sayers
Murder Must Advertise - Dorothy Sayers
Animal Farm - George Orwell
The Attenbury Emeralds - Dorothy Sayers
The Tripods Attack - John McNichol (Steampunk YA fan fiction with H. G. Wells, G. K. Chesterton and Father Brown. Quite entertaining. Looking forward to the sequel.)
July Total: 6
Year to Date: 44

August
The Language of Science and Faith - Francis Collins (Really excellent book.)
Her Mother's Hope - Francine Rivers
Nine Tailors - Dorothy Sayers
August Total: 3
Year to Date: 47

September
Jane and the Stillroom Maid - Stephanie Barron
Jane and the Prisoner in the Wool House - Stephanie Barron
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - Washington Irving
Fairacre Festival - Miss Read
Shadow of the Moon - M. M. Kaye
September Total: 5
Year to Date: 52

October
A Little Princess - Frances Burnett
Crazy U - Andrew Ferguson

Novel Writing Coop Class

We had so much fun with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the Secret Novel Writing Club last year that we're planning to do it again. This time we get to write with a bigger group.

I'll be using the How to Teach a Child to Write a Novel lessons from Little Blue School to teach middle school aged would be writers the elements of a novel and even to rough out chapters. If all goes well, we may even end the year with some rough drafts. These lessons are really nicely done, with a good mix of humor, literary lessons and practical wordsmithing. I can't wait to see what the group is like.

Maybe I'll even succeed in finishing NaNoWriMo myself this year.

College Basketball Star Reads First Book

While I'll give the young man in this article a thumbs up for finally going after the degree that his prowess in sport gave him access to, I have to ask two questions. Will he manage to get an education in any sense of the word? And how can his former teachers and professors do anything but hang their heads in shame?

Read through the comments from other instructors who talk about how few of their students read.

The connection between reading and a household with books isn't because there is some magical power in text imprinted paper. The connection is between families who value knowledge enough to spend their treasure on it and children who will likewise grow up curious to learn. (If you know exactly how many bookshelves will fit in each bedroom but can't say how big your tv is, then chances are you know what I mean.)

On Buying Local in Homeschooling

There is a spat brewing at the moment over the speakers' lineup at the MidWest Homeschool Convention that I'll be attending in a week. One particular speaker crossed the line in his behavior at a previous conference and was disinvited by the organizers. I personally won't miss him any. But I am bothered by the efforts of some of the attendees to encourage other vendors to pull out and to encourage registered attendees to not come.

I emailed a few vendors that were listed as coming to Cincinnati. I wanted them to know that I was looking forward to the vendor hall and going through all the options on homeschool materials.

Our background is that we've been outside the Continental US for all of our active homeschooling, until a couple months ago. We either had no conventions or only the small one that was in Hawaii (held at a largish church).

Several of the vendors have written me back. A couple of the comments struck me as notable.

One vendor said that while they had intended to come, he and his wife were in their seventies and they had realized that driving to four conferences in thirty days was beyone their physical capabilities. (He said that they would be providing the same free shipping that would have been offered at the conference, because they just had to cut back on their driving.)

Another vendor mentioned that they had been attending the conferences for several years but had seen that they lost money nearly every year. (I assume once they subtracted lodging, transportation and any vendor fee.) FWIW, this vendor sells books that are probably attractive to the same customers who are now considering not coming. So the kerfluffle will have a big impact on his customer base.

Finally, there was a comment on one of the convention's FB updates, that basically accused them of being in it only for profit and not giving anything back to the homeschool community. This struck me as rather uncharitable. (FWIW, my dh and I think that national defense is important enough to have devoted our adult lives to military service - but we still depend on the paycheck to pay our rent and buy our groceries. You can be devoted to something and still want it to be worth the time and effort that you put into it.) I understand that convention organizers would feel inspired to put in the effort to host a convention our of the idea that it is good for the greater homeschool community. Maybe they do even see it in terms of a ministry. But if I want a professional, well won conference, I don't think that I should begrudge them using the returns on it in place of a regular income.


There can be moments of sticker shock in homeschooling. I know there have been several times when I've totalled up my cart full of materials and then sat back and thought, "Really? That's a lot when it's all added up." I try to justify things by considering how many of my kids will use it or how many years it will be good for or by figuring the weekly cost. But sometimes I end up spending a few more hours combing through Amazon to see what I can get a little better deal on.

But to what extent am I cutting off my homeschooling nose to spite my face? Amazon may save me a few dollars. Sometimes it might save me even a hundred dollars in a years worth. But how much of that is worth spending in order to encourage the future production of more homeschool materials. Amazon is a delivery method. They don't research, write or publish books. They don't go through the painstaking process of editing copy. And as thankful as I am that they have been able to get me materials quickly and reliably, I also want to reward those whose hard work created the books in the first place.

All of which is just a gentle reminder that there is a way to "buy local" in homeschooling materials too. There are vendors who comb through products to find quality materials. There are curriculum developers who write study guides and writing or science programs. There are publishers who comb through old books looking for classics to reprint and who consider new authors looking for great potential. There are busy homeschool moms who polish the units they produce for their own kids in order to make it available to others. Buying from these producers of homeschool materials is a way of investing in the future. It's not always possible. But I think that it is worth considering.

Homeschool School Room Spring Cleaning

Ok, urged on by the need to get this finished, a timely thread on The Well Trained Mind and a real need to stop reading about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, I'm off to do some spring cleaning in our school room.

Actually, I'm not sure if you can call it spring cleaning, since I'm still unpacking and setting up the space. Our school room is in the basement. That will probably be lovely in the summer months, but it can be a bit chilly when it is cooler. I'm not really willing to use a space heater or to open up the heating vents down there, because that will drive our electric bill through the roof. I imagine that we'll be getting lots of use out of our snuggies in the winter.

This is the view from the stairs. As you can see, we have a few books. I was able to get most of them out of boxes and onto shelves, but they aren't arranged by topic as much as I'd like.

This is looking toward the back door. I'd like to move the table onto the rugs and put another rug on this side for Playmobil and Lego play.

This is looking toward the stairs. Those are boxes that need to be unpacked and dealt with.

All in all, I've got my work cut out for me. By the way, I don't think that a school room is necessary, essential or even the best way to homeschool. This is primarily to give us a place to put our books and to spread out projects without having to put them away for every meal. I imagine that even when this is finished, we will do a large part of our school on the living room couch or in bean bags in bedrooms. The kids are anxiously awaiting warm weather so they can do their work on the back porch. So don't take this clean up as a suggestion that you need to have some big dedicated space in order to be a good or effective homeschooler.

Plan for a Homeschool Convention

I'm looking forward to the MidWest Homeschool Convention at the end of the month. It's been a couple of years since I was at a convention and I haven't been at a big, vendor filled convention since before we started homeschooling.

I'm making my plans and checking them twice. Trying to find a balance between hitting the talks I want to see and spending some hard time in the vendor hall checking out curriculum.

I was tickled to read the plan for coping with a homeschool convention that is on this homeschooler's blog. Lots of good considerations.

For Those Contemplating Homeschooling

Welcome to the wild, wonderful and wacky world of homeschooling. I think it's a great choice to consider. I've had several friends and relatives asking me about starting homeschooling lately, and this is some of what I've been thinking about their questions.

One of the books that I frequently suggest is Lisa Welchel's So You're Thinking About Homeschooling. It has several chapters that profile a range of different homeschooling styles. There are so many different ways of thinking about and going about homeschooling, that it can be overwhelming to try to figure out what even looks good for future research. I think this book can give you some major subheadings to think about. Even if it convinces you that a couple approaches aren't to your liking, then that is something that you won't have to keep thinking about.

My bent is toward classical, literature heavy, academically rigorous homeschooling. But that doesn't mean that I expect kindergarteners to be writing essays or figuring out algebra problems. One of the main things you can accomplish in the early years is to develop a culture and habit of learning. That means that you and your kids are curious. You check books out from the library and read them together. You look at the nature around you. You spend time in museums looking and wondering about what you see.

But small digestable bits. Even if you have rigorous long range plans, it is better (in my opinion) to build a solid foundation gently and one day at a time. So let the books about science be picture books that you can read in one sitting. Let the nature outings be short and interspersed with playing. Don't feel like you have to enjoy every exhibit in the museum or every animal in the zoo in one visit.

It is great to look around at some of the cool high level stuff that homeschoolers are doing with older kids. But don't get too wrapped around the axle about it. It is hard to know with a kindergartener where their talents and strengths will be at 10 or 17. And the options you will have for school in 5-10 years will be totally different. (I could start naming major curriculum that weren't around when we started homeschooling back in 2003 and probably get to 20 before I had to pause and think. For that matter, there are some major providers who are no longer around.) Concentrate on basic skills like reading, counting, days of the week, seasons, etc. And on habits like sitting for 10 minute lessons with frequent breaks for playing.

My most recommended links for new homeschoolers are blogs. I think they are more dynamic than some of the big advertiser supported sites.

Guilt Free Homeschooling (Her kids are now graduated, but her articles are collected into nice topical groups.)

Handbook of Nature Study (Outdoor Challenges that can be used by anyone from preschool to high school.)

Harmony Art Mom (Same blogger as Handbook of Nature Study, but with challenges on art and music.)

I tend to use a lot of material from Susan Wise Bauer. She has some video Q&A sessions that I thought were nice. Some are about her oldest son, who is now in college, but there are also nice bits relative to younger kids (I loved the one about the mandatory quiet time for everyone in the afternoon.)

Paula's Archives has some good ideas about what to do with younger kids while you are trying to do school with the older ones.

The forums at The Well Trained Mind can be a good resource, with a couple caveats. There are thousands of board members with hundreds online at any one time. That means that you will find someone with a glowing and a glowering opinion on just about anything you can think of. So take any comments with a grain of salt. I think it is also human nature to rave about what you've picked up that is new. Sometimes these glowing reports don't outlast the season. It can be a great source of information and support, but like any big group, it can also be a source of discontent and irritation. Remember that you are the person who best knows your own kids and your own talents and limitations. (I also like the Curriculum boards a little better than the General board.)

Hope this is helpful. It's a wild ride, but I think it's well worth it. Don't think that you have to have the next 13 years planned out before you start. (I wish I had the carefully laid out plan I wrote years ago that detailed how I'd get the kids through calculus by 11th grade. There are days when I need the laugh.)