Well, it has been forever and a day since I last posted. I hadn't realized it had been so long since I had posted anything but an entire semester has passed without any word from LibrarianMom. Since life isn't that exciting here, I don't have too much to report.

Reading Challenges: Last December I excitedly posted about several reading challenges I hoped to participate in. Well, I didn't finish. My intentions were good and I would like to read the books, but planning out all of my reading for a year at a time was too constricting. I would like to read the books I listed, but I like the flexibility of reading a variety of other things as well.

Afterschooling: This isn't happening to the extent I would like. DD is reading a lot more on her own which is exciting. Our reading isn't progressing as quickly as I would like which I attribute to dd giving herself a bath now instead of needing to be "supervised" like when she was smaller. But something is always better than nothing, and we usually accomplish something each week.

Life is pretty much not coming together in the way I would like. I hoped life would improve since dh changed jobs and no longer has a long commute. However, the house is still a mess and my personal and professional life seems to be at a standstill. Hopefully 2009 will look up.

Passing Over Easter

I finished another book from my reading challenge list this morning. Passing Over Easter by Shoshanah Feher was a good book although not quite what I expected. I expected a book that was primarily about the religious and cultural practices of Messianic Jews . Although this subject was touched on briefly, the book was in actuality an ethnographic study of Messianic Jews which compared and contrasted Messianic Jews, traditional Jews, and evangelical Christians. Not having considered those relationships in depth before, it was interesting to realize that there are significant boundaries between Messianic Jews and evangelical Christians which they refer to as Gentile Believers in addition to the expected differences between Messianic and traditional Jews.

My personal experience with Messianic Jews has been extremely minimal although I would love to visit a congregation some time. The Old Testament feasts and festivals and Jewish practices are intriguing and the little bit of reading and study I have done on the topic has enriched my faith quite a bit. This is an area that I would like to learn more about and to incorporate more fully into our family life, yet I'm not quite ready to give up Christmas yet (although we try to scale back). In addition, I think that it would be easier to practice these traditions in community. For example, although I have purchased and read various sources, because these practices are so foreign it would be really helpful to have a mentor who could demonstrate how to do these things. In a similar way, I would love to practice formal morning and evening prayer within our family, but I really feel a need for someone to show me how or at least to see what it looks like in real life. I'm finding myself attracted more and more to a liturgical tradition, but the actual practice is a stumbling block in my current life situation.

On that note, I must confess our observance of Lent was mostly non-existent. We do a pretty good job with Advent, but there is so many external stimuli that feed into that observance. Lent and Easter, except for specials on seafood, doesn't have the same focus. Except for the fairly recent observance of Ash Wednesday at my institution and services during Holy Week, the weeks of Lent pass by without much thought. I just need to plan better and earlier next year and find an accountability partner or family.

Cat Who

Last night I finished The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts, the first title in the mystery category for the 888 Reading Challenge. I initially found the book slow to get started and went back and forth between reading it and several other titles I was working on. The first few chapters were very detailed in order to set the stage for the mystery and set up the relationships between all of the characters. Once I finally got past the first few chapters the pace picked up and I finished rather quickly. I enjoyed this book as this mystery was rooted in historical events that had happened years before and ended up tying several prominent townspeople to the criminal with a tidy finish. However, the criminal was easily identified early in the book so the "Aha!" was more from how the plot came together more than "Who did it?"

The last book I finished was an "add-on" to my previously posted 888 listing. However, The Learning Coach Approach by Linda Dobson caught my eye and zoomed to the top of my reading stack since as a book from the public library it didn't have as long of a check out time. This title is unique in that it addresses the unique aspects of afterschooling which isn't written about much. I had previously read another title by this author about what the rest of us can learn from homeschoolers. Dobson makes afterschooling seem do-able to all people and just a natural part of parenting and helping your child succeed in life instead of an add-on. She emphasized adhering to the school curriculum fairly closely as using a coach model as the title suggests. This is where I differ from Dobson. I am finding that there are so many gaps in the school curriculum that must be addressed. Yes, there are times when you can use the school curricululm as a springboard, but there are other times when you need to go a completely different direction. However, I know that as my children's homework load and outside activities increase, how much I can do at home will diminish and will need to be carefully selected.

I finished reading last week the most marvelous book, When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today (Dewey Decimal 600s in my reading challenge) is in many ways a sequel to Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's For the Children's Sake. The latter book was my first introduction to Charlotte Mason and a great deal of it makes sense. I learned of the first title last fall and borrowed a copy from another library to read. The book is primarily authored by a professor of education at Covenant College and two administrators at private Christian schools who utilize the Charlotte Mason philosophy. This describes the type of school where I would enroll my kids in an instant if one was available. I read references to Charlotte Mason quite a bit of various homeschooling and afterschooling forums but had not seen her philosophy mentioned in regards to a traditional classroom although that was her original intent.

One of the things I really like about her philosophy is the oft-quoted (and paraphrased) statement that children should be given real or "living books" to read instead of "twaddle". In so many ways this just makes sense because if children read only twaddle they never develop a taste for the best of what is available and become loathe to try anything more difficult. In addition to twaddle-free education, Mason puts a emphasis on lots of nature study, picture study, composer study, reading Shakespeare and poetry, doing handicrafts, and letting children have opportunity to play and be kids. Her philosophy advocates academic school subjects in the morning with the afternoons devoted to nature walks, handicraft, and play or what she refers to as "masterful inactivity". Sometimes I have the brash idea that it would be fun to open a private school. At this point in time, it would be really difficult to decide between a Mason style school or a University Model School. I really think this type of school would fit a niche that currently does not exist in our area. The only private schools are a Lutheran school and a Catholic school that run through 8th grade but having looked over their websites and handbooks thoroughly, the curriculum uses the same textbooks as the public school with the main difference being the addition of Bible/religion class. Although, we're not displeased with our local elementary school, it hasn't knocked our socks off either. But until another option presents itself or I can figure out a way to fit full-fledged home schooling into our hectic life, I'm going to take the $3 grand plus that it would cost to enroll in private school and use that money to buy lots of great books and resources and take purposeful educational trips.

Dewey Reading

I recently finished The Grammar of Our Civility, my selected book for the Dewey 400s. This book was not the inspiring read that Climbing Parnassus was. Perhaps if I had read this title first, I might feel differently. In many ways this book emphasized why classical studies are in the state they are instead of why studying the classics are an important area of study.

Having focused much of my recent reading on non-fiction, I have turned to lighter reading and began the Cat Who books yesterday. I'm finding the reading challenge good in that my reading is focused, but I'm finding it hard to avoid dipping into the books that cross my path particularly related to daily life issues. As always, reading for my class, although enjoyable, vies for attention among all of my other reading interests.

Snow Day reading pleasures

We celebrated February 1st by enjoying a snow day. I was as excited as the children to receive this reprieve from my normal schedule. I attempted to put the extra time to good use by catching up on my reading for class. I had hoped to study for my exam as well, but Pocketful of Pinecones called to me instead. I attempted to read the short chapters in between my other reading and study, but alas Pinecones won and I finished it this morning while enjoying my hot chocolate.

I had checked out Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola last fall before I learned of the various reading challenges. Thus several of the items in my Dewey selections for the reading challenge appear due to their prior selection and some of the area are more heavily populated. Pocketful of Pinecones, a often recommended book about nature study in the Charlotte Mason tradition, was an enjoyable but not taxing read. Although a non-fiction work, this "diary" of a fictitious depression era home educator read quickly and easily. As expected, the nature study ideas were welcome and I hope to incorporate them more. However, I feel guilty due to the hard work of this wife and mother doing her laundry, keeping her house tidy, gardening, learning herblore, sewing, knitting, and other tasks that comprised her day. So in addition to the call for more nature walks and study, the call to more industry in my house keeping and time management echoes.

Alas for the next few days, home industry must wait its turns while I prepare for my exam. I hope the siren call of reading this title is replaced with diligence in other matters.

This week I finished reading two of the books I listed for the Dewey 300s in my reading challenge: 373.24 Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Simmons and 371.04 Morning by Morning by Paula Penn-Nabrit. I really enjoyed reading these books although they were very different in content and style.

Climbing Parnassus focuses on why a classical education was the primary educational model for centuries and why it should still be important today. I initially read it because I have been reading other books about classical education and this was recommended. Many of the other books were good about some of the "how-to", but this book emphasized the why. Simmons also differs from the common history-based classical education frequently espoused today in that he emphasizes that the languages are at the center. Among the emphasized points was that previous generations of classically educated people had a common core of knowledge and language to draw upon. Their understanding of morality, justice, liberty, and freedom came from reading the Greek and Roman classics (in the original) and they could banter the exact translation and meaning of certain items. Simmons also emphasized that this classical education and requirements to compose in Latin is a main component of the great literature produced in previous generations. My interest in learning Latin has been rekindled although will most likely not be acted on right away. I figure I have a few years to get up to speed on Latin before I need to teach my children Latin--they need to gain further competency in English first.

The second book I read, Morning by Morning: How We Home-Schooled Our African-American Sons to the Ivy Leauge by Paula Penn-Nabrit, was primarily the story of one family's experience. However, it was different from many of the other books I have recently read about education. Many authors write glowing reports and emphasize everyone else should do exactly what we did. This author, on the other hand, was very honest in stating this was our experience and what we learned, but it isn't for everyone. While reading the book, several times I felt like I was sitting at the table having a frank discussion with the author. This family came to home schooling after bad experiences in their private school. An emphasis was placed on how they desired to provide a holistic upbringing for their children encompassing not only education, but physical fitness, spirituality, arts, and community service, and how they accomplished their goals. This book provided a lot of food for thought for all parents regardless of the educational choices they make for their families.

Books about world religions

Neighboring Faiths

Tapestry of Faiths

Buddhism: A Short Introduction

Hinduism: A Short Introduction

Islam: The Straight Path

Inside the Community: Understanding Muslims Through Their Traditions

Miriam's Tambourine

Passing Over Easter (Finished)

Shinto: The Kami Way

The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam by Sidney Harrison Griffith

Peace Be Upon You: Fourteen Centuries of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish co-existence in the Middle East by Zachary Karabell

Books previously purchased and not yet read (there are boxes and shelves of these)

Preacher's Wife

Tortured for Christ

He Leadeth Me

Monganga Paul

Cat who talked to Ghosts (Finished)

Cat Who Knew a Cardinal

Cat Who Lived High

Roger Caras' Treasury of Great Cat Stories

Chronicles of Narnia (all 7-I plan on reading these aloud to my children over the summer.)

One book from each of the 10 Dewey sections

000 006.7 a book about blogging or 025.524 Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online;

100 One of the many philosophy books I have purchased but not yet read.

200 One of the many books that I am surrounded with on a daily basis both at home and at work.

300 373.24 Climbing Parnassus, 371.04 Morning by Morning, 372.357 Pocketful of Pinecones (Finished all three)

400 480.7107 The Grammar of Our Civility: Classical Education in America (Finished)

500 509 Story of Science by Joy Hakim (all volumes available to date)

600 649.68 M381Yc When Children Love to Learn; any other parenting titles I choose to read this year (Finished)

700 783 Story of Christian Music; something about art

800 Roger Caras' Treasury of Great Cat Stories; Immortal Poems of the English Language; also some works on creative writing

900 909 The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon

Mysteries

Cat who talked to Ghosts (Finished)

Cat Who Knew a Cardinal

Cat Who Lived High

The Maltese Falcon

1 Agatha Christie

1 Susanna Gregory

1 Peter Tremayne

1 G. K. Chesterton (Father Brown)

1 Ellis Peters (Brother Cadfael)

1 Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey)

1 Emily Brightwell (Mrs. Jeffries)

Fantasies (Mythopaeic Awards Challenge)

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip

Solstice Wood by Patricia McKillip

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Westerns
Northfield by Johnny D. Boggs (Finished)
The Virginian by Owen Wister
To the Last Man by Zane Grey

The Light of Western Stars by Zane Grey

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty

Buffalo Wagons by Elmer Kelton

1 Max Brand

1 Louis L'Amour

Reading Challenges Part 2

I accidentally posted before I finished so here is the rest.

Along the way I discovered several other reading challenges including In Their Shoes Reading Challenge (reading biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs),the Book Awards Reading Challenge (reading books that have won awards), the Themed Reading Challenge (4 books about any theme between January and June), To Be Read Challenge, Book Around the World, Africa Reading Challenge, and others.

Here is my list of eight genres for now:

1. Biographies (to meet In Their Shoes Challenge as well)
2. Mysteries
3. Fantasies (Mythopaeic Awards Challenge)
   
4. Westerns
   
5. Books about world religions (can be fiction or non-fiction but primarily non-fiction)
   
6. Books previously purchased and not yet read (there are boxes and shelves of these)
7. One book from each of the 10 Dewey sections (will overlap with other sections)
8. Books about other continents and cultures (Books Around the World/African Reading Challenge).
   

Numbers 2, 3, and 4 will cover Book Awards Challenge as well. Many categories will overlap and YA or children's literature can be included as well. More specific lists will be added in the next week or two although I reserve the right to edit and change the lists as needed.