In one marathon session last week, we finally finished reading The Little Princess by Francis H. On this grey drizzly morning we couldn’t garden, so I picked up the book after breakfast. After each chapter the children begged for more, for we had finally gotten to the exciting part. So I read on, about the failure of Sarah’s father’s diamond mines, about living in the garret, about the hunger and humiliation, and then about the beautiful surprises that began to appear. After each chapter the children begged for more, and more, and more. We moved out to the verandah, and two satisfying hours later, we were finished. All was well with Sarah’s world, and with ours…except for my throat. I love this story, but I did skip a lot of references to ‘the Magic’ in one or two chapters.
I also finally finished and reviewed The Art of Education by Linda Dobson. That was a heavy read, and I felt conflicted as I read it. I did learn a lot from it, though.
Currently our family read aloud is Bobby’s Friends by Phia van den Berg, and we’re enjoying it. I’m also working my way through Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias and have been pleasantly surprised. This may be required reading for Miss 17 this year, but I’ll have to finish it first. Although The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey was also going to be on the required list for both Mr 15 and Miss 17, I’m reconsidering that decision. I don’t like the idolization of sports, nor the approach to dating…making a list of girls to date, indeed! If I finish the book, I’ll let you know my thoughts.
So, in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge, I’ve finished 31 books by week 30.
Interesting about the 7 Habits book. That is one I’d planned on having dd read for part of a high school course. Perhaps I should read it first, and make notes of which sections she can skip. That way, she might be able to glean some positive, helpful stuff, w/o being exposed to the bad stuff.
I keep checking for your TWT. The ER is picking up pretty quickly, so once you get it posted, could you post my link if you have time?
http://homeschoolblogger.com/proverbsmama/783780/
Thanks! I’ll check back later (maybe this evening) to see your tip for this week.
FYI — I checked to see how many tips I have ready to be posted. This is my last one! I’ll have to see if I can find some new ideas. If not, I’ll just get one from the archives and post it for those who may not have seen it.
Old tips are fine; they are always new to someone, and I like to be reminded of tips I have forgotten.
Thanks for the link.
Annie Kate
As for the ‘7 Habits’ book, Mother Dear, you can rest assured that being told to make lists of ‘GIRLS to date’ will not affect me in any way, short of providing an oppertunity for great amusement. Now that you’ve piqued my curiosity… I would like to read that book! 😉
Okay, see what you think! 🙂
I like the Little Princess too, though I always have trouble with books where innocent child is left in clutches of mean adults. I liked The Secret Garden too, though there is a lot about “Magic” in it…at the end, one character ties the magic of nature into God’s lordship, which made it better. I understand the movie is much more panthestic but then, I usually DON’T like the movies made from good books. They are always messing with the plot for no good reason.
The “Seven Habits” book isn’t one I’ve read and I’ll have to evaluate it if we get that far. I’m very down on dating as it is practiced in our culture.
I have been reading down your blog. Sounds like you guys have been doing great. We haven’t read the book The Little Princess, is it anything like the movie? We’ve seen the movie and my children loved it. We usually read the book first and then watch the movie if possible to make comparisons, but in this case, the movie came first.
I’ve never seen the movie, so I can’t comment. 🙂
I prefer the books in all cases and don’t even want to watch the movies. The times I’ve done so, the books have been spoiled for me.
Annie Kate