Tuesday 11 August 2015

August in Books

Every time we have a break from more formal home education, I have great hopes about reading and then reading again. Sometimes, this works and sometimes, it doesn't. This time, I have ended up having multiple books partially read but fewer finished.

Anyway, my current books are 

Sketches in Church History by SM Houghton. This is at least my third reading of this book and my reason for rereading now is to see whether the book is suitable to read aloud to my two youngest. I love this book: it is an easy read covering Church history from the early Church to the nineteenth century from a Reformed Protestant perspective. Still, I suspect that the children will benefit more in another couple of years.

Over the last few months, I have become quite enthused about my vegetable garden perhaps because Middle Son has helped extensively with the garden. Anyway, we have been eating potatoes,
watching the pumpkins daily
and hoping about the beans.
Before anyone thinks that my garden is a complete success, I need to point out that the carrots and tomatoes have been a complete failure and the brussel sprout sowing has yielded only one plant. Anyway, this balance has enthused me to read Joy Larkcom's Grow your own Vegetables.
This has been tremendously educational and also has short sections so it can be read while waiting for the dinner to cook or while watching swimming. The latter had the side benefit of leading to some helpful gardening advice from another mother. 

My home education reading is What your Year 2 Child needs to know. I will probably review this once I have finished it although I'm not making particularly fast progress. Still this is an interesting book from educational, political and Christian perspectives.

Ages ago, I started to reread J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Matthew. I find this book clear and helpful but sadly, in the business of life, it got left for a while. More recently, I have started rereading it- a section a day and yes, I was foolish to stop. Ryle has such clear and relevant things to say and expounds the passage in an unforced manner.

I'm hoping to find time to read about exegesis and have lined up Berkof's Principles of Biblical Interpretation which looks readable even for a mother who tries to read at silly o'clock. 

With the children, I have been reading aloud Return of the White Book which I reviewed recently. I'm enjoying a second run through of this missionary book.

Marcia Williams books are also proving popular and our library seems to have a plentiful supply! Some of these books are making me think about the role of teaching children about myths and legends; whether they should learn about them and how to teach them in a Biblical context. The books have certainly led to some interesting discussions.

Finally, we can't escape The Famous Five. Certainly, much of Five Run Away together wiled away a long journey.

Have you read anything recently that you would recommend? Anyway recommendations are gratefully received but I would love recommendations for books on Christian education. 

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4 comments:

  1. I will have to look for the Sketches from Church History -- after our trip to Ravenna, I want to read more church history. I have not read much interesting -- The Conversations and I am finishing The Spider and the Starfish a business/leadership book my husband wanted me to read.

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  2. Sketches from Church History is good. Simonetta's books are a better introduction for little people, though. Have you ever tried Hannula's church history book?

    My best reads lately: Redeeming Philosphy by Vern Poythress, a mind-changer (reviewed on my blog), Side by Side by Ed Welch about living with others in the church, and Hold Onto Your Kids about the importance of parents and how to solve peer problems before they start. I hope to review the latter two quite soon. And Blind Spots, more about life in the church, is also reviewed on my blog. A tiny free ebook, Mysteries of Time and Creation by Cheri Fields is a quick summary of young earth creation, and I reviewed it on the Currciulum Choice if you want to find out more. And I'm reading Disciplines of a Christian Woman with some friends. Very good.

    I love the phrase 'at silly o-clock'. You enjoy your Berkhof!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. We love the Simonetta Carr books too. I had a little daily slot that I thought that the Sketches would fit into whereas we are using the Simonetta Carr when we encounter the characters in our history studies. I've heard of the Hannula book and must look at it.

      It read your review of Redeeming Philosophy and need to pluck up courage to tackle it! I should probably try one of the Sproul books that you recommend first. I enjoy reading your reviews-it is helpful to have a perspective from another Christian home educating mother with a science background!

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  3. I also have the Grow Your Own Vegetables book! I am reading a few different parenting and Christian womanhood type books just now, but the most recent education books I read were When You Rise Up by RC Sproul jr, and Approaches to Christian Homeschooling by Kerry Beck. I will be interested to read your review of What Your Year 2 Child Needs to Know :-)

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