What I Read When I'm Not Reading Fiction

If my blog looks like a ghost town, it's because LIFE!

Neighborhood kids singing You're a Grand Old Flag, Fourth of July 2014

I'm not really making an excuse because I firmly believe my time has been well spent. As a homeschool mom who dabbles in politics and takes every spare moment to read, whether it's current events or a really tasty bit of speculative fiction, it isn't that I don't have time to blog/write/read/review/whatever. When we're honest with ourselves, we know our "I just don't have time" excuses really just mean "I'm doing other things that I deem more important." That's true even if we don't want to admit to ourselves that obsessing over our sock drawer or 'everything' drawer or that highly addictive new facebook game is a value choice of one activity over the others we also claim to value. Luckily, I haven't been tempted by a facebook game since about 2007. :)

As a recovering perfectionist, I have to be careful how I spend my time or I end up writing until 3am or "sorting papers" (read: reminiscing over high school essays) for an entire day. This natural obsessive tendency, which is very much genetic, is what allows me to crank out first drafts in pretty good time when my heart and soul is in it. It's also what leads me down other paths that are equally riveting. 

So here's some insight into my Soul Stretching Out (hint: that's my blog title these days):

I read NDE's (near-death experiences) like they're going out of style. My most recent read in that category was this:

Goodreads

These books are a great supplement to the backdrop of intense scripture study I find myself doing, especially when it has to do with the beginning of life, the purpose of life, the end of life, and the end of days. While I don't believe everything I read from those who claim near-death experiences and visions, I do find these types of books about visions of the afterlife or future to be soul-stretching. They give me an opportunity to ponder and pray for my own answers, and those periods of quiet meditation are necessary reprieves for a mom of tiny tots. 

That brings me to something else I study somewhat obsessively:

Goodreads

I read about pregnancy and childbirth. You'd think after four pregnancies and births I'd give up my study, but I ALWAYS, always, always find new bits I didn't know before, or am touched by reading somebody else's completely different birth story, or find healing in a birth story a lot like one of mine. Every pregnancy, birth, baby, and child is different. I can't imagine abandoning my study or thinking that I've finally learned it all. 

Of course, since I do homeschool, another topic I obsessively study is education. 

Goodreads

This book, between twenty and thirty years old, has some of the greatest insights on education I've read yet. It's a bit of a thick read and heavy on the technical language in parts, but it also includes scriptural and apostolic guidance about the way human beings learn. Since I believe learning never stops until you die, I also like to read a bit of history and classic literature.

Right now I'm reading this:

Goodreads

So now you know what I read when I'm not reading fiction. For an example of the awesomeness I read when I'm craving fiction, check out the moving book carousel in the right sidebar. I'm lucky enough to know those authors, and every one of their books is an adventure.

What do you read when you're not reading fiction? 

 

Hibernating

I'm not actually hibernating, but we are studying bears today for my son's preschool learning. In my search for a unit study on the topic, I found this childhood gem:

  Teddy Bear Action Song:Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear touch the ground
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear tie your shoe
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear that will do.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, go upstairs
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, brush your hair
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn off the light
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say goodnight!

Aww, jump-rope memories from kindergarten! 

Can't wait to teach it to my kids after nap time. 

Every once in a while, writing takes a back-burner while I do intensive research on different curricula and restructure the way we do preschool. I found my file boxes while de-cluttering the other day, so that threw me into organizing more. Some of the things I made for my oldest a few years ago (apple-shaped red felt pieces, etc.) are now perfect for my two-year-old who's learning colors, letters, counting, and speaking. 

I know a lot of my fellow writers are teachers, and a few are fellow homeschoolers. Since my four-year-old is getting into thicker instruction (by thicker I mean, I really need to consolidate these three progress binders) and is reading early readers by himself, I decided to start a blog to chronicle our adventures and to help me spot routines that are working vs. ones that aren't. If you're into home learning or just curious, follow me at...

Knight Academy - Homeschool for Champions.

In other news, I can't believe it's already Thursday! What are your weekend plans?

THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE: My Review

Ah, another great read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book: an honest look at the educational options available to children today, wrapped up in teenage drama, as it ought to be.

We've all read fiction with an agenda before, and I was prepared for this to be just that, based on the title. But I was wrong. Happily wrong.

The narrator's view of homeschooling is definitely biased, but the experiences the author throws at her make for a very well-rounded view of several different schooling options. THE HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE is the most honest fiction I have read in years. Enjoying a story without an agenda, as you all know, is a rare thing.

Katya's voice is delightful, and sometimes delightfully absurd. She's a teenager after my own heart, who loves to use her creativity. Whether it's planning a foraged-food feast of weed-salad and barberry wine, or just convincing her parents to let her stay home from school for the next year--she is up for the challenge!

There's adventure and angst and drama in this YA book, but there's also romance. It isn't Katya's first kiss that we're experiencing, but it is her first love. And who knew violin lessons could be so steamy?

Katya is thirteen, and Lucy Frank did a fabulous job making her voice match this volatile stage of life. She's emotional and excitable, but she's also more thoughtful than her parents or teachers give her credit for. Doesn't every teenager feel misunderstood this way?

I also enjoyed the catalog of changing friendships that often happens during middle school as teenagers discover who they naturally are and who they want to be. One of Katya's friends seems especially torn between playing "the game" and being herself, a question I think most adults can still relate to their lives.

But this is a book seeping with young adult spirit. I recommend it with five stars.

NEXT READ: Aprilynne Pike's WINGS
Join me next week to discuss this YA fantasy recommended by Stephenie Meyer, author of the TWILIGHT saga.

Next Read: The HOMESCHOOL LIBERATION LEAGUE by lucy frank

Next on my reading list/nightstand is The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank. This book came out last year, and I've been wanting to read it ever since I saw it in the window at Barnes and Noble.

"TO: Everyone I know
FROM: Nature Girl
------------------------
guess what??? i wanted you to hear it from me first. do not look 4 me at school 2moro or anymore. im homeschooling. i will miss you all, but NOT the place.


details l8r.


LYL, K"
-from the back cover

"KATYA just cannot go back to school, not after her summer at Wilderness Camp. There's no way her teachers would let her go on foraged-food-finding missions or eradicate invasive alien plants. Not to mention that she's been wondering about the mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, who lives in her neighborhood but doesn't go to junior high. That's it, Katya needs to be homeschooled! 


Her parents are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn't what she had in mind. She needs the help of Milo and new friend Francesca to come up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League--but will it be enough to convince Katya's parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her?" -from cover flap

I've always been a homeschooler at heart (even though I went to a pretty decent public high school). I think it was junior high that convinced me school was inherently evil. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who thought so, either. I'm looking forward to seeing the principles of homeschooling immortalized in fiction. I just hope this book is not riddled with homeschool cliches and stereotypes.

If you're in between books yourself, please feel free to JOIN me, and when I post my review, we can have a delightful discussion.

Blissful Reading!