Sep 30, 2008

Great recommended reading list for kids


'Twaddle free'-love that phrase, as it draws me back to the first days I began homeschooling and the love for my hero, Charlotte Mason. She was a big believer that education was more than dry old textbooks or arms full of curriculum. She loved reading what she referred to as, 'Living Books,' ~you know, the ones that come alive as you read them, drawing you in and you find yourself swept away into the characters and story. (*the link will take you to Ambleside Online, which is loaded with help for those who want more Charlotte Mason information and help.)


Charlotte truly confirmed what the Holy Spirit had already told me...less is more, let children play, read great books, read aloud and let them illustrate as they listen, help them fall in love with learning, let them do copy work from excellent books~ such as from the Bible and begin a life long process of being 'one who continually learns and grows.'



I get an e-newsletter from Debi Taylor-Hough, with all kinds of helpful Charlotte Mason education tips. Debi also has this cool reading list of 'some' of the great living books that are out there for us to share with our children.

To sign up for Debi's monthly newsletter...send her a 'subscribe' email:



*AND don't grow discouraged if you haven't yet given these to your kids to read (or if they are above their level)...there is always the next library trip to get them! It's always lovely to cozy up, to have Mama or Papa read to the children. (big and small children love to be read to!) Hope you have time today to sneak in a wonderful book to share. You'll be glad you did.

Feel free to share one of your favorite Living Books.

Mine...The Five Little Peppers and How they Grew

(this one is on sale at ebay!)



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" was my favorite book growing up - I still have it!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I LOVED The Five Little Peppers when I was younger. I must have read that book a good dozen times! Here are a few of my favorite Twaddle-free books that I can`t wait to read to my boys:

- Black Beauty
- Where the Red Fern Grows
- Miss Osbourne the Mop
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Orphan Train Quartet
- My Side of the Mountain
- Little Men

I could go on and on . . . my mother couldn`t keep me in books when I was little, even though we had literally hundreds in our library! Here`s hoping my boys are the same!

Anonymous said...

You are a blessing from God!! I needed this post to help bring me back down to simplicity.
I will begin a new day tomorrow , of course with prayer, then I will read aloud to my boys from some of the "Living Books" we have on our shelves.
Thank you Kimmie.
May God Bless you always

Michelle said...

I love Charlotte Mason and the "twaddle free" phrase too. My husband reminds me of it often when I get caught up in thinking my children aren't doing enough. Some of my older boys' best memories are when all we would get around to in our school day was read aloud time. It's what they remember most of their homeschool education...very little from the workbooks.

Though I don't get to "visit" you as often as I like, I just want you to know that I think of you often!

Blessings,
Michelle

Annie Chase said...

Five little peppers was one of my favorite books too! I didn't enjoy reading when I was younger and could hardly ever find a book that I wanted ot read but I remember getting the five little peppers and loving it.
My mom also read A wrinkle in time to me when I got a little older. It took a while (months) because of her back but its one of the only stories I stil remember my mom reading to me outside of my toddlerhood.

EEEEMommy said...

I love the Five Little Peppers too! My mom found a sequel for us too: The Five Little Peppers Grow Up. We haven't read it yet though. I love a lot of the classics. Some of my all-time favorites are the Betsy-Tacy books.

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