Sunday, April 25, 2010

Living books...

I'm reading, "With Nothing but our Courage" to Evie this year as part of our history program. It's a "Dear Canada" book, written by Karleen Bradford. In the story, the mother is depressed because of her many hardships. Evie and I were discussing this depression and Evie said, "That mom should read Joshua 1:9- 'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God will be with you'." I was absolutely amazed to hear that come out of Evie's mouth! She couldn't have chosen a more appropriate verse! She just memorized Joshua 1:9 for Awana- this is exactly why I send her there. Thank you Awana! Uncle Wes would be so proud... he's always encouraging us to memorize the Bible:)

Evie's come a long way with her reading this year. She reads over my shoulder while I type. On road trips, she's always calling out what the signs say. For readers this year, I wanted to use something "living"- as Charlotte Mason would call it. I've probably written the Simply Charlotte Mason's quote on Living Books before, but here it is again:

"Living books are usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject 'come alive.' "

The Little House on the Prairie books were the perfect answer. They are exciting to read and challenging enough to keep introducing new words for her to learn. She only reads about 3-4 pages in a sitting but sometimes the story gets so exciting that she just can't stop at four pages.



I sometimes catch Evie reading the Dr. Seuss books to Elijah. I absolutely love that. I'm just dying for the day I catch her reading a novel for her own enjoyment. When I was around Evie's age or a bit older, I got hooked on the Ramona books. My mom bought me one after another. I can't wait to see what series she likes and I'll be sure to buy her one after the next too! I've got all the Ramona books just in case she likes them the same way I did. Um, not sure if they're considering, "Living" though:)

4 comments:

  1. What a smart girl! So exciting when they get excited about reading, I'm just excited because Reese finally will let me read to her (instead of her saying, "I'll read to you, mom!") And way to go with the Bible memorization - that is so awesome that she's figuring out how to apply scriptures to situations at such a young age - she is such a special girl with a soft heart and I can't wait to see the great ways that God will use her. Love you guys. How is everyone feeling?

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  2. Great post, Tracy!

    Your daughter sounds like she is so sensitive to the things of the Lord - that's wonderful!

    My sister was soooo into the Ramona books when we were growing up! I had all the Little House books, and I loved them! ;)

    Happy reading to you and yours!!

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  3. way to go Evie! i remember the "Ramona" series too! remember when mom bought the "Ramona" movie? I remember I loved it! lol (Lindsay)

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  4. Funny, I hardly remember the Ramona movie... I'll have to see if I can find it:)
    Beth- glad to hear that Reese lets you read to her now:) She better get used to it... Sonlight is all about being read to for the first few years until she reads on her own!
    We're all feeling good here now. Just the two girls got it this time. Elijah wouldn't go near them... he tried his best not to get sick!

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