I’m participating again in the What I’m Into series. Here’s my mostly-books edition of highlights for the month of December.
Reading:
Dinner: A Love Story: Jenny Rosenstrach chronicles her journey from newly-wed to experienced mom through learning to cook. I enjoyed the way this memoir/cookbook used quite an eclectic variety of formats (letters, diagrams, memos, traditionally formatted recipes, lists, “conversational” recipe format, and so on) to relate her experience (perfect, by the way, for keeping in the bathroom for flipping through while the tikes bathed). I especially related with the strategies for expanding kids’ palates, and appreciated the perspective of someone who had made it through the challenges of dinnertime in the “little years.” It encouraged me, once again, that time and maturity will do their work. I got some good ideas for dinners, though the only recipe I tried (Green Fries, essentially breaded zucchini) was just ok in my opinion.
A Year of Learning Dangerously, Quinn Cummings: This is the only book I truly finished this month. A former child actor, Cummings is also a writer and entrepreneur who decides to homeschool her elementary-aged daughter. From her descriptions of her own quirks to accounts of crashing a fundamentalist homeschoolers’ convention, this book was just plain hilarious. But Cummings is also a sharp, literary writer who clearly loves words. Irreverent and and yet ultimately respectful of all the various tribes united by the common commitment to home education. An entertaining and thought-provoking read, not just for homeschoolers, or even parents, for that matter.
Love in a Time of Homeschooling, Laura Brodie: The other homeschool memoir I picked up this month, I’m only half-finished with this one. Brodie, a professor of English, pulls her daughter out of school for a “sabbatical,” with the intention of giving her a year of educational renewal before she starts middle school. An interesting and inspiring look at another of the many ways homeschooling can take shape.
Watch for the Light: This was my first time with a book of Advent readings, and I read about a third of them. An eclectic collection, featuring poetry, essays, and fiction excerpts, from such a wide range of writers. This was a great discovery–challenging and provoking– this year as I thought more deeply about Advent and Christmas. The Kathleen Norris and Henri Nouwen essays were particular favorites.
Our Fave Children’s books this month:
The Long, Long Line, Tomoko Ohmura: both kids enjoyed this one, but the toddler especially loved the queue of animals waiting for we-don’t-know-what until the end, which is really imaginative and fun.
The Lorax: I somehow missed this Dr. Seuss book growing up. A couple readings into it with E., he declared it a favorite. It is a kind of melancholy book, but with a glimmer of hope at the end. The Lorax “speaks for the trees” and creatures in his beloved home, which are being destroyed by the greedy Once-ler’s business. This was great springboard for talking about greed, stewardship of creation, and the importance of relationship over things. In this book more than others of Dr. Seuss’ I have read, he seems to be channeling Lewis Carroll; I’ve always had a soft spot for made-up words like “gruvvulous,” “snergely,” and “biggering.” This last word is incredibly useful. One caveat: I did censor a couple phrases as I went, along the lines of s-t-u-p-i-d, since my preschoolers are not yet ready to use those words responsibly.
A Giraffe and a Half: A Shel Silverstein book I wasn’t familiar with, but the kids predictably loved, with its litany of repetition, rhyme and silliness.
Happenings:
We had a lovely and simple Christmas, just the four of us. Q didn’t have enough time off to travel anywhere, and we enjoyed keeping it simple. The kids, till now, have been blessedly unaffected by the commercialism of the holidays; they really didn’t have any expectations, although after a couple different people gave them presents before Christmas day, even the one-year-old was hip to what those packages that appeared under the tree were for. We had a very nontraditional simple dinner of mahi mahi with roasted red peppers and roasted potatoes, and my favorite moment was singing “Silent Night” with the kids.
Looking forward to a fresh start for this New Year!
Grace Write Here 