My Book is Here!

Today is the day! My book, Adventuring Together —How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories With Your Kids, is officially out in the world. I am over the moon excited about this. After all, i’ve been dreaming of writing a book since I was a very little girl.

If you’re wondering what this book of mine is all about, please watch my beautiful book trailer, created by the talented team at Scattered Light Media. You’ll definitely get a sense about the heart of my book!

And if you haven’t ordered it yet, head to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or ask your favorite local book store to stock it! After you read, I’d love to know what you think about it. What resonated with you? What ideas helped you? What pushed you? What do you plan to put into practice in your own life? Would you consider putting a few of those thoughts into a short review and posting it on Amazon? It would help spread the message of the book!

It’s a message I believe in and that the world needs right now—creating connection in a disconnected world. Join me on the adventure!

Love from,
Greta

Greta's Book Lists: Books For the Artist

In all my years of blogging, I’ve never done a gift guide. But since books are one of my favorites gifts to give, I’ve shared lots of them here and there. Trouble is, they’re scattered throughout my Instagram feed and on the blog. So the best I could do was suggest you look through my Instagram hashtag #maandpamodernread, or here on the blog under the category “Books” to find them.

But this year I’m trying to be a little more organized! Woo hoo! I’m creating book lists with some of my favorite books for gift giving, all arranged by topic. Insert cheers by my fellow bibliophiles and book hoarders.🙌📚

Each list will be here on my blog, and in my Instagram stories, with links of course, so you can find them easily all year long. The links take you to my Amazon “book shop”, where you’ll be able to see each book list I’ve created, as well as look at each book individually. I know it helps to see the covers of the books, and read a little bit about each one. Of course I’d be delighted if you purchase the book from my Amazon shop. Because I get a teeny-tiny bit from the sales of each book. But don’t feel any pressure. The links are there first and foremost to be a help to you. If you’d rather purchase from your favorite book shop, then by all means, do that!

This first list I’m sharing with you is:
“BOOKS FOR THE ARTIST”

I love sharing resources on this topic because I am passionate about helping parents create a culture of creativity in their homes and families. ( I even wrote an article on it! Read it here) Especially when they feel like they don't know where to begin because they “aren’t artistic”. I understand those feeling one hundred percent because I am not a visual artist either. Bu I live with a whole bunch of people who are. Instead of giving up and thinking I don’t have anything to offer them, I share as many resources as I can find from people who can help them grow as visual artists. And now I am sharing those resources with you!

This book list includes books for everyone, from babies to teens to adults. There are books to help your kids grow in their skills as artists, books to teach them about famous artists, and books to inspire and grow their creativity. I’ve got books for every level of artist, from beginner to advanced. And I’ve got books for all kinds of different art interests, from cartooning to crafting to architecture. I’m even including a few of my kids’ “must have”art supplies. I think this list has something for everyone!

I hope this book list will be a continuing source of inspiration for you. And if you have any favorites I’ve missed, please share them in the comments. I am always looking for new art books to add to our library.

And now, here’s the list. You can click on each book to see the cover and read a little bit about each book. Happy reading!

Greta’s Book Lists—Books For the Artist

Board Books for the Baby Artist:
Quiet Time With Cassat
Counting With Wayne Thiebaud
In the Garden With Van Gogh
Painting With Picasso
Andy Warhol’s Colors
Squares and Other Shapes
Mini Masters boxed set of books

Picture Books About Art
Mouse Paint
Mix It Up
A Color of His Own
The Wing on a Flea

Books About Famous Artists
Vincent’s Colors
My Name is Georgia
An Eye For Color
Linnea In Monet’s Garden
Michelangelo
Norman Rockwell—Story Teller With a Brush

Books to Inspire Creative Doodling
Beautiful Doodles
The Boys Doodle Book
The Girls Doodle Book

Books to Inspire the Young Architect
Archidoodle—Architects Activity Book
Archidoodle City
Built to Last
Underground
City—A Story of Roman Planning and Construction

Crafting and Art Activity Books
Yellow Owls Little Prints
Art Camp
Hand Lettering For Everyone

Drawing Books For Growing Artists
Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book Make a World
Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals
Ed Emberely’s Drawing Book of Faces
Illustration School—Let’s Draw Cute Animals
Illustration School —Let’s Draw Plants and Small Creatures
Illustration School—Let’s Draw Happy People

Drawing Books for the Advanced Artist:
Figure Drawing Design and Invention

Don’t forget, you can see this book as well as some other fabulous book lists I’ve created in my very own Amazon book shop! Head over for lots of book ideas!
Love from, Greta

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10 Things I Want To Tell You About Life Of Fred Math

I wrote an Instagram post yesterday and mentioned the math program we use, Life of Fred. I anticipated that I’d get questions about it, and sure enough, I did! In order to answer some of those questions, I put together this little blog post. I hope it helps you see the process we went through as we began using this curriculum, as well as the things I’ve come to deeply value about it.
If you have further questions, feel free to comment here, send me an email through my website, or message me on Instagram. I’d love to connect with you and help you if I can.
And now, here are 10 things I want to tell you about Life of Fred Math!

1. We LOVE IT! 

2. This is our second year using it. 

3. This year we are ONLY using Life of Fred for math. 

4. We started with the very first book last year, all 4 kids together. It was super easy at first and the big kids were a little taken aback. “This is too babyish,” they said.I asked them to give it time. I asked them to trust the process. I asked them to trust me. 

5. They did. And soon, they totally loved it! Math became one of our most favorite subjects. Which has not been the case in 10 years of home schooling. 

6. We flew through the early books and when it got more difficult they slowed down. Each kid is working at their own pace, in different books now. 

7. These books teach SO many math concepts at all levels. It’s not “grade level” math. It’s just the building of one mathematical understanding upon another. And it works! There is so much learning happening, across all subjects, in each and every lesson. 

8. Because Life of Fred uses a narrative style to teach, my story loving kids connected with it immediately. They recall concepts along with the story and it makes the learning stick like it never has before. 

9. I also love that this is not “drill and kill” style teaching. Rather, the approach is “broad and deep”. The idea is to build a love for learning about all things. And to include math as one of those things your student loves to learn.
   
   
   

10. Lastly, you need to know, it will take courage for you to use this math program. Because Life of Fred is different than the norm. At first, you’ll probably feel like your kids aren’t doing enough math. You might worry they’re behind their grade level peers. You have to TRUST THE PROCESS. And then be willing to do things differently because it’s working for your kids. 

And now, I’m throwing in a few more things here because I want you to know them and because that’s how I roll. 😉

1. Life of Fred math is straightforward. It doesn’t come with lots of manipulatives or things to cut out and all kinds of things to prepare ahead of time. I’m the kind of teacher who gets overwhelmed by lengthy lessons, and lots to prepare before I even teach. I love the simplicity of Life of Fred. I also love that the simplicity in no way detracts from the learning my kids are getting. 

2. Life of Fred math goes from kinder all the way through college!! That’s right. Life of Fred covers algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics, statistics and calculus. There is also chemistry, beginning readers, and even language arts! Visit the website here to see all the books available. 

3. Life of Fred math is super affordable. It’s just one book at a time. I love that! Also, the books are hard cover and are non consumable. That means they can be used over and over for all your students. Your kids do their work in a separate notebook. You can buy each book individually on Amazon as you need them. Or you can buy whole sets.
   
   If you or your kids are struggling with math, I can’t encourage you enough to try starting your own math journey with Life of Fred books! It might just change everything.

Last thing. This is not a sponsored post. I just really love this math curriculum. So I want to share it with you. But even if it was a sponsored post, my words would be the same. I never recommend anything to you that I don’t use and love. Just wanted you to be sure you knew that. 😉


Again, I hope this was helpful for you. Please let me know if you have further questions. And here’s something this former math phobic never dreamed she’d say, Cheers to Math!
Greta

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My Favorite Coming of Age Novels—and why “The Catcher In the Rye” isn’t one of them.

I love coming of age novels. I remember reading them while I was growing up, and identifying somehow with each character. It didn’t matter that they all faced much harder, often heartbreaking, circumstances than I had ever faced myself. I still learned so much from the likes of Jody Baxter, Caddie Woodlawn, Jo March, and Billy Coleman. And what I appreciated, even then, was that these characters faced the struggles and difficulties of life with strength and courage. Even if they messed up at some point, displayed weakness, or cried their heart out over loss, they still ended up on their own two feet, strong and resilient. They were characters I could look up to.

I’m certain many of the coming of age novels I love best are not very well known now. I have to admit, this saddens me. Because these stories are very dear to my heart. Oh yes, part of that is nostalgia and wanting to share treasured parts of my book loving childhood with anyone who will listen. But it’s more than that. These powerful stories shaped me.

In a time when so many tweens, teens, and parents visit the young adult section of the book store only to find books filled with sex and profanity—because publishers think that’s the way to attract young people—I want to say "there’s something better!” I have a passion for sharing books that will shape their readers for good. That’s the most important reason I talk about my favorite coming of age novels. It even trumps nostalgia. Like Gladys Hunt says “a good book is a magic gateway into a wider world of wonder, beauty, delight, and adventure. Books are experiences that make us grow, that add something to our inner stature.”

A good coming of age novel doesn’t need to appeal to teenage rebellion to pull in its reader. Using those things just cheapens the story. In fact, I think that by making a story salacious, we’re doing young readers a great disservice. A coming of age novel should talk about the truly hard parts of growing up: loss, doing the right thing, loyalty, forgiveness, loneliness, hard work, courage, and loving deeply. Sex, profanity, drugs, or sneaking around behind your parents’ back really have very little to do with it.

Yet that’s what many coming of age novels offer. They don’t talk about the real things, the hard things, how to face them, and how to grow from them. They don’t teach or strengthen. They don’t push their reader toward good. And that bothers me so much that I just want to stand in the middle of the young adult section, proselytizing, “wait guys, don’t read that one! There are better books out there waiting for you.”

When I read “The Catcher In the Rye” for the first time I was so disappointed. While the book was originally written for adults, I had heard many people describe it as the quintessential teenage book. I found Holden Caulfield whiney and completely uninspiring. The sex and profanity in the book seemed to me just as weak as those jokes in a movie where a guy gets hit in the crotch with a baseball bat. Sure everyone groans and laughs. But it doesn’t take much imagination to come up with that joke. “The Catcher In the Rye” didn’t motivate me to be a stronger or more courageous person. It just left me feeling kind of empty.

That is the exact opposite of what any book should offer. And especially a coming of age book. We’re handing books to kids at a time when they are figuring out what they believe, who they are, and who they want to become. Shouldn’t we, therefore, be giving them the very best? I think Madeleine L’Engle says it so well: “We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination.”

And if you’re worried about exposing your kids to those hard topics like loss, loneliness or betrayal, I get it. I know we want so badly to protect our kids from all the hard and sad things in this world. But the truth is, they will experience them at some point. Isn’t it good then, to show them people who have stood in the face of the struggle and fought well? 

One of the best ways to handle the hard topics covered in a coming of age novel is to walk through those things with your child. Rather than handing the book to your kid and expecting him to wade through the thick of that story alone, take the opportunity to wade through it together!  These books provide fodder for so much great discussion. You will sigh together. You will learn together. You might even cry together. We always do. And that’s ok. Because good stories move us. They touch our hearts and leave us changed. They leave us changed for the better.

*****************************************************
Below you’ll find some of my favorite coming of age novels recommendations. These are all books I have read personally, on my own or with my kids. I know there are plenty more wonderful coming of age novels out there, but I only share ones I have read myself.

All of these books cover some difficult topics. Amongst the books I listed, some of the topics covered are: death of a beloved pet, death of a friend or parent, bullying, divorce, marital infidelity, anger towards a parent, coping with a disability, rape, racism, lying, loneliness, war, and running away from home, to name a few. Yes, these are hard topics! But each of these books handles these topics in a brave and tasteful way. They don’t feel salacious or included simply to get a reader’s attention. They are purposeful. It’s important to think of the opportunity these books give you to talk through these topics with your kids. And then to see characters who persevere, grow, and triumph in the face of truly difficult things.

Next to each book I’m putting the ages I’d share that book with my own kids. Of course you’ll have to determine what is right for your own child. So please know this is only a guide. And remember, you can let your kids read these books on their own, but you’ll be missing out on the fantastic opportunity for discussion and connection these books provide. So I highly recommend reading these books with your kids.

If you’re thinking, “I don’t have time to read these books aloud to my kids!’ Don’t worry! I’m sharing links to the ones we’ve listened to together on audio. Listening to one of these books on audio would be perfect for your upcoming summer road trip!

Audio books are expensive. But I have found them to be one of the most worthwhile investments I have made for myself as a parent and educator to my kids. Honestly, I can't recommend them to you enough. A few ways to get these books on audio if you're interested: 1. Sign up for a trial with Audible and get your first book free. You can access the book and Audible through the links below. Cancel if you don't want the monthly subscription but keep the book! 2. sign up for a monthly subscription with Audible. Use your free credit to get one of the more expensive books each month. Watch for sales to get audio books for low prices. 3. Purchase the audio book but don't purchase an Audible subscription. Just get the audio book through Amazon. Like I said, listening to books together is a fabulous way to connect with your kids. Especially with these coming of age novels. You'll have so much to talk about together!

I hope you find this list helpful and that it will inspire you to read some great books with your kiddos. Happy reading!

 
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. (8+)
The Yearling audio book 
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (5+)
Rascal by Sterling North (6+)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (13+)
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink ( 7+)
Caddie Woodlawn audio book
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (8+)
Where the Red Fern Grows audio book
Pax by Sara PennyPacker (10+)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCammilo (8+)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (6+)
Little Women audio book
Wonder by R. J. Palacio (8+)
Wonder audio book
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (6+)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (6+)
My Side of the Mountain audio book
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (6+)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (10+)
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4+)
Farmer Boy audio book
Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery (5+)
Rainbow Valley audio book
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (6+)
Johnny Tremain audio book
Man of the Family by Ralph Moody (7+)
Man of the Family audio book
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (5+)
On the Banks of Plum Creek audio book
A Door In the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (7+)
A Door in the Wall audio book
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (13+)

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Falling In Love With My Body Again

Guys, I want to talk about body image. And aging. And exercise. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. (All my Nacho fans out there, holla!). After a 7 month hiatus from working out, my body is finally healed enough that I’m able to exercise again. It’s been glorious! It's been humbling. And I've learned a lot.

It started with a step aerobics class that my sweet, encouraging husband invited me to take with him a couple weeks ago. (read about it here) Not because he’s a big step aerobics fan, but because he knew I needed to start somewhere, and step aerobics seemed low key. It was so fun. And it was hard! Before my injury, I was climbing 8 foot walls and 15 foot ropes to the ceiling. I could knock out 100 burpees in a workout. And here I was now, huffing and puffing in step aerobics.

But I was so happy to be able to move my body without pain that I didn’t care. That time away gave me a deep appreciation for a body that could move without excruciating pain. That mattered more than weight gain, loss of muscle tone, and a drastically altered fitness state. I just cared that I could move! My focus changed. 

Still, as I looked at myself in the mirror every day and saw this new me, I struggled. There are parts that aren't my favorite. Because the thing is, no amount of photo filters, dressing for my body type, magical face creams, organic tonics and elixirs or spanx can change the fact that I’m a flabby, middle aged woman, with 20 pounds to lose, a stubborn hair that keeps growing out of her chin, crepey neck skin, spider vines on her thighs and a receding hair line. That isn't body shaming. It’s just the truth.

But guess what?
Those things don’t describe how my heart feels! My heart feels 20. Or 16. Or sometimes even 12. Light and young and happy and full of life! And when I exercise, the feelings in my heart become louder than the outside voices that fill my head.

When I exercise, my heart says, you are beautiful. Even if I haven’t lost a pound. When I exercise, my heart says, you are strong. My heart says, yes you can climb trees with your kids! My heart says, go ahead, flirt with your husband. My heart says, who cares about that chin hair? Pluck that sucker out and move on!

With time, exercise should change some of that flabbiness and weight gain. But I’ll still never match the standard of outward beauty that the world throws at me. It’s simply not possible. And that’s exactly why I love exercising. Because when I exercise I fall in love with my body for what it is and what it can do, instead of hating it for all that it isn’t.

Ladies, we need to stop lamenting the fact that we don’t look like the photoshopped models we see all around us. Or even like the other women just like us who we see on social media everyday. Instead we need to rejoice that our bodies can nurse babies and bend over to make beds. We should celebrate that we are walking or running, taking step aerobics or going mountain biking. We should be grateful for a mind that is fed and fueled by good books. For a heart that is filled with compassion. For a smile, even one without perfectly white teeth, that fills other people with joy and makes them smile in return. There is so much more to us than those stupid Instagram filters show. Or don’t show.

So let’s stop comparing ourselves to others. Let’s rejoice in what we can do and in who we are—flaws and all. In fact, I pray that we can grow to see ourselves in this way:
“She was beautiful, but not like those girls in the magazines. She was beautiful, for the way she thought. She was beautiful, for the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loved. She was beautiful, for her ability to make other people smile, even if she was sad. No, she wasn't beautiful for something as temporary as her looks. She was beautiful, deep down to her soul. She is beautiful.” F Scott Fitzgerald.

Isn't that an incredible description of true beauty? I have that quote hanging in my kitchen to read daily. Because it encapsulates the kind of beauty I long to emanate, the kind that matters most. It’s the opposite of the beauty the world tries to tell me matters most. It’s a beauty that comes from the heart. May we all be that kind of beautiful!
Love you all!
Greta
And because I can't write a post without a book recommendation, here are 3 books on this subject that I want you to read with your kids.  Because we all need to start helping our children, girls and boys, have this understanding of what true beauty is.
The books are: 
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Wonder. 
If your kids are 9 and up, I'd read all 3. If they are younger than that, start with the Velveteen Rabbit and then work your way up to the other 2 books.
And don't just hand the books to them. Read them aloud together! Let the stories sink into your minds and hearts. Talk about them! And then, revisit those stories now and again. Books are such a good place to begin to help our kids that true beauty comes from the inside. 
 

Loving Your Late Bloomer

We live in a world that doesn’t really celebrate late bloomers. In fact, from the time our kids are just tiny babies, we celebrate every early accomplishment they make: the early walker, the early talker, the early reader, the early writer.

On the flip side, if our baby is a year old we might hate admitting they’re not sleeping through the night yet. And if our 3 year old is still in diapers, we might make embarrassed excuses for him, “you know, some boys are a little slower to potty train.”
When our daughter is 4 and more interested in playing in the mud than learning to write her name, we might worry that she’s falling behind her peers.
And when our son still doesn't know his letters and sounds at 5, we’re terrified that he’ll never catch up on reading.

No one seems to be celebrating the late reader, the later writer, the late talker, the late walker. We might feel a sense of relief when they finally do meet a milestone, but we’re certainly less likely to share a post on Instagram that our late writer has finally mastered his name in the wobbly script his friends mastered 2 years ago.

Why is that?
Are we ashamed? Embarrassed? Afraid we or our child will be seen as less than?
Maybe its a little bit of all those things.
As parents we want so badly for our kids to be the best at all the things, that we sometimes forget that their best might happen at a different time than everyone else.

No parent is immune to this worry. And I think that should bind us together and offer such comfort. Yet the parent of a late bloomer often feels so lonely in their journey.
That’s one of the reasons I love the children’s book, “Leo the Late Bloomer.”

This book is a very simple story, but contains such wisdom and comfort for any parent who is watching and waiting for their little one to bloom.

The story starts out with Leo, a little tiger, tangled amidst the blooms of a flowering plant. “Leo couldn’t do anything right,” the text reads. Oh, haven't we all felt that about our later bloomers at some point?

Leo’s friends, an owl, elephant, snake, red plover, and crocodile can all read, write, draw, talk  and eat without making a mess. But Leo can do none of these things.
“What’s the matter with Leo?” asked Leo’s father.
“Nothing,” said Leo’s mother. “Leo is just a late bloomer.”

Leo’s father struggles with this idea. Which I can relate to. He watches Leo, worrying, as Leo simply dig holes in the snow while his friends make beautiful ice sculptures.  But Leo’s mother remains calm. I so long for her gentleness and trust as she waits patiently for her cub to bloom when he’s ready.

And of course, one day he does! We can’t help but celebrate with Leo as he learns to read and draw and write and then say his very first words, “I made it!”  I remember reading this book as a child and feeling happiness for Leo. Its the same happiness we should feel for our own late bloomer or the happiness we should feel for our friends and their later bloomers.

Its such a temptation to compare our kids to every other kid around them. But we really need to give our kids and ourselves a break. No more hovering and worrying. More trusting that, most of the time, our kids will bloom when they’re ready.

As a mother to a few late bloomers myself, I can tell you that I’ve spent a lot of time playing the role of Leo’s dad. I worried and pushed and hovered and it was to no avail. My later reader read when he was ready, at 8 years old. He’s 13 now and reads above grade level and is doing just fine. It was hard to believe that would happen when I was in the midst of it. But it did. He bloomed!

Determined to be more like Leo’s mother with my second child, I didn’t worry about his late blooming. But as time went by and reading and writing remained a big struggle for him, it eventually become clear that this wasn’t a later blooming problem. Something more was going on.

And that right there is the real reason that most parents struggle to fully celebrate their late bloomers. Its why we’re more often like Leo’s dad than Leo’s mom. Because we worry this will be our outcome. We worry there really is a problem. We worry that by not identifying it soon enough, we’ll have failed our kids.

I get it.
I wish I had not been quite so relaxed as I waited for my son to bloom. He definitely needed extra help. Thankfully he’s getting it now and making great leaps with a teacher who understands his needs and can teach him in ways I cannot.

I’d further add that I don't think my son's case is the norm. More often than not, the late blowing isn’t an indication of a serious problem. Experts want to make us believe that it is. But the truth is, not every child learns to read at 5. Just like every child doesn't learn to walk at 1. Most of the time, they just need a little more time in the sun to bloom when they’re ready.

And now I’m here with my 3rd son, another later bloomer. In some ways he’s felt like the latest bloomer of them all. He’s immature in so many ways, and every once in a while I’ve caught myself wondering, “will he ever bloom?” 

But over the past few months, he’s been blossoming. He’s finally able to make his hands draw the pictures in his head, and now he spends hours drawing pictures, the floor around him littered with papers and pens and markers. Because he hasn't bloomed quite enough to not make gigantic messes every time he creates.

Last week he said he wanted to practice reading, and on our first lesson he mastered identifying letters and sounds and piecing together words with ease. I waited until he was ready because I knew pushing him wouldn’t work. We’d both hate it. He’s 6 and a half. That means he’s miles behind many of his same age peers. But he’s also miles ahead of both of his brothers at that age.

Which just goes to show that every single kid needs to be given their own time table for blooming. And that the wise parents waits. And when something seems truly amiss, the wise parent is brave enough to face that. If not, she’ll let her child bloom when he’s ready. And then she’ll celebrate him!

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Learing to Love Nature through literature

Learning to Love Nature Through Literature
A Booklist by Greta Eskridge

Picture Books:
Mrs. Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
The Big Snow by Berta Hader
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
Good Night Owl by Pat Huchins
The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown
Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Burgess Bird Book and other books by Thorton Burgess
A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Aston
One Small Square by Donald Silver
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Golden Book of Birds

Books for Older Readers:
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Girl From the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter
The Wind and the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Mandy by Julie Andrews
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis
Anne of Green Gables and many other books by Lucy Maud Motgomery
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
The Hobbit by J. R R Tolkien
Charlotte’s Web by EB White
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Little Britches by Ralph Moody
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O Dell
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Birds Every Child Should Know by Neltje Blanchan
Pagoo by Holling Clancy Holling
Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling
John Muir’s Book of Animals by John Muir
Birds of the Air by Arabella Buckley
Cubby In Wonderland by Frances Joyce

Poetry:
“September” by Helen Hunt Jackson
“Robin Redbreast” by William Allingham
“The Eagle” by Alfred Lord Tennyson
“The First Snowfall” by James Russell Lowell
“The Rooks” by Jane Euphemia Browne
“May Day” by Sara Teasdale
“Maker of Heaven and Earth” by Cecil Frances Alexander
“A Thanksgiving” by John Kendrick Bangs
“The Use of Flowers” by Mary Howitt
“Over in the Meadow” by Olive A. Wadsworth
“Silver” by Walter de la Mare
“Fog” by Carl Sandburg
“The First Bluebird” by James Whitcomb Riley
“Bird Song” by Laura Richards
“Hurt No Living Thing” by Christina Rossetti
“Daffodowndilly” by Christina Rosesetti
“Autumn” by Emily Dickonson
“At the Zoo” by William Makepeace Thackeray
“October’s Party” by George CooperTrees by Sara Coleridge

A few of my favorite books to use for research during nature journaling:
The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws
The Burgess Bird book by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Sea Shore book by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Animal book by Thornton Burgess
The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada by John Muir Laws
Pagoo by Holling Clancy Holling
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancy Holling
Sea Bird by Holling Clancy Holling
John Muir’s Book of Animals by John Muir
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Animalium by Jenny Broom
Golden Nature Guides
How and Why Wonder books

“He doesn’t despise the real woods because he has read of enchanted woods; the reading makes all real woods a little enchanted.” 
CS Lewis
 

///This blog post is best read after listening to with my interview about books and nature on one of my favorite podcasts, Read Aloud Revival.
You can listen to Sarah and I talk books in episode 62, available here.///

One of the most important parts of the education I am giving to my kids is nature study. Now I know you won’t find nature study in any of the SAT prep classes, and you can’t take nature study as a college prep class either. And I am certain most people would not consider it an academic pursuit. But there are so many reasons why I incorporate nature study into my children’s education, and academics are just one of them.

First of all, I use nature study to cultivate a love for the natural world in my kids. I firmly believe that a love for nature will have a positive influence on them for the rest of their lives. Loving nature will give them a place of peace and refreshment in a busy world. Rather than seeking out those things elsewhere, perhaps in ways that are not even healthy, they will already know the quiet joy and tranquility that comes from a walk in the forest, or by hearing the crash of waves. That is a lasting gift.

Spending time in nature also teaches my kids the habit of curiosity and observation.  They notice new things and wonder about them every time we are out in nature.  Those are precious qualities to grow in my kids that will spill over into every other part of their life.

A love for nature will also cause a respect for it. And raising kids who respect nature is a passion of mine. That respect will grow into a passion for caring for nature and for preserving it.  We need kids who see themselves as stewards of this beautiful earth God created.

And that brings me to the most important reason I pursue nature with my kids; cultivating a love for nature will bring my children closer to the Creator of nature.
I’ve seen it in my own life.
I know God better by spending time in His creation. And I know Him further by studying His creation.
Through nature, God comforts me, and brings me immense joy.
He reminds me of His power, His majesty, His goodness, His care, and His creativity. Every time we are out in nature, we see God. It continually points us back to Him.
Of all the gifts nature has to offer my kids, I believe this one is the greatest.

And so I work hard to constantly and consistantly fill our lives with nature. From simply spending time in the back yard, to weekly hikes in places close to home, and bigger trips to the grandest, most beautiful nature spots we can get to. I try to seep their lives in nature.

It takes work.
It takes planning. It takes gas. Iit takes time. It takes us away from our school books. Iit takes getting dirty, getting tired, getting frazzled, and carrying a baby, and maybe a toddler, on my body. For years.
It takes sacrifice.

Now maybe you are reading this and you are nodding in your head in agreement, while at the  same time your heart is sinking.
“I don’t have those things,” you think.
“I don’t have a back yard.”
“We can’t spare the gas money.”
“I have no one to go hiking with.”
“I hate getting dirty.”
“We don’t have grand, natural spaces at our fingertips.”
“I can’t do this.”
Oh but friends, yes you can!

Perhaps it will look different for you than it does for me, but that is OK!
You can offer nature to your kids in the way that works best for you.
You may see only the roadblocks, barring your way to experiencing nature with your kids.
But there is a way, if only you will look at it differently.

I love this quote by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
He says, “If you can’t live in the land you love, love the land you’re in.”

That quote really resonates with me because I have had a love for and a longing for nature for as long as I can remember.  Yet, I grew up going camping only a handful of times, and we never had anything remotely like a weekly, or even monthly hike.
My mom was not what you’d call “outdoorsy”.
She loved and appreciated nature, but in a comfortable, more controlled way.
Like bird watching from the living room, or working in the garden.
She did not enjoy outdoor adventures, unless my dad was along.
And even then, they often made her nervous and stressed her out.
And she didn’t like dirt–on her, on us, or in the house.
She also had extensive back injuries that often made physical activity very difficult for her.
So I can’t recall her ever taking us on a hike.
 

And even if all those things weren’t standing in her way, our family was often strapped for money. So the extra money needed for long drives to spots of natural wonders, often just wasn’t available.
Many times my dad took our only car to work, so then we couldn’t even drive to nearby nature spots.
When my dad did have time, he took us on bike rides on country roads, out hiking, and to the beach as often as he could.
But it was never as much as I longed for.

As a result, I spent countless hours in the empty field across the street from our house. In spring, I had picnics hidden in the tall grass, with only the sky for my ceiling.  I loved to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my cheeks as I picked golden, California poppies to bring to my room. I filled it with the nature I so loved.
I spent hot, summer afternoons, reading or playing dolls in the cool shade of our avocado trees.  Or up in the tree forts my brother, Dad, and I would build in its branches.
In fall, there were no trips to see the autumn color. But I’d gather leaves from the sweet gum trees in our neighborhood, and press them in my books.
I convinced my friends to join my sea shell club.
I collected rocks.
I interacted with nature in whatever ways I could.

And when I look back on those days of my unfulfilled longing for backpacking trips, and tide pool explorations, I see that some of my most significant interactions with the natural world, came not from time actually spent in nature, but from reading about it in books. The books I read were full of characters who loved nature as much as I did. And they were written by authors who knew about the natural world, and made it an important element in their books.
Those books filled a void in my nature hungry soul. They fanned the flame and fed it at the same time.

Books are an incredible way to bring nature into your child’s life. Especially if those road blocks are up, making your access to nature more difficult.
And if you are a family that already makes nature outings a regular part of your life, then reading books where nature plays an important role will only enhance your time outdoors.

“A good book is a magic gateway into a wider world of wonder, beauty, delight, and adventure.  Books are experiences that make us grow, that add to our inner stature.”  Gladys Hunt.

Reading these sorts of books introduced me to nature I might never have know otherwise. When I read The Yearling, I learned the names and characteristics of the flora and fauna of central Florida. Never in my life had I seen a swamp, or the dance of the whooping cranes, but after reading that beautiful book, I knew those places.
Nor had I been to the moors of England.  But after reading The Secret Garden, I could feel their wild, cold, loneliness every winter, and their warmth and life in the spring.

Reading these books grew my love for nature in mighty ways. I began to look at plants, trees, and animals with new eyes. I wanted to know their names, just as they were named in the books I read. I can identify with the girl Richard Louv describes in his book: “One of my students told me that every time she learns the name of a plant, she feels as if she is meeting someone new. Giving a name to something is a way of knowing it.”  I wanted to know more about the world around me. In the end, my love for literature did more for me than encourage a love for nature.  It taught me about nature, and incited a passion in me to learn more.

I suppose you could say I am now living out my childhood dreams with my own children as we adventure and learn together in nature. I am extremely grateful that I get to give this kind of life to them.
I could use our time spent outdoors as all I offer them in the way of nature study. We do a lot. And combined with nature journaling the discoveries we make while expiring, it could be enough. But given my childhood experience of reading literature that filled my head and heart with a different kind of natural experience, I am careful to offer that to my kids as well.
In fact, I’d be hard pressed to decide if I derive more joy from sharing these favorite books with them or actually exploring nature with them. So I make sure we do both!

One of the ways I enhance our learning experience while we read, is to nature journal through our books.  As we read, I ask the kids to listen for the names of plants and animals.  I’ll jot them down when we come across them. Later, we will look those things up in our field guides or on the internet. Once we have identified them, they will draw the in their nature journals.  In this way, we interact with flowers, trees, bugs, birds, and animals that are not part of our everyday life. Nature journaling through books has been an incredible way to expand our nature experiences.

If you are anxious to introduce your family to the wonders of nature that can be found in literature, you’re in luck! Because I’ve created a booklist just for you!
I’m including poetry that inspires a love for nature, some favorite picture books, and a larger list for the growing readers.
I hope these books give you all the joy and passion for nature that they’ve given to my children and to me.
Happy reading!

///You can also find me talking about books and nature often on my instagram feed
And in almost every episode of my podcast At Home.
Check them both out for more inspiration!///

Greta's Book Talks: A Merry Mouse Book of Favorite Poems

Hello book lovers!
I haven’t forgotten you, or my promise of more book posts.
That’s right.
It’s time for another edition of “Greta’s Book Talks”.
Today’s book was a childhood favorite of mine. The book was actually a gift to my little brother, but I was immediately drawn to it when he opened it on his birthday. I remember studying the illustrations carefully as a little girl. Then, when I was old enough to read it to myself, I read the poems inside over and over again.
 

“A Merry Mouse Book of Poems” was illustrated by Priscilla Hillman. I found very little info about her online. Just a list of other sweet mouse books she wrote and illustrated. All of which I want to purchase right now.Her illustrations are charming and very sweet. They’re warm and remind me a bit of Holly Hobby. Remember her?

The poems selected to go with each illustration are poems a young listener or reader will enjoy. They are approachable. Some are fun, or tender. Some are sweet or silly or romantic. Like I said, I was immediately captivated by this book as a child. And to this day, I still feel all the warm feelings when I look at it.

If you have a little animal lover in your house, this book would be perfect for them. Or if you are looking for an introductory poetry collection, this is ideal. I’m sharing more of the poems and illustrations from the book in my instagram stories. (only up for the next 24 hours!)
And I’ll be posting all of my book talks here on my blog so you can easily find them with quick links to Amazon.
I got yo back like that.

As always, I’m so glad to share some of my favorite books with you! Next week I’ll share some Thanksgiving favorites. Cause it’s going to be November, people! 

Here are the some of the other books written and illustrated by Priscilla Hillman.
A Merry Mouse book of Months
A Merry Mouse Christmas ABC
A Merry Mouse book of Nursery Rhymes
A Merry Mouse School House

 

Have fun reading friends!
Love from,
Greta

Home Schooling 101: Creating a Book Club For Kids

The Beginnings
When I was a little girl, I longed for a book club of my own.
I had read about them in books.
My mom wasn’t a part of one, and out of all the other ladies and girls in my circle, there was only one I knew who was part of of book club.
She and I had talked about it at one of my brother’s baseball games.
She spoke of it with such pleasure, of making special food, and of vacuuming and cleaning her seldom used living room specially for the occasion.
Most importantly, she told me about how much fun it was to talk about books with her friends.
Her words went straight to my heart.
This was just what I longed for

And so I went into action and began to create my own book club.
I sent out invitations to a bunch of my girlfriends.
I suggested the book. (I only wish I could remember which one we read!)
On the big day I cleaned my room and made cookies.
And later that afternoon, my friends were dropped off by their mamas for our first book club.

We crowded into my tiny room, squished ourselves together on my bed,  just a bunch of giggly 4th and 5th grade girls.
I tried so hard to lead a book discussion.
But it wasn’t at all like I dreamt it would be.
Before too long most of the girls wanted to go outside to play.
I was slightly heartbroken.
But I vowed to press on.
They just needed time to learn what to do at book club.

By the next meeting there was mutiny afoot.
One of the girls and I got into a disagreement because she said I was too bossy and was trying to make them talk about the book too much.
“But its a BOOK club!” I cried. “And its MY book club! We’re supposed to talk about the book.  And you are supposed to do what I want at MY club!”
It was our last meeting.
And this time I truly was heart broken.
Clearly I needed some help in creating a book club for my friends.
Or maybe they just weren’t ready for a book club.
Maybe I was just ahead of my time.
(I was in 6th grade)

Knowing the tale of my childhood book club woes, you can understand why I couldn’t wait to start a book club for my own kids.
I planned to be a part of the process so it wouldn’t be a flop like my first book club was.
I wanted to give them the book club experience I had imagined for myself.
I wanted to introduce them to the joy of talking about books with their friends.
 

Because in the years between that failed book club, led by a bossy, 11 year old girl who was desperately in love with books, I had the good fortune to be a part of the kind of book discussions my 11 year old self dreamt of.
I had sat in literature classes where we talked about books for hours.
I had become part of book clubs with my friends, with coffee and good food, and genuine interested discussion.
I had moments in my English classes where more than 2 of the students cared about the book we were reading.
Where most of the kids in my class were involved in the conversation, interested, and excited about reading a book.
I had tasted the glory of book talks.
And I was ready to share it.

Thankfully I am a part of a home school group filled with moms whose hearts beat the same way mine does.
A few years ago, we decided to start a book club for our kids.

My kids and I missed the first two meetings.
But the first meeting we went to kind of blew me away.
We met on the beach in the middle of summer.
At lunch time we spread out a potluck lunch on a surf board, called the kids in from the water, and after they had loaded up plates, they settled down to talk about the book.
I was floored by the way every kid wanted to talk about the book.
They had so much to say!
Even the littlest ones did not want to be left out of the discussion.
Instead of a short, shallow, ‘pulling teeth” kind of discussion, it was rich, lively, fun, and went on for a long time.
Watching it all unfold made me happy and weepy and so excited about the years of rich literary discussions that lay ahead of us!
 

The Nuts and Bolts — How we organize our book club
Our book club has grown and blossomed rather organically.
But there were a few ideas we started with that have proved to very helpful in running our book club.
1. One family is the host for each book club.
That means that family chooses the book, picks the location for the discussion, plans the activities, and sends out an email asking each family to bring food to share, and other supplies for the day. We all pitch in to help, but she is the “event director”.
2. One mom facilitates the book discussion.
The same mom whose family is the book club host leads the book discussion.  That means she comes prepared with discussion questions and topics and helps guide the kids through the discussion time. Kids ages 3 to 13 participate in the discussion time, so a grownup facilitator helps a lot.
The idea is that by modeling how to have a book discussion, the kids will one day be ready to hold book discussions on their own.
3. We read classic literature.
This does not mean we are subjecting our kids to Beowulf or Canterbury Tales in the original Old English. But it does mean we are not choosing whatever is on the best seller list for that year. We generally use the free reading lists from Ambleside Online. (see some here, here and here.)
4. We have food at book club.
Books and snacks just go hand in hand. And book club is a celebration. And celebrations have special treats. So this was pretty much a no brainer. All the families bring food to share so the burden is NOT all on the host family.
5. We read 4 books a year.
In an effort not to keep ourselves sane, and to allow ourselves enough time to truly enjoy each book, we decided to read books on a seasonal schedule. That means we read one book for fall, winter, spring and summer. This is not to say that some families (ahem, mine) are not rushing to finish the book at the last minute.  But since you have 3 months to finish a book, you don’t have to cram it all in at the last minute.
6. Every family reads the books differently.
There is no set way to approach the reading. In some families each kids read the book on their own. In other families the book is read together as a family bed time read, or as part of school work. Other families might listen to the book on audio during drive time.  There are lots of ways to approach it, and no one way is better than the other.
In our family, we read the book together, because I don’t want to miss out on any of the books with my kids!
 

The Fun Extras: 
As time has gone on, our book club has bloomed beautifully. Here are some of the extras that make book club days even more fun.
1. We try to align food and activities to the book. 
This doesn’t always work, but often it does.  For example, when we read My Side of the Mountain, the kids brought tools and supplies to build a wilderness fort, just like Sam Gribley did in the book. And when we read Swiss Family Robinson, we planned a botanical scavenger hunt for the kids, where they looked for plants from the book in the botanical gardens where we held the meeting.
And when we read Alice in Wonderland, you can bet there were tea and scones.
2. We wear costumes.
Again, this is not always the case. But if  anyone has a costume that fits the time period or characters in the book, then costumes are very welcome!
3. We meet at special locations.
Living in California, we have the luxury of almost year round good weather. That means we can meet at outdoor locations. If we can, we try to make those locations connect to the book in some way. We’ve met at the beach, in a botanical garden, in a secret garden, in a wilderness park, and once we took the metro to China Town. Plus lots of other fun spots. Come winter, we might be forced indoors, but knowing our group of creative mamas, I’m sure it will still be just as magical.
4. We’re all in!
Its true, book club days are a bit of extra work. If you aren’t up for planning costumes, games, and lugging tables and buckets of tools across a park, you don’t have to. Book club could easily be a circle of kids on the floor, a plate of cookies, and a handful of rich discussion questions.
This is just the way our group functions. We view these days as a special treat and go out of our way to make them that way.
 

Giving kids a love of literature is a gift.
Giving kids a place to talk about the books they love and the tools to do it makes the gift even better.
I hope you’ll make book clubs a part of your children’s childhood.
How happy I’d be to know Kid Book Clubs were happening all over the world!
When you are contemplating the extra work and wondering if it is worth it, be encouraged by this beautiful quote from Gladys Hunt: “Reading enlarges my vision of the world; it helps me understand someone who is different from me. It makes me bigger on the inside. We tend to see the world from our own perspective; it is good to see it from the eyes of others. Good literature helps me understand who I am in relation to what others experience. Far from being an escape from reality, good literature is a window into reality. I read to feel life.”

For the love of books,
Greta

Resources
Books We've Read and Loved in Our Book Club:
A Little Princess
My Side of the Mountain
The Secret Garden
Treasure Island
Little Britches
Anne of Green Gables
Caddie Woodlawn
Robin Hood
Swiss Family Robinson
Johnny Tremain
Alice In Wonderland
Farmer Boy
Grayson
The Hobbit
 

Inspiring Your Reluctant Nature Journaler

It’s time for another Home Schooling 101 post!
This time I am tackling how to inspire your reluctant nature journaler.
If you are in a hurry, you can skip straight down to the how-to section near the end of the post.
You’ll find it under this heading:
“So what does it look like to offer freedom to your child as he nature journals?”
But I really hope you’ll take some time now, or later, to read through the rest of this article and really think about the WHY before you jump right to the HOW.
Its important to understand why we are doing things the way we do, and why we might need to change.
These are some of the things I’m discussing in this piece.
Please let me know what you think.
Thanks!
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If you have spent any time reading about, learning about, or practicing a Charlotte Mason style education, then you’ve heard of nature journaling.
I mean, nature journaling is practically the holy grail of a Charlotte Mason education.
Nature journals, those beautifully sketched and painted pictures of bugs and wildflowers, acorns, and song birds–they’re what we all want our kids to create.
Nature journals are a Charlotte Mason educating mama’s street cred.
Or trail cred, as the case may be.

But what if you have a child who isn’t excited about nature journaling?
What about those unhappy moans every time you bring out that spiral bound notebook of 90 pound weight watercolor paper, the fine tip paint brushes, and the field guides for reference?
What if your child is a reluctant nature journaler?
What of your Charlotte Mason trail cred then?
Can you even be a Charlotte Mason home schooler with a reluctant nature journaler?
Or, can you not be a Charlotte Mason home schooler and still nature journal?

Yes mamas, you can.
Yes. You. Can!
I know, because I was a reluctant nature journaler myself.
And I get a fair amount of guff about it from some of my fellow Charlotte Mason mamas who love nature journaling and excel at it. (you know who you are)
So I write this post with a understanding for where your reluctant nature journaler is at.
And sympathy for his frustration with nature journaling.
And also with a bit of pointed playfulness.
Because I think sometimes we mamas/schoolteachers need to relax a little bit.
We need to remember that learning should be a thing of joy, not a chore or tear filled session of frustration.
We can’t get so caught up in the way things are supposed to be, that we lose sight of why we are doing them in the first place.

If you’ve read some of my pieces on home schooling, you know I am big on finding your why.
Often times we are so ready to get started, to see results, and to prove to ourselves that our kids are learning something, that we miss a very important first step.
Before we worry about how our kids should be nature journaling, and how their nature journals should look, we need to be clear on why we want them to nature journal.
Why does nature journaling matter?
 

And in order to answer that question, we first have to talk about nature study.
Because before nature journaling can happen, our children must engage in nature study.
Nature study is a truly unique and wonderful way to study the natural sciences.
It is one of the best ways I have found to make the subjects of biology, botany, physical geography, geology, entomology, and so many other “ologies” come alive, for both me and my kids.
Nature study is the close observation of many different subjects in nature.
It is the research and identification of the thing observed.
It is getting to know nature on an intimate level.
These are the reasons nature journaling matters.
And once nature study has happened, then nature journaling is the natural next step for continuing with the learning.

Let's delve into this WHY a little further and read what Charlotte Mason, our nature study guru, has to say about why nature study and nature journaling matter:
(taken from Volume One of the Charlotte Mason series found here)

“Adults should realize that the most valuable thing children can learn is what they discover themselves about the world they live in. Once they experience first-hand the wonder of nature, they will want to make nature observation a life-long habit. All people are supposed to be observers of nature and there’s no excuse for living in a world so full of amazing plants and animals and not be interested in them.”

“Besides appreciating the world, observing nature develops other mental powers–ability to focus, to tell things apart, to patiently seek answers. These things are useful in every facet of life.

“The ability to group things together by type and find differences is one of the higher orders of intellect, and every opportunity to use it first-hand should be encouraged. Learning classifications from a book takes no mental power, except maybe rote memory. If the skill of rote memory is deemed necessary, then the child might just as well memorize some phrases in a foreign language to satisfy that requirement!”

“Children can learn an unlimited amount of things that they’ll never forget before even beginning school. A child is ten times better off if he knows where to find the prettiest birch trees, or the four best ash trees in his neighborhood, than a boy who doesn’t even know the difference between an elm and an oak. He is not only likely to be more successful, but happier, too, because the beauty of nature affects our feelings. Dr. Carpenter said that, when our minds have contact with nature, our sense of sublime beauty and order is touched”

“A passion for natural objects can be like a wellspring of refreshment to a dry heart.”

Wow! That is some good stuff right there.
Let me summarize the important reasons Charlotte Mason says children should engage in nature study and journaling:
*Nature study creates a sense of wonder and interest in the natural world.
*Nature study builds the skills of observation, focus, patience, and higher order thinking skills, such        as classification.
*Nature study connects children with beauty, therefore making them happier.
*Nature study requires time spent in nature, which brings refreshment to a child’s heart and soul.

I’ll add my own reasons for having my children take part in nature study:
*Nature study allows for meaningful interaction between my children and nature.
*Nature study creates meaningful connections between my children and nature.
*Nature study encourages further learning.
*Nature study brings them excitement, peace, and joy.
*Nature study makes learning science fun.

I encourage you to think through your own reasons for having your children engage in nature study.
Spend some time making a list, and really think about your WHY.
For me, knowing all the good that comes of nature study, there is simply no excuse for not incorporating it into my children’s’ education.
And, once we’ve engaged in nature study, to have them engage in nature journaling.
It is the natural next step.
 

But that brings us back to my original question, what of the reluctant nature journaler?
I am going to guess that your reluctant nature journaler isn’t reluctant to study nature, just to record those studies.
So you have already won half your battle.
If you are out in nature and observe a coyote or a gopher snake, your reluctant nature journaler probably won’t turn his head in disinterest.
And I bet, once home, he’ll sit and listen as you read to him some interesting tidbits about the life of the coyote and the gopher snake.
Now you are already well on your way to helping him begin nature journaling.
You may just have to change the way you let him do it.
You might have to let go of the how and instead embrace your why.

Here is what Charlotte Mason has to say about your child’s nature journal; (emphasis is mine)
“The children keep a dated record of what they see in their nature note-books, which are left to their own management and are not corrected. These note-books are a source of pride and joy, and are freely illustrated by drawings (brushwork) of twig, flower, insect, etc.” (Volume 3 pg 236)
Please observe that the notebooks are theirs.
That they should feel pride and JOY in them.
Nature journaling should not be drudgery.
It should be interesting, and engaging — a time of happy study.

My children have loved nature journaling since I first introduced it to them.
But they have always loved drawing and making art, and have done so since they were 3 and 4 years old.
Therefore, getting them to draw in their nature journals was never a problem.
Through the process of nature journalling I do offer advice and instruction, “study all the colors and shadows on this rock. It’s not just brown. And look at its shape. Its not a perfect circle, is it?”
And I am almost always the one to suggest they nature journal.
But once they get going, they do enjoy sketching and drawing what they’ve seen out in nature.

“So why”, you are asking, “do you consider yourself equipped to write about a reluctant nature journaler?”
“What is your experience with this struggle?”
My experience?
Easy.
I’m a reluctant nature journaler myself.
I don’t enjoy drawing.
I don’t enjoy painting.
I feel stress and anxiety when I attempt it.
I do not feel peace, and certainly not joy.
And I know plenty of kids who feel the same way.
That’s why I wanted to write this piece.
I hate to think of you and your kiddos battling through nature journaling when it really doesn’t ahve to be that way.
When nature journaling becomes a battle, all that wonderful learning that has taken place through nature study gets lost.
And it is simply because your child is struggling to record his learning in the way you think he’s supposed to.
Let’s change that!

So what does that look like?
Yes, it is finally time to think about the HOW!
Well, almost time.

First, let me share how I came to understand that nature journaling could take many different forms and still be completely viable.
It was a real light bulb moment for me, and I hope it will be for you too.
Not very long ago I was talking about my own nature journaling inadequacies, making fun of myself, but still wishing deep down inside that I was a “real” nature journaler.
My wise friend, Jen, disagreed with me.
She said the pictures I take of the things we study in nature, and then the writing I do about those things are my nature journal.
They aren’t kept in a book–they’re on Instagram.
They aren’t beautiful paintings or drawings–they’re pictures I took with my iphone,
They words aren’t hand lettered on a page–but they are excitedly researched and lovingly crafted into stories.
They aren’t the way Charlotte Mason describes nature journals at all!
But they’re still nature journals.
They look different.
But they’re still the real thing.
 

I felt so validated.
(yes, even a 39 year old mom needs that sometimes)
What a gift my Jen-girl gave me.
And what an understanding it opened for me for all the other reluctant nature journalers out there.
Kids, and mamas, too.

This revelation changed the way I thought about nature journaling.
As home schoolers, we have the wonderful freedom to change our children’s education so that it fits them best.
What a gift that is!
We must not forget to offer our children freedom in learning in our quest to do things only in the way which we think they should be done.

So what does it look like to offer freedom to your child as he nature journals?
*It means you study your child and find out where he struggles.
And then you:
*might put away the pens, the colored pencils and the paint brushes.
*might give her a camera while she is on the trail, and instructions to take photos of the things that capture her interest.
*might print out some of those photos and let her study them.
*might talk about what she sees in the photo, or simply saw out on in nature, just as you would if she were preparing to draw or paint them.
*might look at colors, shapes, and the environment that the item grew in.

Or:
*your child can collect items found along the trail and preserve them in her nature journal.
*wild flowers and leaves can be pressed between the pages of a heavy book and then glued or taped in her journal.
*lizard skins and butterfly wings can be kept in places of honor on her dresser to to be looked at and admired for many days to come, and then carefully placed in a ziplock bag and stapled in her nature journal.
There are so many different ways to fill a nature journal!

Once the photographing, collecting, and observing have been done, then the research can happen.
I find that my kids and I always want to know more about the things we see and bring home from our hikes.
We want to know the names of things, and how they grow and what they eat, and what their songs sound like.
So we:
*listen to bird songs online
*we read books, field guides, and look at countless pictures on line to determine exactly which yellow breasted bird we saw in that tree
*we closely study the leaves and petals of wild flowers to identify and name them.
*we collect acorns and leaves and use them to help us learn about the many varieties of trees..
*I look for information in the books on our shelves that describe the various plants, birds, and animals we’ve seen and read those pieces aloud to my kids.
The research is an extension of the nature study and a valuable part of our nature journaling.

But perhaps your child isn’t thrilled with research.
Ask yourself why?
Are you giving him a stack of books and setting him to work all on his own?
Have you ever tried distinguishing one yellow breasted bird from another?
Its tedious!
Perhaps your child needs you to sit down next to him.
Perhaps he needs you to research with him.
You have the freedom to do that!

We always do our research together.
We share our discoveries and that makes the learning more exciting.
My kids, even my older ones, would not thrive if I set them before a stack of books and field guides and said, “now identify all the things we saw on our hike yesterday.”
We are working toward that goal, but in the meantime, they still need my help.
They need my encouragement.
And my goal right now is that they would enjoy the process of researching, rather than just get it done.

The last piece of our nature journaling for us is the writing.
And while my kids do love making art in their journals, they haven’t always loved the writing.
Sometimes there have been tears or great frustration.
So I have made adjustments along the way to get them to the place where they are writing in their journals and it isn’t a tear filled experience along the way.

Here’s what that looked like:
*at first, they just labeled the things they saw.
*all additional research was discussed orally and was not written in their journals.
*later, they narrated one or two sentences about the things we researched, I wrote it down, and they copied what I wrote.
*next, they had to write their own sentences, and if they needed help, I was right there.
*finally, some of my kids could compose their own paragraphs, synthesizing the information we’ve learned together, and putting it down in their journals.
But it took us a while to get there.
And if that had been my expectation in the beginning, or even later when I was sure they were ready, there would have been tears and resistance.
There would have been reluctance.
And that is never our goal.

You see, the point of nature journals is not to teach our kids to be great artists.
Or great writers.
Nature journals are about getting our kids to enjoy nature.
Nature journals should be the natural outpouring of the excitement they felt doing nature study.
Their nature journals should be a place where they remember exciting hikes, and discoveries, special trips and new learnings.
Nature journals, whatever they look like, should be a treasure that your child can look back on and enjoy for years to come.
And if you allow your reluctant nature journaler the freedom to find his own way to nature journal, then that will happen.
And you will have given him a great gift.
I so hope you’ll try.
And I’m wishing you all the best on your journey,
Greta

A few of my favorite books to use for research during nature journaling:
The Burgess Bird book by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Sea Shore book by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Animal book by Thornton Burgess
Pagoo by Holling Clancy Holling
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancy Holling
Sea Bird by Holling Clancy Holling
John Muir’s Book of Animals by John Muir
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Animalium by Jenny Broom
Golden Nature Guides
How and Why Wonder books
Any of the vast collection of vintage books I’ve collected on all things nature.
 

When God Meets Us Where We Are

Do you know Patricia St. John? She was a life long missionary, and the author of many wonderful books for children. I read all of them as a young girl, but never knew about this book, her autobiography, until recently.
It’s marvelous.

The writer of the forward for the book describes Patricia St. John as a “redemptive person”. Isn’t that a beautiful description of a person? That someone would meet PSJ and come away feeling that from her? I was moved to tears at the thought of what a wonderful woman she must have been to garner such a description.
Redemption is certainly the theme of all her children’s books so I can imagine she must have been like that in person as well.

One of my favorite parts of the book thus far is a story PSJ shares of her time working in a small village in Morocco. Each week she’d invite the ladies of the village to come to her house for tea and fellowship, and then she’d share the gospel with them.
One older lady, the village water carrier, came every week, enjoyed tea, and then promptly fell asleep when the bible message began. Her snores were very disruptive, but PSJ let her sleep, knowing how tired she must be from her hard daily work.
One day this woman stayed awake for the message. She seemed happier and less bowed under the weight of her buckets. “What has happened?” PSJ asked her.
The woman replied, “I heard the message you spoke for me last week. The one where your Jesus said, “come to me all you that labor and are heavy laden.” You were talking to me. I am the one who is heavy laden with these buckets of water. And all the next day I kept saying Jesus’ name over and over as I carried those buckets, And they didn’t feel so heavy. He helped me.”
PSJ smiled in wonder at the goodness of God.
This woman had heard the words Jesus spoke and then she fell asleep and didn’t hear the rest of the words PSJ had spoken. PSJ went on further to share that the heavy burdens Jesus took from is were our sins. He carries them from us and for us.
But this woman didn’t need to hear that. She needed to know that there was a God who cared for her physical burdens. A God who would meet her simple, physical needs.
She didn’t theology or doctrine.
And God knew that.
He met her where she was.

I love that so much.
Because I have been there.
God has met me in the shower, where I hid my tears from my kids, and cried out my broken heart after a miscarriage and over a broken marriage.
God met m in the pages of The Chronicles of Narnia, where He showed me how much He loved and cared for me through the character Aslan. And what grace and forgiveness look like through the characters of Edmund and Eustace.
He met me as I read through the Jesus Storybook Bible with my kids, crying through every story that showed the mighty, healing, grace of a Savior who forgives.
He met me in a hospital room, in the gentle touch of a nurse, who washed blood from my legs and let me cry over a lost baby.
He met me atop a mountain, in the form of a hawk, hovering just over our heads for many minutes. Aaron and I were broken, bruised, and healing, and that hawk spoke to us a message of hope. He reminded us of a God Who brings miracles of beauty and grace, when it doesn’t seem like they could possibly be there.

None of these moments were in church, or came from deep, theological discussions.
They were, however, very much what I needed at the time.
God met me where I was,
He knew exactly what I needed from Him.
And He gave it to me.

I love my church, my pastor, and the way God ministers to me through both of them.
But I also love the way God knows me so deeply and personally that He brings me His love in many, many different ways.

He knows us.
He cares.
“You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.”
Psalm 139: 1-12

If you are feeling weary and burdened, weighted down with care like that woman in the village, may you know the deep, abiding, caring love of God today.
You only need to call His name.

And remember, books change people.
The Good Book, and also so many others that God uses to speak to us.
Much love,
Greta

For the Love of Audio Books

“The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one is with another who shares the same books.”Katherine Mansfield

I love the way listening to audio books brings all my kids together.
Yesterday they spent the entire afternoon in the boys’ room listening to The Last Battle, a book they’ve read and listened to several times before. But we like to listen to our favorite books again and again. It just makes us love them more.
They were all in there together, drawing, building Legos, or just laying on the bed and soaking up the beautiful language and storytelling of one of CS Lewis’ masterpieces.
We don’t use earphones or earbuds when we listen to books, at home or in the car, because I love the way listening to a story together builds our relationships with one another.

 

The moment we put those ear buds in, we are shutting ourselves off from everyone around us. I work very hard to cultivate relationships within my family and so this “shutting off from one another” is the exact opposite of what I want to see happening.
Instead, I love to hear my kids laughing over a story together, or discussing the book as they listen to it together. We aren’t all separated from each other–we’re enjoying time together. I love the way, everyone is drawn into a room when an audio book is turned on. We’re pulled together by the magic of a good story.
We have beautiful conversations about whatever book we are listening to. Everyone chimes in, and we all relate to the book in different to ways, but we’re experiencing it together,  which creates such special bonds. We talk in the language of the books we’ve read. I often hear my kids say things like this, “you know that part in The Hobbit…” Or, “it’s like in Caddie Woodlawn when…”
The books we read together become shared experiences and create cherished memories just as family vacations and adventures do. In fact, the books we’ve read together are some of our favorite adventures.
 

I have always felt that putting something in, or over, our ears separated us from one another and I’ve never liked that. Even at 11 or 12 when I got my first Walkman, I didn’t like listening to it in the car because I was missing out on the conversation my parents were having. I hated sitting next to my mom while she drove, my headphones on, and not talking to her. It felt almost rude to me. But even more, l knew I wasn’t experiencing life with her. There would be no conversations about the simple things we saw as we drove, or the deeper conversations that might happen as we sat next to each other.
There wouldn’t be singing along together to the Sam Cook cassette playing in our hunk of junk Dodge Dart while my mom drove my brother and I to math tutoring. There’d be no laughing over silly stories together There wouldn’t be learning how to sit together in silence, each having our own thoughts, yet fully comfortable together in the quiet.

Building relationships is certainly easier when we are fully engaged with one another.
I suppose all those things played a part in my decision to keep our book time free from ear buds and headphones. It’s not that those things are bad in and of themselves. Or even that using them is bad. It’s just that for us, the experience of being together without them is better.
 

So how does this life style decision play out in our family, practically speaking?
Truthfully there is no grumbling about listening to books together because it’s something they’ve always done. This is our way of life and they don’t seem to mind it at all. The only problem that occurs occasionally is that someone is being too loud and interrupting the book. Then that person is asked to be quiet or leave the room. And the problem is solved.

We get most of our books from our subscription to Audible. This does have a monthly fee, but I consider it an essential part of our kids’ education and to our family life, so it is 100% worth the money. I get two credits to use a month and very rarely use more than those credits That means I do not spend anything beyond my monthly subscription fee. Sometimes we can purchase a whole series for one credit, like all the Ramona Quimby books. Or we purchase lots of long books, so we really make those credits count.
 

Our Audible books can be played on any computer or phone, so the kids can listen to them just about anywhere.
They often have the computer set up in the living room and gather there to listen to books.
They can also listen in their rooms on the laptop or on our family iPod.
We borrow books on cd from the library often and those get played on Lilly’s Hello Kitty “boom box” or on the computer.
No one has to stay in a room and listen to a book if they’d rather be doing something else.
Sometimes one kid is inside listening to a book while the others are playing outside or in another room drawing. But it just seems that once a book is turned on, they all just gravitate to where it is playing.
My kids have a hard time resisting stories.

We also listen to books in the car all the time.
My kids don’t mind long drives because they get to listen to books. In fact, short drives are far more troubling to them because they want to listen to the book longer.

Everyone takes turn choosing the books we listen to. Or we choose one together.
Occasionally there might be a groan when Davy picks “Tales of Brer Rabbit” agin. But mostly they are happy with each other’s book selections.
They just love listening to books so much that they are happy for every new book that is chosen.Or a beloved old book revisited.
 

Beyond the relational ways listening to books together has helped our family, it has also had an impact in other ways:
1.  We’ve grown our reading skills because of listening to challenging books from a very young age. My younger kids are always listening to books high above their reading level. But because of the constant exposure to these books, their comprehension skills and vocabulary are through the roof.  We also listen to all our books unabridged. It has never proven to be a problem for them–even with the most challenging books. They are building skills to become great readers.
2.  Everyone is exposed to a variety of genres, and authors they might otherwise not choose. Each of us has our favorite books of course, but since we are listening to books together, we are kept from choosing the same types of books over and over again. My kids are open to reading just about anything, because they’ve experienced so many different types of great books.
3.  We’ve learned the art of listening and paying attention. Listening to books that are challenging has taught all my kids the skill of being a good listener. They have to pay attention in order to understand what is going on in a story that may have lots of characters, an involved plot, advanced vocabulary, or complex sentence structure.
4. We’ve learned the importance of asking questions. Many of the books we listen to are higher level books. That means the younger kids will often stop and ask questions about what is going on, who a certain character is, or even say something like, “wait, what just happened?” If they were reading or listening alone, there would be no one to ask questions of, and I think the temptation would be to just stay lost. But because we’re listening together, asking questions is a normal part of the reading experience.
5.  We’ve learned the skill of summarizing, translating, re-telling , and explaining. As we listen to books together, and questions are asked, those questions must be answered. That means my kids are learning how to explain things to one another, and how to summarize what someone just missed or didn’t understand. Best of all, they are doing it in a natural, real life way.
6.  My kids are learning the joy and pleasure that comes from talking about books. The exchange of ideas and thoughts that come to us as we read (listen to ) a book together is a valuable skill that will translate to so many other parts of their life. It’s teaching them to be critical thinkers who can then discuss their thoughts. That’s a very practical part of this journey that I appreciate. But as I said before, they are also learning the joy and pleasure of discussing books. That to me is of great value as well. In fact, it may be my favorite part of this whole journey. Because there are few things I love to do more than talk about a book with my favorite little readers.
 

Now to get you started, here is a list of some of our favorite audio books

For the younger crowd:
*The Ramona Quimby Audio Collection narrated by Stockard Channing
*Charlotte’s Web narrated by EB White
*A Bear Called Paddington narrated by Michael Bond
*Mr. Popper’s Penguins narrated by Nick Sullivan
*The Courage of Sarah Noble narrated by Barbra Caruso
*The Peter Rabbit Collection narrated by Peter Batchelor

Books for older kids (but even my youngest has enjoyed listening to):
*The Yearling narrated by Tom Stechschulte
*The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy narrated by Rob Inglis
*The Princess and the Goblin narrated by Ian Whitcomb
*Johnny Tremain narrated by Grace Conlin
*Littel Women narrated by Kate Reading
*Caddie Woodlawn narrated by Roslyn Alexander
*The Borrowers series narrated by Rowena Cooper
*Father and I Were Ranchers (and the following books in this series) narrated by Ralph Moody
*Danny Champion of the World narrated by Peter Serafinowicz
*The Wind and the Willows narrated by Michael Hordern
*The Merry Adventures of Robinhood narrated by David Thorn
*The Chronicles of Narinia narrated by various narrators

These books are all available on Audible.
But you might be able to find them at your local library or on the site LibriVox, which offers many books to download for free.
 

I hope this glimpse into the way we experience books as a family will encourage you to listen to more books together. You don’t have to totally ditch those earbuds.But I promise the benefits that come when you share a book together as a family will make you want to tune into one another more, and tune out less.
Remember, you don’t have to go on fancy vacations, or grand adventures to create memories with your family. Making memories can be as simple as popping a bowl of popcorn and settling down with a fabulous audio book. You’ll laugh together, wonder together, and if you’re like my family, cry together. Best of all, listening to a book takes some time, so you’ll get to revisit that together time again and again until the book is done.
Its magic!
Don’t underestimate the power of books to bring people together.
For the love of (audio) books,

Greta

Poetry 101: Poetry Study on e e cummings

For many years now, I have been reading poetry to my kids, From the time they were born actually. My first aim was to simply get them to enjoy poetry. To love the sound of it, the rhythm, the music, and the language. When we started school, I kept reading them poetry. One or two poems a day, part of our morning meeting--the way we began school every day. After I read a poem a time or two, we'd talk about it. I'd ask them questions like, "what do you think this poem is about?" "What does it make you see?" "How does this poem make you feel?" "Do you think the poet had a message he wanted you to hear?" Talking about the poems quickly became very natural and we all enjoyed it. The next step was to slowly began introducing literary devices into our poetry talks. Personification, alliteration, symbolism, allusion. There were no tests or quizzes. It was easy to introduce those terms and what they meant as they came up when we read. I wanted these lessons to feel natural, never forced, or "schoolish". Instead I wanted them to be enjoyable, and yes, even fun. The kids ate it up, and poetry became one of my favorite subjects to teach my favorite students.

Lately though, I've wanted to do more with poetry. Or at least something different. I had laid a strong foundation, and it seemed like the right time to build up. Then the flash of idea came, and I decided to focus our poetry time on learning about one poet a month. We'd immerse ourselves in their life and their work. We'd read lots of their poems, memorize one or two, and illustrate some. We'd learn a bit about their artistic contemporaries and the other art being made during their life time. We'd even explore some of the history and what world events shaped their work. I was excited! It was time to go a little deeper in our poetry studies.

We started this month with our very first poetry study. I chose e e cummigs. For no other reason than I found an amazing book about him and wanted to have it in our collection. I knew a great book would make all the difference in how the kids responded to the poet. Turns out my hunch was right. It has been the perfect place to start.

We're only a couple weeks in and we're all loving it. Even though William says he's not really a big fan of e e's poems. "They're a little too weird," he said. But that's perfectly OK with me. That's part of what these studies are all about. I want to expose them to lots of different poets and poems and styles and voices, and to help them find the ones that resonate with them. And the ones that don't. Like I've said before, I'm not just here to teach them to learn to read and write, add and subtract. I'm here to make their world bigger. I'm here to help them love to learn. I'm here to light the fire.

So, just in case you're interested in incorporating any of this into your school days, here is what we're doing with our: e e cummings poetry study.

Main Text: Enormous Smallness: A Story of E E Cummigs 

We read this book over the course of 3 days. It helped to spread it out, allowing them time to think about who e e was, what he was doing, and become interested in his work.

Day 1: Introduce the poet ee cummings, and begin reading the book abut his life, "Enormous Smallness." Read about e e's childhood and up to his graduation from Harvard University. If you are not familiar with e e cummings (and yes, he liked his name spelt with all lower case letters) you can brush up on his life here.

Day 2: Continue reading from "Enormous Smallness". Read of e e"s move to New York, his sojourn in France during WWI, and the start of his career as a poet. Next we read one of his poems, "The Sky Was". That's when the real fun began! (You can find the poem here or in the book.) The first time I read it to the kids, I stumbled and could hardly get through it. I had to read it again, and then again, to really get through it and for it to make sense to us. By the second reading the kids had gathered around me and pointed out the words that went together and we laughed at how silly and strange it was. It was so much fun to see the way Cummings played with language, poetic form, and grammar.

And it was so good for them to see me struggling through a poem, not particularly enjoying it at first, but liking it more and more with each read. Poetry can be hard work. It takes patience and perseverance to read, understand, and enjoy it. But having this experience with my kids, I am modeling for them the exact way I want them to approach a poem. So I really, really, really suggest you approach this poem totally fresh when you read it to your kids. Struggle with the poem. Struggle alongside your kids. But keep going. You'll be teaching your kilos such an invaluable lesson about reading poetry.

Next we discussed our own reaction to the poem, and how much more we liked it the first time we read it. And then after we read it again, and again, and again, and again. It was so great to see their opinions changing with each read. We discussed the way other people responded to Cumming's wild looking poetry when he wrote it. I told them that in the next few days they'd get to illustrate "The Sky Was" in the way they saw it in their heads and they were quite excited about that.

Day 3: I read "The Sky Was" again to get it thoroughly in our heads. Each child looked at the poem as it was originally written by e e. (you can provide copies for them or just use the book and hold it up for them to see.) Next I shared with them one of my favorite quotes about poetry by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "Poetry: the best words in the best order." What does this quote mean? Here's how I explained it to the kids: "Its so important to understand that poets choose every word in there poems with the utmost care. They don't have pages and pages to express an idea, paint a picture, or tell a story. Instead they must do that in a few lines. Therefore every word counts. This is called word choice, or diction." (further reading on diction and word choice here)

Next I had the kids underline or circle word choices cumming's made in the poem that they thought were important. They could do this individually on there own copies of the poem, or you could do it all together as a group on the white board. Everyone shares one of their choices and why they think it is important to the meaning of the poem.

Then I wrote the poem in a more traditional style up on our white board. I underlined each word connected to a color: spry, shy and cool. We lined up our colored pencils and I asked them," what kind of yellow do you see when you hear it described as "shy"?" They immediately chose the lightest yellow in the bunch. We did the same for the other colors. We also talked about the word "luminous" and "spouting". "What other words could the poet have picked and why did he chose those particular words? How do they affect the image the poem makes in your head?"

Lastly we discussed the image this poem created in our minds. What did we see? Each one of us saw something different. Some of us saw a whimsical picture with cotton candy clouds and lemons floating in the sky. Others saw a train speeding through cool green hills, with a glowing yellow and pink sunset and dark brown shadows on the ground. It was so much fun to hear everyone's different reaction to the same words.

Day 4: Kids copy "The Sky Was" into their literature journals. ( I use these simple notebooks by Moleskine for almost all my kids subjects. After years of trying to find the best way to keep their work in one place and organized, these have been the best idea. I like their simplicity and how easily they store. My kids have no issue with adding illustrations on the lined pages, but if yours do, that would be a drawback)

Recalling our discussion from the previous day, the kids illustrate "The Sky Was" in their literature journals. I read aloud several other e e cummings poems to them while they drew. You can choose from any of these listed here: "In Just" "Who Are You, Little I" "O Round Moon" "I Carry You In My Heart"

We talk about the new poems a bit while they draw, but don't go into any detailed lessons. We're just enjoying the poems and what they bring to mind.

Day 5 and beyond: For the rest of the poetry study we will continue to read ee cumming's poems--the five I've mentioned above and perhaps a few others. Beyond the ones I have listed above, you'll have to preview his poems before you read them to your kiddos. ee was famous for writing some erotic love poetry, as well as plenty more traditional love poems, and poems about nature and childhood. Even if you only focus on these 5 poems and read them a couple of times over the course of the month, it will give your children such a great connection to the poetry of ee cummings.

Some additional activities I'll do with my kids for this poetry study:*Memorize a poem--my kids have chosen "who are you, little i" *Look for examples of imagery, simile and metaphor, hyperbole, and personification in cumming's poems. You can brush up on other literary devices here, This activity can easily be done with the poems I have listed. Because cumming's poems were so avant-garde, it can be hard to find traditional literary devices in his poems outside of word choice. Explain that to your kids and make looking for the other literary devices like a treasure hunt. They'll be excited hen they find an example. *"Read A Poke In the I" book to explore more poems that play with whimsical poetic format. *Encourage kids to create a poem of their own in this model. *Discuss other poets and writers who have played with language and grammar like ee cummings did. Two great examples are Lewis Carol and James Joyce. We will read Lewis Carrol's  "Jabberwocky" and then we'll read the first few lines of James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake". *Read poems by Shel Silverstein, focusing specifically on poems he wrote that combined words and pictures to create a non traditional poetic form. If you don't have Silverstein's books, you can do a google image search for these poems and print them up for your kiddos. "A Closet Full of Shoes" "A Light in the Attic" and "Here I Go Down Circle Road" *Read these poems by cumming's friends and contemporaries William Carols Williams, Robert Frost, and Ezra Pound.*Look at art by Paul Cezanne and Matisse, two artists that inspired e e cummings by their unique way of seeing and creating art. *If there is time, take a museum trip and see works by either of these artists in real life. *Listen to music by Igor Stravinsky a composer who influenced cummings with his revolutionary style of music. *Spend some time learning about WWI as e e cummings spent time in France as an ambulance driver in WWI and it had a tremendous impact on his life. *Explore a bit of the poetry produced by the WWI poets. These poems are hard because they are about war. But a few of them would be such a valuable way to help my kids better understand this part of e e's life. These are the ones we will read. "In Flanders Field"  "War Girls" "Everyone Sang" (and these poets are sure to be a poetry study later on when my kids are a bit older.) *Create a final art piece of a favorite e e cummings poem, hand lettered and/or illustrated.

Final thoughts:  I plan to do this poetry study over the course of a month, but you could spend as much or as little time with it as you like. The activities I have listed for the first 4 days could certainly be divided up into smaller chunks, but I liked starting with a good dose of the poet and his works, to get the kids more invested before we branched off into studying all the other things connected to the poet. The additional activities are ones you can do as you see fit. Some might not appeal to your kids. Or you. In fact, you could just spend a week with e e cummings and do only that first activity I have described -- read the book, learn about word choice, and illustrate the poem. What I hope you'll take away from this is that teaching your kids poetry does not have to be scary, difficult or boring. I want to help you make it interesting and fun! Whether you choose to go big or small with this, I hope you''ll find at least some of this stuff useful! Because I sure had fun writing it all down for you.

If you want to read a little more of my thoughts on teaching poetry, I have some more Poetry 101 blog posts for you! You'll want to start here, where I talk about why teaching poetry matters. And next, read about how to discuss a poem with your kids.

All my love from your favorite word nerd, Greta