It's a tale about a tale about a tail.

The author of this tale is Kate DiCamillo.  You might know her book, Because of Winn Dixie.

But this isn't about that book, Reader.  This is about another book.  It's about the book that won her a John Newberry Medal and made her cry.

She cried when she won the medal.   Not when she wrote the book.  As far as I know.

You can learn more about her here: http://www.katedicamillo.com/about.html

I know nothing more about this author.  I don't know her proclivities, her character, her habits or her religion.  All I know, Reader, is that this author can write.

I mean, really write.

If you are interested in a story about a princess, a mouse and a bowl of soup then you will love this book, The Tale of Despereaux.

I adore this book.  It is delicious, delectable, yummy and scrumptious (especially the soup part!).  I think you and your kids will like it, too.  That is, if you like stories about princesses, knights, castles, dungeons, mice and mean old rats.

This book has lovely spiritual overtones – the light of the castle overcoming the darkness of the dungeon, and most of all – the power of forgiveness and love.

It isn’t for very young children.  But it was a delightful read-aloud for my audience of 1st – 10th graders.  We laughed, we anticipated, we cried, and we cheered!  It was a grand tale and we were ever so sorry it was over when it ended.  We wanted to stay with our new-found friends, Despereaux, the Princess Pea, Miggery Sow and Cook, and go on more adventures with them.

If your younger child is scared of dungeons and mice and mean old rats, then you might want to wait to read this story.  It’s an honest story.  When something bad happens, the consequences are true.  But it is, in my mind, Reader, only one of the reasons this book is destined to be a classic.  It is one of the best books I've ever read aloud to children -- and trust me -- I've read a lot of classic books out loud to children!

Despereaux became very real to us.  And for that, he gets to sit on my shelf forevermore, wielding his sword, (okay, his needle), and protecting the princess he so loves, forever and forever more.

But you must HURRY, Reader, to read this book, before the movie comes out in 2008 and ruins it for everyone!  Do NOT watch the movie before you read this book!  It is just too well written to miss out on.  The author is one of the grandest weaver of tales for children – of the same quality as E.B. White and A. A. Milne – and you will want to expose your children to her gift!

I have found a new resource for parents, grandparents, pastors, children's workers, aunts and uncles that you are just going to love.  It's called Answers for New Christians written by Robin Khoury and illustrated by Stuart Corley and I am excited to be introducing it to you!

This is a book families of young children will enjoy making a part of their homeschool and or devotional lives.  I plan on using it as a unit study on Salvation and the ordinances of our Christian faith.   I also plan to use it in my children's program at church because we have an entire generation of youngsters who know nothing about what it means to be "born again" or "baptized."  This generation of youngsters doesn't even know Who Jesus is!

This is a book for such a time as this.  In Judges, after Joshua died, "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel."  Judges 2:10.  The same has happened in America today.  Our children do not know the basic tenets of our faith because no one has taught them.

Perhaps parents, teachers and even pastors don't know how to teach them, or don't even know where to start.  This book will help them.  It is a blessing to the body of Christ!

When I was a little girl, I "went forward" during Vacation Bible School.  I wanted to be baptized.  I grew up in a Baptist church, and we got baptized almost immediately after we accepted Jesus.  But I think a book like this would have helped me understand what I was doing a lot more than the few minutes of counseling the pastor gave me.  I was nine years old, and at that time, I really just wanted to be saved because my friends at church were.

This book would help a child decide whether or not they are ready to become a Christian like their parents, or their teacher, or even their friends.  But they wouldn't decide just because everyone else is doing it.  They would be able to make an informed decision because this is written in a way that kids can understand!

The charming pictures to color, puzzles to solve, and easy to read text are succinct and to the point.  There isn't more there than a child needs to know.  Children and even adults of all ages would benefit from this book if they need to know more about what it means to become a Christian.

Here is the table of contents:

1.  In the Beginning
2.  The Big Boo-Boo
3.  Our Problem
4.  Special People
5.  Jesus is Born
6.  Jesus' Life
7.  Zaccheus Repents
8.  You Must Be Born Again
9.  Jesus Died For Your Sins
10.  Surprise!
11.  Jesus Goes Home
12.  Becoming a Christian
13.  Repent and Believe
14.  God's Big Family
15.  Once is Enough
16.  Sin Causes Sadness
17.  Growing Up
18.  God's Word
19.  Jesus' Baptism
20.  Pictures of Jesus and You
21.  Quiet Time
22.  The Church
23.  The Lord's Supper
24.  Who Is a Christian?
25. Bic Grows Up
26.  Mr. Owl's Puzzle
27.  Study Questions
28.  Keepsake Pages

One of my favorite parts of the book are the Keepsake pages.  I believe it's very important to memorialize a child's big decision to follow Jesus and these pages allow spaces for pictures, baptism certificate, and more.

This would be an excellent resource for pastors to use before or after baptizing youngsters.  It will remain a permanent part of my library as I minister to youngsters everyday and on Church days!

I wish I would have had something like this for my children when they were at the age of making a decision for Christ.  I do plan on using it with my grandchildren!  I am looking forward to snuggle times with them and teaching all about what it means to be a Christian.  What precious memories we will make.  And what an even greater legacy I will be able to give them! 

Thank-you, Robin Khoury, for such a special book.  I hope every Christian family will make it a part of their child's library.  Besides the Bible, it's one of the most important books they could ever introduce to their child.

    God's timing is perfect.  This time when I sat down to read, God knew I needed these articles.  One article especially, by Audrey McKeever entitled, "In Be'teen Times"  really helped me.  I have a very strong-willed son who is 15 right now and and I needed that article!  As well as all the other articles that remind me that even these teen years will go by far too fast and I need to embrace them.

    I loved this fall's magazine because it puts our focus on where it needs to be:  On asking God for help in our homes and our homeschools.  This life we live cannot be lived well without supernatural intervention from our God.  This magazine helps me keep my eyes on God and not on the problem!

    Prayer was a big message of this issue.  When we are in trouble -- pray.  When we rejoice -- pray.  When we are sad -- pray.  When we need to know what to do -- pray.  If only we would all pray more.  How many of our problems would be solved?

    I think about things that are happening in ministries in our nation right now, sin in the church being exposed, and my heart just breaks.  It scares me for my children.  How will they be able to overcome temptation if a great pastor isn't able to?  This is not the same evil world we grew up in.  It has gotten worse each generation.  Our kids are only a click or phone call away from temptation.

    How can they keep their eyes from seeing vile things?  How can we keep their ears from hearing things they shouldn't hear when they begin to grow up and get out on their own?  How will their feet stay on the straight and narrow path?

    Prayer for mothers has got to be as real to us as breathing.  I am convinced it is the prayers of mothers that has kept many a child from the flames of hell. 

    Thanks, T.E.A.C.H. for reminding me!!

 

Does it count if I love books I helped to write?  

I hope you'll like them as much as I do.  The first is a collection of biographies from the middle ages, all written by homeschool women!  I wrote the chapter on King Wenceslas.

 

 

Posted by LaMereAcademy

Tag, you're it! Please answer the following questions on your blog and then tag 5 others...thanks!
Becky

ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE:  When I was growing up I read the book Christy by Catherine Marshall.  The book had a huge impact on my life and made me want to give my life to full-time Christian service.

ONE BOOK THAT YOU'VE READ MORE THAN ONCE:   The  Bible.

TWO BOOKS YOU'D WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND:   The Bible and Little Women I guess.  That's a hard one!  How do you pick just one more other than the Bible???

ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH:  Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter

ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY:  The Yearling

ONE BOOK YOU WISH HAD BEEN WRITTEN:  The Biography of my ancestors who fought in the American Revolution.

ONE BOOK YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN:   The DaVinci Code

ONE BOOK THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING:  The Copper Scroll by Joel Rosenberg

ONE BOOK YOU HAVE BEEN MEANING TO READ: All of Josephus

 

 

     It is my privilege and honor to introduce Myklin Cox to you and her book, What Every Girl Should Know:  A Christian Finishing Course for Young Women.

    Every now and then in the homeschool community, you meet someone who has been homeschooled all their childhood, and you can see all the love and goodness and joy that was poured into the child coming out through the fruit the child displays.

    Myklin Cox is one of those people.  I am so thankful to her parents for homeschooling her and raising her in the way she should go!  What a blessing she is to young Christian women and their parents.  Her bubbly, positive, honest, and virtuous outlook is definitely something I would want my daughter to look to as a good example of a virtuous woman of God. 

    I wish I would have had this resource when my oldest child -- my stepdaughter -- was growing up.  It would have been so much fun to go through this book with her!

    When I was growing up, I belonged first to the Brownies, then the Girl Scouts, then the Cadets.  By the time I was in Cadets I really didn't fit in, and so I focused on being involved in our girls' group at church.  I credit my experiences in these groups with teaching me a lot of the social graces and leadership skills I have today.  I didn't have the privilege of being home schooled or coming from a refined family.  There were many gaps in my learning that the lessons in these organizations taught me.

    It is rare to find a thriving girls' group in today's churches.  It would be wonderful to start one yourself -- whether you are an older woman, or a younger woman, or even an older teen -- in order to mentor young women. 

    That is what this wonderful book is all about!   Myklin Cox has given us a wonderful tool in which to disciple the young women in our homes, churches and communities. 

       I see so many young ladies in my community confused about their "womanliness", and how to take care of themselves.  It's not entirely their fault -- how are they to know if no one teaches them?  The messages they get from the media are confusing, and most often contrary to God's Word.  But how are they to know what God's Word says if Christian women do not lead them?


    This book is a wonderful study for a mother and daughter to go through, or for a woman to teach in her homeschool coop, Sunday School, or Bible Study for young ladies.  (I plan to use it with my granddaughters as soon as they are old enough.)  It is lively, easy to use, interesting, engaging, and full of information "every girl should know!"

    First and foremost, the book emphasises the young woman's relationship with Christ and her spiritual health.  Then, it moves into taking care of the body that God gave her for Him to dwell in.  Diet, exercise, posture, clothing, skin care, and hair care are discussed.

    The book also discusses friendship, manners, role models, and Christian Character.  It reminds the young woman that God has given her gifts, talents and abilities that God has a purpose for!

    Home Economics, cooking, laundry, mending, sewing and caring for a home are discussed along with accepting God's timing and future.

    Modesty, and seeking God's will for her lifelong mate are also taught in this book.

    When I was going through my teen years, I do not recall anyone discussing all of these issues in such an honest, fresh, and loving way!  Myklin Cox manages to reach into the hearts of young women and bring to light the things that are really on their minds. 

    Mothers who are shy about talking about growing up will find this book a wonderful tool.   Church leaders who see a need to reach out to the young women who are lost and searching for their identity in Christ will be able to use this to teach those seeking young women. 

    I will be using this book in this coming school year to teach a young 16-year old girl with special needs.  She mimics what she sees in the media.  And why shouldn't she if that's the only instruction she has received?  She attends my cottage school (and is my only female student!) and we will be using this as her health credit this year.

    I love this book.  Myklin has a real gift to teach and reach young women.  You will love her CDs, too, and I hope you will purchase them for your school this coming year!

    Be sure to stop by Myklin's blog, too: http://homeschoolblogger.com/heartofvirtue/
She is going to have her first baby!  Another generation of homeschoolers are being born! 

    Myklin is becoming a true leader in our daughter's lives, and I for one am thankful that she has been called to "teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children" (Titus 2:4).
   

 

I thought I'd share some of my favorite resources and materials I use for our cottage school/home school.  (I teach my own three boys and a handful of others at the church everyday.)  My own children have learning issues.  My twins have autism and are developmentally delayed by about three years.  So I am very much into modifying and adapating things for them and for my other special needs students.  I have students who have ADHD, MR and other emotional problems that keep them out of a typical classroom. 

We study in a one-room-school environment, are classical/Charlotte Mason/Trivium in our approach and philosophy and it is very easy to teach multiple grade levels using all the following materials.  I have students from Preschool through 10th grade.  Here is what we do and use!

1.  Nature notebooking.  We do a lot of nature walking and studying what we find and draw, etc.  Every student has a blank sketch pad at the beginning of the year and we fill it up!  I glue a big envelope to the back inside cover for them to put their finds in and study them when we get back (things such as leaves, twigs, nuts, etc.)  They also have bug boxes  that I got at the dollar store.  These have little magnifying windows in them to look through.

2.  Grapevine Bible Studies

3.  Math U See


4.  Art of Eloquence


5.  I have used so many different things I love for for English and language.  Spelling Power,

Daily Grams,





and Writing Strands,

and this year I'm going to use Institute of Excellence in Writing.
6.  Fallacy Detective (for logic).  (http://triviumpursuit.com)

7.  English from the Roots Up; Rummy Roots.
8.  Hey Andrew!  Teach me Some Greek! (http://greeknstuff.com)

9.  Greek Alphabeterian and Huppogrammon by the Bluedorns.  (I use a lot of the Bluedorn materials, actually.  I love them all!)

12.  Empty notebooks for copying quotes from great writers and thinkers and for dictation.

13.  I use the SAT vocab list that you can get on to practice vocab.

14.  Thomas Kinkaid's art currciulum from Alpha Omega publications.


15.  Suzuki violin method.

16.  Mystery of History; Timelines; History of the Ages; Notebooking pages (I just ordered an ebook full of great templates), History Scribe (love this program -- my kids wrote their own history text books last year), and I use Story of the World by Susan Bauer as an extra resource.

17.  Christian Kids Explore Biology from Bright Ideas Press.  This is a really fun program.  My kids loved it.

(I pretty much design my own science and history program from "real" books.  For 10th grade this year I think we might look into Switched On School House.  I haven't decided yet!)

18.  Doorposts -- all their stuff is wonderful.

19.  I like everything and anything from Bright Minds.

20.  Hold that Thought products -- we are going to use their ancient history cut outs this year and their world timeline book is so reasonably price for this year's timeline.

21.  I read out loud a LOT.  I read out loud several hours a day-- usually out of two different books.   We usually read the classics.  I haven't chosen my classics for this year.  What do you recommend for a read aloud for ancient history?  (Historical fiction.)  The Henty books are awesome, and since I have mostly boys in my cottage school, they work out wonderfully.  I also like Nancy Rue's books but they are out of print now. 

We love the Thornton W. Burgess books for nature and Gene Stratton Porter's books are also my favorites for nature studies here in Indiana since this is where she lived.  I actually live not very far from where she grew up.  We go to the state forest a lot and the kids love imagining they are in the Limberlost.

I want to be able to afford to give my kids cameras they can use that take good pictures.  I think that's such a great way to notice details around you.

These are just a few of my favorites. I have so many!

 

    I love Wendy Toy's Book, Creative Reivew Games.  This book is chock full of all kinds of games you can use to review with your students!  It is a jewel because it can be adapted for any age level and any learning level.   Students love these games!  And they make reviewing for tests or just for fun -- well -- more fun!
  
    You can use this book to review Bible Studies or History or just about anything you can think of.  It is not limited to any subject! 

    My favorite games are  the "Egg Carton" game and the "Sea Search" game.  I am not going to share how they work because you need to get the book and find out!    And for a mere $5.99 -- you can't find a better resource for reviewing with your students!

    If you aren't sure how to write review questions, this book takes you step by step through the process.  It also gives directions for 13 games and suggestions for other games.  I found my imagination running wild with ideas after using this book!

    Also included in the book are ideas for review, instructions for creating questions, and directions to play games. Reproducible templates and patterns are included in this e-book. 

    Anyone who works with children and teens -- even adults -- will want this book on their shelf.  You will want this book if you work in Bible clubs, boys clubs, girls clubs, Sunday School, VBS, girl scouts, boy scouts -- any kind of situation where you are teaching students new skills.  Homeschools, private schools, public schools, any school will benefit from using the ideas in this book.  You can even use some of the games to help adults learn, too!

    This books is just one of those classic resources that every teacher will want to have on their shelf.  It is simple, easy to use, and very useful.  Whether you're a beginner or a veteran educator -- you will love this resource.  I love it for the time it saves me in thinking up new ways to review facts and skills we've learned, but also because it keeps my students engaged.  And we all know that we learn better by doing!

    Wendy Toy also includes great information about why review is important in her first chapters.  Information includes "Reviewing with a Purpose," "Lesson Presentation," "When to Review," "Creating Review Questions," "Preparing Your Game," "Adapting a Game," and more! 

    Following these first informative chapters are the games and the countless ways you can use them.

    If you are looking for a new way to help your students remember what they have learned, and you don't have a lot of money to spend for fancy software or pre-made games, then get this book!  And even if you do have a lot of money -- get the book!  You can only win with this one! 

    My students love the games and yours will, too!

   

    If you want your kids to KNOW the Word of God, and you want them to learn in a way that will stick, then Grapevine Studies is the curriculum for you!  

    I have been home schooling now for over 18 years.  In that time, I have used many different kinds of curriculum for our Bible Studies.  (See my other blog.)  But I am just tickled pink to share a Bible Curriculum with you that I think is perfect for home schools, Sunday schools, Bible study groups and family worship.

    For the past five months my students and I have been using the Stick Figuring Through the Bible� series from Grapevine Studies.  I have been using this at our cottage school, where I teach my own children and a few others.  The students' ages range from 3 years old to 15, and it was so easy to use in a multi-level setting that I wish we had discovered it years ago!

    We are working through the Old Testament Overview books.  These books come in five different levels:  Beginner (5-7 year olds); Level 1 (1st - 2nd grade); Level 2 (3rd - 4th grade); Level 3 (5th - 8th grade) and Level 4 (Teen - Adult).

    This is how the program works.  The books have timeline labels and spaces that the students fill in with stick figures according to the scripture that is listed on the page and studied.  Older students have more figures to draw than younger students, and more words and scriptures to fill in than the younger students.  But everyone can learn the same thing at the same time and at his or her own level.

    Every lesson begins by teaching the timeline for that scripture.  I especially appreciate the fact that subsequent lessons have a timeline review up to the point of the current lesson.  This helps the students understand the context of the events and the characters of the Bible.

    After reading the scripture for a particular lesson, students then draw stick figures, or symbols, or colors or use words to illustrate the passage they are studying.  They are actually interacting with scripture as they do this!  And they are internalizing in a concrete way the spiritual lessons they are learning.  

    There are review questions at the end of each lesson, and at the end of each section there are more review questions, as well as memory verses.  I used the review questions to play "Bible Baseball"� every Friday so that we could review what we had learned so far that week.  The kids loved it!

    The results of studying in this way are students knowing lots of facts about the characters studied, and being able to understand when particular events in the lives of these characters occurred.    They are able to draw timelines from memory, and if the memory verses are memorized, quote the scriptures to go with them!

    Another one of the things I really love about this program is that everyone can do it!  I teach children with disabilities such as autism, mental retardation, ADHD, dyslexia, et. al. and every child was successful.  That rarely happens all in one curriculum.  It meets all kinds of learning styles beautifully as children are listening, doing, seeing and interacting with nearly all of their senses - the best way to learn!

    I also like the classical approach of this curriculum.  I am a Teaching-the-Trivium-Charlotte-Mason-Classical-School fan, and since this program is chronological, (that is, starting at the beginning and working toward the end�), it's perfect for this type of schooling.

    It's actually perfect for ANY kind of schooling, but I am particularly fond of its emphasis on the students knowing not only what events happened, but also when they happened and in what context they occurred.

    Life Application is left up to the individual teacher and what the Holy Spirit would impress on the teacher's heart to emphasize about each lesson.  When we studied baby Moses, it was about the time of Mother's Day, so I emphasized the importance of godly mothers and fathers.  The Word of God never changes, and the life lessons are immeasurable!

    Families and classes can go as fast or as slow as they want to in the books.  There is not a strict time schedule, and isn't that what we all want in our home schools?

    There are many more resources on the Grapevine Studies website that I can't wait to order and use!  The website is also helpful, offering plenty of examples and free samples for those interested in their programs.  

    I highly recommend Grapevine Studies Stick Figuring Through The Bible.  It gets a two-thumbs-up from me, and I am grateful to the Lord for the gift of this curriculum!  The lessons to be learned within are priceless!

    After 30 years of teaching children, teens and adults in Sunday School, Children's Church, and Bible Clubs, this curriculum has me very excited as a Christian educator.  I would love to see it in the hands of every Sunday school teacher, Pastor and Home School Parent in the country!  I think teaching God's Word this way is very important in this age of twisting of God's Word, and so-called discoveries of "new codes,"� and "new texts."�

    Are our children equipped to discuss the real Jesus?  Are they equipped to know the real Bible?  Will they be fooled by the newest false teaching, and tossed to and fro, or will the foundation we gave them by grounding them in the unadulterated Word of God keep them in the firm grip of Truth?

    We must teach our kids the pure Word of God so that they can "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [them] a reason of the hope that is in [them]..." Peter 3:15.

    Let's not let happen to this generation that which came to pass in the days after Joshua's death: "...there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel"� (Judges 2:10).

    "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"  (Romans 10:14).

    How will our children and grandchildren learn if we do not teach them?  I will not belabor the point, but I have met far too many young people who do not know who Noah and Moses are or even Who Jesus is!  Imagine, growing up in the United States of America and not knowing Who He is!  But it's true!  Many, many youngsters in my own town, rural USA, simply DO NOT KNOW HIM!

    This curriculum is important - not just to our own kids - but also to the generations they will teach and reach themselves.  Jesus is coming soon, and we need to do our part to see that those who are taught by our children will know Him, too!

Due to an illness and unexpected family situations, reviews have been delayed.  I have three reviews waiting in line to be posted.  I apologize for any inconvenience this causes, but I do hope to be caught up on reviews by the end of June.  I desire to do an accurate, fair, and thorough job in reviewing materials that have been submitted to me.  Thank-you so much for your patience, and I do apologize and ask for your forgiveness.

    If you are like me and love sinking into a silky warm bubble bath with something delicious to read -- then you have got to subscribe to TEACH Magazine!  It is the absolute perfect magazine to read during those precious few moments busy moms have to refresh and renew themselves.

    I am spoiled.  My husband has built me a beautiful bathroom with a wonderful garden tub because he knows how much I cherish my Saturday bubbles!  (He even bought me my own rubber ducky!)  It's my retreat every Saturday morning.  This morning, I sunk into my little piece of heaven with my copy of TEACH magazine and read it cover to cover. 

    TEACH is a magazine for women who love to read and want to be the best kind of homeschooling Mom and wife they can be.  The articles are inspiring, and the gentle tone of the magazine didn't make me feel like I was coming up short.  (That's not to say that I don't come up short -- I sure do!)  But TEACH guides -- it doesn't push -- and as someone who needs to improve in so many areas, I really appreciate that approach.

    When I was a younger homeschool Mom (I have graduated two homeschoolers and have three to go), I found myself getting depressed after the homeschool magazines arrived at my door.  The families featured in these magazines seemed so perfect and polished, and I just felt I could never get my family to that level of "perfection."  So, in the spirit of self-preservation, I stopped my subscriptions to those magazines back in the '80's because of the feeling I always had of never measuring up.  TEACH magazine didn't make me feel this way at all.


    And if you don't have time for a long luxurious bubble bath, TEACH is perfect to take with you to the kids' practices or doctor appointmnets because the articles go from page to page -- you don't have to scan to the back of the magazine to look for the endings of them.  You can just bookmark where you left off!  They are also fairly short articles and stories, so you can easily finish an article in a few minutes and put the magazine down until the next time you have a few minutes to read.

    I also love that it's a Christian magazine, but not preachy.   And there are also some great practical homemaking ideas included.  This issue was the winter issue and it included ideas for cookies and tea parties and crafts that I can't wait to try.

    There were points of view written about that made me think, and there were some that made me laugh.  Some pointed to areas in my life that I need to work on, and others just plain encouraged me to keep on keeping on.

    The only improvement I could possibly see that could be made to this magazine is to have a columnist dedicated to encouraging parents who are rearing and teaching kids with disabilities.  (I have twins with autism and another son with bipolar.)  However, even ADHD was written about by Jennifer TeGrotenhuis which I appreciated very much.  I enjoyed her wisdom regarding boys and how they learn. 

    I am going to be cutting out some of these articles and taping them up where I can be reminded of their wisdom.  There was something in this magazine that applied to each one of my children, and which I had never thought of before.  It is, in my opinion, a magazine anointed by God.  You can sense the women's relationships with God in what they write and how they give God glory for everything in their homes and schools.

    This isn't one of those glossy magazines that looks like it's just an excuse to make money by advertising fancy curriculums.  This magazine is a magazine of the heart -- and that's what sets it apart from all the rest.

    I have to get more than one copy of this book because it is going to be used so often in so many ways. I want a copy by my bedside for reading when I only have a few minutes before turning out the light. The quotations are thought-provoking and I enjoy pondering on the ideals some of them inspire.

    I definitely want one on my resource shelf for teaching. Classical and Charlotte Mason style educators and homeschoolers will love using this book as a resource for quotes for Nature Journals and Copy Work. There is even a chapter of quotes entitled "Nature and the Outdoors" that one could use with sketches in their nature journals!

    One copy of the book should be kept at my desk and I need another one in my laptop bag because I will want to use it in blogging and writing. I am very excited to find this resource and wish I had found it sooner! I am going to be able to use it when writing my newsletters and articles. I will even use it in my Christmas card correspondences this year! But most of all I'm going to enjoy reading this book whenever I get a few minutes to just relax as it's something I can just pick up and randomly read anytime.

    Every chapter is like a new gift to be opened and relished. I was delighted to see so many subjects covered. The quotes are divided into 59 different subjects that cover life lessons in just about everything from Education, to the Environment, to Family Life, to Government and Politics!

    I am really excited that this jewel of a book also has a handy section in the back of the book that includes a short biography of everyone quoted in it. What a great resource! Other pleasing bonuses include a chapter on creative ways to use the book, an index of names so you can quote someone specifically, and an appendix listing great teachers and mentors past and present. There are even blank pages in the back of the book for recording quotes you might discover elsewhere.

    When I was a young mother, I loved making posters of quotes and hanging them above my desk or on the fridge for inspiration. Now, I use them in blogging, e-mail signatures, and yes, I still like to make posters out of them and hang them where I can see them and be reminded of their importance. We never stop learning, and quotes are a great way to inspire us in bite-sized lessons. In this busy world, it's a great way to teach our children, too. Post them where the kids will see them, ask questions about them, and inspire good conversation.

    I cannot imagine anyone not wanting to own this book. It is an ideal resource for teachers and homeschoolers, but history buffs, speakers, writers, and book lovers and people from all walks of life will also want a copy for their library.

    Caution: buy some extra highlighters and post-its because you're going to love marking up this book and dog-earing the pages! Trust me on this – you’ll want more than one copy!

    I think the anonymous quote in the book sums it up best:

   "Wise sayings are like great men talking to us. They are the cheapest teachers, consultants, advisers, guidelines, pilots, signposts, guardians and counselors. They make us wise in one hundredth of the time of any other sources of knowledge. Get closely acquainted with them. They are short cuts to wisdom."

    I give this book an A+!