Anne of Green Gables books are WHOLE books.
We just fiished books 1-3.
They are quite fun and take place in Canada. My children loved them and Anne was always having such exciting adventures. She has a great imagination and uses very big words to decribe life around her. The next two books in the series got a little sappy with the thing between her and Gilbert. Romance isn't my favorite but this was sweet.
Anne of the Island (book 2), Anne of Avonlea(book 3) were also fun to read.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
Rating: WHOLE BOOK
This book as really great and used a lot of imagination. I just wrote a really cool review and then I previewed it and when I pushed the back button it disapeared. UHHGGGG.
This book is about a mouse and she is very resourceful when it comes to saving her family before the plow comes. The Rats are intelligent and honest. It was fun to see life through the eyes of a mother field mouse. The end of the book left you hanging...but it was a good hang where you imagine your own future for the Rats and the mouse family. I recommend this book for families. My kids loved it.
The movie The Secret of NIMH wasn't very good. It didn't follow the story as completly as I would have liked. It was very dark in color and feeling. And what does the theme song have to do with the story at all? Well maybe that is why they changed the story so much so they could use that love song...
This book as really great and used a lot of imagination. I just wrote a really cool review and then I previewed it and when I pushed the back button it disapeared. UHHGGGG.
This book is about a mouse and she is very resourceful when it comes to saving her family before the plow comes. The Rats are intelligent and honest. It was fun to see life through the eyes of a mother field mouse. The end of the book left you hanging...but it was a good hang where you imagine your own future for the Rats and the mouse family. I recommend this book for families. My kids loved it.
The movie The Secret of NIMH wasn't very good. It didn't follow the story as completly as I would have liked. It was very dark in color and feeling. And what does the theme song have to do with the story at all? Well maybe that is why they changed the story so much so they could use that love song...
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Personally Calssifying Books: Four Distinctions Per Thomas Jefferson Educaion Model
(p. 73 in A Thomas Jefferson Education, by Oliver DeMille)
1. BENT: Stories portray evil as good, and good as evil. Such stories are ment to enhance the evil tendencies of the reader. (Best to avoid)
2. BROKEN: Stories portray evil as evil and good as good, but evil wins. Something is broken, not right, in need of fixing. Such books are not uplifting, but can be very inspiring. Broken stories can be very good for the reader if they motivate a person to heal them, to fix them. Example: The Communist Maniesto is a broken classic; so are the Lord of the Flies and 1984. In each of these, evil wins; but they can be very motivating if you want to help reverse their message in the real world.
3. WHOLE: Stories are where good is good and good wins. Most of the calssics are in this category. This a good place to spend most of your time.
4. HEALING: Stories can be either WHOLE or BROKEN stories where the reader is profoundly moved, changed, significantly improved by his/her reading of the book.
This year I hope to put each book I read into a classification.
Right now I'm reading:
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - WHOLE
The Secrect of NIHM - Whole and Healing
Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rahn - Healing, Broken
I think I will probably put books that leave out a christian perspective or God in the Broken category. There might be some truth in the book but not enough if you leave out my creater. So in my mind I will have to take what is good and apply it to my life and leave the rest behind.
This will be fun.
1. BENT: Stories portray evil as good, and good as evil. Such stories are ment to enhance the evil tendencies of the reader. (Best to avoid)
2. BROKEN: Stories portray evil as evil and good as good, but evil wins. Something is broken, not right, in need of fixing. Such books are not uplifting, but can be very inspiring. Broken stories can be very good for the reader if they motivate a person to heal them, to fix them. Example: The Communist Maniesto is a broken classic; so are the Lord of the Flies and 1984. In each of these, evil wins; but they can be very motivating if you want to help reverse their message in the real world.
3. WHOLE: Stories are where good is good and good wins. Most of the calssics are in this category. This a good place to spend most of your time.
4. HEALING: Stories can be either WHOLE or BROKEN stories where the reader is profoundly moved, changed, significantly improved by his/her reading of the book.
This year I hope to put each book I read into a classification.
Right now I'm reading:
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder - WHOLE
The Secrect of NIHM - Whole and Healing
Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rahn - Healing, Broken
I think I will probably put books that leave out a christian perspective or God in the Broken category. There might be some truth in the book but not enough if you leave out my creater. So in my mind I will have to take what is good and apply it to my life and leave the rest behind.
This will be fun.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Holding On
I was thinking about a song today and that I really like and though it's simple I find it so profound. Here are the lyrics and the website. You can even listen to a sound bite of the music (MP3). Just to warn you it is very Country and you might need an aquired taste to endure the Twang.
Holding On
Holding On
by Cherie Call from her Album, Beneath These Stars
If I had to move away, if I had to pack a box todayThere are some things I'd have to let go before I headed down theinterstate. My favorite dress that doesn't fit anymore, and all the papers in my old desk drawer Bad habits and old grudges, I'd take them all to the second hand store. But there's a list of things I'd have to take with meNo matter how long this winding road turns out to be
I'm holding on to the valentinesAnd letters I've read a thousand times that say"We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my own backyardI hope that I can fit it all in my carWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
You can't keep a harvest moon, it fades away all too soonAnd even the trees let go of their leaves much quicker than you'd ever choose So many people say goodbye, I see those teardrops in their eyes And I start to wonder how I'd live without loveAnd I'm glad I never have to tryCause hardly anything lasts forever anymoreBut there will always be a few things that I'm gonna keep fighting for
I'm holding on to my father's loveAnd my mother's faith in God aboveShe says "We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my true love's handAnd I know that he will always understandWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
Shooting stars and red balloonsIce cream cones and breezy JunesI love them all, I hold them dear, but they so quickly disappearThese are the things I'll keep with me, no matter where my life will lead me A loving word, a gentle kiss, I need nothing more than this
I'm holding on to the valentinesAnd letters I've read a thousand times that say"We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my own backyardI hope that I can fit it all in my carWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding onI'm holding on to my father's loveAnd my mother's faith in God aboveShe says "We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my true love's handAnd I know that he will always understandWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
Copyright 2002 Cherie Call, all rights reserved
http://www.cheriecall.com/albums/songs/stars/HoldingOn.html
If I had to move away, if I had to pack a box todayThere are some things I'd have to let go before I headed down theinterstate. My favorite dress that doesn't fit anymore, and all the papers in my old desk drawer Bad habits and old grudges, I'd take them all to the second hand store. But there's a list of things I'd have to take with meNo matter how long this winding road turns out to be
I'm holding on to the valentinesAnd letters I've read a thousand times that say"We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my own backyardI hope that I can fit it all in my carWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
You can't keep a harvest moon, it fades away all too soonAnd even the trees let go of their leaves much quicker than you'd ever choose So many people say goodbye, I see those teardrops in their eyes And I start to wonder how I'd live without loveAnd I'm glad I never have to tryCause hardly anything lasts forever anymoreBut there will always be a few things that I'm gonna keep fighting for
I'm holding on to my father's loveAnd my mother's faith in God aboveShe says "We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my true love's handAnd I know that he will always understandWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
Shooting stars and red balloonsIce cream cones and breezy JunesI love them all, I hold them dear, but they so quickly disappearThese are the things I'll keep with me, no matter where my life will lead me A loving word, a gentle kiss, I need nothing more than this
I'm holding on to the valentinesAnd letters I've read a thousand times that say"We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my own backyardI hope that I can fit it all in my carWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding onI'm holding on to my father's loveAnd my mother's faith in God aboveShe says "We believe in you," and "never give up your dreams."I'm holding on to my true love's handAnd I know that he will always understandWhen the whole world's letting goI'll keep holding on
Copyright 2002 Cherie Call, all rights reserved
http://www.cheriecall.com/albums/songs/stars/HoldingOn.html
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Thomas Jefferson Education
This is something I'm trying with my children in our home.
Off the Conveyer Belt
1. Classics, not textbooks
2. Mentors, Not professors
3. Inspire, not require
4. Structure time, not content
5. Quality, not conformity
6. Simplicity, not complexity
7. You, not them
Off the Conveyer Belt
1. Classics, not textbooks
2. Mentors, Not professors
3. Inspire, not require
4. Structure time, not content
5. Quality, not conformity
6. Simplicity, not complexity
7. You, not them
Friday, January 06, 2006
2006 Book List
(This is the list of books I plan to read in the near future, hopefully this year)
Books to read in 2006:
The adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Tom Sawyer
Paradise Regained
The Making of America by Skousen
The Making of America by Toquerville
The Three Musketeers
The Scarlet Letter
Why I Believe
Falling Up
Holy Bible (New and Old Testament)
Shadow of Hegemon
Da Vinci Code
Zero
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Minstry
Sounder
Robinson Crusoe
The Trumpet of the Swans
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Pollyanna
The Midwife’s Apprentice
Shiloh
The Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by
Elizabeth Moon
Papa Married a Mormon
Robin McKinley Collection
Calling on Dragons
Talking to Dragons
The Mainspring of Human Progress
Hatchet
The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to
Heal Hearts and Homes
Hyperion
Girl of the Limberlost
How to Read a Book
A Literary Education by C. Levison
Charlotte Mason
The Odyssey
*The Virginian
*The One Minute Teacher
*7 Habits of Highly Effective People
*Great Expectations
*Alas Babylon
*Multiple Intelligences
*The 7 Lesson School Teacher
*A market Approach to Education
*How Children Learn
*Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
*The abolition of Man
*Understand the Times
*Shakespeare, five plays
*Uncle Tom’s Cabin
*The Forth Turning
*Walden
The Whipping Boy
Book of Mormon
2004 books: (so good I didn't want to forget these!)
Lonesome Gods
Holes
The Little Prince
Laddie a True Blue story
Heidi
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Glass Elevator
Stewart Little
Tuck Everlasting
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Hobbit series (Lord of Rings)
Charlotte’s Web
Little Britches
Endangered Minds
Pride and Prejudice
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
Books to read in 2006:
The adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Tom Sawyer
Paradise Regained
The Making of America by Skousen
The Making of America by Toquerville
The Three Musketeers
The Scarlet Letter
Why I Believe
Falling Up
Holy Bible (New and Old Testament)
Shadow of Hegemon
Da Vinci Code
Zero
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Minstry
Sounder
Robinson Crusoe
The Trumpet of the Swans
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Pollyanna
The Midwife’s Apprentice
Shiloh
The Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by
Elizabeth Moon
Papa Married a Mormon
Robin McKinley Collection
Calling on Dragons
Talking to Dragons
The Mainspring of Human Progress
Hatchet
The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to
Heal Hearts and Homes
Hyperion
Girl of the Limberlost
How to Read a Book
A Literary Education by C. Levison
Charlotte Mason
The Odyssey
*The Virginian
*The One Minute Teacher
*7 Habits of Highly Effective People
*Great Expectations
*Alas Babylon
*Multiple Intelligences
*The 7 Lesson School Teacher
*A market Approach to Education
*How Children Learn
*Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers
*The abolition of Man
*Understand the Times
*Shakespeare, five plays
*Uncle Tom’s Cabin
*The Forth Turning
*Walden
The Whipping Boy
Book of Mormon
2004 books: (so good I didn't want to forget these!)
Lonesome Gods
Holes
The Little Prince
Laddie a True Blue story
Heidi
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Glass Elevator
Stewart Little
Tuck Everlasting
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Hobbit series (Lord of Rings)
Charlotte’s Web
Little Britches
Endangered Minds
Pride and Prejudice
The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands
2005 Book List
Finished in 2005:
The Chosen
The Fields of Home
Goose Girl
Princess Academy
Enna burning
The Matchlock Gun
The Giver
A light in the Attic
The Book of Mormon
What is Seen and not Seen (Essay)
80 days around the world
A Christmas Carol
Hal’s Moving Castle
Little House on the prairie
Little house in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
On the shores of Silver Lake
The long Winter
Narnia-Lion Witch Wardrobe
The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle
My side of the Mountain
Sarah Plain and Tall
Skylark
Caleb’s Story
The Princess and the Goblin
White Fang
Where the Red Fern Grows
An Education for our time
The Merchant of Venice
Number the Stars
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Jane Eyre
Les Miserables
The return of the King
Treasure Island
Ella Enchanted
The Door in the Wall
The secret Garden
Eldest
Eragon
Carry on Mr. Bowditch
Talking with Dragons
Dealing with Dragons
Life of Pi
The Ordinary Princess
Ender’s Game
Ender’s Shadow
Mary Poppins (not Disney version)
The Red Scarf Girl
Harry Potter an the Sorcerer’s stone
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter an the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
James and The Giant Peach
The BFG
Rising Tiger
The Hiding Place
The Surrendered Wife
The New Year has begun without me...
I don't know where I was but I wasn't here when the new year started. I think I was still back getting ready for Christmas. I can't keep up.I haven't made even one New Years Resolution. Just a few tiny ones that I don't want to think about or write down yet...
I have been reading a book. It is really bad and really good. Love Hate type of book. I can't stop thinking about it but I wish I could. It is also eternally long. I am stuck somewhere in the middle of over 1000 pages. I keep reading but never move out of the middle of the book. I can't get anything done because I would rather be reading. Some might think it is a mutated form or depression or my mind has been seized by aliens. I think subconsciously I just need to take a break.
I can't take a break the new year has already started!!! I was left behind somewhere and pretend like I don't care but that word keeps coming back, "Responsibility". UHHHGGG. I have a family, 3 kids and a husband, a pesky cat that adopted us on our porch, and a fish. I can't just take a break! Who would feed them? Who would clean up after them and do the laundry and dishes and find their shoes? Who would make sure they thrive?
I'm the chairman of two small organizations and this Saturday it all comes to a critical pinnacle. I need to be ready to present and distribute material for these two organizations to move forward this year. I would rather be reading a book.So I sit here and start a blog about nothing and about something. It is the new year! What have I got to loose? ....oh yeah, time doing my resposibilites...
I have been reading a book. It is really bad and really good. Love Hate type of book. I can't stop thinking about it but I wish I could. It is also eternally long. I am stuck somewhere in the middle of over 1000 pages. I keep reading but never move out of the middle of the book. I can't get anything done because I would rather be reading. Some might think it is a mutated form or depression or my mind has been seized by aliens. I think subconsciously I just need to take a break.
I can't take a break the new year has already started!!! I was left behind somewhere and pretend like I don't care but that word keeps coming back, "Responsibility". UHHHGGG. I have a family, 3 kids and a husband, a pesky cat that adopted us on our porch, and a fish. I can't just take a break! Who would feed them? Who would clean up after them and do the laundry and dishes and find their shoes? Who would make sure they thrive?
I'm the chairman of two small organizations and this Saturday it all comes to a critical pinnacle. I need to be ready to present and distribute material for these two organizations to move forward this year. I would rather be reading a book.So I sit here and start a blog about nothing and about something. It is the new year! What have I got to loose? ....oh yeah, time doing my resposibilites...
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