Thoughtworthy (New Read Alouds, School Habits, Inconveniences, and MORE!)

:: 1 ::

Speaking of reading aloud, it took the whole summer, but we finally finished The Odyssey! We also finished The Fellowship of the Ring. (We always have at least two read aloud selections going.) We went straight into The Two Towers, of course. I have the young people’s edition of 1493 sitting on my table, but I wan’t ready for another history read, so we grabbed Boys of Blur, which I’ve been meaning to do for about a year.

I am going to recommend this book to you, but first please remember that my youngest is ten. This is not for small children, and when my oldest was ten, I would have been horrified by the violence and palpable evil.

But seriously? Beowulf in a Florida swamp? So cool!

Unfortunately, I didn’t read Beowulf to my children as planned last year because the copy I bought went missing. I knew, as has been the case with all other missing books in this house, that our house elf who borrows our books would eventually return it. This happened last week, so my copy of the Burton Raffel version is standing by.

 

:: 2 ::

How’s school going? (Have you started yet?) This was week two, and honestly not as smooth as week one. I keep coming back to the thought that the so-called smooth and easy days depend upon habit, yes, but, more precisely, upon my habits. Turns out everyone stays on task better when I do.

Sigh.

 

:: 3 ::

Episode 21 of AfterCast came out yesterday! This one is called How Education Is Like Sandpaper. I think you’ll like it. 🙂

 

:: 4 ::

There are only a couple days left to get your copy of my Masterly Inactivity talk for the introductory price of $3.00. Don’t delay! I really think masterly inactivity, properly understood and applied, can help us achieve homeschooling greatness.

 

:: 5 ::

This month in 2013:

That face says it all, hm?

 

:: 6 ::

This week’s links collection:

• There is NO current multi-state measles outbreak in the U.S. from the CDC Facebook page
  • Because alarmism.
• Jordan B. Peterson: A Sign of the End Times? from The White Horse Inn
  • I don’t know if the title was meant to be funny, but I laughed!
  • Disclaimer: I haven’t read Peterson’s book. Friends who have liked and recommended it. I heard a couple podcast interviews with this gentleman that were impressive in all things until he began to speculate wildly about the Bible, at which point I found him ridiculous. The Peterson I heard in interviews was mostly what I’d call common sense, and the scary thing is that such a thing could be called controversial. Hence this article.
• Exquisitely Designed 2,000-Year-Old Roman Shoe Discovered in a Well from My Modern Met
  • Surprisingly cute, I had a pair like this when I was a child!
• Teen hospitalised after being hit by falling sheep on Northern Irish mountain from The Irish Post
  • Here’s the thing: this is for real. It’s like someone was standing directly beneath a scene out of Far from the Madding Crowd!
  • Poor guy.

 

:: 7 ::

Unsolicited homeschooling advice: You may have already seen this on Facebook, but just in case…

You are not obligated to answer the phone (or email or texts or front door or or or) during school hours. In fact, you answer at your peril! If you want school lessons proper to only take place in the morning hours, you must defend those mornings hours with lots of coffee, diligence, and discipline.