Stuff We Like :: 2.23.17
Ugh, I think I caught Suzanne’s bug. All I want to do is curl up in bed with a cup of tea and my copy of Emily Climbs, so this may be a cold medicine-fueled edition of Stuff We Like.
What’s happening at home/school/life
Suzanne’s Library Chicken roundup for this week includes some short stories I can’t wait to get my hands on.
Sometimes, you want to do something good for the world but you also don’t want to change out of your pajamas. This list is great for those times.
I was thrilled to discover this middle grades biography of civil rights activist Dr. Betty Shabazz.
One year ago: It felt like the right time for a Watergate unit study. (Also: Shelli took on a homeschool project just for her, and we decided to be OK with being OK.)
Two years ago: Lisa embraces the (all-too-rare) sounds of silence. (Plus: A peek back at our homeschool — apparently note-taking was a big project at the time.)
Three years ago: Lisa adapts to life with a child who tends to see the negative side first.
Four years ago: Way more than you ever wanted to know about me, including why I describe our homeschool philosophy as “Classical, Dude style.”
The links I liked
There’s a Scots translation of Harry Potter, and it is DELIGHTFUL.
Adam Rippon has definitely been a highlight of this year’s Olympics for me, and I got a little choked up reading this essay by a 30-something gay man about what it means to have an openly gay U.S. athlete competing in the Olympics.
Why is it not surprising that being a woman is a major risk factor for anxiety?
I first ran into this problem some years ago with Woody Allen, and I still don’t have a good answer: What happens to art when the artist turns out to be a terrible person?
Yes, yes, and yes: Alexander Chee on writing for love AND money. (Because writers have bills to pay, too, you know? And writing — like creating homeschool curricula or taking photos or anything else we’re tempted to source for free — has value that deserves to be appreciated.)
What I’m reading and watching
I am continuing my Pre-Wrinkle in Time readathon, and I am currently working my way through the Austin books to loop back around to book five of the time quintet. For me, the Austin family starts with the two Christmas books (The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas and A Full House: An Austin Family Christmas, both of which are sweet but ultimately kind of meh for me but which must be read before Meet the Austins because THAT IS THE CORRECT WAY), and I have to read the short story “The Anti-Muffins,” which was cut from Meet the Austins, as soon as I finish Meet the Austins. I apparently have a lot of strong feelings about this subject.
I watched the first season of Agent Carter and loved it but never managed to get around to the second season, for some reason. I am watching it now, and I once again wish I could be as cool as Peggy Carter on her worst day.
What’s happening in our homeschool
We’re still on our super-chill Olympics schedule and I’m fighting off what is definitely-not-the-flu, so we haven’t been doing a lot of hands-on homeschooling this week. One thing that breaks always remind me is that our family does better when we have a schedule — as long as we have our wake-up readalouds and afternoon tea time, the days go smoothly. If we don’t have those things to structure the days, by the middle of the week, everyone’s a little grumpy and stressed. Happily, even on breaks, it’s easy to make sure we anchor the days with those little rituals, and an occasional day off-schedule always feels like a bit of a treat.
