Stuff We Like :: 11.22.19
Games for storytelling, the problem with history curricula, eating alone, and more stuff we liked this week.
This week, I tried something new: We’ve been reviewing the plot arc, the path a story takes from exposition to conclusion (an essential piece of effectively summarizing a story before you analyze it), and I had an idea: What if we pulled out our trusty Dixit game? We numbered the major points on the plot arc (1. Exposition, 2. Rising action, 3. Conflict, 4. Climax, 5. Falling Action, and 6. Conclusion) and drew six Dixit cards, which we flipped over to inspire each new phase of storytelling. It was fun, but it also really pushed us to think about how stories come together, why you might leave loose ends dangling, what frustrates us when it’s unresolved. I wasn’t sure how this project would actually go, but it was a surprising hit. I love when that happens!
What’s happening at home/school/life
On the blog: Helping kids build focus and follow-through starts in elementary school.
On instagram: Dogs in pajamas!
In the archives: Working full-time and homeschooling — how I do it
On Patreon: I just finished Suzanne’s recommendation from last week’s Library Chicken podcast, and I can’t wait for book two to come out. (I do have to wait, though, because it’s not supposed to arrive until 2020.)
At the Academy: We were treated to a Schuyler sisters performance in the junior high, and it was EXCELLENT.
Links we liked
I actually really love having dinner alone.
This is so cool: Science jumps in with an assist for a historical mystery.
What is it about some fiction writers that makes us want to invent fictions about them, too? (And why do so many of these fictional inventions seem to make them less than they are?)
When it comes to history, we know better. So why are we having so much trouble doing better when it comes to curriculum?
Books that made it onto my TBR list this week
Herring Hotel (I like to keep a stack of picture books to read to my high schoolers at lunch, and this one sound perfect)
Valuing (I’m always in the mood for new poetry)
Things making me happy
Linzer cookies (the most annoying complicated but ultimately satisfying Thanksgiving dessert)
His Dark Materials (so far, so dazzlingly complex)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 11.15.19
Why we love annotated bibliographies, Scooby Doo as Gothic lit, my new retirement ambition, why you should probably hang on to your notebooks in the computer age, and more stuff we liked this week.
This is that time of year where all-of-the-sudden it’s November, and where did the year go? Happily, it also the time of year when I get to eat a lot of pie, so it all balances out.
What’s happening at home/school/life
On the blog: How I use annotated bibliographies to practice more thoughtful research and critical thinking. (Plus: This has been an amazing week of book deals!)
From the archives: Shelli reviewed Better Chinese — a Chinese language curriculum for elementary school that's worked well for her family; 12 great book series to read together; and easy, thoughtful gifts you can make with your kids
On Instagram: Suzanne and I have been enjoying recording our Library Chicken podcast together in real life. (The Library Chicken podcast is on Patreon, but we are cooking up a new episode of the regular podcast, too — we definitely plan to keep it going, it just takes more effort on the front-end to put together.)
On Patreon: My ultimate U.S. history movie and documentary list.
At the Academy: Turning chemistry info checks into escape room puzzles has been the greatest learning innovation of my year so far.
On Facebook: You can vote on which unit study you’d like to see as our Patreon freebie for this month: An Akata Witch reading guide or a thesis writing bootcamp?
Links we liked
You know how sometimes, you just need to feel happy for a minute, and you watch a bat eating watermelon or a hedgehog stretching, and everything feels a little better? That’s what this story about the KCS Senior Dance Team was like for me.
I’m totally beginning my next academic foray into Gothic literature with a screening of Scooby Doo.
I love this: Scientists have discovered a site where humpback whales seem to travel to share their songs with each other.
Pome is back!
I always feel like I listen better when I’m taking notes, so this totally makes sense to me.
Things making me happy
Thanksgiving planning (it’s all playlists and pie crusts and timelines at our house this week!)
Smoked maple bourbon chai tea toddy (it’s cold enough that I really wanted to be warmed up from the inside out this week!)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 11.8.19
Reading before bed makes you smarter, happier, and healthier (ahem), the emotional labor of feeding your family, Rebecca paper dolls, spooky witch houses, and more stuff we liked this week.
Suzanne and I have launched a fun new weekly-ish podcast for our Patreon supporters, highlighting our favorite thing: what we’re reading right now. In our first episode, we raved about the Vanderbeekers series (which I declare the modern Melendys series I’ve yearned for) and Suzanne gets into magical Asian sci-fi with Steel Crow Saga. Check it out if you are interested!
what’s happening at home/school/life
in the magazine: Don’t forget to download your copy of the fall issue! We’re switching to a new subscription platform, so logging in is a little different — you should have an email with instructions, but if you run into trouble, email Amy.
on the blog: Our kindergarten through 12th grade guide for history/science/literature
from the archives:
on patreon: Need a little November inspiration for your homeschool calendar?
on instagram: Birthday fun!
at the academy: Latin Jenga is my everything
links we liked
Did you know about the witch houses of the Hudson Valley?
I love cooking — sometimes. But the mental labor of feeding everybody all the time can be A LOT, and it always feel good to not feel alone in something like that.
Chanel Miller has the kind of courage and strength that I can only wish to achieve. I’m really glad she’s speaking up.
Okay, but I wish these Rebecca paper dolls were a real thing.
books added to my TBR list this week
The Walls of Jericho (I kept running into this one prepping for the Harlem Renaissance unit I’m teaching)
Wilding (The premise of this book — a couple let their Sussex farm return to wilderness — is the climate change happy ending we’re all yearning for, if we can get over ourselves in time to make it happen)
things making me happy
in the vegetarian dinners department: parsnip soup (the crunchy parsnips are so good you can eat them by the bowlful); fried egg tacos with chile jam (like the best fried egg sandwich ever)
Dickinson (it’s so wonderfully weird!)
My ridiculously gorgeous yarn (What should I make with it?)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
How a Four-Year History Rotation Looks for Us
I love that four-year history rotation — but I also love learning about people who aren’t rich white men. Here’s a year-by-year guide to how we cover history, literature, and science in our homeschool.
I love that four-year history rotation — but I also love learning about people who aren’t rich white men. Here’s a year-by-year guide to how we cover history, literature, and science in our homeschool, following a more inclusive history cycle.
One thing that I think has anchored our homeschool life is the four-year history rotation — and since history is the center of our homeschool, this ends up being the academic spine of what we do. I like this system because it gives us structure without a rigid to-do list — it’s a spine, but it can bend in all kinds of fun directions. I am not a traditionalist in terms of the things we cover — partly because the very classical model tends to leave out big chunks of the non-European world and partly because I want to focus on the stuff I enjoy and skip the stuff I don’t, which is totally personal opinion. The very classical model builds around four years: ancient history, middle ages to the Renaissance, reformation and colonization, and the “modern world” (which I put in quotation marks because it usually starts with the Victorians and doesn’t always get very much past WWII). That’s a fine plan if you like it, but we have switched it up so that we do the ancient world, European history, U.S. history, and Asian/African history, focusing on different periods as we revisit each era. So our homeschool plan ends up looking kind of like this:
Kindergarten
(I treat kindergarten like pre-1st grade, so we actually do the ancients twice in a row in K and 1st)
Literature: Origin myths from around the world
Science: The Big Bang and the origins of our solar system
1st grade
History: Ancient Egypt
Literature: World mythology
Science: Backyard astronomy
2nd grade
History: Medieval Europe
Literature: Medieval legends, historical fiction about the middle ages
Science: Weather cycles
3rd grade
History: Native American history
Literature: Native American myths and literature
Science: Scientific problem solving
4th grade
History: Chinese history
Literature: Chinese myths, literature, and historical fiction about China
Science: The laws of motion
5th grade
History: The Roman Empire
Literature: Julius Caesar, Roman myths, historical fiction about ancient Rome
Science: Astronomy
6th grade
History: World War I and World War II
Literature: Historical fiction and contemporary books set during World War I and World War II
Science: Biology
7th grade
History: The American Revolution and the Civil War
Literature: Historical fiction and contemporary books set during the Revolution and the Civil War
Science: Chemistry
8th grade
History: African history
Literature: African fiction
Science: Physics
Here’s the 8th grade reading list.
9th grade
History: Ancient Greece and Rome
Literature: Greek and Roman literature
Science: Astronomy
10th grade
History: The Enlightenment / The Victorians
Literature: Enlightenment literature / Victorian literature
Science: Biology
11th grade
History: U.S. History (with an emphasis on women, people of color, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people’s lives)
Literature: American literature
Science: Chemistry
12th grade
History: Asian history
Literature: Asian literature
Science: Physics
Obviously other stuff happens in our homeschool! We do a lot of readalouds of newer books, and we often do separate classes around stuff we’re interested in (like dragons or Studio Ghibli adaptations or dystopian futures). We start Latin in 3rd grade and continue through 8th grade — then the kids choose what language they want to do for high school. We do math and critical thinking every year, and we do always include philosophy in our literature and history. Nature study is one of the things that we try to do every day, along with a little handwork of some kind. (Knitting and crocheting are the most popular now, but we’ve tried everything from soap carving to creative mending.) And the high school and middle school years are kind of interchangeable — my daughter didn’t start homeschooling until 2nd grade, so our cycles were off and we did U.S. history in 9th grade with no problems. But the history/literature/science cycle is the core of our homeschool, and it’s worked really well for us. (If there’s interest, some day I might do a full reading list for each year, so let me know if that’s something you would be interested in.)
Stuff We Like : 11.1.19
The cultural relevance of fairy tales, Hamilton bathroom breaks, new words as old as you are, and more stuff we liked this week.
Big happenings at the HSL HQ this week as we celebrated my amazing daughter’s 18th birthday. Watch out, world! She can vote!
What’s happening at home/school/life
On the blog: Good books with homeschooled main characters
on instagram: Halloween shenanigans
At the Academy: It’s Halloween all over the place
In the magazine: The fall issue is (finally!) up!
On Patreon: Suzanne and I are launching a new Library Chicken podcast today. (The HSL podcast is still happening, too, but we liked the idea of doing something more casual every week-ish.)
Links we liked
Relevant to my interests: Bathrooms at ‘Hamilton’: Can 200 women make it through 16 stalls in a 20-minute intermission? (Spoiler: Yes! They are PROFESSIONALS.)
The same way Buffy delights me by making the demons of adolescence into literal demons, Nancy Drew wins my heart with mysteries that can actually be solved (unlike the one about where my morning went).
Right up my alley: How Japanese fairy tales differ from Western fairy tales — and what those differences suggest.
Yes, please, I am very interested in a Ziggy Stardust graphic novel.
I’m slow so you probably already looked up the words that entered the dictionary the year you were born — but if you haven’t, you should!
Books added to my TBR list ths week
Things Making Me Happy
Birthday cupcakes!
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
5 Great Books with Homeschooled Main Characters
Not all books about homeschoolers are created equal — but we think these five are worth checking out.
One thing I remember from my own school days is how much I loved stories about other kids in school. There are so many shared experiences: eating in the cafeteria and worrying about dropping your tray (which I totally did in 7th grade and still cringe when I think about it), being bored during a lecture (hello 9th grade world history), and forgetting your lunchbox at the end of the day. (I did that a lot.) Reading books about other kids made my experiences feel like part of something bigger.
As homeschoolers, we don’t get as much of that — but that’s changing, and more books featuring homeschoolers are popping up on the library shelves. Some of them don’t paint the best pictures of homeschooling (I’m looking at you, Gordon Korman’s Schooled), but these books get it right.
A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
Madeleine and her friends Jack and Belle are homeschooling high school with the help of their parents and friends, studying science and history, for example, with Jack’s granddad and literature with Madeleine’s mom. I love how matter-of-factly homeschooling is presented here — it’s just the way they learn, and it gives Madeleine space to do some independent investigating when she discovers a mysterious crack connecting our world to the Kingdom of Cello in an alternate universe.
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Orphaned Rose gets into homeschooling because of her guardian Uncle Alec’s “new-fangled” 19th century ideas about what people actually need to know. Instead of translating Latin verbs and learning to sketch landscapes, he signs Rose up for cooking and sewing lessons with her aunts, turns history, literature, and science into story time, and encourages her to spend lots of time being active outdoors. This homeschooling proves to be an essential piece of Rose growing up to be a smart, competent young woman.
Ida B: . . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan
I don’t love books about homeschoolers who go back to school because they’re usually all about how hard it is for homeschoolers to adapt to the school environment (which isn’t necessarily realistic) or how much better school ends up being than home. I feel like Ida B gets this right, though — Ida B has to go back to school when her mom learns she has cancer. Ida B is understandably upset — homeschooling has been great for her — but it’s clear that her struggles to adjust to a 4th grade classroom aren’t because she was homeschooled but because she is juggling a lot of big feelings. Ida B isn’t a quirky person because she’s a homeschooler — she’s a quirky person who also happens to be homeschooled.
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
What I love about the depiction of homeschooling in this book is that it makes it clear that when it comes to homeschooling, one size does not fit all. Her family is a bunch of freewheeling, unschooling artists, but E.D. wants structure, schedules, and labeled binders — and that’s totally okay. The story focuses on Jake, a kid in foster care who lands with the Applewhites and discovers himself in the process, but the depiction of homeschool life is warm and inclusive.
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Okay, the action in this book gets to be a little bit of a slog three-quarters of the way through (and the end is fun again), but co-narrator Carter is a homeschooled kid who has grown up learning with his Egyptologist dad. Carter has experienced the cool part of homeschooling (traveling the world while he learns about the world), but he’s still a little jealous of his sister, who has had a more traditional school experience, which seems to ring true. He also finds himself pitted against an ancient Egyptian god to save his dad, so all that homeschool learning comes in handy.
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff I Like :: 10.25.19
Rapping The Iliad, historical costumes and racism, the yellowing of school buses, the problem with constant production, and more in this week’s roundup of Stuff We Like.
My daughter recently decided to go full vegetarian (she’s always been on the flexitarian side of the dinner spectrum), and it has been both delicious (caramelized garlic tart and complicated (how do you let go of Parmesan cheese?) for dinner planning. What are your family’s favorite vegetarian recipes? I’d love some inspiration for veg dinners that appeal to hard-core carnivores, too.
What’s happening at home/school/life
on the blog: How we’d answer last month’s most popular search terms.
on patreon: Amy’s discussing building a literature-based homeschool with an academic spine.
on instagram: Puppy love.
at the academy: I designed my first-ever midterm escape room for the junior high. It ended in a dramatic baking soda volcano explosion and was tons of fun to watch in action. (I think I may make all of my future middle school science tests about collaborative problem solving!)
Links I Liked
This is just glorious.
I mean, this may be true: Jason Mendoza from 'The Good Place' is The Greatest TV Character in Recent Memory. (He is definitely Suzanne’s favorite … after Agent Scully, of course.)
This is about fashion, but I feel like it’s about everything: The more we produce, the less truly innovative, original stuff we turn out.
I think around this topic a lot, but I found this take particularly interesting: When you’re not white, the world of historical costuming looks very different.
Things I didn’t know but now I do
How school buses ended up being yellow
That quinoa is apparently supposed to be the feminine option on the menu
What’s making me happy
Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook (especially the mushroom stroganoff)
Making my dog’s Halloween costume
Finally some not-90-degree fall temperatures
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
It Came from the Search Terms: September
What were people searching for on HSL in September?
I’ve seen other bloggers round this up, and I always enjoy it, so I thought we might do it, too. Here’s what people have searched for that brought them to HSL in September — with comments that may point them in the right direction!
Hero’s Journey movies
So maybe people are finding what they’re looking for in this post, but there are lots more movies that reflect the stages of the hero’s journey. The Hobbit (even though it didn’t need to be split into three movies!) is a good one; see also:
The Lion King (which manages to be a hero’s journey narrative even though Hamlet — on which it’s loosely based — ISN’T really a hero’s journey narrative, which would totally be a fun thing to discuss with a high schooler)
O Brother Where Art Thou (which may be cheating a little since it’s based on The Odyssey, arguably the original hero’s journey)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the 1992 movie)
Geography books for middle school
In fact, I’m not sure books are the best tools for middle school geography. Books can be a great way to introduce geography to younger students — the Sleeping Press state books are really delightful, for example — and for digging into the nuances of geography with older students (How to Lie with Maps and The Map the Changed the World are fascinating options), but for middle school, I think doing trumps reading for studying geography. Obviously mapping places is part of this, but I love hands-on projects like clothesline geography, landscape in a box, and role-playing geography adventures like planning a climbing trip to Mount Everest.
Nature study curriculum
I’ve been reading a lot of Emerson and Thoreau lately, and I feel like they’ve illuminated a problem for me of secular homeschooling: Really nature-y nature study curricula get all religious about nature. I feel like some of that comes from this Emersonian notion that spending time in Nature (with a capital N) is necessarily a spiritual experience. So it’s maybe not surprising that a 100% secular nature study curriculum is hard to find. So here’s what I’d do — unless you just want to grab a copy of The Nature Connection, which isn’t a curriculum, but which has served as one for us for many years: Pick a topic each year, and dig into it together. One year, you might study bugs — hit the library for books, sign up for any bug-related classes at your local nature center, curate a collection of bug photos from your neighborhood, watch documentaries about bugs, build an ant farm, go on a bug hunt in your nearest green space every day — basically make thinking about bugs part of your regular routine. The next year you could tackle trees (and make a big leaf book, take bark rubbings, etc) or weather (build a barometer, measure your backyard rainfall, keep a sky chart, etc.). Instead of a curriculum, work on making nature study part of your routine, and develop in the directions that follow your child’s interest.
What did Vikings give each other as gifts?
I’m guessing people end up here because of our Norse mythology gift guide, but the answer to this question (which I had to research a little) proves to be pretty interesting. We think of Vikings as pillagers and plunderers, but gift-giving and hospitality were an important part of Viking culture, too. In The Tale of Audun from the West Fjords (an Icelandic saga that dates back to the 1200s C.E. in written form), Audun is given generous gifts by King Svien of Denmark, including the gold bracelet from his own arm. In Njáls saga (c.1280), King Harald of Denmark gives the warrior Gunnar some of his own clothes, a pair of embroidered gloves, and a “Russian hat.” What’s interesting is that in both these cases, we see two ideas that recur in Viking gift-giving: First up, gifts definitely come with strings attached — gifts are repayments for favors given or down payments on future favors. And second, the most meaningful gifts aren’t things you go out and procure, but things you own and love, making giving them to someone else a little bit of a sacrifice. That’s why so many gifts involve clothing and ornaments. So there you go.
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 10.19.19
Lilith Fair flashbacks make me happy, British citizenship tests are stuck on the Tudors, the problem with “spiritual consumerism,” when books could kill you, and more stuff we liked this week.
Happy birthday to the fabulous Suzanne! I was looking for an appropriate occasion to celebrate the return of Friday Stuff, and I can’t think of a better one than the anniversary of the day my favorite book nerd, podcast cohort, school partner, and lunch date was born.
And yes, that means that this week marks the return of regular blogging at HSL. We have some great stuff coming up — including the fall issue, which should be up next week! — and we’re all energized and refreshed after a much-needed break.
what’s happening at home/school/life
Our homeschool feels seismic this year — it’s my daughter’s senior year, and after a decade of homeschooling, this stage of our life together is ending. We’re working through college essays and applying to colleges, and I say we because it’s been we for so long, but now it’s really her. I’m so proud of her and happy and excited for her — and also really prone to tearing up at ordinary moments. My son, who is in middle school, I don't even know what grade we are calling it, has discovered that he loves taking classes with his friends, so we still do homeschooling together, but I can already see that homeschooling high school with him will probably look a lot different from the way it has looked with my daughter. They’re both awesome, and their blooming is a joy — it's just a joy that also makes me feel a little sad sometimes, which I think is okay.
on the blog: Have you guys seen Sarah’s Kindle deals? She is finding some amazing stuff! (You can get an email with each day’s deals if you sign up here.)
in the magazine: Look for the fall issue next week! In January, we are moving over to a new subscription model on Patreon — if you’re a subscriber, nothing will change for you until it’s time to renew your subscription, but new subscribers will see different options starting next month. (And if you’re already a Patreon supporter, the magazine will become one of your perks!)
at the academy: I have been having a little too much fun teaching the Salem witch trials in high school. (Even though my students did vote to burn me at the stake, so …) I’m also really enjoying my first online APUSH class — probably because my students are the best.
on instagram: I definitely enjoy the fact that my kids still like to dress up for their presentations sometimes!
links I liked
This totally gives away my age, but I loved Lilith Fair. It’s hard to think of concert experiences that even compare to how those concerts felt.
I’ve seen lots of U.S. citizenship tests, but this was my first look at a British one. (Apparently my copious knowledge of Henry VIII and the Tudors would serve me well here!)
I feel like "spiritual consumerism” is a phrase I have been trying to pin down for a while now: “It’s a little bit curious that as our political discourse is concerned with economic inequality — and the soaring costs of health care, education and homes — the cultural conversation is fixated on the healing powers of luxury items. What does it mean, that materialism is now so meaningful?”
Yes, thank you, I am very interested in knowing more about The Great Everywoman Outfit Contest of 1915.
Did you know about the great book scare of the late 19th/early 20th century?
Obviously a question right up my alley: What would the Golden Girls read?
As someone who had to navigate permissions for Emily Dickinson’s poems recently, I particularly enjoyed this. (The short version: Most of Dickinson’s poems were published in bowdlerized forms after her death, so her actual, un-bowdlerized poetry isn’t in the public domain yet, even though you’d think it would be.)
Semi-related: Dickinson’s herbarium is gorgeous and available online.
We were just talking about cancel culture and Harold Bloom in philosophy today.
I’m looking forward to seeing you again next Friday!
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 8.2.19
Rediscovered Langston Hughes, the Algonquin Round Table turns 100, feminist utopias, and more stuff we like.
Hello, end-of-summer! You could slow down a little if you want.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
I’ve been taking a little summer break from blogging — I’ve been doing my live series over on Patreon, working on the summer issue, and wrapping up the Year Two curriculum (true story: the second year is so much easier than the first!), but the HSL blog has been pretty quiet. I’m kind of in planning/evaluating mode, so if you have thoughts about things you like, stuff you’d like to read more of, or other ideas for the HSL blog, now is a great time to share them!
in the magazine: Thanks for all the feedback on the summer issue format! It has been really helpful — even though it seems to be about a 50/50 split for people who prefer each version.
on the blog: The awesome Sarah Smee is bringing back our Kindle Deals posts! (She’s the best!)
at the academy: We wrapped our summer chemistry class with an escape room challenge inspired by the periodic table.
from the archives: The bigger picture of multiple intelligences, tips for making your homeschool feel more home-y and less school-y, and some of our favorite homeschool school supplies
LINKS I LIKED
I identify with Dorothy Parker less as an adult than I did as a teenager (when she was my — possibly problematic — role model), but I’ll still read any story about the Algonquin Round Table.
This recently rediscovered Langston Hughes essay is going on my U.S. history required reading list.
This is one of the best essays I’ve read in recent years.
The complicated history of feminist utopian literature: “We didn’t slay the angel in the house just to replace her with a lady CIA officer in a flak jacket, cool shades, and a cattle prod.”
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
My inability to fall asleep unless I have one shoulder under a blanket is maybe not as weird as I have always thought it is.
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST
This Is How You Lose the Time War (I have heard so many good things about this!)
I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution (I love Emily Nussbaum, and not just because Buffy changed her life)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
Octavia Butler love! (I remember when I was trying to convince people to read Kindred, and now she’s everywhere, and it’s so great. I wasn’t super-smart about discovering her or anything — I was just lucky to have a great teacher who recommended her to me.)
This. (*Please be good. Please be good.*)
WHAT’S CONFUSING ME
The Cats trailer. I mean — I don't even know what I mean. But it’s weird.
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 7.19.19
Preschool politics, battles on the YA shelves, Stone Age engineering projects, the subtleties of translation, and more stuff we like.
It’s been a while!
I don’t usually talk about my personal life (that’s not why you’re here!), but this has been a rough year for me, and I’ve been having a hard time keeping my depression — which has been pretty well controlled for the past several years — in check. I’m fine — I have a great therapist, tons of support, and I’m trying all kinds of different medications and techniques — but the whole Stuff We Like thing has felt a little hard to wrap my brain around some weeks. Which is long-winded way of saying, it’s not you, it’s me, and I hope I’ll be back in the rhythm of regularly liking stuff soon
what’s happening at home/school/life
The summer issue is out! We tried something new and published an all-digital edition (so no PDF to download) — we’ve had several people ask for that, so we wanted to give it a try. If you have an opinion, let us know!
on patreon: We’re wrapping up our homeschooling high school series next week. (Where did the summer go?) Support us on Patreon for as little as $1/month, and get access to all our Patreon-only content.
at the academy: Our fall online class schedule is up!
out and about: You can find Amy chatting about literature-based learning at the SEA Online Symposium in July.
from the archives: A great curriculum for right now: The Science of Climate Change; Suzanne says this steampunk alt-history series is the perfect summer binge; we bust some common myths about homeschooling high school
in the store: Last call for print curriculum orders this year! :)
links i liked
This story about politics and in-fighting at a fancy Brooklyn preschool should totally be turned into a television series.
I loved this piece about literary translations: “Translation, after all, is literary analysis mixed with sympathy, a matter for the brain as well as the heart.”
How horror movies kill off inquisitive women of color.
I found this really interesting: There’s a lot of anger and drama happening in the YA community around representation, and I appreciate this thoughtful unpacking.
things i didn’t know but now i do
George Washington was a (racist) amateur genealogist.
Ancient Scots built artificial islands during the Stone Age. (That’s around the same time Stonehenge was built.)
books added to my tbr list
Gin Austen (because I am there for Jane Austen cocktails!)
The Nickel Boys (because I’ll read everything he writes)
what’s making me happy
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Curriculum Review: The Critical Thinking Company's Vocabulary Virtuoso
Shelli reviews a vocabulary program that’s designed to help middle and high school students boost their vocabulary — by going beyond memorizing word lists and mastering the nuances of adding new language to their repertoire. (Plus, we’ve got a special coupon code for you!)
If you are looking for an easy-to-use workbook to help expand your student’s vocabulary, look no further than Vocabulary Virtuoso by The Critical Thinking Co. For the purpose of this post, I’m reviewing the PSAT-SAT Book 2, which according to the Critical Thinking Co. is appropriate for grades 8-12. (They offer workbooks for younger levels as well.)
To be honest, I didn’t plan to do formal vocabulary work with my son. He reads a great deal, and I know he already possesses a high vocabulary. But now that I’ve seen Vocabulary Virtuoso, I’m going to have him begin the book next year as he starts the 7th grade. Even though the workbook is geared towards 8-12th graders, he’s a strong reader, so I don’t think it will be difficult for him to work through it. I think it will help him prepare for the standardized tests that are required for homeschoolers in our state.
In fact, he’s already looked at it and volunteered to start using it now. How cool is that? When he was younger, he hated doing worksheets, so I never made him do them. Now, he’s much more willing to do them, and he even seems to like them! A book like this is much easier for me because he can work through it on his own without me looking over his shoulder.
Vocabulary Virtuosos PSAT-SAT Book 2 is 187 pages long, and it contains twenty lessons. Each lesson begins with a list of vocabulary words that may be used on the PSAT and/or SAT exams. The list contains the word, pronunciation key, definition and a sample sentence using that word.
Following the vocabulary list is six worksheets or exercises that require students to think critically and use words in different ways. For example, they will see synonyms for the word, fill in the blanks with the appropriate word, read a story that uses each word, etc. Another exercise requires them to unscramble the letters in the word, which will help them learn how to spell it correctly. They will also need to complete a sentence that shows they understand the definition of a word. I believe that going through each of these exercises slowly will help a student remember the words and their meaning.
I also like that through the exercises and stories, students who complete this workbook will also learn a little about ancient Greek history, ancient Greek drama, Shakespeare’s London, Renaissance artists, epistolary writing, U.S. musical history, types of literary conflict and many other interesting topics.
The Critical Thinking Co. is a great company with many products worth looking at. Each one incorporates critical thinking, so they aren’t your run-of-the-mill workbooks. I’ve only just started looking through their catalog and determining what we can use in the future.
They have an awesome free critical thinking puzzle of the week you can get by signing up here.
Stuff We Like :: 5.10.19
Burnout is not a professional goal, the myth of the frontier in U.S. history, what do we mean when we talk about “electability,” what we always suspected about cats is true, and more stuff we like.
I had a long lunch with my best friend, saw a movie with my family, and am looking forward to a sushi date with my husband tonight. Hello, my life, how I’ve missed you!
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
Year One and Year Two of our high school curriculum are on sale now! (If you want a print copy with all the books, order soon!)
on the blog: Suzanne’s (almost) winning at Library Chicken. Next week is her week!
at the academy: Graduation!
from the archives: Shelli’s family loved their My Side of the Mountain readaloud; 7 great resources for teaching critical thinking; rhythms and routines in unschooling
LINKS I LIKED
I am fascinated (and I think also a little terrified?) of the implications of this test-your-DNA craze.
Yes! Why have we embraced burnout as a professional value? I’m thinking a lot about this lately.
I’ve always been really interested in the construct of the frontier and the role it played (and still plays) in the development of the United States, and after this year of obsessing over U.S. history, I’m even more interested.
This was fascinating to me: The Mississippi Freedom Trail markers that mark sites connected to the murder of Emmett Till are more controversial than I’d realized: “As soon as the Bryants’ store was allowed to crumble, the forensic fascination of who-did-what-to-whom was reframed as an examination of how racism persists in the Delta. The onset of ruin has transformed the focus of commemorative inquiry: the inattention of the local community is now part of the meaning of Till’s murder.”
Why are we talking about electability (what does that mean??) and not about the best candidates?
I love real pictures of people’s lives on Instagram! (But it takes a lot of courage to put them out there.)
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
Anything about the amazing woman Redoshi, who survived a slave ship, the Civil War, and the Great Depression. (How did I not know this?)
Actually I probably did know this; I just didn’t want to admit it: Cats May Recognize Their Own Names — But It Doesn’t Mean They Care
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
(I feel like this list is totally dating me, you guys. I mean, I guess maybe the Cure poster I still have in my office does that, though?)
Tiffany is back at the mall, you guys!
The new Veronica Mars trailer
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 5.3.19
Highs and lows of Facebook groups, Teddy Roosevelt and the Iron Throne, my new favorite interview with a vampire, and more stuff we like.
School’s out for summer! Well, our homeschool is kicking into summer mode since we go year round, but the hybrid school Suzanne and I run has officially wrapped for summer. Graduation is Saturday, and I am looking forward to a glorious month of no teaching before I hop back into my summer chemistry class in June.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
in the store: Our Year One and Year Two curricula are on sale now, and you can get a nice deal if you preorder them! (I expect to keep the digital editions all year, but the print editions will have a limited run again.)
on the podcast: Suzanne and I are talking about why we decided to add “run a hybrid school” to our to-do lists.
on patreon: Weigh in on what you’d like us to cover in our series on academic homeschooling through high school.
on instagram: Project season!
at the academy: If you’re in Atlanta, you should come take chemistry with me this summer!
from the archives: Shelli reviewed IEW’s Student Writing Intensive; a peek back at Amy’s 3rd grade; homeschooling is messy, but maybe that’s okay.
LINKS I LIKED
This piece about neighborhood Facebook groups is funny because it’s true. (We literally have a guy in our neighborhood group who prefaces almost every post with “I don’t want to be that guy, but”— and it makes me laugh out loud every time.
Similarly: Private Facebook groups can be surprisingly wonderful spaces, in a totally non-ironic way.
Carmilla was one of my lit students’ favorite reads this year, so I found this kind of perfect. (Read it all the way to the end!)
This was just … wow: “I can endure about five minutes more of this. Nothing of any value has been said by either party on any subject.”
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
I am surprisingly good at guessing what Teddy Roosevelt would say.
The world of Los Angeles parking tickets is not simple.
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee (because it's so wild to think of what Harper Lee's In Cold Blood would read like)
Stony the Road (because I can’t stop reading about Reconstruction)
No Walls and the Recurring Dream: A Memoir (because I grew up on Ani!)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
Sandal weather! (I’m still tromping around in my super-comfy, super-clunky Alegria sandals — I think breaking my ankles has permanently altered my shoe wardrobe, and I am okay with that!)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Our High School Curriculum: Year Two Is Available to Pre-Order Now (And Year One Is Back in Stock!)
Get the scoop on year two of our complete high school curriculum!
And if you pre-order it, you can save about 20%: Through August, the print cost for Year Two is $775 (regularly $995) and the digital cost for Year Two is $350 (regularly $450). You don’t need a coupon — the discount will be automatically applied.
And I think it’s even better than Year One, thanks in no small part to the fabulous team of students who test-drove Year One this past year. I have loved hearing from folks every week about how things are going, nerding out about books together, and getting to read some of their awesome work. It has been a real pleasure! And as a bonus, they’ve given me tons of feedback about how the curriculum plays out in a real-life homeschool, so I’ve been able to make some tweaks to make Year Two even better.
One of the tweaks is maybe more of a big change than a little tweak: As you can see from the lovely picture above, for Year Two I’ve written several books to go along with the Year Two curriculum. I struggled to find the right spines for classes like history and science — so, in classic homeschooler fashion, I ended up writing them myself. I’ve also edited separate readers for literature, philosophy, and government (in Year One, readings are included in the lesson guides) so that you can more comfortably read them in bed or the hammock.
Another tweak is that we’ve upgraded from audio to video lectures for Year Two. One of the nicest pieces of feedback I got from the folks who used Year One was that they loved the lectures that came with each class, so I’ve been making videos for Year Two. (Don’t worry, you hardly have to look at me at all! But I still make random Buffy references and default to feminine pronouns.) I think for things like Latin and chemistry, you’ll really love the visual component — but you can download just the audio if you prefer your lectures podcast-style.
Just like last year, you can choose between the print edition and a digital edition. The curriculum ships in August, and both curricula will be on sale until shipments start.
So what’s actually in our Year Two curriculum? I’m so glad you asked! Year Two is our U.S. history year, which means we’re focusing on the United States — history, literature, and government.
What’s included:
This 28-week curriculum contains everything but math.
Philosophy
After a year of grounding ourselves in critical thinking, we’re ready to tackle some real philosophy! We’ll start easy with Transcendentalism, arguably the most American philosophy and one that’s very accessible. In the second half of the year, we’ll turn to ethics, considering Aristotle, Kant, Mill, and care ethics.
Philosophy primary source reader (edited by HSL)
Philosophy student guide (with weekly lessons and assignments)
Philosophy lectures channel (this year with video!)
U.S. History
I feel like by high school most of us know the basics of U.S. history, so I’ve chosen to focus on the lives that often get left out of history books: immigrants, women, people of color, LGBTQ people. I’ve tried to tell the story of the United States through their stories, and I hope I’ve done them justice. And, of course, we continue to emphasize primary sources.
The Colorful, Queer, Feminist, Immigrant Lives That Helped Shape the United States by Amy Sharony
History student guide (with weekly lessons, assignments, and primary source readings — see a sample)
History lectures channel (this year with video!)
Literature and Composition
We’ll explore “American literature” through a series of focused studies, including American Gothic literature, The Awakening, the Harlem Renaissance, American poetry, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. We’ll be writing a mix of critical and personal essays about literature.
Literature reader (edited by HSL)
Literature student guide (with weekly lessons, assignments, and critical considerations — see a sample)
Composition student guide (with assignments and rubrics)
Literature lectures channel (this year with video!)
Chemistry
Our textbook-based biology last year was fine, but I think we can do better. Chemistry is fascinating, full of compelling people and wacky elements (there’s a Poisoner’s Corridor in the periodic table!), and there wasn’t really a book that managed to cover the basics of chemistry while also giving plenty of room to the stories that make it interesting. I hope this book fills the gap — I certainly had a great time writing it and working with a couple of super-smart chemists on balancing information and fun and making sure we had really good labs.
Chemistry for People Who Would Rather Be Reading by Amy Sharony
Chemistry Lab Manual
Chemistry student guide (with weekly lessons and assignments — see a sample)
Chemistry lessons channel (this year with video!)
U.S. Government and Politics
It only makes sense to cover U.S. government and politics during our U.S. history year. We’ll spend about half this class taking a close look at the Constitution, including elections and the branches of government, and the other half exploring some of the most significant U.S. Supreme Court cases.
The Annotated Constitution of the United States (edited by HSL)
Major Supreme Court Cases (edited by HSL)
U.S. Government and Politics student guide (with weekly lessons, assignments, and primary source readings)
Government lectures channel (this year with video!)
Latin IB
We’ll continue with Ecce Romani, learning more vocabulary and more complex grammar. I’ve also added more individual grammar lessons with videos because I hear you: You want more grammar!
Latin student guide (with weekly lessons and assignments — see a sample)
Latin lessons channel (this year with video!)
Student Guide
The student guide is part inspirational manual, part goal-setting tool, and part weekly planner. (See a sample.)
Contracts, annual goals, and semester goals
Grade matrix options and tracking for each subject
Annual, monthly, and weekly schedule suggestions
Parents Guide
Midterm and final exams with answer keys
Suggestions for counting units and course descriptions
Online Support
I am available online for a live chat every week in our curriculum Facebook group to answer questions and offer whatever other support you need.
You will need: (This is the stuff you’ll need that is NOT included in the curriculum.)
The Awakening
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Ecce Romani 1 and 2 (if you don’t already have it from last year)
Supplies for chemistry labs (listed in lab manual)
whatever you’re doing for math
Questions You Might Have
If I don’t tackle your question here, please feel free to ask!
What if we want to jump right into Year Two without doing Year One?
You can, of course — I am not the boss of you! The challenge you might run into is that some of the critical reading and writing you’ll be doing in Year Two builds on skills you learned in Year One, like annotating as you read, self-editing your essays, using the toolkit, etc. You could certainly learn these things as you go, but you’ll miss out on the structured development of these skills.
Can I buy Year One?
Yes! It’s on sale again now, too. (It will ship in August, too, so I can do all my box-packing / emailing in one big push.)
Can I buy just one piece of the curriculum?
Not yet — sorry! It is a goal for down the road, but right now, it makes sense for us to keep the curriculum as a bundle. (I am teaching a couple of online classes this fall at the Academy based on this curriculum, including history and literature, so keep an eye out for those if you’re looking for just one class.)
How does this translate to credits on our transcript?
As a general guide, I recommend:
1.0 History
1.0 Literature: Main Literature (0.75) + Composition (0.25)
1.0 Latin
1.0 Philosophy
1.5 Chemistry (with Lab)
0.5 U.S. Government and Politics
But I’m happy to chat specifics with you if you run into questions!
How much parent support is required?
The curriculum is written for the student, so it’s designed for students to work through on their own. I’ve included step-by-step strategies for close reading, critical thinking, making connections, and analyzing information as well as tools for self-evaluation with the idea that students will get better at these things over the course of the year — there’s a lot of skill-building integrated into the program. You know best what your student needs, but an on-level high school student should be able to use this curriculum largely independently.
How do I grade this?
For each subject, I’ve included a grade matrix, which students can use to plot their own version of academic success. Each grade matrix includes a recommended number of points to indicate a level of academic success: students can opt to pass the class, work to earn an A, or aspire to an honors-level A based on their own goals for that particular subject. The grade matrix includes a broad range of output activities, from taking notes and completing annotated readings to writing papers and projects with lots of different options in each category. Aside from a few required items, students can combine projects and activities to create their own assessment framework. Output options include midterm and final exams for each subject.
What do the rest of the years look like?
We’re building this curriculum as we go, so some of the specifics might change as our weekly plans actually start to come together. But the broad outline for the next three years is set as follows and will remain the same, even if specific readings change:
Year Three: Asian and African History includes:
Humanities: History, literature, and philosophy of China, Japan, India, and non-Egypt Africa
Composition: Synthesis essays (explanatory and argumentative); creative writing
Philosophy: Confucius/Daoism/Chuang-Tzu
Science: Physics (with Labs), includes history-related primary source readings
Latin 2
Year Four: The Classical World includes:
Humanities: History, literature, and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome
Composition: Scientific writing; persuasive essays
Philosophy: Plato/Lucretius
Science: Astronomy (with Labs), includes history-related primary source readings
Latin 3
Supplements: World Religions; The Epic of Gilgamesh
Other things you might want to note:
This curriculum was designed to cover two 14-week semesters, for a total of 28 weeks of structured academic time. Because of the short time span, it’s a very focused, rigorous curriculum — you could definitely slow down and spread it across more time if you wanted to.
This is a reading- and writing-intensive curriculum. While you could definitely modify it to make it less so, critical reading and writing are such essential parts of it that if you hate those things, this curriculum might not be the best fit for you.
All of the information in this curriculum was reviewed by and created by or in close collaboration with people with advanced degrees in the subject area.
This is a secular curriculum.
This sample does not include complete lessons and is only a sample — the completed curriculum may differ from what you see here.
Stuff We Like :: 4.26.19
Our weekly roundup of links, books, and other homeschool inspiration.
It’s crunch time here at HSL HQ: Finals at the Academy are next week, our galleys are in for the new Year Two curriculum, and the spring issue just wrapped.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
in the magazine: The spring issue is out! Make sure to download your copy.
on instagram: The galleys for our Year Two curriculum make such a pretty stack.
at the academy: Lots of excitement at the high school and the junior high
on patreon: Suzanne and I are kicking off a summer series on academic homeschooling through high school — we’ll talk course rigor, transcripts, testing, AP classes, and college matchmaking.
from the archives: A close-up look at my homeschool planner, some of our favorite Shakespeare adaptations, and the first steps to starting a homeschool group in your neck of the woods.
LINKS I LIKED
I am pleased to report that I have read all of the 11 most challenged books of 2018.
I think by now you know that I will happily read anything about fonts. (My son was poking fun at my daughter yesterday because she’s been spending all week changing the fonts on the covers of her Wattpad books, but I think it’s probably genetic…)
Walt Whitman, for me, is a huge piece of American literature, which I’m teaching next year, so I found this particularly interesting. I feel like this may well be the work of 21st century academic literature: How to build a canon that is respectful and inclusive, that can separate excellence from personality without excusing racism, sexism, colonialism, etc.
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
I’m not the only compulsive notebook buyer out there. (It feels so good to start a new one, though!)
The internet is changing the way we preserve endangered languages.
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
The prospect of getting caught up on the parts of my life that get put on hold during editing binges!
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 3.29.19
Our weekly roundup of great links, books, and other stuff that’s inspiring our homeschool life.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
I’m wrapping up the spring issue and next year’s curriculum, in that order!
on the blog: Don’t let other people’s voices get in your way
at the academy: What’s happening at the high school and the junior high
on instagram: Suzanne makes the best book recommendations
from the archives: A Civil War reading list and 30 great ideas for celebrating National Poetry Month
LINKS I LIKED
I love this so much: Reimagining history, one whitewashed diorama at a time. We really can do better as we know better, just like this.
I love my job, but I don’t want my job to be the most important thing in my life.
Suzanne and I were just talking about what ever happened to Wite-Out. (Do you think the internet is spying on me?)
I thought this was great — I love getting to review books as part of my day job, but sometimes I just want to talk about books, and that’s not the same thing.
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
One of the most celebrated women authors of the 19th century got erased from literary history.
Fantasy birding is a thing, and it is GLORIOUS.
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
Murder by the Book: The Crime that Shocked Dickens’s London (obviously!)
Tokyo Stories: A Japanese Cookbook (I think my daughter will love this one)
The Old Drift (Salman Rushdie makes this sound like a can’t-miss)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
These amazing illustrations for Howl’s Moving Castle.
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 3.22.19
The slow, important uncovering of history, snow plow parents, transcript-writing for people who aren’t transcript writers, cats in medieval manuscripts, and more stuff I like.
I’ve been working away on the spring issue of HSL and on the chemistry curriculum for next year’s high school, so I am not crazy about the pollen attack that happens every time I walk outside. I am loving the sunshine, though!
What’s happening at home/school/life
on the blog: Suzanne is obsessed with novellas right now, and these are some of her favorites
on patreon: We have a chat coming up this weekend!
at the academy: If you’re in the Atlanta area, you may want to check out our spring open house (and we have some openings in our online summer classes still!)
from the archives: How to write a high school transcript for an unschooler who suddenly needs a traditional transcript, a review of Your Business Math (spoiler: All math is more fun when it involves kittens), and helping children cope with fear
Links I liked
I got a little obsessed with the whole college admissions scandal when it broke last week. (See: Kids photoshopped as athletes.) But I think this was my favorite response to it: “The point is to prepare the kid for the road, instead of preparing the road for the kid.”
I really appreciate the slow, steady, painful work of historians and activities who are bringing the dark side of U.S. history to the forefront. It’s much happier to read about brave pioneers than about lynchings of Mexican people in Texas or about the heroes of D-Day than about Japanese internment camps, but history is never about what’s happy. It’s about what’s true. At least it should be.
How Gabriel Garcia Marquez began to write.
Things I didn’t know but now I do
The Black Death may have had a big impact on medieval Sub-Saharan Africa, too.
We can hear what music actually sounded like in ancient Greece
The abolitionists had a poster girl in the antebellum United States, and you may be surprised by what she looks like.
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (I usually try to hide from books that everyone is recommending until the buzz is quiet, but I’m putting this one on my list)
Night of Fire by Colin Thubron (this looks right up my alley)
Mad Love and War by Joy Harjo (I’m trying to read more Native American literature)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 3.8.19
Problems with children’s literature, thirty years of “Closer to Fine,” saying goodbye to Dylan McKay, weird ancient Greek obsessions, and more stuff we like.
I am so looking forward to a week of catching up on my reading! (And to reading Good Omens for my next book club seminar! Have you seen the trailer?)
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
on the blog: You are doing a lot of things right, so give yourself some credit
on instagram: I love Women’s History Month reading with my kids.
from the archives: Great epistolary novels and family game night upgrades
LINKS I LIKED
I find myself hit surprisingly hard by the death this week of Luke Perry. He wasn’t my childhood crush or anything — that was Willem Dafoe; I was a weird kid — but there was something kind of cool about the fact that the show’s heartthrob quoted Keats and talked Kerouac. RIP, Dylan McKay.
This makes me sad. What are we doing with college and kids right now? Because it just seems like it’s terrible.
I feel like this question keeps coming up for me: How do we deal with beloved children’s literature (and Little House on the Prairie was absolutely beloved by me as a child) that clearly has Big Problems once we start paying attention? I think it might be okay to acknowledge that we loved what we loved and even to pass it on to our children — knowing that if we’ve done our job right, they will probably pick up on those problems and not love it the way we did. And that’s right — that’s how the evolution of the canon should work. When we know better, we read better.
This is my pet peeve! I am really picky about editions of classics, and Amazon makes it SO FREAKING HARD to get the one I want. (I usually end up Googling instead of searching inside Amazon because that tends to work a little better for finding the edition I want.)
Relevant to my interests (which actually makes me sound kinda creepy): Episodes of Eating Children in Ancient Greece, Ranked in Order of Unreasonableness
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
It has been 30 years since “Closer to Fine” came out. Apparently this is the week of things making me feel old.
I do not actually know how to spell a surprising number of celebrity names. (Maybe you can do better!)
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
The Secret Commonwealth (Lyra Silvertongue all grown up? Sign me up!)
A People’s Future of the United States (Get on my bookcase!)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
It’s spring break! (It’s funny because when I was in school I didn't love spring break, but now that I teach school, I’m in love with spring break!)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
Stuff We Like :: 3.1.19
The magical union of science and art, objectivity in a post-truth world, Star Trek has seen the future, and more stuff we like.
The magical union of science and art, objectivity in a post-truth world, Star Trek has seen the future, and more.
I’m in the middle of the spring issue, and there’s a lot of good stuff there!
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HOME/SCHOOL/LIFE
on the blog: Our beat-the-midwinter-slump series is up!
in the store: You can download our reading guide for The Hate U Give for free right now! (It has one of my favorite wrap-up writing projects in it.)
on patreon: There’s a new episode of the Podcast with Suzanne and Amy. (We’re talking about middle school.)
from the archives: Planning your day around readalouds and a little winter homeschool flashback
LINKS I LIKED
I am not sure there is anything that has made me happier recently than these videos of people dancing their PhDs.
How cool is this crocheted skeleton?
Is it weird that I really enjoyed this piece about the history and influence of navy blue?
Sometimes when I think about the future, I feel so much hope — because of kids like these.
THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BUT NOW I DO
Star Trek may be right about everything.
The Himalayan wolf may be distinct enough to be classified as a new species. (I’m totally sharing this with my evolution class.)
BOOKS ADDED TO MY TBR LIST THIS WEEK
Early Riser (I’m excited to see what Jasper Fforde is up to beyond Thursday Next)
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century (no way could I resist that title)
WHAT’S MAKING ME HAPPY
rutabaga tacos! (I love rutabagas so much, and these are delicious.)
(We’re Amazon affiliates, so if you purchase something through an Amazon link, we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Obviously this doesn’t influence what we recommend, and we link to places other than Amazon.)
It's that time again! We've rounded up some great ways to celebrate your first day of the new homeschool year, whether you want to keep it simple at home or take a big adventure together.