What makes a book great? That’s a question I thought about a lot while writing the Excellence in Literature curriculum. Why do some books stick with you, while others, just as highly reviewed or recommended, vanish from memory like smoke?...
I’m always happy to get a good review of one or more of my books, and this morning I came across a very nice review on The Old Schoolhouse website. Kathy Gelzer has done a beautiful job of outlining the...
I was working with the Chaucer unit in Excellence in Literature: British Literature this morning, and thinking about the ways in which The Canterbury Tales can be made accessible to students. These stories are funny, startling, and sometimes appalling, and...
As most of you know, I’ve been working non-stop to get the first level of the Excellence in Literature: Reading and Writing Through the Classics series out in time for the new school year. Due to the pinched nerve in...
“O, like a book of sport thou’lt read me o’er; But there’s more in me than thou understand’st.” ~ William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth’s fateful meeting with the three witches on the...
Welcome to the 115th Carnival of Homeschooling! The theme for this carnival is adapted from Dr. Seuss’s beloved Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Homeschoolers are a diverse bunch, and I thought it would be interesting to read about some of...
I love to read, and on the back of my first business card I share some unforgettable books. Of course, this aren’t all my favorites — remember, the qualification is “unforgettable” — but I was constrained by the size of...
