Kid's Books
You'll find my monthly post published today at Simple Homeschool. I've written about two things we enjoy very much; reading and the outdoors. The combination of these is a post titled, Great Books for an Outdoors Education.
Reading is something that inspires us to get outdoors more; to experience this great, wide and beautiful world we've read about. Then, after we've been outdoors and want to research what we've discovered for ourselves (ie: identifying the bugs, leaves and forest floor wildflowers) books are where we turn to find our answers.
Just this morning I read Henry David's House to the kiddos. Reading this very edited and richly illustrated (oh I just love children's picture books) version of the American classic Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau inspires me to follow my dreams for simpler living, leaves me pining to return to the woods (only 4 more days till our next hike) and has piqued my curiosity to read the original.
If you'd like to find more outdoor/nature type books to read with your children you can check out my nature study shelf at Goodreads.
This winter Damien upped the nature-book ante by reading outdoor adventure books to our family during the evenings. These are stories about people truly being in the outdoors, not just studying it from the comfort of their heated living rooms or well equipped science labs. He's got a booklist going also at Goodreads that you can see at the bottom of the AdventureinProgress mainpage.
Have any of you read Walden, or Life in the Woods? What did you think? Would you recommend it?
PS. I know there's been a lot of posts lately on FIMBY about the outdoors. This blog reflects my life, it's not an abstract writing project, and we've been reading about, talking about and spending lots of time outdoors. And we hope to do more. It's a good thing but I do plan to post about other more "homey" subjects. Maybe hopefully spring gardening, with some pretty photos.
Last weekend it was a light skiff. Then yesterday it was a big dump of the white stuff; and so although winter's official arrival date is over a week away I consider old man winter to have arrived with this snow.
Welcome winter camping, snow forts, snowshoeing and mad river rocketing. Say hello to 4 months (if we're lucky) of shoveling, salting, scraping and roof top snow removal. We'll take the good with the bad.
Yesterday morning was our usual library run and we braved the weather because a new stack of books on a snowy day is simply delightful. I treasure that post-libary visit hush that descends on our house after each trip. Such quiet in the middle of the day is very rare.
In anticipation of a snowfall like this I was holding onto (and renewing when it came due) Snowy Day: Stories and Poems, a collection I'd picked up weeks earlier from the library. A book I intended to read to the kiddos on our first big snowfall day. We skipped the stories because the kids had picked out other story books they'd wanted me to read but we enjoyed the poems. Cuddling and reading on snowy days is such a pleasure.
We've read many Christmas & other holiday stories and winter books over the years. Almost 2 years ago I started compiling them on my Goodreads page. I am always on the lookout for booklists and seasonal reading recommendations. Here's a few to share with you:
Christmas and Winter Holidays
Winter in General
- Last December I wrote a post with short reviews of some stories for Christmas and the winter holidays.
- I did the same in January for good winter reads. After that my seasonal reading posts fizzled out.
- Creative Kismet just posted a holiday reading list. I can't vouch for all the books but there looks to be some good titles to check out.
I would love to hear your great holiday season & winter reading recommendations, adult novels and non-fiction included.
On another book related note, you're not going to believe this but a reader recently requested that we post our Amazon wish list. Because they want to stalk us?? I hope not. a friendly reader recently asked me to post our Amazon wish list. In case you're interested also (you'll notice I have never asked you to monetarily support this blog in anyway; no requests to click here or shop there to support FIMBY, so I'm certainly not asking you now to buy us books!!) you can find that link on the front page side bar.
His sisters were downstairs in the living room. One asleep, taking an unexpected afternoon nap on the couch. The other cruising her way through a chapter book, thoroughly engrossed.
But he and I were snuggled together on my bed. Reading about snakes, weasels and stone wall dragons. I love this boy.
