I have been wanting to post about this since it happened almost 2 week ago, but haven't had a chance. Even though there is laundry to do and vacuuming, and mopping, and all sorts of other things I should be doing-I just can't wait another day! I got home at almost 9 pm a couple of Thursday's nights ago to 3 boxes on the dinning room table and my guys waiting to see what was inside. My Aunt Gloria had sent us 3. Boxes. Of. BOOKS!!!!
Jake immediately found one that interested him and was excited to see that his name was inside it. . .
Not only were there 3 BOXES OF BOOKS, there was also labels so if we ever lend them out, all will know who they belong to. We all looked them over, ohhhed and ahhhhed, and commented it felt like Christmas and were so excited and this is a run on sentence but in my excitement I can not stop, and then my breath caught in my chest. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it. . . BUT, I will come back to that one. If you know me, you may be able to pick it out of the crowd. . .
Books, Glorious, Books! (I am singing it to the tune of Food, Glorious, Food-if you didn't get that automatically).
Have you read any of these? We are excited and have already gotten started. I am reading America the Beautiful by Dr. Ben Carson right now. He is a genius and he just happens to be coming to Greenville, SC in March (I think it is March) for a homeschooling convention.
Little Britches is an ALL TIME FAVORITE of ours. Now Jake can have his own copy. :) Donald Rumsfeld is kind of a big deal if you ask me. Can't wait to read that one. . . actually all of them!!!
The autobiography of Calvin Coolidge is going to be a very interesting one. Did you know he is our only President from Vermont? If you have been around here for a while than you know my family has strong ties to Vermont. :)
This little gem teaches you how to recite and speak properly in public. It literally teaches you how to pronounce properly and how to use your hands for dramatic effect. We are sooooo using this one immediately! What an amazing book to help educate a leader. It also has many options to recite in it. It feels like a book that Anne Shirley would have studied from. . .LOVE IT!
Another Coolidge book that I can't wait to dig in to. Doesn't he just look like a man that can be trusted? A gentleman? A true leader. I have to come clean and admit I am not as familiar with his presidency as I should be. That will be changing soon!
Jake is excited to read this book by William J. Bennett. I love that he is excited about it! I love that he was as excited as me when we opened the boxes and found books!
I love the pictures in this book!!!
I felt so smart when I knew what Mr. Bennett was talking about when I saw Peloponnesian War. We learned about it last year in our Timeline. If I learned about it before I have no memory of it what so ever. Seriously. None.
I am working on my HMD. Homeschooling Mom Degree. It is pretty much a major in every subject and it takes YEARS to get it.
Back to Dr. Carson because he is a-maz-ing! You have got to read his book(s). "For freedom is an elusive bird, constantly on the move, progressively distancing itself from complacency." Genius.
Okay, okay! To the book that my eyes were drawn to. . . I have been drooling over this book for several years now. The 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary. I have wanted it, but have always had to wait due to budgetary concerns (yes Mr. Obama, some of us wait years to get what we want). And there it was wrapped in plastic, never to have had its pages turned before. Isn't she beautiful?
I made sure I did the trick where you hold it on it's binding and open from the outsides, in. Did you learn that trick? It keeps the binding from cracking. I kind of love this book. A LOT. I sat on the couch and cuddled (and maybe patted it a little) it for quit some time. Aaron laughed at me and told me I was weird. :)
There is actually an entire curriculum built around it (that I will be researching), because it is just that AWESOME! I love the dedication. . .
I mentioned to my Aunt Gloria how soft the pages are. I wonder if all books in that time period were soft (I do realize it is not actually from 1828, but I am sure the original is just like it). Everything about it invites you in. That new book smell, that I am sure will never fade. :) Scripture references. Language that is proper and impressive. I really makes you realize how dumbed down our society is now. People in the 1700 and 1800's didn't have enough money to send their children to school and they raised genius at home.
They stuck with the basics. First and for most: reading! Have you ever wanted to read a dictionary? If you had Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language you would. :) This dictionary bases its definitions on His word. We will be researching how changing the definitions of words has changed our society. The definition of marriage has changed immensely since 1828. Our society has completely taken the Lord out of marriage. No wonder the divorce rate is so high!
I looked up "give" and the definition was 3/4's of a page long! I think "give" is a good place to start. We are going to see what the word "give" meant in 1828, and see how we have changed it over the past 185 years.
THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you, Aunt Gloria! Not just for these boxes of books, but for giving me memories in the form of books my whole life. I just finished rereading The Secret Garden a few weeks ago-the copy that you gave me when I was a girl. A beautiful hard back copy that I will pass on to a grand daughter I am sure!
