Well-Educated Mother's Heart
Month 8: History
"Mothers who love your children:
Do not set them too soon to the study of history;
let them dream while they are young."
--Edouard Laboulaye
Do not set them too soon to the study of history;
let them dream while they are young."
--Edouard Laboulaye
"A taste for historical reading is, after all, the valuable gift
we can bestow upon our youthful student of history. Having given him that,
we may safely leave the rest to him."
--Marguerite Dickson
we can bestow upon our youthful student of history. Having given him that,
we may safely leave the rest to him."
--Marguerite Dickson
How well do our students know history? I'm sure you've seen similar youtubes to this one, but it's still pretty shocking.
Mother's Learning Library Volume 8: History
(Free pdf version is linked here. A hard copy is included in this month's bundle shipment or it can be ordered separately in our store.)
I opened this month's volume with more 'gems' of wisdom from our 'heart specialist' friends of a hundred years ago as they discuss the best approaches to unfolding history in childhood and cautions of what will a kill a desire to learn more. That section is followed by a general discussion of the value of reading and owning books and recommendations for choosing quality books for your home library. You'll also find tips on helping your children become readers. Finally, I included a little book on The Art of Conversation--12 Golden Rules. As your hearts start filling with so many ideas, finding others to talk about them with is one of life's simple but most satisfying pleasures.
(Free pdf version is linked here. A hard copy is included in this month's bundle shipment or it can be ordered separately in our store.)
I opened this month's volume with more 'gems' of wisdom from our 'heart specialist' friends of a hundred years ago as they discuss the best approaches to unfolding history in childhood and cautions of what will a kill a desire to learn more. That section is followed by a general discussion of the value of reading and owning books and recommendations for choosing quality books for your home library. You'll also find tips on helping your children become readers. Finally, I included a little book on The Art of Conversation--12 Golden Rules. As your hearts start filling with so many ideas, finding others to talk about them with is one of life's simple but most satisfying pleasures.
Listen to a great TED talk on The Danger of the Single Story. Instead of always looking for the 'one' accurate story, be aware that history can only be understood by the weaving together of many stories.
BUILDING A HOME LIBRARY
The best way to help your children love history is to make sure they have access to engaging soul-stirring and heart-warming books. History isn't exactly a hot-selling item these days, so you won't find a lot of recent choices. The good news is there are wonderful older books you can pick up with which build a quality home library without breaking the bank. I've found that the very best children's books are often the ones that are left behind at books sales and thrift stores because a lot of people don't understand the warmth and value of the older children's books. I love digging for treasures in Friends of the Library used book sales, thrift stores and online sites like Amazon and Thriftbooks. I rarely pay over a dollar for a book and many of the books in my library cost me less than a quarter. They are priceless to me.
Many of the big library book sales are posted at booksalefinder.com, but not all, so contact local libraries and ask if and when they will be holding a Friends of the Library used book sale. Large book sales are usually worth traveling to. Many of them will offer end of sale bag sales where you pay $3.00 or $5.00 for a bag and you can fill it with as many books as you can fit. Be sure and check the boxes under the tables--especially the unopened ones. I have found most of the books sales are sorted by category. Don't forget to check out the Poetry section--I've found some beautiful children's poetry volumes there. Also, check out the Art section for coffee table volumes of fine art. And often, they'll have a vintage book section you'll want to be sure and visit.
And by the way, you meet the nicest people at these book sales!
Not every 'older' children's book is worth owning....but when I only spend a quarter, I don't mind going home and learning more about the book on Amazon reader reviews. I'm getting much better at picking the best of the best. The rest, I just recycle back into the system.
I recommend reading through Valerie's Living Books reviews to familiarize yourself with titles and series that are worth seeking out. Elizabeth Wilson's Books Children Love as well as May Hill Arbuthnot's Children and Books are other personal favorites that have directed me to a number of really great titles and a greater understanding of children's literature. I also like Books That Build Character. I've tried to include the titles that repeatedly come up on recommended lists as favorites in the Story Resource Guide. I usually avoid the titles that have gone out of print and are extremely expensive to come by.
My home library is organized around the 12 month rotating schedule. Call me old fashioned, but I also like picking up the old VHS movie classics at the sales--usually for a quarter--and I put them on the shelves next to the books. You can find cheap VHS recorders to watch the old movies on. Of course, streaming them is usually also an option. Organizing the books and movies by month has helped so much! I'm able to find titles I'm looking for much more easily. I have separate shelves for nature books that I organize by Birds, Rocks, Insects, etc. I have additional shelves for poetry, story collections, picture books that don't tie into a month, books on education, crafts, holiday stories, art and music. I have over 2000 books in my library, and when I was done reorganizing, I only had a small shelf of miscellaneous books that didn't fit anywhere else.
I know everyone doesn't have room for hundreds of books, but even a small collection of the best of the best is a very worthy investment, which you'll read about in this month's Mother's Learning Library volume. For a personal take on the subject, I wrote a blog awhile ago that captures why I hold on to so many books when my children are all grown up and gone. You can read it here: Confessions of a Book Sale Junkie.
The best way to help your children love history is to make sure they have access to engaging soul-stirring and heart-warming books. History isn't exactly a hot-selling item these days, so you won't find a lot of recent choices. The good news is there are wonderful older books you can pick up with which build a quality home library without breaking the bank. I've found that the very best children's books are often the ones that are left behind at books sales and thrift stores because a lot of people don't understand the warmth and value of the older children's books. I love digging for treasures in Friends of the Library used book sales, thrift stores and online sites like Amazon and Thriftbooks. I rarely pay over a dollar for a book and many of the books in my library cost me less than a quarter. They are priceless to me.
Many of the big library book sales are posted at booksalefinder.com, but not all, so contact local libraries and ask if and when they will be holding a Friends of the Library used book sale. Large book sales are usually worth traveling to. Many of them will offer end of sale bag sales where you pay $3.00 or $5.00 for a bag and you can fill it with as many books as you can fit. Be sure and check the boxes under the tables--especially the unopened ones. I have found most of the books sales are sorted by category. Don't forget to check out the Poetry section--I've found some beautiful children's poetry volumes there. Also, check out the Art section for coffee table volumes of fine art. And often, they'll have a vintage book section you'll want to be sure and visit.
And by the way, you meet the nicest people at these book sales!
Not every 'older' children's book is worth owning....but when I only spend a quarter, I don't mind going home and learning more about the book on Amazon reader reviews. I'm getting much better at picking the best of the best. The rest, I just recycle back into the system.
I recommend reading through Valerie's Living Books reviews to familiarize yourself with titles and series that are worth seeking out. Elizabeth Wilson's Books Children Love as well as May Hill Arbuthnot's Children and Books are other personal favorites that have directed me to a number of really great titles and a greater understanding of children's literature. I also like Books That Build Character. I've tried to include the titles that repeatedly come up on recommended lists as favorites in the Story Resource Guide. I usually avoid the titles that have gone out of print and are extremely expensive to come by.
My home library is organized around the 12 month rotating schedule. Call me old fashioned, but I also like picking up the old VHS movie classics at the sales--usually for a quarter--and I put them on the shelves next to the books. You can find cheap VHS recorders to watch the old movies on. Of course, streaming them is usually also an option. Organizing the books and movies by month has helped so much! I'm able to find titles I'm looking for much more easily. I have separate shelves for nature books that I organize by Birds, Rocks, Insects, etc. I have additional shelves for poetry, story collections, picture books that don't tie into a month, books on education, crafts, holiday stories, art and music. I have over 2000 books in my library, and when I was done reorganizing, I only had a small shelf of miscellaneous books that didn't fit anywhere else.
I know everyone doesn't have room for hundreds of books, but even a small collection of the best of the best is a very worthy investment, which you'll read about in this month's Mother's Learning Library volume. For a personal take on the subject, I wrote a blog awhile ago that captures why I hold on to so many books when my children are all grown up and gone. You can read it here: Confessions of a Book Sale Junkie.