The Book List - September

Here it is almost October and I still haven't written my books read post for last month.  How did that happen?!  Can I have some time back?  If only!  I write my book list in a pretty blue sparkly composition book and right now, as I look over what I wrote for September, it looks like sort of an odd list. 

Hunter reading to Solomon

The Haunted Lagoon by Carolyn Keene - Last month I read Once Upon an Island: The History of Chincoteague by Kirk Mariner.  In it I learned that Harriet Adams, one of the authors of the Dana Girl Mystery books (and Nancy Drew books), had once visited Chincoteague Island to do research for a Dana Girl's mystery story called The Haunted Lagoon.  I was so surprised to see that, as The Haunted Lagoon was the very first Dana Girl mystery I ever read.  And I still have the book!  When I was young I didn't know about Chincoteague Island so even though I liked the book, it didn't mean the same thing it does to me know.  So I re-read it and enjoyed all the factual information in the book. There were even a few real people from the Island that appeared in the book. Both in the dedication and as characters in the story.

state Farmer's Market in Raleigh

 How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin -This book is full of Montessori based ideas to help parents guide their children's physical and intellectual growth, from birth to six years.  It is a nicely laid out book with full color pictures.  The contents are divided into 6 sections:  Why Montessori?, Discovery Through the Senses, Let Me Do It, Keeping the Peace, Exploring the Wider World, and The Best Time to Learn.  Though there are still some aspects of the Montessori methods that I remain skeptical about, I found much of this book to be very helpful and it gave me many ideas for Solomon.  (I hope to put up a post with Solomon's latest Montessori activities within the next week.)

I recently made my first bunting, a fall theme

The rest of the books below, were all assignments from Tabby's Veritas Press self-paced history course, 1815 to Present.  I really like historical fiction, and I like to read whatever my kids are reading for school myself, so I always read these assignments.

The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins - This was a very engaging story of the siege at the Alamo, told from  a 12 year old boy's point of view.  It gave me all new respect for the men that gave their lives defending the Alamo, fighting for independence from Mexico.  Men such as Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis.  The story reminded me that I want to visit the Alamo some day.

Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr -This book was an account of families heading West on the Oregon Trial in the mid-1800s.  The book focused on one family in particular, who were part of a wagon train.  What a journey!  Crossing rivers, Indian attacks, lack of food and water, dying animals, sickness and exhaustion, etc.  This book was the first that I have read that had so much detail, and presented such a clear picture of what it must have been like to go on this dangerous adventure.

Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen -This was another book about the Westward expansion and the Oregon Trail.  It was based on the true story of Mary Ellen Todd and her family's 2,000 mile journey from Arkansas to Oregon in 1852.  Like the book above, it chronicled all the dangers and hardships, and joys, of the very difficult trek.  For much of their journey, this family traveled alone.  In a GoogleMaps and GPS dependent age, I marveled at how they could follow a little guidebook that told them how to make the journey.  Across rivers and mountains.  (They had to push hard to cross mountains before it began to snow.)  Surviving encounters with Indians.  Walking, walking, and more walking.  They didn't just sit in the wagon all day, but walked much of the way.  Every day for about 6 months! 

I found myself thinking about that time in history a lot.  I am drawn to the adventure and freedom and even challenges these people had.  The extreme difficulties of the journey are something I will probably never experience.  I would like to think I had enough courage to undertake a journey like that, but I don't know if I would have embraced it willingly. 

Trisomy Tea's light for Lilly - 2014 International Wave of Light

God made people remarkably able to adapt though, to all sorts of horrendous and difficult circumstances.  He is faithful through everything.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6