Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians! We booked this past week off of work/school/everything else, and it has been a wonderful vacation week. We kicked it off with two big dinners (yum!) and some sweet time spent with family. My husband was able to catch up on some outstanding maintenance around the house; I’ve written (and written and written!); and the whole family has enjoyed the autumn weather.
I’ve decided to start this new weekend feature instead of (or as an expansion of) “This Week in the Woods“. It’s all my favourite things in one giant end-of-the-week roundup: books, homeschooling, blog posts, nature and wonderful things from around the web.
I hope you enjoy!
~Mary-Ann
This Week on the Blog
In case you missed it, here’s what’s been happening on the blog this week:
- A Charlotte Mason Inspired Homeschool Curriculum Switch Up: Math, Grammar, Art and More
- The Stranger in the Coffee Shop
- 100+ Autumn Themed Storybooks to Read to Your Child
If you are an email subscriber, you may have noticed some posts from 2015 in your inbox. I sincerely apologise. I decided last year to merge my two blogs and have been slowly migrating content. Unfortunately, there’s no way to do so without an email push, so please bear with me.
This Week in Nature
The weather has been perfect this week. The breeze blew softly, the flowers bloomed boldly, and the trees were tinged with fire. Wandering through the woods was glorious. I’m so thankful for the abundance of hiking trails in our area. Autumn is the most beautiful season of all.
This perfect little globe is, believe it or not, a slug egg that we found in the yard. It’s hard to imagine something so icky growing out of something clear and beautiful, isn’t it? I’m always amazed by the miracles that God has woven into nature.
We ended the week with a trip to Algonquin Park for some hiking. The kids did one of the more difficult trails, and even our four-year old rocked it! I’m so proud of those kiddos. Algonquin in autumn is breath-taking.
This Week in Books
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Between the five of us, here’s what we’re reading this week:
Picture Books and Readers
- Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Marker
- Thanks for Thanksgiving by Heather Patterson and Mary Jane Gerber
Both of these books can be found on our giant autumn-themed booklist, “100+ Autumn Themed Storybooks to Read to Your Child“.
Chapter Books
- Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt – This book is part of our living history curriculum this year.
- David Livingstone: Africa’s Trailblazer by Janet and Geoff Benge – We’ve been working through Hero Tales during morning time, and my oldest daughter has been begging to read the full-length missionary biographies. I’m more than happy to invest in them.
- The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi – My husband read this book first in order to screen it for my oldest daughter. He approved and she loved it. It’s difficult to find literature for a kid whose reading level so far exceeds her maturity level. We’re picky. We’re always happy when we find a book that she can read.
- A Hero for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi – My husband is currently reading the second book in this series in order to determine whether it’s appropriate for our daughter. We’ll keep you posted.
- Applesauce Weather by Helen Frost – This book was kindly sent to me by Candlewick Press to read and review. It’s an amazing story of love, loss and learning to live again. It’s included in our list of 100+ Autumn Themed Storybooks to Read to Your Child.
Adult Reads
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A High View of Scripture? The Authority of the Bible and the Formation of the New Testament Canon by Craig D. Allert – Lately, my husband has been digging deep into the Bible, theology, church history, etc.
- On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor – This is another one of the heavy, philosophical books that my husband is reading.
- Desperate: Hope for the Mom Who Needs to Breathe by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson – It’s taking me a while to get through this book, not because I don’t love it (I really do!) but because I just don’t make enough time in a day to read. I’d rather be writing. But the chapters of this book that I’ve read so far have resonated deep. If you’re a mom struggling with overwhelm, I highly recommend Desperate.
This Week in Homeschool
Our copy of Daily Grams arrived this week! I wrote about it here, and I’m so happy that it came so quickly! I can’t wait to start using it next week.
Since we took this past week as vacation time, we didn’t do any work whatsoever (other than attend science co-op). The break has been beautifully refreshing.
Snippets from Around the Web
Last but not least, here are some of my favourite things from around the web this week:
The Grace-Filled Life 