According to the author, The Greengage Summer is true, or at least partly so. In 1923, when Rumer Godden was fifteen years old and her elder sister Jon nearly eighteen, their mother announced,   “We are going to the Battlefields of France and when perhaps you see the rows and rows of crosses for those … Continue reading Reading Europe: The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden (1958)

I started blogging through Charlotte Mason’s School Education (Volume 3 of The Original Home Schooling series) in 2014 and got as far as Chapter XII. I’ve been reading it again this year with an online group and using this opportunity to start writing about it again. So here are some thought on a few of … Continue reading Charlotte Mason on Religious Education

‘All Scott’s work is marked by three characteristics: a genius for enriching the past; a love of Nature; a sturdy humanity. He loved the pomp and pageantry of a bygone age. His imagination lived naturally in the stirring tales of yore. He was a historical novelist by temperament rather than by profession... There have been … Continue reading The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott (1825)

  Breathe: A Child's Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time, a new book for children written by Laura Alary and illustrated by Cathrin Peterslund is due out in April of this year. Breathe retells the biblical account of the Ascension of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost in a lyrical and practical way … Continue reading Breathe: A Child’s Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time by Laura Alary

Many of Elizabeth Goudge’s books have historical settings. The White Witch takes place during the English Civil War, Green Dolphin Country and The Dean’s Watch are set in the 19th Century. I expected The Castle on the Hill to be set at some remote period of time and was surprised when I started reading it … Continue reading The Castle on the Hill by Elizabeth Goudge (1941)

These are some of our recent nature gleanings. On a visit to a local park this very tame rabbit was having breakfast and remained totally oblivious to us and we were able to have an unplanned nature study observing him/her feeding.  We\'ve used Nature Studies in Australia by William Gillies this year for studying Natural … Continue reading Nature Study in Australia: Winter

Inside Out & Back Again is the chronicle of  a ten year old Vietnamese girl during 1975. Hà, her mother and her three older brothers live in Saigon. Her parents had come south just before the borders between North and South Vietnam had closed. Her father had been in the navy and was captured by … Continue reading Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2011)

The Australian Homeschooling Summit, (which is not just for Australians, by the way) was originally scheduled for April but due to the coronavirus it was postponed and will now be held in May from the 4th to the 15th.This has actually worked out well because some of the presenters have had time to run additional … Continue reading Homeschooling Help During Lockdown

I\'ve been working on my talk for this in the past few weeks. The Australian Homeschooling  Summit is 12 days of online workshops run by Kelly George of Fearless Homeschooling.Enter for the chance to win a free ticket which will give you lifetime access to around 30 workshops.Details on the workshops will be posted on … Continue reading The Australian Homeschooling Summit

      H is for Hawk is a beautifully written memoir detailing the author’s struggle with grief after the sudden and unexpected death of her father. It is also a richly descriptive piece of nature writing because Macdonald’s way of dealing with her pain was to purchase a wild hawk and go through the … Continue reading Memoir: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (2014)