Every spring for the last decade and a half I have been busily engaged--and actively prodding my kiddos to be busily engaged--in mapping out our learning journey for next school year.
For us, given that we are classical whole-book homeschoolers, this means selecting topics each student wants to study and finding works of nonfiction and fiction that correspond not only with their chosen coursework but with their academic level. Every year I do the same thing. I spend hours and hours canvasing my favorite online sites and books about books to put together lists that meet the kids' needs and desires. Never mind hours and hours. Let's just be frank here and call it like it is. I spend weeks and weeks, sometimes over a month, looking for just the right book for each and every topic at just the right reading level.
Every. Single. Spring.
I have lists on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, LibraryThing. Endless yellow legal pads speak of hours of research. Moleskine notebooks are full to bursting. I have lists to remind me where my myriad collection of lists can be located.
Ridiculous, right?
Several years ago, I thought about creating a website or blog, partly as a resource for other homeschooling parents but mostly as a place to safely consolidate all those hours of work and all those lists. So, I started a blog, but unfortunately the format did not lend itself very well to the vision I had. After two more years of discombobulated research, I have come to the conclusion that while it might take a bit to make the whole thing pretty and functional--not to mention get all my many lists of books added on--in the end it will save me hours of work every year. It is my hope that this site will also help you, whether you are another whole-book homeschooling parent or simply a parent in general, in your search for materials for your own children. Most of the resources suggested on these pages have been typed out in emails and written in long-hand notes given by me to other moms over the years. I am excited to share them here with you.
In addition to creating a place to consolidate all my lists, I have decided to expand upon my original vision and offer reviews of books--both old favorites and new discoveries--as well as posts to help parents learn how to bring whole-book learning to life in their homeschool (or even just your home, if your children school in a brick-and-mortar setting). I played around with a few posts in the fall of 2019 while I was learning how to build the website but then stopped doing those to focus on the lists. Now, in the spring of 2020, I have published the website for everyone's use online and will continue adding to the book lists and resume reviews and informational posts.
Enjoy browsing and check back frequently, as I will continually add books as I find them and other parents recommend them. Great books are timeless and--thank Heaven!--in an unending supply.