Living Unabridged

I didn't get the usual links post up last week because I spent Friday and Saturday at the homeschool convention downtown. It was a great time: inspiring seminars, browsing (and buying) at the vendor hall, and meeting new friends. (So thankful for the chance to meet my blogging friend Dawn in person for the first time!)

But, here it is Saturday again so let's get on with our usual linkage. I'll warn you: there are a lot of links this week (missing a week will do that!)

Learning

• How to Read Aloud Every Day by Sarah Mackenzie for Simple Homeschool. The GHC last week was my first opportunity to hear Sarah in person. We have some mutual blog friends but I haven't followed her blog or work much before now. I think that will change now, she was lovely and authentic and relatable. (And I was occasionally thinking things like, "Hey, I'll have six kids too! So what's my excuse for why haven't I written a book yet?")
• Keeping the Spark Alive in Middle and High School by Heather Woodie for Simple Homeschool. In some ways the mission is unchanged, but there are new challenges and joys to discover in these years.
• On Rigor and Rest by Andrew Kern for CiRCE Institute. This post may help explain why I always try to attend as many of Kern's seminars as I can at the GHC. (HIGHLY recommend his work to you. If you have a chance to hear him: TAKE IT.)
• The Hidden Gems Found in Homeschoolers' Mistakes by Chelli at The Planted Trees. These mistakes are often where we do our growing.
• Government Preschool is Really About Re-Engineering Society by Joy Pullmann for The Federalist. Here's a line I wish more people would understand (and not just about preschool age children): "In short, little people, like all people, do not all fit neatly into someone’s mass program. They have individual temperaments, growth rates, and needs."
• Books About Books, With Book Lists from Semicolon. Wondering what to read (or read to your kids) next? These books will help.
• Navigating the World of Teen Reading by Heidi at Mt. Hope Chronicles. Speaking of what to read next. I read this a few years ago but it may be time to read it again, now that we actually have a bona fide teenager. (The kind who has already tackled the unabridged Les Miserablesfor fun.) Keeping this girl in books can be a full time occupation.
• What Kind of Homeschooler Are You? Fun quiz for my fellow homeschool parents. My top 3 results were Classical, Montessori, and Charlotte Mason, which sounds about right to me. I got a -17 on "Traditional Education." Which also sounds right. Have you taken the quiz? What were your scores?

Living

• The Tired Prayer of a Super-Mom Wannabe by Jennifer Deibel for The Better Mom. And all the mothers said, "Amen."
• The Challenge of Parental Authority in Adoption by Jamie at See Jamie Blog. Jamie always writes about adoption with sensitivity and honesty. I had never considered this facet of struggles parents might face in adoption.
• Did You Mean to Have All These Kids? by Jen Wilkin for TGC. I'll admit: it was easier to let the comments roll off when we had three or four children. Because, come on, that's really not that many. But at five, and now soon to be six, we are definitely radical and we tend to attract attention when out in public. (Funny story: my husband took our not-quite-two year old son with him for a haircut the other day. The lady that cuts our hair told her current customer in the chair, "This guy has the best kids. They're always so well behaved." And right then our son threw a tantrum. HUMILITY, folks. That's what they're teaching us.)
• Don't Outgrow the Nursery by Kara Chupp at The Better Mom. Amen and amen.
• "I Found Myself Agreeing With Your Work...But I Wasn't Letting Go" from Free Range Kids. One small change or positive step can make a big difference.
• Related: Seven Reasons Why We Hate Free-Range Parenting by Megan McCardle. I agree with all of these reasons but I think the cell phone thing may be the most significant. If people had to write down licence numbers and then find and pay at a pay phone to report something, I'm fairly sure most of these reports would die a quick death.
• Four Truths About Raising Small Children by Vanessa Rasanen for The Federalist.
• Sometimes, Kids Don't Need to Share by Rachel Boldwyn for CT. One way to deal with this with older kids is to talk before having company and then allow children to put precious possessions up out of reach before friends come over, with the understanding that the leftover accessible toys and games are free to be used by anyone. Forced sharing isn't generosity. It's communism.
• Imagionality: Understanding Your Child's Imaginative Personality by Clay Clarkson at Story Warren. MBTI and parenting: yes, please.
• Don't Be a Bachelor: Why Married Men Work Harder, Smarter, and Make More Money by W. Bradford Wilcox for The Washington Post. tl;dr version: Marriage causes men to grow up, so waiting for them to grow up before marriage isn't working.
• Why Following Your Heart is a Really Bad Idea by Shane Pruitt for Relevant.
• We Need More Creators and Fewer Critics by Tyler Edwards for Relevant. In this age of social media, we've all become critics. But we could use the tools at hand to become creators as well, it's just criticism is easy and creating can be hard.
• Related to the above: We Are Legion: Don't Let Internet Culture Amplify Idiots by Marc Fitch for The Federalist.

Loving

• Sally Kohn Doesn't Understand How Laws Work  and Yes, Laws are Coercive, Even When You Happen to Like Them both by Sean Davis in response to a truly ridiculous column and Twitter exchange from an ostensible "legal scholar".
• The Enduring Legacy of Bonhoeffer by Chris Nye. I shared some links about Bonhoeffer on the Living Unabridged Facebook Page when we observed the 70th anniversary of his execution but this is a great summary and I wanted to be sure to share it here.
• Can We Please Stop Discussing the Millennials? from Tressays. It's a rant, but it's true.
• Delighting in Death? by Carl Trueman at First Things. Why are the people most connected to death causes (euthanasia, abortion) often the same people who are committed to progressive sexual causes? Intriguing question and thought provoking answer.
• How to Block Fake and Misleading Media Narratives by Brad Slager and How to Save Religious Freedom by Rachel Lu, both for The Federalist. Wondering how to fight back or at least be aware of the battle? Maybe these posts will inspire you.
• Everybody Isn't Beautiful, And That's OK by Cheryl Magness for The Federalist. The concept that human life, whether attractive or not, has intrinsic value is a radical one these days.
• The Things You Don't Read About on the Internet by Anne Bogel at Modern Mrs. Darcy. Love trying to reconcile the concept of "not my story to tell" and "not your story to hear." Balance is a tricky thing.
• Religious Fiction Sales Nosedive, Non-Fiction Soars from CT. My own cynical take: this is because most "Christian Fiction" is dreck. It's repetitive, redundant, preachy, and ultimately false. And that's speaking as someone who loves a good novel (and who aspires to write one). We need GOOD writers who happen to be Christians, just like we need well crafted movies made by people who happen to be Christian, instead of "clean" Christian movies that only Christians will ever see. OK, ending rant now.
• One Professor's Journey from Scientology to Christ by Michael Svigel for TGC. Fascinating testimony.
• Shell Shock by Dennis Whitehead at The Big Roundtable. This story is long and heartbreaking, but if you have an interest in History or WW1, you will find it interesting reading.
• An Honest College Rejection Letter by Mimi Evans for McSweeneys. Included here because it made me laugh. (Unfortunately, it's funny because it's true.)

Here at Living Unabridged I've recently shared A Compromise in the Screen Time War (a review of a great new resource for parents), The Heart-Work of Pregnancy, and How to Make Your Homeschool Days Colorful.

So, there you have it: two weeks worth of links to keep you busy until the next links round-up.

What caught your eye this week?