We Will Lift You UP!

Judy and Laurie -this one's for you both! Shabbat Shalom!

Oh, the Drama!

*1*

 

 

It's annual Shakespeare Camp out here on the Prairie, 6 long practice days and then a 2-hour performance. Ana has some terrific pics on her blog here. She is running a "comment contest" as we speak, so hop over and write a funny caption!



 

*2*

Another 5 day blog hop by the TOS CREW is coming up the first week in August, so mark your calendars!

My theme is, ta-da, nitty-gritty homeschooling. Let me know what your greatest homeschooling challenges are and I'll try to address them during the hop!

 

*3*

The fields are hayed, and Dr. Dh and our local field hayer took down a bunch more of the old and icky fencing. Slowly but surely, the chain-link and barbed wire tetanus threatening fencing is going away. What a difference it makes!

 

*4*

School this week consisted of lots of Shakespeare practice/ line memorizing, while Flower spent time at the pool and having sleep-overs with friends. She is getting browner and tireder as the week goes on.

The boys (and probably the entire crew) are drowning in Shakespeare.

Cub finished  by C.S. Lewis and started on Merlin by Lawhead.

 

*5*

Hollywood is local and shooting a film just south of us. We tried to make it to a shoot but missed it since they were ahead of schedule. We'll try again tonight. We actually know 4 people in it- 2 with speaking parts and some extras. Fun, fun.

 

*6*

The dishwasher is on the fritz and we are back to hand washing till the repair man cometh. A dishwasher is a must have homeschooling tool. I say this having lived with and without one. If you have a job, or kids, or really any interest in anything besides washing dishes, it's a good investment.

 

*7*

For the record, our house is looking good. We have 2 sides completely finished from eaves to foundations (excpet for a little bit of back porch eave work); 3 colors, 11 windows, eaves with bead board and 3 feet of foundation. It looks fantastic. It looks like a different house. I'm in love. (Dr. Dh pointed out that I say that every summer, but not so much in the winter).
2 sides still have about 1/2 to go, including lots of high ladder time. The winds have been high and the boys gone all week, so the high ladder work will have to wait.
I have also decided that painting your house is the lazy woman's way to weed everything around the house. It basically all gets flattened as you move scaffolding and ladders. 2-fer.

Royals are Awesome, too!

 

Shakespeare Camp, Day 4.

The "Stare of Awesomeness" (#2 in a series)

becomes the King of France.

Jebusites in Jerusalem

 

More super cool news from the Ophel in Jerusalem and Eliat Mazar.

 

The STARE of Awesomeness!

Cub's "Stare of Awesomeness" extends to the Elizabethan period. Here he is, playing the King of France in this years's Shakepseare Production of King Lear, doing "The STARE."

This boy makes me laugh. O.k., true confessions, he makes me cry, and drives me to distraction, too, so thank the good Lord he has my killer sense of humor, right?!

More great pictures of Shakespeare Camp at Ana's blog!

Science for High School- Biology- TOS Review

 Science for High School  is a unique science program developed by Bridget Ardoin, a homeschooling Mom of five, with a degree in microbiology from Louisiana State U to boot. To date Science for High School offers Physical Science, Chemistry and Biology. The manual set starts at $79.99 with a complete biology manual/lab set selling for $239.99. Science for High School is appropriate for kids in 8th -12th grade.

 

As someone who appreciates science, is married to a science minded man, and has science loving kids, I'm on the look-out for programs that engage the kids (i.e. they don't have to ask to do it, but it can't be mind numbingly boring), but also pass scientific muster with Dr. Dh, are not pedantic and teach the scientific method. With that in mind, we were not disappointed with High School Biology; au contrair, it met our expectations, and more.

 

 

Cub and I reviewed High School Biology In Your Home. This is not a text, per-se, it is a guide book for the teacher that includes all of the information that the student will work with, answers and quizzes, a dissection manual. It is a guide for discovery learning through high school science. We have always taken a Charlotte Mason/ Discovery directed approach to science in Elementary, switching to textbook for Jr. and Sr. High. This program continues the inquiry approach, leaving the read and regurgitate approach far behind. You can find the syllabus and sample pages here. Once you have the TM and SM in hand, you'll just need to provide the microscope, slides and critters to dissect. These are readily available on-line and easily referenced in the TM. The lab notebook has simple drawings when appropriate.

 

So just how does discovery science in high school take place, you ask? The text asks a series of questions at the beginning of each week which the student then researches. The number of questions vary each week depending on the topic. The parent guide provides a minimum amount of information requiring the student to seek and find. Cub actually used our old high school textbook to answer questions, along with information from Tutoring Center science classes for the last two years, some Internet sites and various science books we have around the house. Finding the answers to the questions is up to the student. I did find that initially this took some guidance on my part and gathering science resources and having them handy in one place is helpful. Once Cub got used to the idea, however, he knew what to do. This is a great program to teach independence and research skills, because it's up to the student to find out, manage their time and get it done!

 

Then, at the end of the week, the student meets with the parent and shares the information that they've learned; requiring the student to have a great enough understanding to explain it to someone else! This teaches two things: 1) time management skills because the questions require steady attention to them. If the student waits until the last minute to do the research, they probably won't be able to get it done, and 2) ownership of the material. Even if the student is constantly referring to their notes as they narrate the information, this is the second time they've come into contact with it, plus as they narrate the info, they are often putting it into their own words, further cementing it in their memory. In addition, the components of the program incorporate visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning, touching on your students learning style strength, and honing areas that are less developed.

 

The student/teacher meeting was the component of the program Cub loved the most and it made the challenging work of the research aspect worth while- getting to share, in as much detail as he wanted, what he found out. He also took advantadge of uninterrupted Mom time to go off on bunny trails, adding in other science and techno-related stuff. If you have a talker who loves science, they'll love the weekly "meeting!"

 

After the research and parent/teacher meeting, comes the lab. As you would expect with a biology course, your student will learn how to use a microscope, slides, and dissection tools. Our microscope has been on loan to co-op and Tutoring Center more than it's been home the past couple of years and it was nice to have it out, where the kids could stop and take a peek into it as they walked by. There is plenty of observation, drawing and note-taking required for this course, with the kids getting an up close and personal perspective of what teeny tiny things look like! 

 

In addition there are quizzes and tests included.

 

The course runs the through all of the major topics covered in a basic biology course; Semester 1 covers life, cells and the major body systems, while Semester 2 covers Animal Classification, Genetics, Careers in Biology and "The Great Debate." Love that. And it is truly treated as a debate, which I fundamentally appreciate.

 

What's to like about this course? A whole lot.

The TM manual is a spiral bound book that comes clearly tabbed; "First Semester, Second Semester, Quizzes and Final Exams, Dissecting Manual." The student manual comes shrink wrapped and pre-hole punched with the dissection manual pre-tabbed.  Just find yourself a 3 ring binder and you are good to go! It is organized efficiently and well.

 

In addition, the microscope work and dissection required makes this a high school science lab class.

 

This course is updated yearly, ensuring continual improvement. While some of the questions might seem redundant, I don't find this a problem, as it actually gives the kids some continuity as they do research.

 

My kids are raised by a science nerd (Dr. Dh) and have spent hours on the NOAA and NASA web-sites as well as immersed in the tons of science books we own and have spent hours in the field(s) (literally), exploring, observing and narrating about what they've seen. What this program does is take what they do naturally and allow them to earn high school credit with it, incorporating discovery and research, narration, application. Furthermore, the manuals are not overwhelming in size, but manageable visually. That might sound silly but Cub has been known to take one look at a High School text and freak because it seems like it will take forever for him to get through it. He took one look at the student manual and felt confident that he could do it.

 

I even have high hopes for myself with a program like this, because if Chemistry is not offered through Tutoring Center, we'll definitely being doing Chemistry via Science for High School. A program like this might just get me over my Chemistry phobia. And I'm also re-thinking Physical Science for Flower- I think she will love this approach far more than areading a text book. This past year she's been reading for science and it's gotten to be a grind for her. She is much more of a hands-on  learner and this approach definitly puts science in to the hands of the learner!

 

This is another product that allows the homeschooling community to access more difficult courses with ease and efficiency. Move over boring old science text-book. Bring on Science for High School!

 

Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent

 

Classical Education Overview

Classical Education encompasses both the Trivium and the Quadrivium.  For purposes of this post I will focus on the Trivium.  The Trivium is recently most widely understood as explained by Dorothy Sayers in The Lost Tools of Learning (http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html).  Dorothy Sayers was herself classically trained, was one of the first women to graduate from Oxford, a member of the Inklings, and a consummate novelist.  In her article she outlines the Trivium, which consists of three parts: The Grammar Stage, The Dialectic Stage, and the Rhetoric Stage.

Grammar Stage (K -6^th grade) – the focus is on memory work.  The grammar stage is not “subject” heavy. In other words, mastery (“all learning is memory” -Socrates) of information through memory work.  The focus is that the student becomes knowledgeable.

Dialectic Stage-(Jr. High) -the focus is on learning the rules of logic and fallacies.  Math and writing skills teach logic, as well as the actual study of logic, (both formal and informal, linguistic, and symbolic).  The focus is that the student becomes a thinker.

Rhetoric Stage- (High school and beyond) –the focus is on excellent written and spoken communication.  The student is now ready to take the plethora of information that they memorized in the grammar stage, organize it with the logic skills they mastered in the dialectic stage and present through the written or spoken word.  The focus is that the student becomes articulate.

Latin is of particular interest to the classical student, for the especial reason that Latin teaches its students grammar, in addition to vocabulary and history.

History, as well, matters to the classical student, and is often studied within 3 or 4 year history cycle (Ancient History, Medieval/ Renaissance, Age of Explorers to the Present).  The Christian faith, especially as it is revealed throughout history, is the cornerstone of classical studies.  As Sayers states, “theology is the mistress-science without which the whole educational structure will necessarily lack its final synthesis.”

The Trivium is not “subject” heavy—in other words, multum non multa (less is more).  Mastery, especially of the skills needed to study and the ability to learn, is the focus, rather than overview of broad subject areas.  While teaching from a classical perspective might seem initially overwhelming, especially to those of us who were schooled in a traditional, government school;  the joys and success of classical education are worth whatever discomfort we might feel.

What are the benefits of classical education?  You will grow scholastically as you teach subject material in a new way.  Your student’s ability to synthesize information, especially as they advance through the stages of the Trivium, will truly astound you.  And ultimately, one’s faith will grow as one learns how to read, reason, and respond to the world and it’s creator in a manner beyond the elementary.

Interested in knowing more? I would highly suggest reading “The Well Trained Mind” by Bauer and Wise, the “Latin Centered Curriculum” by Campbell, “Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning” by Wilson, and going to a Classical Conversations parent practicum.  In addition, there are many excellent curriculums now available for the classical student.  Among these curriculums, you can find, “Memoria Press,”  “Peace Hill Press,”  “Classical Conversations,” and the “Institute for Excellence in Writing.”

 

This was originally published at The Homeschool Toolbox.

Dig It- Mayan Mysteries- TOS Review

 Dig-It Games is a new and very cool company created by an archaeologist and middle school teacher,  Suzi Wilczynski.  Even though Dig It is a fairly new company, it's already won it's fair share of awards and write-ups. Dig-It offers on-line and IPad application games that build thinking skills and cultural understanding. The company's vision is to encourage their players to:

Discover new places, people and ideas Analyze data  Explore the world around you Learn something new everyday.  

 

 To date, Dig It has developed two games, Mayan Mysteries and Roman Town. We received an on-line subscription to the Mayan Mysteries. Games are available on-line, via IPad app or in a classroom edition. Single user editions are $21. 99, with the classroom version going for $299. This game is designed for students ages 11 and older.

   

Mayan Mysteries Online Game, according to Cub and Flower, is a blast to play and they were always eager to  go and play the game. According to both, the strategy and game portion of Mayan Mysteries were fantastic- a total hit! Both Cub and Flower commented several times on the spirits and pagan aspect of the game, and while it wasn't a show stopper, it did cool their enthusiasm for the game just a bit. Also, we've done some studying of Mayan culture and they disagreed with some of the historical facts presented. Again, not a show stopper, as it just piqued their interest to find out if their understanding of things is the correct one, or not. According to Cub,

"It's a lot like Halo, in that I didn't like the story so much, but the game itself was absolutely awesome!"
The aspects of the game include archaeological discovery, deductive reasoning, Mayan Math, historical information and so much more!

 

The graphics are great, the program runs smoothly, and the puzzle aspects engaging. Both Mayan Mysteries and Roman Town would be a fun addition to a history, unit or cultural study, for home, co-op or classroom

 

One last note; I wanted to mention the great customer support Dig It provides. We ran into a glitch getting set-up and customer support was on it immediately, with a friendly email to let me know everything was ready to roll! Have I ever mentioned how much good, friendly customer support means to me in an age of inarticulate automatons? Major bonus, imho!

 

Content -excellent, with this caveat: if you feel strongly about spirits, or have a sensitive child, this aspect of Mayan Mysteries might bother you/your child.
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent

   

 

Slope-y Roof Love. Not!

I went on the front porch roof to paint, climbing out my bedroom window and feeling very brave indeed. I was fine until I turned away from the wall, looked at the very slope-y roof I was standing on and took a good look at the wide fields, and the long drop in front of me. Cue panic attack.

Color me chicken, and the front of my house not at all, because that was the end of my painting out there.

And a thunderstorm blew in tonight and dampened our attack of side 3. But we got it mostly primed and partly painted. I did just fine at foot 20 of the scaffolding. I mean, compared to the slope-y roof, what's a few ladder rungs among friends?

Paintariffic!

*1*

Paint a Rock

In case you haven't heard yet, we are painting the outside of our house. The huge, 3 story, 4 x 4 farmhouse. It has already consumed 10 gallons of primer and 10 gallons of top coat and 5 outdoor tubes of caulking and sundry sections of 2 x 4 wood. Apparently, it's a thirsty critter. The good news? Only 2 sides to go- woot!

 

*2*

Dr. Dh and Feeche have moved the 25' high scaffolding 6 times this week as of 10 minutes ago. One more time should do it and then, because of the front and back porch roofs, we'll be done with the scaffolding. Between moving, lifting, hauling, painting, dangling from ladders, even they, the inexhaustible duo, are exhausted. Which means the rest of us mere mortals are practically dead from tired.

*3*

Have I mentioned that our house is looking grand? As in, in it's a grand old house. And it just keeps getting better.

*4*

School? Consisted of lots of instruction on scraping, priming, painting, along with apologetics (listening to Focus on the Family's Radio Theater rendition of The Screw tape Letters), choir practice (think singing at the top of their lungs (mostly musicals) and memory work (quoting whole movies), while we painted. The Princess Bride takes top winner in quotables. But then, you knew that already, didn't you, hmmm?

 10 Things

*5*

After working a week of loooonnngggg days on the house, Feeche works both jobs all week-end and then heads off to Shakespeare Camp where he will be the sane King Lear. He is feeling a bit tired,weary and worn-out, with a full week-end of working in the sun to come. He's already sun-burned (and that takes a lot for him). Maybe he should have taken the role of Crazy King Lear?

*6*

The hay is baled. Bummer for Cub as it's round bales this year, not squares, so no life-sized Lego bales. He is sorely put out.

Cub's "Stare of Awesomeness." Gotta love it!

 

*7*

In other news...Wait. There is no other news. The house has consumed our life for the week. Oh, wait. My review of the latest from Classical Conversations: Prescripts, Sentences and Art Instruction. We loved it!



Home of the Brave

That's where we live. Check out these brave people I live with. Dr. Dh up high on the ladder, painting the eves. He was up that high, facing front (25'), balancing a paint container for awhile. I finally stopped looking because, frankly, he is like Tarzan with heights (the original Feeche) and I am so not.

Feeche and Cub on top of the scaffolding painting the corner of the eves, and the bumped out part of side one, and Flower on the second floor of the scaffolding, laying down from sheer exhaustion. She has been the window painting queen, made meals and snacks, fetched water and painted her little heart out. I've painted all the way around up from the ground up to about 6', and done my fair share of all the rest, including keeping the kitchen down to a dull roar.. And just so I have a record of it, I  actually went to the second tier of the scaffolding and lived to tell about it.

We have side 1 done. And what a beautiful side it is. Once the scaffolding is moved, we're gonna eat and go catch some fireworks. Land of the Free, along with Home of the Brave. For which we are thankful. And grateful to those who serve, including Dr. Dh, who did 4 1/2 years Active Duty.

God bless America. Where the brave are celebrated and freedom rings.


 

Hay Now!

 

From the back 40, looking east toward the barn and the house.

From the river bank, where fishing occasionally takes place, looking north.That house up there is the huge old barn of a building we've been slaving over for the past month. It's 2 fields from where this shot is to the house- perspective, eh?

 

The access to the west fields,. It's a corn year.  

 

2nd year of haying. It might not seem like much, but if you had any idea how much trash, debris, metal and barn junk we've hauled out of every field, weed eviction, hole filling and rock/dirt leveling and over-all field care that has gone into having fields hay-worthy, you'd be cheering right along-side us.

Linking Up with Only Passionate Curiosity's Wordless Wednesday hop!

PreScripts -TOS Review

Classical Conversations has been a leader in the field of home school education for several years and their newest product proves why. It's thorough, creative and maximizes the time your student spends at their school work. We had the pleasure of reviewing part of their new PreScripts Series: Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons. This is a 3 in 1 program- history review, cursive review and art instruction. What's not to love?
 

PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons 

 

This is a comb bound work-book, which lies flat. It begins with a cursive overview and basic drawing instruction and then it jumps right in to the lessons. This book covers the Medieval to Modern Wold History sentences Classical Conversations students memorize during Cycle 2. Each lesson is 3-4 pages: 1) Tracing the sentence 2) Copying the sentence 3) Art lesson (not included for each sentence) 4) A blank area for the student to create their artwork. The art lessons cover a wide range of information such as using a grid to lay-out a composition, map-work, movement, graffiti,symbolism, and more. The image credits are listed in the back and correspond to CC history timeline cards.

 

Because we are long time CC fans, Flower had the history sentences already memorized. Now on to writing them in cursive and creating a piece of artwork to go with.  For instance, the student will trace and then write out, "In 800 A.D. during the medieval period, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor of Europe." The particular art lesson focused on using a grid to create a composition. Flower wanted more room than was available in the book so she just did the art work in her sketchbook.

PreScripts is a painless way to get a whole lot of bang for your homeschooling buck: history review, copy work and art instruction, all for one low price. The great thing is, there is one for every age group. Check it out!

 

PreScripts Cursive Letters and Coloring (Age 3-7)
PreScripts Cursive Words and Drawing (Age 5-10)
PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons (Age 7-12)
PreScripts Cursive Passages and Illuminations (Age 9-high school)
Each PreScript book is available for $12.99

 

This is another 100% winner.

Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent

 

 

Rocking the House Painting World

What can two 50 year olds + an 18, 13 and 10 year old get done in a day?

A whole lotta painting, that's what.

(along with a whole lotta scraping, priming, caulking, dead-board replacing and scaffolding moving).

Thanking God for Dr. Dh's rocking bi-ceps (love those in a husband!)

an18 year old who is a talented aerial acrobat,

and 2 kids who think the 25 ' of scaffolding is the best jungle gym of the summer!

 

So, like, if you're bored and want to join the fun give me a call ; )

Brushes and Buckets!

Summer School 'round here has included some brushes and 5 gallons buckets!
The scaffolding has been up for a few days and we've been painting. We are sunburned and tuckered and paint dripped but the house is looking pretty spiffy. Well, some of it is. it gets worse before it gets better, right?

25 feet from ground level.

It's a great day for "UP" (with a nod to the good Dr. Seuss)

 Feeche spent several hours perched there today, getting the attic dormer scraped and primed.

Of course, he had to climb the scaffolding hand over hand, on the outside, to get there. Show off!

 

And just in case we forgot we were were Prairie dwellers, the wind blew strong and hard, with clear, clear skies. Not sure if we're sunburned or windburned. Can you spot the Feeche under the attic eaves?

The 10 and 13 year old scraped, painted, cleaned, worked, laughed and joked right along with the rest of us. Flower would like a trip to the beach, and Cub would like the largest Lego set known to boy-kind in appreciation for their labor.

Scratch, Scritchity

Summer sounds:

Scratch, scritchity, scrape, scrape, scrape.

 

What Makes You Beautiful

Passion and joy. Love it.

Summer Spin Cycle (haven't we been here before?)

*1*

I keep thinking I'll write a post on "Summer School" but I haven't found the time yet. This week has speeded by at the speed of sound and my list just grows longer. A couple of kids did Rosetta Stone and listened to Horatius at the Bridge. Feeche and Cub practiced King Lear lines and everyone is reading something. Other than that it's been lots of tramp jumping, Walton watching, art whatevering, sorting, never ending house projecting kind of summer.

*2*

Unloaded a couple more bins of books on one of my favorite fellow bibliophiles, Lori (God bless you, Sistah!). Garage sale coming up (yes, I HATE having them) but we still have tons of stuff to off-load and it costs money drive it to town to donate, so there you have it. Next Friday and Saturday.  If you are in the area- stop by and get some cool barn junque, books, furniture, china and anything else I can get past the rest of the family for cheap.

*3*

We've also been getting some inquiries on the house, though we haven't advertised yet; which is great and a bit intimidating since we are in the midst of 2 major projects...

 

*4*

(This is Cub acting weird- he's 13, what can I say? Well, this: he is doing an amazing job priming!)

Such as finishing trim and scraping/priming the house. We are taking the bottom's up method to the house as we have ladders NOW and not scaffolding. So we are scraping and then priming by section. Dr. Dh was an officer in the USAF when the motto was "Adapt, Improvise and Overcome" and we have made it our own. We are getting lots of folks driving by reeealll slow. I'm sure they think we are the crazy folks down by the rivah.

*5*

Feeche has been working 2 jobs and just garnered a 50% wage increase at one- woot! Which is great for his bank account but leaves my work crew a bit thin. Since he's been out of pocket so much, Cub has been the main ladder man for scraping, priming (see pic above), bin hauling and overall on-call boy. So thankful for kids who know how to work and do so with willing spirits.

 

*6*
Let them eat cake! Actually, I've always thought of cake as a mere vehicle for icing, but lately the only cake anyone 'round here eats is black bean cake (on the menu tonight- with coconut oil, flax seed and honey- delish!).

But, as a lit nerd, I had to post this: Cakes inspired by books!

The Giving Tree is one of my fav kid lit picks. And check out the frosting to cake ratio! love it.

*7*

Cause we live in the land of the Libertarian out here in the Territories

Check out my latest reviews:
Lilly Lapp books
Motherboard Books.com
See the Light
The Simplified Pantry
College Prep Genius
Coming Up: Pickaboo Yearbooks; Dig It; Teen Programming; Molly, the Coupon Coach ; Bible Study for All Ages

 

Goodbye, Old Friend



"Diamond"

April 1999- June 18, 2013

 

My Dad bought us Diamond a few months after my Mom died, for all of the August birthdays. She loved the kids and our babies; they would snuggle against her tummy or jump up and down on all 80 lbs of her and she would just lick them and sigh with contentment. She was a Japanese/American Akita mix, with luxuriant fur, a loving disposition and a mind of her own. She was a protective, loving, sweet natured, strong willed bear of a dog. She was the best companion a family could want.

 

Our family was richer because she was our pooch. Rest well, dear friend. We love you.

Lilly Lapp Books- TOS Review

Baker Publishing Group generously offered the first 2 books in the Lilly Lapp series to review:

Life with Lily and A New Home for Lily

We were going to read these books as read-alouds. That didn't happen. We read one chapter together and then Flower took off with them, leaving me to go searching for them to write this review. Flower would wake up in the morning and read in her room till I called her down, take them upstairs near bed-time and read in her room until I turned off the light and sit on the porch, surrounded by her stuffed animals and read, read, read. She has spent the past couple of weeks regaling me with excerpts from the books, asking about various things she's reading, and letting me know that she might consider being Amish when she's older. Did she love these books? Yes, she did! Do I? Absolutely!

I tell you all of this because, while Flower loves to read, she hasn't jumped into chapter books on her own much. While she was initially overwhelmed by the page numbers of both (261 and 276 pages) once she was engaged in the story, page numbers didn't matter and she flew through both in a matter of weeks.

Each chapter was a different story, but the overall sense of the book was a comprehensive view of Lilly's life growing up as an Amish girl in modern America. Here's a Flower's take:

"I liked the characters. My favorite character would be the cow, Jenny. She said stuff through her eyes, and Lilly loved the cow. She was part of the family. Same with the dog. Jenny would get in to mischief and then act like nothing happened.

Lilly's very likable, and she's funny and loves animals. She kind of reminded me of myself. The funniest story was about her billy-goat (in the 2nd book) and Lilly gets stuck on the horns, she's panicking and the goat is trying to toss her around. The mom bursts out laughing at her and Lilly is like- why is she laughing?!"

These are delightful book that show a real slice of American life from the perspective of a Plain person. We'll be purchasing Books 3 and 4 in the series as soon as they hit the shelves. For a fun peek at what Lilly's life is like, check out The Adventures of Lilly Lapp and for more good reading, check out the authors blog: A Joyful Chaos.

Both books are available as paperback or ebook for $12.99 and are appropriate for upper elementary (though they'd be a great read-aloud for youngers and a great resource for those doing research at any age!).



Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent