A Christian Mom's Guide to Choosing Clean Books for Kids

Since they were very little, I’ve always allowed my kids to select picture books at the public library. Before checking them out, I quickly sift through the stack they’ve culled and weed out any books that may not be appropriate, briefly explaining why a book doesn’t make the cut. 

With novels, I take a slightly different approach.

10 Reformation Day Activities for Christian Families

Written by Krista Smith.

As a kid, I always looked forward to Halloween. The candy. The costumes. My last time trick-or-treating was when I was 16. (Insert the blush of red cheeks here.)  I don’t know why the six of us way-too-old-and-tall to be out trick-or-treating went that night, but we did. Not surprising, there were several people who turned us away with a shameful glance and a reproachful, “Aren't you guys too old for this?” I blame Liz. She was 6’2” and wearing a giant ape costume with a purple bra strapped to it.

What We're Reading in September 2021

This past Thursday, I hosted the first meeting of the year for my son's tween/teen book club. Since there are six new members, we used quite a bit of our time to get to know one another. It was an hour of introductions, kid-lit trivia, and general chatter among bookish people. We had not yet voted on a book for the month, so after selecting one, we focused our discussion on how best to give a book recommendation and how to know if a recommended book is right for our own personal reading lives.

10 Keys to High School Success for Homeschoolers

When I started homeschooling 15 years ago, I knew about a dozen other moms who were launching too. We all had preschoolers or kindergarteners. With high hopes and big plans, we stepped into the role of homeschool mom with relative ease. Sure we were fearful. But only because we were venturing into something new and quite meaningful. 

Since we were only teaching four and five-year-olds, what harm could we do? we asked ourselves.

That first year was a success for all of us. For the most part, we loved it and so did our kids. But as the years went on, I began to notice a sad trend: more and more of those original homeschool mom-friends began to bow out. One by one, they decided that homeschooling had been great in the little years, but would surely be a slog in the upper grades.

What We're Reading in August 2021

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

All month, I've been sorting through and vetting titles for the tween/teen book club I host. I was especially focused on one title, A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. It was a new-to-me book from a new-to-me author. But I'd heard good things and wanted to give it a quick once-over to see if it might make a good selection for our group.