I'm sick this week and enjoying my chicken and rice soup. My friend Barbara offered to step in here to do a book review! Barbara is a fabulous, generous hearted friend, a woman who is as real and genuine as they come, long-time homeschool mom, Sonlight fanatic, and loves books as much as I do--which is saying something! Two of her many blogs are The Headmistress's Office and Blither Blather.
Without further ado, Here's BARBARA!
-Dell--your coughing chaos tamer who hopes to be back next week-- signing off!
Homeschooling At The Speed of Life, Marilyn Rockett
I had a rare opportunity to peruse the shelves in the adult section of the library last week ;-) and spotted this book.
I read through the first chapter and it's the best book on homeschooling and organization I've found since A Mother's Rule! It's not a condecending, tiresome read that makes you either too guilty to actually glean from it, or so "high principled" that you feel like you never can achieve, well, ANYTHING. (WHY do people write books like that anyhow? oh well, I digress.....)
The book also comes with a CDRom of Marilyn's, now out of print, filing system. YAY! She uses *gasp* basic folders, how refreshing! No binders, fancy books that cost way too much, etc. Basic, basic stuff.
The first chapter introduces "6 Principles of Organization". Simple, easy and biblical. God's Design, God's Plans, God's Image, God's Command, God's Provision, and God's Lessons. Lots of scriptural backup on each point and at the end of each chapter is a devotional/direction session, with questions and verses and a place to journal thoughts. Very nice and helpful! A few of the questions in the first section are:
~Do you see yourself as organized. unorganized, or somewhere in between? After reading Chapter 1, would you change the way you think about being organized? How?
~Based on the definition of organization, are you using your time wisely or bringing your dailieness under control?
~Ask the Lord to show you any areas where your attitudes or actions are contrary to His design for you.
I can quickly see this book becoming my homeschool bible. There was so much that I needed to read just in that first chapter. The Lord has been convicting me of much lately and my frittering away the time He has allotted me with my boys is one of the things He's been prodding me on. We'll just leave it there for now ;-) but I will certainly have more to say on this book.
Let me leave you with the "definition", if you will, of what organization is, according to the book:
Organization is making your life work for you
By bringing the dailieness of your life under control
Through yielding to the Holy Spirit
Concerning the wise use of your time.
-Barbara
Comments
You caught me!
I'll be giving this book away on my blog next week! I think as highly of it as you do Barbara. So starting next Monday July 13th you can leave a comment and get signed up for a chance at a copy of Homeschooling at the Speed of Life.
www.specialneedshomeschooling.com
God bless
Heather L
thanks Dell!
6:46 PM, Jul. 10, 2009, posted by Anonymous
And gee, i would klike my own copy of this book...i think i;'ll enter that contest! ;-)
So glad I happened to spell check that post *giggle* It's a pleasure to help out my friend Dell. Hope you are feeling better!
Blessings
Guest reviewer Barbara ;-)
