It has been a profound joy to see young readers cheer
as these books bring their interests to life!
Our
Good-Book-Collecting
By Michelle Miller
Igrowl when my husband calls me fickle, but when he’s not looking, I (sometimes) admit it. I say that only God’s direction for our homeschool
will do, but I can be hoping for human
“permission” when His guidance—and
even what I see in front of my face—don’t
“make sense.” Any time His way doesn’t
seem sensical, my mind has been misshapen by secular ideas.
Why else did I waste time ignoring
everyone’s favorite learning materials:
cliffhanger, breathtaking, unforgettable,
inspiring stories! But, no, I started with
dry-as-dust tomes . . . even when my kids
couldn’t remember them two weeks later
and weren’t motivated to learn more.
Sure, I talked about “lifelong learning”
but was inoculating against it by using dead recitations of isolated factoids.
Meanwhile, my sons begged for great
biographies, historical tales, and (
vicariously thrilling) exploration epics that
brought events, principles, and decisions
to life. I had my foot down, though, until I realized that the books they craved
weren’t candy but meat! Ah, “permission
granted!” Well, the Lord didn’t make the
Bible into an impersonal schoolbook
with quizzes; instead, it effectively trumpets the most crucial truths through the
story-lives of those following (or not) the
Way! If such narrative teaching is good
enough for the Book that shapes eternal destinies and instructs nations, why
couldn’t I use narrative to teach everything else?
