Scheduling Childhood Away: In Defense of Summer, an Image of Eternity
In a country that graduates illiterate students from high school, some people question the value of summer vacation. It was made for […]
When To Start Reading Long Stories to Young Children
The question of when to begin reading long stories with no or few pictures to children is a surprisingly nuanced one. In […]
The Place of Mystery in Motherhood
Motherhood convinces many women that they should, as one eloquent writer put it, be “lauded.” Self-sacrifice demands praise, honor, glory. Afterall, she […]
The Simplicity of Distance
Caryll Houselander includes in her mesmerizing illustrations of My Path to Heaven a mountain on which a child climbs stairways to be […]
The Benefits of Rereading and Creating a Living Family Library
In the quest to become child-like, one might discover that rereading can be a richer and more satisfying exercise than previously considered. […]
Motherhood: Specific, Essential, Irreplaceable
Certain subjects bring probing insights that defy partisanship or cultural divides. One such subject is motherhood. Even for the thorough-going progressive, the […]
Musing on the Virtuous Life
It was great fun to appear on Pat Oedy-Murray’s “The Virtuous Life” radio program on the Annunciation Radio Network out of the […]
The Joys of the Impractical and the Rube Goldberg Machine
The Rube Goldberg Machine delights. Named after the Reuben Lucius “Rube” Goldberg, a twentieth-century cartoonist, the machines are imaginative chain reaction devices […]
George Eliot’s “Middlemarch” and the Beautifully Forgettable Mother
Middlemarch is an interwoven narrative of many lives, intertwining and developing over decades. George Eliot’s perhaps best-known work, the book offers much […]
“The Trolley Car Family” for a Fun Summer Read
Eleanor Clymer’s “The Trolley Car Family” offers a light-hearted, endearing story that fits well with summer vacation. The story follows the Parker […]