How to Read Aloud Hard Books: 5 Steps

By Betsy Farquhar | August 7, 2017

Love to read aloud, but stumble over the hard books? You’re not alone. Hard books are hard to read aloud. They just are. Even for the experts. I have read aloud thousands of books in my various careers as mom, English teacher, school librarian, and home educator. Some are easy: I used to know Llama, Llama Red…

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Wisdom & Wonder Week 6: Generosity and Love in Literature

By Betsy Farquhar | July 26, 2017

Betsy: It’s hard to believe we’re at the end of our Wisdom & Wonder Summer Reading Challenge! On a personal level, this has been a rewarding study for both my kids and myself. I have been working through the NavPress LifeChange Proverbs study guide we recommended for teens and up, and it has been very…

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Wisdom & Wonder Week 6 Booklist

By Betsy Farquhar | July 24, 2017

Our last Wisdom & Wonder Booklist to help you wrap up your summer! You’ll see a couple of repeats from earlier in the summer as well as a few new books to check out these last couple of weeks before school starts. As with our previous weeks, the Redeemed Reader team will be discussing this…

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Week 6 : God So Loved, He Gave

By Hayley Morell | July 24, 2017

Introduction This summer reading challenge has flown by!  Can you believe it’s Week 6 already?  (Granted, we did take a week off for the Fourth of July, but that means 7 weeks have passed since we began.) We’ve covered a lot of ground since we started.  This is true both literally and figuratively; two of…

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Let’s Talk It over: Honesty and Diligence in Literature

By Janie Cheaney | July 22, 2017

Janie: This week we’re taking up two major themes in Proverbs: honest work and honest words.  At first glance they may not seem to be that closely related, but we should know better: laziness is a form of dishonesty, in that the lazy man is cheating his employer and everyone who depends on him.  He’s even cheating…

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Sherri Dusky Rinker Interview

By Megan Saben | July 21, 2017

If you are already fans of Sherri Dusky Rinker’s delightful bestselling picture book Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, you will certainly enjoy the sequel, Mighty, Mighty Construction Site. The hardworking crew awakens refreshed, but they need help to complete a big job. We have featured Ms. Rinker and her books in the past here and here,…

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Teach Literary Elements With … Movies!

By Betsy Farquhar | July 21, 2017

All stories share the same literary elements, be they written or acted, books or movies. Summer Blockbusters For the Win And movies are a terrific means of illustrating all of those literary elements! Whether you yourself want to understand them better, want to have stimulating discussions with your kids, or want to teach your high…

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Wisdom & Wonder Week 5 Booklist

By Janie Cheaney | July 18, 2017

Our Proverbs emphasis for week 5 is “Work and Words,” (or honesty and diligence, which means basically the same thing without the alliteration).  Our booklist is weighted toward the Work end, but it’s a stellar lineup: Picture Books and Early Readers (ages 0-10): Mighty, Mighty Construction Site by Sherry Dusky Rinker (picture book, ages 3-5).…

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Wisdom & Wonder, Week 5: Work and Words

By Janie Cheaney | July 17, 2017

Introduction: Our two Wise Up chapters for this week are “Looking to the Ants” (Week 8, p. 87) and “Honesty is the Best Policy” (Week 11, p. 125).  Diligence and Speaking Truth are the subtitles, and the two concepts can be combined under a single heading: Integrity.  A person should act true as well as…

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Which Path & Which Friend Discussion

By Hayley Morell | July 13, 2017

This week, the Redeemed Reader team discusses what it looks like to take the right path and our favorite friendships in literature.   Pilgrim’s Progress is one book with a clear “path” in the story.  What are other stories you can think of with both a “right path” and a wrong? Megan:  Well, I’ll start…

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