education/parenting
The Money-Smart Family System by Steve Economides
By Janie Cheaney |
"Money smarts" begin at home in this family-oriented guide to teaching wise management. The Money Smart Family System by Steve and Annette Economides. Thomas Nelson, ...
Read More 
Announcing: The Pilgrim’s Progress Guide from Redeemed Reader!
By Janie Cheaney |
Over the years, we at Redeemed Reader have been dedicated followers of John Bunyan's classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. Though written to address the conflicts of ...
Read More 
Are Graphic Novels “Literature”?
By Janie Cheaney |
When I was a kid, back in the day, “comic books” did not have a great reputation. In fact, in 1949 a book called Seduction ...
Read More 
Kindred Retreat 2019 and a Fortitude Booklist
By Megan Saben |
Megan was refreshed after a day of listening to three wise women at a one-day retreat...and she brought home another booklist. Note the fairy tale ...
Read More 
The Enchanted Hour by Meghan Cox Gurdon
By Janie Cheaney |
In The Enchanted Hour, Meghan Cox Gurdon makes the intellectual, social, and emotional case for reading aloud, at any age, to any age. The Enchanted ...
Read More 
“Watch Your Expletives!” by Gladys Hunt
By Janie Cheaney |
In the twelfth in our series of previously-unpublished posts, Gladys Hunt cautions about "those words" our kids pick up at school, at play--and increasingly in ...
Read More Gladys Hunt: Early Literacy with Preschoolers
By Betsy Farquhar |
Gladys Hunt shares some tips for encouraging early literacy in young children in this latest post. For more in our Gladys Hunt series, see The Hive. ...
Read More 
Redeemed Readers, Rejoice!
By Janie Cheaney |
Announcing a valuable resource for our fellow "Redeemed Readers," and anyone with an interest in quality children's literature. Hard as it is to believe, this ...
Read More 
“Building a Child’s Personal Library” by Gladys Hunt
By Janie Cheaney |
How do you know which books you just have to own? In her fourth post of our series, Gladys Hunt offers tips on recognizing "the ...
Read More 
The Continuing Legacy of Gladys Hunt
By Janie Cheaney |
Announcing a series of NEW posts from Gladys Hunt, author of Honey for a Child's Heart and Honey for a Teen's Heart. Several months ago, ...
Read More 
Can You Identify the Five Nonfiction Categories?
By Janie Cheaney |
The Juvenile nonfiction designation has exploded, especially since the push for Common Core standards was supposed to increase factual reading. Common Core seems to be ...
Read More 
Rethinking School by Susan Wise Bauer
By Janie Cheaney |
In Rethinking School, Susan Wise Bauer offers practical suggestions and background information for crafting the best education for your unique child. Rethinking School: How to ...
Read More 
The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie
By Megan Saben |
Sarah Mackenzie offers a welcome and updated look at making connections with your family through books in The Read-Aloud Family. The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and ...
Read More 
8 Great Smarts by Kathy Koch
By Janie Cheaney |
8 Great Smarts shows parents how to recognize, encourage, and build on their child’s particular kinds of “smart.” 8 Great Smarts: Discover and Nurture Your ...
Read More 
The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse
By Janie Cheaney |
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse diagnoses a serious problem with today’s young adults and writes a prescription for restoring the American spirit. The Vanishing American Adult: ...
Read More 
*Honey for a Teen’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
By Janie Cheaney |
Honey for a Teen’s Heart applies the wisdom of Gladys Hunt’s read-aloud approach to the adolescent years. Adult *Honey for a Teen’s Heart: Using Books ...
Read More 
Portrait of a Reader: The Nurturer
By Betsy Farquhar |
Portrait of a Reader is a new feature in which we try to "unpack" a particular kind of reader. The portraits will overlap; most people will ...
Read More
*Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
By Betsy Farquhar |
Honey for a Child's Heart was one of the first books advocating for building a Christian family culture around books. *Honey for a Child's Heart by ...
Read More 
The Literary Nightstand
By Betsy Farquhar |
The Literary Nightstand: Our Professional Reading The Literary Nightstand is a peek into what's on our professional nightstands. Most of us here at Redeemed Reader ...
Read More 
*Comforting, Training, and Teaching Minds: Catechism Devotionals by Starr Meade
By Betsy Farquhar |
Family devotionals centered around the Heidelberg and Shorter catechism are based on Scripture and are designed to help families memorize the catechisms. *Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds: ...
Read More 
*Echoes of Eden by Jerram Barrs
By Betsy Farquhar |
Starred review for Echoes of Eden, in which Barrs offers guidelines for evaluating art and literature from a Christian review. *Echoes of Eden: Reflections on ...
Read More 
*The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
By Betsy Farquhar |
Starred review for this book about a tech-wise family that is characterized by 10 commitments reflecting the proper pace of technology in a family's life ...
Read More 
How to Read Aloud Hard Books: 5 Steps
By Betsy Farquhar |
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 ...
Read More 
Teach Literary Elements With … Movies!
By Betsy Farquhar |
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 ...
Read More 
Wisdom and Wonder: Linked Reads – Week 1
By Alysha |
This week's theme: Turning to God and Away From Sin To further engage with the theme, here is a list of archived posts that we feel ...
Read More 
Ask-a-Librarian: Professional Development for Nonprofessional Readers
By Betsy Farquhar |
Ask-a-Librarian is an occasional feature in which we answer a reader's question. Feel free to send us questions you think would be good for this space! (Use ...
Read More 
The New City Catechism Devotional
By Janie Cheaney |
The devotional guide to the Gospel Coalition's New City Catechism is a helpful resource for re-discovering the lost practice of oral instruction and memorization. The ...
Read More 
Musical Mondays and Theology Thursdays: How to Use Christian Resources with Kids
By Betsy Farquhar |
We love to track down solid biblical resources for you to use with your families, Sunday School classrooms, and Christian school classrooms. Not only do ...
Read More 
Straight Talk About the Birds and the Bees
By Betsy Farquhar |
This is a review specifically for parents; librarians and teachers may benefit as well, but children should ask their parents first before reading further. This is also ...
Read More 
Shakespeare Summer: Some General Principles (applied to a difficult play)
By Megan Saben |
Last year we covered A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is readily available in numerous retellings, picture books, and even coloring pages. We chose this play ...
Read More 
Help! My Kid is Developing Brain Cavities!
By Betsy Farquhar |
Maybe your kids, like mine, have recently read classic novels. Maybe your family, like mine, has been reading a biography of a famous scientist ...
Read More Reading Aloud to Teens, Part One
By Janie Cheaney |
The last time I talked to my daughter on the phone, she said, “Guess what Adriel is doing now.” That’s my nine-year-old granddaughter, and of ...
Read More 
What Makes a GREAT Novel?
By Janie Cheaney |
When was “The Novel” as a literary form invented? The answer is, it wasn’t. The type of long-form fiction we call a novel was not ...
Read More Reading with Discernment: YA Literature
By Alysha |
One of the high school classes I teach is devoted to helping students become discerning readers. Modern young adult fiction can be a minefield of ...
Read More 
Laid-Back Homeschooling: a Word of Encouragement for the Year Ahead
By Janie Cheaney |
I’m not quite ready to retire to a rocking chair in front of the general store, bending the ear of hapless passers-by: Yessir, it was ...
Read More *Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcy
By Janie Cheaney |
*Finding Truth: Five Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes by Nancy Pearcey. David C. Cook, 2015. 383 pages Reading Level: Young Adult, ...
Read More *What’s Up? by Jack Klumpenhower
By Janie Cheaney |
*What’s Up?: Discovering the Gospel, Jesus, and Who You REALLY Are (Teacher Guide), by Deborah Harrell and Jack Klumpenhower. New Growth Press, 2015. 228 pages. ...
Read More 
Hymns for a Kid’s Heart, Vol. 1-4 by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada
By Megan Saben |
Hymns for a Kid’s Heart, Vol. 1-4 by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada. Crossway, 2003-2004. 96 pages. (Audio CD included) Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages ...
Read More Reviewing School Book Lists, Part One
By emily |
Reviewing School Book Lists: Part One. Part Two. Part Three.Part Four. This post by Emily Whitten, co-founder of Redeemed Reader, is part of a series ...
Read More SRC, Week 6: Time Travel Devotional (Finale!)
By emily |
Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...
Read More 
SRC, Week 4: The House of Arden
By Hayley Morell |
Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...
Read More SRC, Week 2: Time Travel Devotional
By emily |
Other Summer Reading Challenge posts: Introduction, Week One: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Two: 1) Kids, 2) Teens, 3) Devotional. Week Three: off Week ...
Read More 
Raising “Wild” Readers
By Megan Saben |
How do you teach the pleasure of reading to non-readers? Convinced by research studies and personal experience that worksheets and conventional methods of teaching literary ...
Read More 
Beowulf: Legend, Worldview, and Contemporary Narratives
By Betsy Farquhar |
When I used to teach high school British Literature back in the day, Beowulf was always our first big study. It's first chronologically, and it's ...
Read More 
How to Skim a Book: The Lost Medallion by Bill Muir and Alex Kendrick
By emily |
To Skim or Not to Skim It's seven o'clock, and you remember you have a book review due in the morning. But alas, you haven't ...
Read More 
What Flannery O’Connor Can Tell Us About Teaching Literature
By Janie Cheaney |
Near the beginning of her essay, “The Teaching of Literature” (in Mystery and Manners), Flannery O’Connor writes that fiction has no dearth of critics, because ...
Read More Core Conundrum
By Janie Cheaney |
In case you haven't noticed, it's back-to-school time. We will observe the season with curriculum-related posts this week and next. First, a look at the ...
Read More 
The Hero’s Journey: A Teaching Tool
By emily |
On Tuesday,> Janie talked about the Higgs boson, and the search for what's under the surface in physics. Today, I've invited Nathan Huffstutler, a writing ...
Read More Japanese Literary Adventure: Study Notes
By emily |
I hope you guys have enjoyed learning a little more about Japanese literature with our guests Roger Lowther and Dr. Mike Sugimoto this month. As ...
Read More Mike Sugimoto on Japanese Literature for Kids
By emily |
In case you missed it, here is the Introduction post to our Japanese Literary Adventure. And here's a link to our interview with Roger Lowther, ...
Read More Pleasures and Distractions
By Janie Cheaney |
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 2011, 150 pages. Age/interest: adult. Heads-up: Watch for our interview ...
Read More Dangerous Journey, Part 8
By emily |
Today's Theme: Finishing Well From the clutches of Giant Despair, Christian and Hopeful escape into pleasant places of the Delectable Mountains. We see them refreshing ...
Read More Dangerous Journey, Part 7
By emily |
Today's Theme: The Key of Promise After surviving Vanity Fair and the hill of Lucre, Christian and Hopeful "espied a stile which led into a ...
Read More The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part 4: Home At Last
By Janie Cheaney |
If you're just joining us, here's the Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. For the Project Gutenberg online version, go here. The worst ...
Read More Dangerous Journey, Part 5
By emily |
CHAPTER FIVE: The Valley of the Shadow Today's Theme: God With Us Today, following on the heels of his fight with Apollyon and his ...
Read More The Pilgrim’s Progress 2: Salvation Highway
By Janie Cheaney |
Introduction Part One Slackers and Interlopers Right away, Christian learns that salvation is not for sissies! The sleeping men have for various reasons failed to ...
Read More Dangerous Journey, Part 2
By emily |
Chapter Two: The Interpreter's House Today's Theme: A Burden Lost, Heaven Gained In this section, Christian comes into the Wicket Gate, is taught by ...
Read More Pilgrim’s Progress: From the City of Destruction to the Cross
By Janie Cheaney |
This is Part One of our read along of The Prilgrim's Progress for high school age and up. Here's the Introduction. The City of Destruction ...
Read More The Abolition of Man, Part One
By Janie Cheaney |
(Beginning a three-part study intended to accompany our reading of That Hideous Strength this month.) In February of 1943 Lewis delivered three evening lectures at ...
Read More What Would You Do Differently?
By emily |
While we are awaiting a post by Dr. Gene Veith later in the week, I thought it would be fun to ask some of our ...
Read More - « Previous
- 1
- 2