Monday, May 4, 2015

Lessons in Reading

From School Education by Charlotte Mason:

1. Never waste time on valueless books.
2. Have respect for the books themselves.
3. Try to cultivate taste by noticing the best passages in any book that is being read.
4. Time is too short to read much; there is a necessity, therefore, for judicious selection.
5. The best literature can only be appreciated by those who have fitted themselves for it.
6. It is more important to read well than to read much.
7. The gain of reading some of the most beautiful literature while we are young is that we shall them have beautiful thoughts and images to carry with us through life.
8. To get at the full significance of a book it is necessary to dig for it.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Teenage Lesson in Economics

TJ (14) asks:

"Mom, can I go to the theater to see the Avengers movie next Friday with the guys?"

"Sure."

"Will you pay for my ticket?"

"No."

"What? What will you pay for?"

"Umm.... I pay the taxes that go to the library so they can purchase the Avengers when it comes out on DVD, I pay the gas to drive the car to the library so you can check it out, and I pay the electric bill so you can watch the DVD on a TV that works."

His face kind-of looked like this: