I didn’t get quite to all of the summer reading that I wanted to, but I still read a lot!
boys adrift by Leonard Sax
This book was recommended to me by a coworker from my summer school who is also raising a young boy. I picked it up at Powell’s in Beaverton with a gift card. The book was very interesting food for thought. The author presents five reasons why he believes that young men are not doing as well as they could in today’s world. The chapter on the way schools are run was especially interesting to me since I am a teacher. I made my husband read it for our annual “choose what the other reads” month so that we could talk about it. There are definitely some interesting ideas we may put into practice regarding video games and other parts of daily life. For instance, I have tried to get Elias outside more and more since reading this book. I would recommend it for parents of boys.
Telling God’s Story: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching the Bible
I picked up this book at the library because Elias was asking questions I was not sure how to answer. As we read his children’s Bible, he would point out all the characters such as Jesus or Zacchaeus or Mary, etc. One day he asked me, “Where’s God?” I tried to explain to him that God wasn’t in the picture, but that doesn’t mean he is not there. Try that on a two year old! So anyway….I asked around for advice and also checked out this book. The book is geared mostly toward older children (children who are at least in elementary school). But one thing I did take away is that for the youngest children, focusing on the life of Jesus is the most important….not telling Bible stories as most people do. It has been interesting to think about, and the argument made sense. I would recommend this book for parents of older children.
Periodicals
Sojourners July and August 2013
World Vision Magazine Autumn 2013
National Geographic July 2013