Saturday, September 24, 2011

Book review: "Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single-Income Family" (Maxwell)

We bought this book at the Homeschool Conference in 2010 and I finally read it this past month.  When we bought it we had two sons (now we have three!) and we want to help them develop a heart to provide for their homes. Being able to live as a single-income family means one parent can be at home and homeschool if this is how God leads.

The book cautions against allowing appetites to develop which will essentially be a waste of time and not provide value to the family.  One of the things they mention is team sports.  Sometimes cited as a way for children to learn to work hard with others, Maxwell explains that children can develop teamwork by working with siblings, and develop the ability to work hard by helping with home repair.  The cost of team sports may be that the family is at the mercy of the coach's schedule.  The children will be associating with others without your influence, and you may have to sacrifice important evening routines.

One of the things I like about this book is that they have chapters for ages three to six, seven to twelve, and thirteen to graduation, as well as post high school.  I can easily refer to the chapters that most apply to me right now to get ideas of things I can do with my children to help them develop the heart and skills that will make them successful.

I would recommend this book to any parent as I believe the admonitions around the development of appetites apply to all of us.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Book review: "Raising Real Men" (Young)

Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys 
Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys” by Hal & Melanie Young

We purchased this book at the annual homeschooling conference in April 2011.  We had heard Hal & Melanie speak and I really enjoyed how down to earth they were.  Melanie was very real about “keeping all the plates spinning” and the joys and challenges of parenting boys and teaching in a busy household.

This book is easy to get into and reads very much like they present.  As parents of six boys and two girls, they have much practical advice and encouragement to share. 

I enjoyed it and would recommend it especially to parents of boys.  It covers topics such as “Resisting Feminization”, and “Violence and Scripture”, and has chapters on “Doing Real Things”, Your Own School For Boys”, and “KP Isn’t Women’s Work”.  You can read a sample chapter on their page here.

The book won the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award for 2011.  You can get more information about them at RaisingRealMen.com