March's Book

I realized that we had already planned into February.

Does this still sound alright to everyone?

Jan - Fourth Turning (again)
Feb - Laddie

Book List for February

Here is a link to some books Meridian magazine recommended for book group reads. They all sounded good to me. Clicking on the link will allow you to read more about each book but here's the list anyway. These are all books which have been translated from their original language and take place in different countries.

The Alchemist (translated from Portugese, takes place in Spain & North Africa)
The Samurai's Garden (takes place in China and Japan)
The Kite Runner (Afghanistan, US, Pakistan)
Cry, the Beloved Country (South Africa)

Because I feel we (our country) is heading more deeply into harder times I wanted to read books which take place within the Depression. Therefore I also suggest:

Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men

or what about:

Alas, Babylon

I had suggested Year of Wonders, which I purchased a few days ago but now give a thumbs down to. Which is too bad because it could be good, I enjoy the writers writing, yet, she enjoyed too much in adding unnecessary gory or sexual details. "Frivolous!"

Everyone is welcome to add their book suggestion to this post or within it's comments. Let us know if any of these books sound good to you.

Holiday Learning

I was informed of this site which I have found to be very helpful for some fun holiday learning endeavors. Not only does it give links to learning about Christmas around the world, give a recipe to Wassail, and give links to Christmas songs and their history, (and so much more) it also, gave a short list of Christmas books to read such as:

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Christmas Day in the Morning, by Pearl S. Buck

The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry

The Elves and the Shoemaker, by Jacob Grimm

A Visit From St. Nicholas, by Clement C. Moore

The Nutcracker, by E. T. A. Hoffmann

The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Anderson

Here's the link.

November Meeting

Is it just me or do our meetings become more and more enjoyable with each meeting that passes? Well... I think so anyway.

We'd like to warmly welcome Stacy to the TUCH group. She came for the first time last night and we loved having her there.

We discussed some of Eleanor Roosevelt's biographies and a few of her other books which ...I can't remember the title of. Eleanor had a remarkable life and chose to fill it with service to others which seemed to inspire us all.

Service was a subject we elaborated on and felt the need to implement more of in our life. So, if there are any experiences you'd like to share, within the next month, to inspire us all, please do.

Here are some books, bra sizes...(oh wait, we'll exclude that), things, and quotes, mentioned:

Robinson Curriculum
Music A (teaches music theory)
Audible.com
Illustrated Classics for Kids

"You have to be in charge of your own education. No one can make you gain an education."
"Education is not so much what you know, but who you become."
"Classics: To get people thinking."
"Homeschooling: Student motivated. Parent supported."
"People believe what they choose to - but you need to believe the truth. What you believe determines what you will do."

Other things we touched upon:

Having a family mission.
"Share and Tell" with family.
Doing service projects with family.

Details of December's meeting:

Discussing (and bringing) favorite picture books. (Shauna one bin only please!) :)
Time: 6:30 pm
Date: December 18th (thursday)
Place: Claudia's

Just in case...January's meeting:

Book: Fourth Turning
Time: 6:30pm
Date: 3rd thursday
Place: Stacy's house

Thanks everyone for coming... for some reason I'm a little groggy. I think I had a group of ladies in my home until one o'clock in the morning ... but I can't quite remember - it's all kinda blurry. :)

Love you all!

Claudia