Of Books, Blogs and Burn-out

The sun rose on a snowy landscape here, after two or three weeks of barren ground. I rose with thoughts of many tasks I'd like to accomplish today, knowing full well that hope of achieving all of them is fruitless. Too much to do--though stocking the empty cupboards and refrigerator earlier in the week saves me leaving home today. I am very thankful I can stay home today.

I requested a book from the public library just now. Home School Burnout by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. I read several of the Moores' books early in our home school adventure, finding inspiration and practical help in them. I remember their approach as somewhat relaxed and down-to-earth, trusting that children's natural desire to learn will eventually win out. I think the book will be a good refresher course for me.

Why Homeschool has a thoughtful article on Do We Have Time to Read? I must admit one reason I don't read as much as I think I should: computer time. Checking email, checking Yahoo groups, reading blogs, writing on my blog...

The few minutes of free time I have each day are often spent on the computer. Yes, I am often encouraged and inspired by what I read online, by corresponding with friends, by spending time writing my own thoughts. However, these activities cannot replace the depth of riches available between the covers of a great book. What harvest is yielded by posting my half-baked thoughts online, compared to spending time nourishing my mind with the well-chosen words of great thinkers?

My reading this past week has consisted of the following:

The Bible (see My Bible Reading Plan)
Short stories by Sarah Orne Jewett, Joel Chandler Harris, and Bret Harte for a short story study our high school girls are doing
Essays for the same course and a few pages from Wordsmith Craftsman on how to write esays
No Little People, No Little Places by Francis Schaeffer, finished the first chapter
Two Beatrix Potter books with our youngest
A few pages of How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler with two of our daughters
Several chapters on "transformations" in our geometry text

That's about it. Those short stories are keeping me busy, first searching them down, then reading one or more by each author to choose which to assign the girls, sometimes rereading a story to better analyze it. May the time spent doing this bear fruit in the lives of my students.

May I make wise choices concerning the use of the hours my Father has given me today.