Plumfield Moms
We are sisters in Christ who became friends over a shared love of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, found especially in good and great books. Our primary vocation is that of marriage and motherhood, but we feel a secondary call, as educators and homeschool moms, to walk with families who are seeking to help form souls who are capable of responding to the vocation God has called them to. Our objective is to form our children and grandchildren to the best of our ability, and in so doing share what has been meaningful to us with others that it may encourage them and lighten their burden. As homeschoolers, classical educators and Christians, we have a passion for the ancient Greek paideia and the loving education of Louisa May Alcott‘s Plumfield (from her novel Little Men).
Listen on:
Episodes
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Lou Alice is a kind soul who loves to cultivate beauty wherever she goes. But, Lou Alice is getting older, and it is hard for her to live on her own anymore. A “little girl,” who watches Lou Alice as she goes about her work is the only one who notices when Lou Alice moves out of her home and stops tending to the gardens she planted everywhere around town. The “little girl” notices the loss of Lou Alice and decides to do something about it.
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/a-little-more-beautiful/
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Best in Children’s Literature Books
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Lets-Read-and-Find-Out Science Books: Ducks Don’t Get Wet by Augusta Goldin
Five-in-a-Row
Card Catalog - Library Cards
Biblioguides Online Community
Groups.io
Private Lending Library Directory
The League of Lending Librarians Facebook group
Our LibraryThing/TinyCat Accounts
Diane - dianependergraftKristi Stansfield - tarpfarmerSherry Early - sherryearlySara - plumfieldLL
Monday Oct 23, 2023
Monday Oct 23, 2023
This 2015 middle-grade novel by Jennifer A. Nielsen tells the story of a family divided by the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. It is the second historical fiction novel by Nielsen that I have read, and I am glad to have this one in my lending library. It moves at a different pace than that of Words on Fire and is less exciting, but it offers readers young and old a compelling tale of life inside the wall. Nielsen does an excellent job of helping us to understand why so few tried to escape East Germany – because of the danger, because of retribution to the loved ones who stayed behind, and because of uncertainty that the West was really any better. But the realities of life inside the wall are chilling. Read the full review here: https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/a-night-divided/
Sunday Oct 22, 2023
Sunday Oct 22, 2023
Our special page for Michelle Howard at The Card Catalog with all of the things!
TruthQuest History
Biblioguides online Community
Friday Oct 20, 2023
Friday Oct 20, 2023
One day, though, as you probably already guessed, when my little house couldn’t hold another book, the phone rang. A friend with a very large home was going on a one-year trip. Would I want to move into their place, and use their front rooms for a library? Somehow, I was just crazy enough to say yes, because it was a good situation all the way around. Twelve days later, my tiny house was up for sale, and we were already moved into their home. I opened the “library” right away, even though it was mostly stacks of books leaning against the walls and in boxes, because the 24 families who quickly paid to be members couldn’t wait to dig in! We all laughed at the adventure! Sorting through 5,000 or 6,000 as-yet-unlabelled books was quite a scavenger hunt!
Right away, though, many came for work-bees, as I began inputting the books into a database, to create labels and perform detailed searches. Together, we stickered the books, laminated the paperbacks, and put mylar covers on the dust jackets. We added to each book a card pocket and labeled the bookcards themselves. We could now “check out” the gems. It was a blast! (Later, I would use barcodes, not bookcards and pockets, but barcodes didn’t exist when we first opened.)
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/librarian-notices-michelle-howards-library-journey/
Show notes: https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/show-notes-michelle-howard-new-patron-orientation-meeting/
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Landmark Alexander the Great by John Gunther
Biblioguides online Community
Michelle Howard Page at The Card Catalog
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
"In nearly every review Sara and I have written for Gary D. Schmidt’s books, we have used the word hard to describe the situations his characters encounter. Orbiting Jupiter takes hard to a new level.
*** I am going to SPOIL this story because parents will want to know the themes dealt with in this book before handing it to a child of the age of Schmidt’s typical audience. ***
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Schmidt seemingly effortlessly switches in and out of the voices of his characters without missing a beat. Whether he is writing the thoughts and language of a twelve-year-old boy in the American 1960s, or the complaints of a German Jew running from the Nazis, or the self-assured confidence of a Black American girl of the early 1900s, each character sounds authentic and beautifully right. Just as importantly, Schmidt never loses his ability to convey complex and powerful ideas through the vernacular of his protagonists.
Knowing that full well, I was surprised nonetheless by his incredible voice change in the hauntingly beautiful picture book biography of Sojourner Truth, So Tall Within. This gripping story reads like epic poetry told through the voice of a Black American slave. He demands that we see her strength and her courage through her commanding voice and the undulating rhythm with which the story is told.
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/so-tall-within/
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
I was worried about this one. I was worried that this book would break my heart with grief. I was worried that Schmidt might finally disappoint me and somehow tell this story badly. I was worried that this would fall flat. For some reason, I wanted to love Mara’s Stories. Something in me wanted this book to be powerful and touching and inspiring and good. And, it is. Schmidt did bruise my heart, but he did not disappoint me, and it did not fall flat.
This small book has 121 pages of stories that were told in and about the concentration camps. Stories that capture the heart and imagination of the listener. Stories that show a kind of resistance to darkness, a fierce clinging to all that makes us human, and a celebration of life. Gary D. Schmidt did extensive research on primary sources from folklorists, Jewish religious scholars, and Holocaust survivors. Some of the stories are happy and some are sad. Some are historical or biblical and some are about the moment right then. But each captures the essence of the people in that time and that place. And each reminds us of how to live – even when we are in the darkest night of our soul.
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/marasstories/
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Henry’s father always said, “If you build your house far away from trouble, trouble will never find you.” Probably nearly every review of this book will open with that line. Trademark Gary D. Schmidt, Trouble has a tagline that is repeated again and again throughout the book and that quote is the tagline for this book. But, of all of Schmidt’s books that I have read, that one is the best. It fits the story perfectly, and it is an interesting line to ponder. What does it mean to build your house far from trouble? Is it good to have no trouble? Can you really hide from trouble?Read the full review here: https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/trouble/