Permission to Wander

A wonderful opportunity to dive deep fell across my path this week.

Pam from Ed Snapshots  asked a question on the Book of Faces, a question about a podcast I hadn’t listened to.  Did that stop me from jumping in with my two cents?  No, no, no!  It was the Book of Faces after all.  She was asking about the role of morals and morality in stories.  Should we be reading things with our kids because *they* need to learn something from the story–reading “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” for a child who has been lying.

First off, I’m not a fan of sweeping statements: always do this, never do this.  This homeschooling gig is a wild and wonderful ride and one of it’s strengths is being able to customize the curriculum.  Secondly, I have learned so much from my reading.  So much of what constitutes my morality is built on reading.  Greta Eskridge talked about the stories that have made her a better mama on the Read-Aloud Revival earlier this year.  Wouldn’t I want that same experience and opportunity for growth for my children?

I posted a response of sorts over on Instagram.  I am happily reading The Abundance by Annie Dillard–revisiting old essays in a new context.  It’s been lush.  The problem with reading Dillard is you’re not likely to read anything better for the rest of the year.

Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaning, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their mystery and power?  –from The Writing Life

Yeah.  Why are we reading?

Mandy the Magnificent was intrigued by the quote and pointed me to this Magic School Mini where she discusses an article about the difference between British and American children’s fiction that I read a few months ago.  I wasn’t all that interested then, but I loved the interplay of ideas in this new context.

And then yesterday I listened to the new episode of The Creative Mom Podcast where Amy is asking why we draw and write in our journals.  Which opened into a larger reflection on books and reading.  All of these different threads have been woven together into a tapestry so much richer than the podcast that first brought up the questions.

**And thanks for the title belongs to Teresa…and Kari Smith.