The Importance of Being Earnest

(BOOK 17 of the 52 week Challenge)

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde has written a comedic masterpiece filled with puns and satire. Catherine and I read this one together, and we literally laughed out loud in a few places. I thoroughly enjoyed it from cover to cover, and highly recommend it.

The Invisible Man

(BOOK 16 of the 52 week Challenge)

This science fiction novel tells the story of a man named Griffin who has developed a process which has allowed him to make himself invisible. This state of being invisible causes many unforeseen problems in his everyday life, and he frantically attempts to create just the right concoction to reverse the effects of his first creation. He quickly descends into a life of brutality, thereby depicting the negative power that certain scientific discoveries can wield on mankind.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

(BOOK 15 of the 52 week Challenge)

This is another Tapestry of Grace selection that the boys and I read together. The book depicts the dual natures of humanity, and details how Dr. Jekyll allows the evil side of his personality to overtake any good that was in him. I found it a rather depressing read, but it did allow for some good discussion in our family.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

(BOOK 14 of the 52 week Challenge)

I loved this Sherlock Holmes novel. Zachary, Ryan, and I read it together as it was one of the literature selections in Tapestry of Grace. I want to find time to read more of the Sherlock Holmes offerings this year.

Daniel

(BOOK 13 of the 52 week Challenge)

I love the book of Daniel. The first six chapters include narrative history; the last six chapters include prophecy which is foundational for much of the end-times prophecy in the Bible.

The history portion of the book tells of the prophet Daniel who was taken from Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king. Daniel and three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were chosen to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians. God gave knowledge and understanding to these young men, and they entered into the king's service; they remained there through several rulers, and God's hand was upon them at all times. Daniel rose to a high position of authority during those years.

Also during his years of service to the Babylonian rulers, Daniel had four dreams/visions of events that would take place in the future. Some of the events of Daniel's dreams have come to pass; some are still yet to occur.

I borrowed the Precept videos for the book of Daniel from a friend, and Joe and I have been enjoying watching those while we learn much about Biblical prophecy.

Latin Scholars

Zachary and Ryan took the National Latin Exam for Latin I last month, and their on-line instructor e-mailed their results yesterday.

They both received Gold Medals, and Zachary had the distinction of having a Perfect Paper.

Way to go, boys!! Your mom and dad are proud of you!!

National Latin Exam

Story of the World, Volume 4

(BOOK 12 of the 52 week Challenge)

This book is the 4th volume in Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World series for children. I sat down to read one specific chapter of the book, and became so engaged that I ended up reading it from cover to cover over the period of a few days.

Bauer wrote her series for elementary-school-aged children, but I know several schools/curricula that utilize this series as a spine up through middle-school. TOG schedules out the series as an alternate reading resource in all 4 of their Year Plans.

We'll be covering the 20th century in history (TOG Year 4) next year, and I plan to have Zachary and Ryan read this volume over the summer to get the big picture before we begin studying the details of each of the major events in the 20th century. Catherine will read through the book as it is scheduled out on a weekly basis in TOG.