Elizabeth Yank

Although this is a hefty tome, the relaxed, informal tone begs you to snuggle up with it on the sofa with a cozy afghan, a crackling fire, and a hot cup of tea. Of course, it's winter here in Wisconsin: overcast, chilly and white outside. Whatever the weather or circumstances, this book is guaranteed to soothe the soul and inspire the book lover within. You feel like you are having a conversation with a best friend and will often find yourself saying, "Yes" and nodding in agreement, or pausing to reflect and say, "Hmm, interesting, I will have to think about that."

Building the Family Cookbook by Suzanne Fowler is not your typical cookbook. Although the layout is similar to most church cookbooks with a comb binding that allows it to lay flat for reading, the contents include much more than recipes. The opening pages include such Catholic topics as "A Recipe for a Happy Life," based on scripture, "The Importance of the Family", based on the words of John Paul II, the value of a family eating meals together, some advice from other moms on motherhood, practical ideas for building a Catholic family, and more.

I must admit a bias. Because I have used the method suggested in Stories with a View for years with my own children, I highly recommend this resource. Why? It works! By observing and interacting with pictures and poetry, young writers are inspired to write interesting fiction.

In fact, Mrs. Davidson makes this method even easier to implement by offering discussion questions and suggested "story starters" to prompt the young writer. For example, with A Restful Tune (a painting about a shepherd boy playing a reed pipe) the questions include:

Over the years I have used several different Algebra programs with my children. With Peter, this is the fourth Algebra program we have tried. For various reasons, they have never met our expectations. At long last with Teaching Textbooks Algebra I, we have found one that works.

Before writing a review, I wanted to wait until Peter had completed most of the textbook, so that I would avoid any unpleasant surprises. Right now, he has completed about 2/3rds of the text and my opinion has not changed. This program is a homeschool mom's dream come true.