5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming Stories, August 28, 2010
This review is from: Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled (Paperback)
Get ready to laugh! This book is bulging with humorous events in the lives of two homeschool families. We all live through some funny times. Some people are good at telling the stories verbally and some people are exceptional at writing them out for the world to read. Rachel and Carolyn fall into this last category. Their heartwarming stories tickle the funny bone and also inspire us to look at the bigger picture of life. If you or someone you know homeschools they will love this easy-read. It would even make a good gift for people considering homeschooling, just so they can see how much fun it can be.
Each chapter is short and well written. From the first chapter about Christmas to the last chapter about being Jesus people, I found myself reading with a smile on my face and joy in my heart. Thank you Rachel and Carolyn for sharing your stories!
Amy Puetz author
[...]
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
well-written and enjoyable!, July 10, 2010
This review is from: Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled (Paperback)
This collection of excellently-written stories is sure to make you smile! Cousins Rachel and Carolyn recount experiences in their families as they homeschooled their way through life. And considering that between the two of them, the total sibling count tops off at eighteen, you better believe that they have some great ones to share! Woven amongst the lighthearted tales are tidbits of wisdom and lessons learned. Both of the girls are engaging writers, and I think the book would make a great read-aloud for any family with children.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
True to life - sprinkles of joy!, October 31, 2009
This review is from: Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled (Paperback)
"What do you get when you throw twenty children, four parents, several cross-country trips, and a sense of humour between the covers of one book?"
That's a question many adults would be terrified to ask, let alone embrace. However, for large, Christian, homeschoooling families, this situation may not seem too out of the ordinary. Rachel Starr Thomson and Carolyn Joy Currey are cousins with more than a few things in common; these eldest daughters of families who delight in raising and educating their children for the Lord met in person during a chaotic-cross country move, and have been fast friends ever since.
Sharing a zany, wholesome sense of humour, the pair teamed up and co-wrote the entertaining memoir Tales of the Heartily Homeschooled. I'm glad they did. With family size statistics like these busting open the seams of the North American demographic corset, it can be all to easy to feel isolated if your tent is pitched in the same tent. If you, your spouse, or your children have ever found yourselves wondering, "Are we the only ones who...?" I highly recommend you take a peek into the lives of the Thomson and Currey families.
Each short and snappy, slice-of-life chapter (written by either Thomson or Currey), invites us into the joyous tumult of family life. From "The Battle of Underwear Mountain" -- we have one of those -- to "Vacuum Cleaners I Have Known" -- wherein I found assurance for my husband that ours is not the only home inhabited by clumps of tangled hair on the rug due to its many long-haired occupants -- and everything in between, this volume is both frank and comedic.
As an added charming flourish, both Currey and Thomson write with a distinctly homeschooled flair. Sprinkling such gems as "quoth" into the mix, with a sense of precise syntax paired with oddball impressions add to the distinct character of the text. A few times I found myself thinking, "Someone has certainly been reading (or watched) Tolkien and Austen lately." With my ongoing predilection for vintage vocabulary, I found these stylistic renderings quite endearing.
The authors remind us that no matter how chaotic the situation seems, the opportunity to kick-back, laugh, and enjoy the good gifts that God has given us is always available. Their light-hearted spin on large-family living sheds much needed levity into the direst (and most bizarre) of situations. Truly -- once you've heard the account of the experimental hot-dogs-in-the-crockpot-powered-by-the-cigarette-lighter story, it will not be forgotten -- and you'll have a great tale to tell your kids the next time they complain about hot dogs for lunch again!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
