Living Book - "Living books are usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject “come alive.” They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias or textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form. You might be surprised to find that living books are available for most school subjects — even math, geography, and science!" (http://www.simplycharlottemason.com/)
There is a light in the eyes of a child while reading a living book that is not there when reading flat or "dead" books, and especially not there when watching television (even educational programs). Since embarking on our quest to read as many living books as we can in our home, there has been a transformation in how our children perceive books. Reading used to be a treat, but nothing too exciting. Sometimes they would ask me to read, but many times I would have to call them over to me and ask them to sit with me while I read to them. Especially with Corbin, I would have to repeatedly ask him to sit still, focus, come back, calm down.
However, now when I sit down and open a book, I don't even have to utter a word. It is as if the children have super-sonic hearing or eyes in the back of their heads; they immediately drop anything they are doing and RUN to where I am! My husband has even commented on how (delightfully) strange it is that they respond so dramatically to the opening of a book. And once I am done, they will ask me to "read more" over and over, until I finally must tell them that we have to move on to something else. I firmly believe this is because they are learning, through living books, that reading is an adventure -- not a chore! They are being pulled into worlds they otherwise would never have the chance to explore, meeting people and creatures that they never could have dreamed of on their own, and they are eating it up!
One of the living books that has captivated their attention recently is Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown. I absolutely loved this book when I was in elementary school, but was a little skeptical when checking it out about whether my kids would be old enough to appreciate it yet. Boy, was my skepticism unfounded! I can't even count the number of times they have asked me read this book!
The other day while reading it, it struck me that the kids would enjoy being able to make some stone soup of their own. They love to act out what they read in books, so why not let them really experience this one! So yesterday we prepared our very own pot of stone soup.
I decided that I didn't want to follow a specific recipe, but just prepare the soup as the soldiers had done in the book (with a few tweaks here and there by Mommy). I knew this ran the risk of being a failed meal, but there is always PB&J for back-up!! Saturday night I ran to the grocery store and bought some cabbage, stew meat, and barley, since those were the only ingredients we didn't already have on hand. Then, after church on Sunday, we stopped by Grandpa and Meme's house to borrow three "stones" from Meme's rock garden (which prompted a great conversation with the kids on rocks vs. stones, and how some words can be used interchangeably to mean the exact same thing and are called "synonyms"). We got home and the kids played outside with Daddy while Mommy washed and cut up all of the ingredients (as well as giving the stones a good scrub-down!), and then we all joined in together to make our magical stone soup.
Daddy read the story to us so that we would know the exact order we needed to do things in, Abby and Corbin took turns throwing in the prepared ingredients, and Daniel watched on in fascination from his high chair. It was such a joy to share this adventure as a family, and -- an unexpected bonus -- the soup was absolutely delicious!
Here's what we did:
- Start a large pot boiling with water (I also added two cans of beef broth for flavor).
- Put in three large, smooth stones (make sure they are hard stones that do not break up easily, and wash them thoroughly with hot soapy water).
- Add in salt & pepper, carrots, cabbage, beef, potatoes, barley, and milk (I let the kids throw in some dried oregano, dried basil, chopped onion, and chopped celery for added flavor).
- Stir and let boil for 1.5 hours. It is finished when the meat is thoroughly cooked and the vegetables are soft.
And there you have it, your very own Stone Soup, fit for a king!
For me, this is what this journey is all about. Taking the stories and characters and adventures we encounter on the pages of our books and making them come alive as lessons on love, morality, life, the world, and (most importantly) God. There are times when you need to bust out a math worksheet and do some diagramming of sentences; it is my opinion that all children need to learn those disciplines to succeed. However, the lasting lessons will not be the ones where facts, equations, and dates are memorized, but the ones that stick because they were made to come alive in my children's hearts, minds, bodies, and souls!
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.
~Charles W. Eliot~
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