I have an interview tomorrow (Friday) on Relevant Radio to talk online education and take questions. They're giving me the entire hour from 2:00 to 3:00 PM Eastern on the show On Call. I hope you all will tune in and maybe even call in with a question or two. If you don't have a local station, you can listen online.
I came across the following comment at the Faith and Family Forum.re Catholic Homeschool Companion--Maureen Wittmann rocks! That book has some great essays. Just remember it is a companion, not a handbook.I couldn't help but think, "This is why I write." Not because I want people to think I rock but that my work is helpful enough to others that they think I rock. Does that make sense?
Voting has begun for the 2008 Homeschool Blog Awards. Go check out all of the nominees. Of course, I hope you'll vote for The Thrifty Homeschooler and Unity of Truth while you're there. Thank you to those who made the nominations -- it's an honor.
New Book From Michigan Author
Maureen Wittmann’s new book For the Love of Literature! is a real treasure for home schooling parents! Maureen calls her book a “glorified booklist” but it is much more than that. She has done extensive research so that you can have at your finger tips a list of 950 books pertaining to any subject at any grade level including high school. She has mapped out a lifetime reading plan that will be useful to all ages. In addition, her book shows how literature can be used to teach and reinforce values that lie at the heart of a truly Catholic education.
Although this book is designed especially for Catholic home schooling parents, it would be useful to any parent. The guide can be used to teach core subjects using literature, to supplement curriculum, or just to find great books to nourish a child’s love for reading. The book lists are extensive and up-to-date and feature biographies, historical fiction, beautiful books, etc. to study any subject area of interest. A synopsis of each book’s plot and usefulness is given. There are also chapters on implementing literature in your home school, using your library, unit studies, classical education, and more.
Maureen, who is from Howell, Michigan, is a home schooling mother of seven children and frequent speaker at home schooling conference across the country She is also the co-editor of The Catholic Homeschool Companion, a collection of articles written by 45 home schooling parents who share their tips, tricks, and techniques to make home schooling a happier, holier, and more productive learning environment.
For the Love of Literature can be ordered from Ecce Homo Press at www.eccehomopress.com or call 866-305-8362. The Catholic Homeschool Companion can be ordered from Sophia Institute Press www.sophiainstitute.com or call 800-888-9343. Both books will be available at the MCH book tables at the conference.
If you would like to take orders for my new Catholic homeschooling book For the Love of Literature on behalf of your homeschool support group and friends, I'll give you a nice deal. If you order ten or more books it's only $11.50 per copy of For the Love of Literature, all autographed, plus $1.00 per book for Priority Shipping (to a single address). I can take PayPal, including credit cards, or checks.
If you'd like to substitute The Catholic Homeschool Companion to make up your 10 or more books, I can offer those for a 10% discount at $22.50 per autographed book. Again, only $1.00 per book for Priority Shipping.
For the person taking the order, I'll add a FREE copy of the audio CD Catholic Homeschooling 101.
Email me HERE to make arrangements.
For the Love of Literature is one book I believe any parent or teacher would want to own, if for no other reason than it begs to be underlined, highlighted, and filled with margin notes.
I've already sung the praises of Maureen Wittmann's For the Love of Literature, but I have to say again how helpful a resource it's been as I've tried to hash out plans for next year. I'm not a micro-planner, as in, here's what we'll be doing from 9:02-9:07.5 . . . but I am a macro-planner. I have an idea of the broad scope of things, and usually as I'm making big plans for the following year, my mind is filling in the blanks under each subject heading with, " . . . and we'll read some stuff." This year, I actually have an idea what stuff we'll read, and I think I have a shot at keeping us in books for the entire year (other problem: under-buying, and/or under-utilizing the library).
So here are our book lists for next year, so far:
And so this week we have started to implement a more literature based curriculum. Thank you Maureen for your great work on your book For the Love of Literature. It is full of some great titles and information to make our spring and summer work for us through this challenging time in our lives.
It is a wonderful resource and just what I was hoping to find for my family. This will help me with my older son who is a voracious reader. I can't keep up with him, so it is good to have a guide to help me make appropriate selections for him.
Thank you!
For the Love Of Literature
Pete VereMaureen Wittmann is a name known to many Catholic homeschooling parents. Maureen has written and edited several practical works on Catholic homeschooling. (Full disclosure: I authored the canon law chapter of The Catholic Homeschool Companion, a compilation of homeschooling essays she edited with Rachel Mackson for Sophia Institute Press.) Maureen’s most recent offering is For the Love of Literature: Teaching Core Subjects With Literature (ISBN 978-0-9797609-09). This 253-page book helps home-schooling parents build a reading curriculum for their children in a diversity of subjects — including art and music appreciation, math, history, science, and building a reading library.
The first few chapters offer numerous tips on where to find good home-schooling resources. From the local library to the Internet to small publishers catering to the home-school market, Maureen has amassed a number of resources in her 12 years as a home-schooling mother. She is also experienced at adapting these resources to her own children, turning books into learning plans. These experiences are the basis for several practical suggestions Maureen shares with the reader.
Yet the bulk of the book is bibliography. There are hundreds of titles listed that parents may find useful in building a home- schooling curriculum. Each entry provides the book’s name, approximate age category, and two or three sentences describing its content. Also noted is whether the book is Catholic or contains objectionable content.
For the Love of Literature retails for $ 12.95 and is published by Ecce Homo Press, a small publisher of Catholic home-schooling materials based out of La Grange, Ky. (http://www.eccehomopress.com/).
Alicia Van Hecke and Mary Ellen Barrett both have written their take on For the Love of Literature over at amazon.com. Thank you Alicia and Mary Ellen for the 5 star reviews!
If you prefer ordering from Amazon, the books are available there now. Though they're not discounted there -- I don't know why. However, they do have it bundled with Nancy Brown's The Father Brown Reader which I find very cool.
If you prefer autographed author copies, you can order For the Love of Literature (as well as The Catholic Homeschool Companion) directly from me. Just click on the Add to Cart button(s) in the sidebar. If you'd like a book personalized, please leave a comment for me with your order. (Autographed books are so fun!)
A new book for home-schooling moms
Maureen Wittman (sic) is a home-schooling mom of seven children. She is also a well-established author and editor in the world of Catholic literature. Her most recent work, For the Love of Literature, has received much praise. The book is meant to help other home-educating Catholic moms but is a valuable resource to any parent. For the Love of Literature contains a lifetime reading plan, easy-to-implement tips and ideas, top picks by grade for every subject and literary guides for every family member. For more information, contact Joan Stromberg at Ecce Homo Press, call 868-305-8362 or visit www.eccehomopress.com.
“Maureen Wittmann's new book "For the Love of Literature" is an essential addition to the library of any Catholic homeschooling family -- or anyone who just loves books! I heartily endorse the "method" of teaching through books rather than textbooks, and while history and literature figure prominently, the suggestions for math and science books are especially helpful. Some other homeschooling guides provide lists of books, usually in an appendix, but this is the first I've seen where these lists make up the guide itself. Wittmann's well-organized and carefully researched lists could be used either as a supplement to an established homeschooling curriculum or as a stand-alone curriculum in and of themselves.”
--Anne Schuchman, Department of Italian Studies, New York University
“I have no doubt For the Love of Literature will prove to be a valuable tool for new homeschoolers, veteran homeschoolers, public school teachers, librarians, private school board members, your teacher-aunt, your neighbor with the 2-year-old and the new baby, your pregnant cousin, all parents who have a love for their children, and even the niece or nephew headed to college.If you would like to order For the Love of Literature, just check the sidebar of this blog. If you have questions about the book, please feel free to email me.
Maureen calls her book a "glorified booklist" but it is way more than that. She has done a job of extensive research in putting this book together so you and your children (no matter how or where they are educated) can enjoy the ripe benefits of continuing their education through the love of literature.
On behalf of all parents who devote their lives to educating their children for life, thank you, Maureen, for all you've done and all you continue to do for us!”
-- Cay Gibson, author, Catholic Mosaic
Dear Maureen,See, my close personal friends aren't the only ones who love my book. Sure, Maureen in PA shares my same name (and a fine Irish name it is), but we've never met before. Really.
I am writing to say thank you, thank you, thank you for your wonderful book, For the Love of Literature! I can't even begin to tell you how much it has helped me! It is so well organized and easy to use. I have come across many good book lists online but got so bogged down trying to keep them all straight. I look forward to using your book for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Maureen in PA
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