With our new Accelerated Reader program I have noticed that students (including my own son) are reading more often. This is excellent news, as reading is among the most important skills necessary for educational success. One of the ways that you can help your child to become a reader is by modeling reading. Habits like reading are often “caught” not taught. So I thought I would list some of the books that I have read in the past couple of years and found especially thought provoking. If you want to purchase these, doing so through Smile.Amazon.com and selecting Baymonte as your charitable organization will give money to the school. It’s a “win-win!”
- Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith. We Christians basically have our own language, Christianese. Katherine Norris, who was raised in a Christian home, left the faith, and then returned, breathes life into the terms that Christians frequently use without thinking. She describes what the words mean to her now, with stories from her life that bring these once dead words to life. It is a fascinating book.
- Fever Pitch: Sports fans can learn to eat and sleep their favorite teams. Nick Hornby’s love for soccer’s Arsenal (my team, by the way) became a central theme in his life. Yes, in case you’re curious, the movie of the same title about the Boston Red Sox is an American version of this British work.
- A Day in the Life of a Minimalist, Simplicity: Essay, or Essential Essays.: All by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Ever feel like you are chasing after too much material stuff? Are you in debt? Do you feel claustrophobic because you are trapped by the clutter in your life? Reading any of these works will give you their solution to these problems. (P.S. you only have to read one of the works because there is A LOT of overlap.) These works are only $1.00 when you purchase them for a Kindle!
- Thrive: Why are the people of Monterrey, Mexico; San Luis Obispo; and Denmark (along with others) among the happiest people on earth? This work looks at their lives and can give some helpful advice for yours as well.
- The Blessing of a B-. This book has sound, common sense advice for raising teenagers in a world that is different than when we were kids. This work can help you negotiate this dangerous terrain. I would not follow all advice, but much is helpful.
- Imagine: How does creativity work? Can you create a setting where you will be more creative? Are creative people born that way or do they train themselves to be creative? If a person can be trained to be creative, can you use this to help your child to be more creative? How? Read this book to find out.
- The Power of Habits by Charles DuHigg. According to one study done by Duke University “more than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions but habits.” That’s staggering because these habits, small actions we no longer think about, dramatically affect us in the long term. What do you do that adversely affects your life? Can you change those habits to become healthier mentally, physically, spiritually, or socially? If so, how? Buy and read the book to find out!
- Food Rules: Two years ago I ate anything that came my way. I have since given up on all fast food restaurants as well as processed foods. Not too surprisingly I feel a lot better. Michael Pollan’s book is simple; he presents some basic common sense rules for eating healthy foods.