A truly South African recipe: Magic Malva Pudding

Recently Ethan entered a competition for Kids National Geographic and this was his favourite South African recipe he entered and so I thought I would share it with you (you will notice that it remains unedited, as it is aimed at children)

The Malva Madness

50ml butter (make it slightly soft in the microwave otherwise it can be very hard)

400g white sugar 

2 eggs (big ones)

2 teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda

2 cups milk

525ml flour (the regular one not the one that has baking powder in already)

3 tablespoons (big spoons) of apricot jam

2 tablespoons vinegar (the white one)

And now add some Magic

1 cup cream

220g brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence 

pinch of salt

How to make it

You have to put the oven on first at 180 degrees Celsius

Make sure you put all your baking things and ingredients on the counter first so you know where to find everything and also to make sure that you haven't forgotten something like the time my mother made a cake and didn't know that she didn't have any baking powder. We almost didn't have cake.

First you start by mixing the butter and sugar together. I used an electric beater but I am sure you could do it with a normal whisk, its just much harder to do. Put your eggs in as well. Make sure you break your eggs in a separate cup first otherwise you might end up with broken pieces of egg shell or even worse a rotten egg and then you will have to start all over again. And just do them one at a time, its better that way. Use the beater again.

Put your bicarbonate of soda in the milk and stir it until you can't feel the pieces. It must feel smooth. If it's not dissolved it feels like there is sand in the milk. Now you must put this together with the sugar and butter.

All the other ingredients must be added, it looks like a lot but once you mix it with the beater, it will go down a little. You must put in the flour with a sieve, the jam and the vinegar. You have to beat it until its smooth. It's quite runny but don't worry once you cook it, it will look just like a cake.

Use a oven dish that you have spread butter over so that it doesn't stick. Pour it all in and put it in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Now while you are waiting for the cake part to cook, you need to make the sauce which is the best part. Without the sauce there would be no magic just Malva Madness. Because you will be mad that you forgot to put the sauce on. In a small pot you need to put all the sauce ingredients, cook it until it boils and all the brown sugar needs to be dissolved. It might get a little thick but that's even better because it makes the malva even more delicious and sticky. Don't leave your pot, otherwise it will bubble over or burn.

The moment the malva is ready you must pour the sauce over straight away so that all the sauce gets sucked in. They both have to be hot for it to work. The best time to eat it is while it's really hot with ice--cream, which is my favourite, or with custard or even better, with both.

I hope you enjoy this, I know it's my favourite.

Ethan

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities: Spiritual

I believe that though one's life as a Christian cannot be compartmentalised, it's important to ensure that my children participate in extra curricular activities that are spiritual in nature - that feed their soul, remind them of who they are in God and develop good healthy relationships with the church.  I want to encourage them to enjoy fellowship, the gathering of the saints and being part of a body - at a young age.  We study the word and pray every day with our children but if we relied only our input into their lives, they would be limited in their growth.  This gives them many opportunities to grow, to be challenged, to  learn and to have fellowship.

There are a number of spiritual extra curricular activities our children are involved in on a weekly basis:

Youth

Friday we priortize Youth, which for us happens at a local church.  The balance of fun and the gospel is a winning combination for us. It has included carnival days, youth camps and excursions.  Of course if there is a themed holiday club we are the first to sign up. I always endeavour to find Christian based activities that remind them that life with God is not always about struggles and sacrifice but that you can have lots and lots of fun while walking with Him and others.

Life Group

Though our children are not actively involved in our lifegroup (for some of you that might mean Bible Study or Cell Group), again its an opportunity to get together with families in our church and beyond while studying the word, praying and lots and lots of laughter.  The children normally play in the other room but they are very aware of what's going on and they get to spend time with their friends.  And of course cake and chatting afterwards is always a winner.

As parents we are modelling something to our children.  Fellowship, Prayer, Faith, Friendship - the list is endless.  They are often part of worship and prayer, putting into practice some of the things they read about in the Bible or hear in our Bible Study time.

Friendships

Meaningful relationships are important to adults and children alike.  Though I think you can spend time with almost anyone, our closest friends need to be people who have the same love for God as we do.  This is not exclusive in nature but rather a way to encourage our children to ensure that the people they walk the closest to, are like minded.  It's easy to think that these like minded souls can only be found in your own church or denomination but we have really enjoyed getting to know a number of Christians in the valley who are not members of our church.

Through our other sport, learning enrichment and creative extra mural activities - there are lots of opportunities to build relationally with others, often the activity you are busy with, will keep you from forging deep friendships.  So we need to make time.  And we do.  We limit the number of times we do this in a week, as it can get really busy, so much so that our house is a shambles and my husband has to wait for supper - but we do make a point of scheduling time for friendships every week.

There are moms that I spend time with who are my spiritual sisters and so I love that our children can build lasting relationships with their children.  They might not be the same age but I believe in giving my children the opportunity to build cross- racial, cross- generational and cross -cultural relationships that span a variety of ages.  Older and younger.  A chance to follow and be followed.  Hopefully children that younger children can look up to and friendships with older children who will help them grow and challenge them to greatness.

So those are our spiritual extra curricular activitie, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Enrichment

* Creativity

* Sport

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities: Creativity

What I often love about extra curricular activities while homeschooling, is that often there are opportunities for the children to engage with other very noble, wise and talented individuals - while Mom gets some head space.  Yes I do need it occasionally. 
Creativity is not one of my strengths but I love artistic expression in different forms.  The more varied, the better.  I don't just want my children to be limited to arts and crafts, though they do that too, but I want them to experience the joy of creating whether its from a piece of wood, beads, paper or wood.  The sky is the limit.  And so where there is an opportunity for creative expression, we do it.

Tekioo

Forget the fancy name - this is all about woodworking (formally - design and technology workshops).  This is a new company based in the Western Cape.  The boys have had the chance to really grow in their creative and handwork skills. So far we've got birdfeeders, plant holders and picture frames, all made out of pine wood and handcrafted.  I love the fact that they get to play with power tools without me having to be around to watch.  I don't think I could bare it.  Normally the group is about 10 large, at someone's house -and we all have turns to bring a snack.  It's a real winner - hammers, nails, drills, sander - and no mom!

Music

Once a week they go to music lessons, where the children are given the opportunity to play all those instruments you and I used to play when we were at school - recorders, xylophones, triangles, tambourines and drums. And they learn the theory of music, playing a variety of instruments - though recorder seems to be the base instrument to learn the theory. You can imagine what practise time sounds like with 3 boys playing recorders when they are not yet fully proficient.  Let's just say that I prefer to be outside hanging up washing during their practise sessions (which says a lot).  And and top of that, Ruthie has her own recorder and just practices artistic expression - a real cacophony.(no that's not a swear word, it means lots of noise - you can relax now)

The children also have further music lessons individually in drumming and guitar. A lot of this is also practised  with online programs and at home.  I don't believe that lessons always need to cost money.  There are so many free online resources available that you can use to help your child grow in this area.

Cooking

This is an especially fun activity to do.  I have spent large chunks of my afternoons teaching my children to cook, bake and prepare all sorts of delicious treats.  I want to raise my children to be good husbands and wives (and of course - children when they bless their mother with a night off)

I allow them to choose an item to cook, they make the shopping list and then make whatever it is that they have chosen with varied levels of intervention depending on their age.  I have had to deal with overcoming my desire for perfection, and let them get on with their creations - I only help when they ask.  I sometimes ask questions which helps them to stay focused.  It can make the difference between a teaspoon of salt versus a tablespoon - which could be a real problem.  

Cooking at the Dairy Expo with some well known food bloggers

They love this activity so much they fight over who is next.  I hope to continue to inspire them in excellence and creativity in the kitchen, that they will never fear something unknown and be radically adventurous in their choices.  

Cultural Excursions

We love the theatre - be it dance, song, music, ballet, ice skating, fairy tales or dramatic productions of well loved books.  We always try to take our children to at least one theatrical production a term.  It doesn't sound like much but it does get really expensive to pay for a family of 6.  We have also been invited on occasion to review a new show. that would appeal to families with children. which has been a real privilege and a real treat.

Arts and Crafts

This is something we do frequently.  When we can't get out to sport because of the weather, and we are housebound - rather than switch on a television (no matter how tempting that might be), we bring out the art supplies.  Box construction is a firm favourite of the boys.  Lots of boxes of various sizes, lids, glue and paint - and then they are able to make whatever they want.  After a two or three hour session they have designed robots, ships, sailboats, aeroplanes and buildings.  Though my eldest is 11, he still loves this activity.  They initially struggle, as you can seem them having to switch brain hemispheres and off they go.

Often its just a large blank piece of newspaper print and they create a new world, all of them working on one  scene, cities with strange creatures or the jungles of Africa.  In all of this there is just the freedom of expression and the opportunity to create and create and create.  Awesomeness!

So that's extra curricular activities for creative expression, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Enrichment

* Spiritual

* Sport

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities: Enrichment

As I mentioned before, extra curricular activities play a vital role in bringing balance to our children.  After I have ensured that the children have lots and lots of sporting and physical activities to do, I can then focus on taking my children out into a learning environment.  Learning comes alive when there is an authentic interaction with the subject and this is where our extra curricular activities for enrichment play an important role.  I want my children to love learning.  I want them to find joy in discovering and adventuring and questioning. Sometimes they do a little too much but they are thriving in this environment.  It's all about maintaining a lifestyle of learning.  Sometimes we take notes, sometimes we do report backs, sometimes we just have fun. We never do the same thing in the same way.  But if you ask them questions about what they have learnt you will be amazed at what they remember and their experiences.  

Hoerikwagga

This is our Biology/ Zoology/ History homeschooling Co -Op.  We meet at Cape Point once a month where we study various aspects of Cape Point which is part of the Table Mountain National Park. So far we have studied subjects like fynbos, the history of the Cape, life cycles and food chains and  pollination.  Again this is one of those courses that you can continue with until you are 12.  Then our children can start with the Junior Rangers program which will eventually allow them to be trained up in this field.  It will definitely give them a head start in being trained and equipped to work full time when they are adults, at SanParks.

Science Group

Cape Town Science Centre has got the greatest learning programmes, I could visit and visit and visit.  You can never see everything that there is to see.  I am always finding a new learning experience, activity or item to read about.

Our homeschooling Science Co-Op get together once a month and focus on one aspect of science.  What's great is the children go into a classroom situation and are given science equipment which they then use for a very hands on practical science lesson.  They have made their own steam turbines, electric circuits and worked with magnets.  They also normally attend a big science demonstration in line with what they are learning.  This normally involves lots of bangs, chemicals, smoke and laughter.  And of course once they are finished with the lesson which normally takes about an hour, they spend the rest of the time, making their way through the Cape Town Science Centre and their interactive learning stations.  Who doesn't love science? And this little girl loves it! She spends hours exploring while her brothers are in class.

Library

This is a regular feature on a weekly basis.  It used to be a quick visit - in to fetch books and then out again.  Now it's become a really lengthy visit.  The children love browsing and reading and chatting to friends.  They take out books for home and then read as many as they can while they are there.  Moms take it in turn to read to the little ones.  Friday mornings they do an arts and crafts lesson for little ones and holidays are full of holiday activities.  The librarians know us well and often recommend books for the children to read!  This is definitely a highlight which we really enjoy.

Cape Explorers

This is also a new addition, we haven't started yet but one of our local homeschooling moms, has set up a program where we will get together twice a month to explore Cape Town. We are excited about this, as its just another opportunity for our children to learn by interacting with their environment.

Other Excursions

There is always someone in the local homeschooling group that likes (in their super duper organised way) to arrange excursions, and if they don't then I do.  There is always learning opportunities available out there.  Most of the enrichment programs take place on a Friday which is perfect because by Friday, this homeschooling mother is exhausted.  And if we are not attending any of the above then we will arrange our own activity.  I believe it's vital to learning for children to interact with their learning material or with learning opportunities in a real and authentic way.  These are highlights for the whole family!

So that's extra curricular activities for enrichment, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Creativity

* Spiritual

* Sport

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities :Sport

Its difficult to define what are extra curricular activities when everything is considered school in our house.  That's homeschooling, it's a lifestyle of learning - it's not an event.  Chores and meal preparation are life skills, swimming is PE (physical education), fundraising initiatives are entrepreneurial.  But for arguments sake lets assume that extra curricular is anything that requires external involvement or activities.  Though doing these activities is about spending time with friends, its more importantly about maintaining a balance in my  children's life.  

You may have seen that I will be starting a series on Growing up as Jesus did - and it is all about ensuring that all aspects of a child's life are given the opportunity to grow - the spiritual, the physical, the mental and the relational.  When we ignore any  one of these aspects in their development, their growth is stunted.  I am sure you can think of lots of examples of that - the consequences of ignoring anyone of these areas can be harmful.  Of course this is simply put and there is much more complexity to these thoughts.  (for eg mental is not just academic but left brain right brain, physical is not just exercise but food, sleep etc).  However I will keep you in suspense for when we get there!

For now I want to just give you some idea of what we do and when we do it, bearing in mind that I have 3 boys and 1 girl (who forgets she is a girl sometimes!).  There are some of you that think there is no difference - but believe me there is!

And Sport is up first!  Why?  Because in my opinion (after all - my tag line says "A South African homeschooling mother, with an opinion), is that boys spend far too much time in front of television or computers.  So much so, that more and more research is coming to the fore about the detrimental effects of too much screen time.

I have to be intentional in my approach to physical activity.  I am not a natural physically active person, it takes lots and lots of effort to get this lazy body moving, but like I have said before - you need to be who you say you are, and what you tell your children to be.  So if I expect them to be physical then I need to be too.  So my first priority,  when it comes to extra curricular activities is - sport, movement, exercise! And this is how we do it:

Nippers(Junior Lifesavers)

This is our primary sport for the year.  This is a real winner for us.  The season starts in wintery August and finishes in April.  What makes this an especially good sport - is that it builds such confidence, individual ability and team spirit.  Our Nippers coaches are all volunteers but they offer such a wide range of sporting activities within the scope of Nippers.  Swimming, lifesaving, body boarding, malibu, long distance and short distance running are but a few.

The children do a practical and written exams to qualify for each age group and as they get older, these qualifications allow them to be junior lifesavers and ultimately lifesavers.  The qualifications are international which means you can travel the world and work as a lifesaver.  And boys, with their need for competition and all that extra boyhood energy, have the opportunity to participate in monthly competitions.  Once they get to Under 12 level, they can qualify for WP colours.

Sharks you say?  Yes some of you that are reading this have no idea where we stay but we stay in the False Bay area, which has the highest occurrence of great whites in the world. But really they are so looked after - the parents are out there as  deterrents(or shark bait as we often joke), they put up shark deterrent buoys and there is craft which rides up and down to keep an eye on the children in the water.

Our children have really grown in stature in the last 2 years participating in this sport.  With practices ranging from 2 to 5 times a week which includes swimming training in a local school pool, they get lots of opportunities to burn out all that excess energy.  Ruthie will be starting the introduction to Nippers - otherwise known as Starfish, this year - so you'll soon see photographs of her in a wetsuit!

Tag

OK so we haven't started this one yet.  I wasn't so sure whether I should include this but just to say that my boys have tried rugby - and we heard horror stories wherever we went.  Metal plates in cheeks, clots on brains, hip and knee replacements because of rugby injuries. Even our doctor said we should avoid rugby. Funny because I love watching the game and my father is an avid supporter but I decided not to knowingly make a decision that could have long term effects on my children's physical well being.  There are some of you that will read this and think, our boys are just not tough enough.  The problem is,  that they are tough enough and do not shy away from any scrum or battle.  And so already in our first match we walked away with a back injury because the opposing team played dirty - and there were even concerns of vertebra injury - so it was really a deciding factor for us.

Now to the actual case of TAG, it's rugby but touch rugby.  So the boys get the chance to enjoy the same fun and interaction but without tackles.  And so we are looking forward to them being able to participate in a sport which they love.

Swimming Lessons

Our children train throughout the year as its vital to maintain fitness levels for Nippers.  And so all of them attend swimming lessons at the Virgin Gym. This works out really well for me, as while they are doing their swimming lesson, I am able to sit and have a coffee.  This can take up to 3 hours as we have to rotate and each child has their own session.

This is not the only swimming they do - this is mostly for learning, stroke correction and improvement.  I then take them 2 to 3 times a week to swim lengths and put into practice some of what they have already learnt.  I have downloaded my own training schedule for the boys, which I then give to them before each practice and they then just swim and swim and swim.

Gym

We go to Virgin Gym for swimming but we also go to gym to gym (OK I know that sounds rather obvious) but you get my meaning.  Our children belong to Club V at the gym, which is an activity bases child care facility for children.  They do arts and crafts, Wii, movies, ball games and sports.  But we mostly use this for Ruthie and sometimes Chad.  Otherwise they all head upstairs with their dad.  He then supervises them while they do exercises upstairs.  Though they would love to do weights they don't because they are still too young but I think it's a great opportunity for dad and the boys to do a "manly" activity together while having fun.  He works them hard, and they keep him motivated.  Have I mentioned he has the patience of Job.  (I run off to one of my classes crazy fast paced aerobic classes)

Surfing and Body Boarding

Our children love the ocean and they are in the water any time they get the opportunity. The water is freezing but they put their wetsuits on and head into the water with a body board or a surfboard, rain or shine - winter or summer.  I am a reluctant winter beacher but occasionally  I brave the cold weather and take them to the beach to catch some waves.  And they love Muizenberg as far as surfing goes, and if they aren't catching waves themselves, then they are watching others catch the waves.

Other family based sporting activities

We regularly do activities together as a family - walking along Boyes Drive, climbing various routes up the Table Mountain Nature Reserve, cycling, running on the beach - the list is always growing and it gets more and more creative as we come up with more ideas.  Again, it's all about living the life we tell them they should   live.  We always try and make family activities outdoors if we can help it.

So that's sport in our family, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Creativity

* Spiritual

* Enrichment Programs

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy

South African Carnival of Homeschool Blogs for May

Today you can head over to Karen's Clan  who is hosting our monthly South African Carnival of Homeschool Blogs where there are so many lovely articles for you to be encouraged,  during those low and high seasons of homeschooling. 

I have shared some of my successes and failures, questioning the heart of homeschooling, chatting about the day when you just don't feel like it, as well as issues of discipline.  And to help you on those less than perfect days I have some ideas on how to keep a clean house and a good attitude, and how to have less stressful school days.

And I am not the only one who has these struggles - every homeschooling mother has struggles and challenges.  This carnival is all about how they cope and how they feel through financial struggles, health issues, skewed perceptions, teenagers who are going through transitions and the seasons we go through as mothers.  So head over there now and see how South African homeschooling mothers manage the every day challenges of motherhood and homeschooling.

Be encouraged today and don't forget...

To enter our Tin Town giveaway for some seriously gorgeous home decor!

SA Carnival of Homeschooling Blogs #4: Living Books

Welcome to the 4th edition for 2012 of

SA Carnival of Homeschooling Blogs

And it's all about books - and not just any books. Living Books.  OK so now some of you may be stumped and be wondering how a book can be living, how does it have life?  How can it breath? 
But think back to books that you remember.... the ones that had you holding your breath in suspense, the ones that made you cry, books that made history seem real and relevant - real people you could identify with, you travelled the world through mountains and valleys, you discovered that Judge Grammar could teach you all about Mr Noun - those are the ones we are talking about.


Living books are bound to get homeschoolers excited and in fact its should get all mom's excited.  If you are a parent, these are the types of books you want your children to read.  They're books written by people who love their subject - whether it's Maths or Geography.(yes you even get people who love Maths - special individuals those).  It's also definitely not written as a text book or in  very structured, fact by fact, point by point kind of way.  It's written in a conversational way, a narrative, a story. 

And what child does not enjoy a good story, in fact what adult does not enjoy a good story?  Through living books, children are exposed to facts and information in such an entertaining and engaging style that so much more is learnt and retained with very little effort.  

The language used in these books is of a high and excellent standard, not the language that is common to playground antics or Facebook comments.  It stretches their abilities and understanding of the language. It often stretches mine too.  We all grow in reading books like this.  In fact it will develop a real appetite for more of the same. 

I have fallen in love with living books.  As I read them to my children, I am totally engaged, enthralled and part of the learning experience.

And I am not the only one.  There are mothers all over the world who have discovered the value of living books.  And some of these include our very own homegrown South African Homeschool Bloggers.

Nadene of Practical Pages has been homeschooling for 14 years, using living books as an important part of her homeschooling day and her Charlotte Mason curriculum approach.  

Join her as she and her daughter Learn through Living Books.  I love how she uses a white board as a type of mind map/timeline/sequencing tool in conjunction with her living books.

 

Karen, a confessed book lover and hoarder, walks us through some great living books at Karen's Clan.  Loving Living Books give you a brief glimpse into her books on her bedside table and her list of favourite living books (and her wish list of soon to be favourites I am sure). 

Taryn of Hayes Happenings offers us a thorough explanation of living books, and how her journey of discovery and adventure has led her family down a road rich with learning and literature.  The Living Books they love include powerful stories of a farm girl embarking on an adventure to translate the bible in the jungles of the Philippines, the experiences of the blind and apples and arrows.

As for me, well over the years we have collected dozens of living books, too many even to mention.  I have loved all of them except maybe one or two. I enjoy my read aloud times with my children as much as they do.  Some of my current favourites though are:

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

Why do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true.

This truly was a book where I laughed so much that my sides hurt.  I have to admit I am always inclined to opt for the living books with humour and this is one of them.  The antics of these children of course had my children planning their own types of adventures but they were introduced to the whole Dutch culture combined with lots of good geography included.  This is a classic, never to be given away type of book.  I am sure that we will read this a number of times in our schooling future.

Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo

Washed up on a remote island in a Pacific storm, Michael curls up and waits to die. But when he wakes, there is fresh fruit beside him. He is not alone… Michael Morpurgo’s vivid story of a young castaway’s struggle for survival is an unmissable modern classic. Fusing adventure and mystery, it is a heartbreaking but uplifting tale of love, loss, hope and redemption.
I am a fan of Michael Morphurgo - he writes in such a way that you want to savour every moment.  He uses expressions that come alive and his combination of excellent writing, humour (again) and history - just bring this story to life. 
Carefully woven into this book was the history of Hiroshima, island survival, conflicting cultures and languages, boating and sailing and relationships.  This is the third book I have read of his and I know that I will continue to find more.

Now you may be wondering where you can find living books like these?

There are a number of ways you can find living books. The resources are endless and are often grouped according to subjects which makes it easier to find what you are looking for.  Some of them include curriculum providers who include living books as part of their curriculum.  These can often be found at your local library or a friend, or you could opt for a second hand book store.

Here are some resources to find lists of living books for you and your family.  Though I don't always use these books as part of my curriculum, I often pack them into their library bags and let them discover something new.

*  Ambleside Online
*  Living Books Curriculum
*  Beautiful Feet Books
*  Penny Gardener's Charlotte Mason's Website
*  Librivox
*  Classical Christian Homeschooling
*  Paula's Archives
*  Sonlight
*  Veritas Press
*  Living Book List for Science
*  Living Maths Books
*  What should I read next?

For further reading on Charlottle Mason and Living books, here are some excellent resources:
Charlotte Mason Basics by Jimmie of Jimmies Collage
Excellent resource on living books at The Thinking Mother

So do the rounds, visit our South African Homeschooling bloggers and hopefully you will find some new inspiration to add to your book shelves.

I would love to hear about any living books that you might think are a worthwhile addition to our libraries.  Leave a comment and tell us about some of your favourites.