I didn't realize that was part of the their pedagogy! Very interesting.

​@@thecommonplacehomeschool only real things with photos.

I've heard this before and was completely flabbergasted by it!

100%. The living books show our children how to see Reality in their midst. I can't imagine not giving them to my kids! And thank you! So good to hear. It's the Sony A7Riv. I'm a wedding photographer, so I have real gear but I've been using a vlogger point-and-shoot since I'm less familiar with video. I decided to start using my professional gear and get to work on learning the ropes of video settings and editing! I expect the learning curve to be worth it!

It is one of my favorite classical nuggets! It really unlocks a whole world!

Oh, such a good question. We stick with the old ones: Grimms, Andersen: Blue, Yellow, etc. Fairy Book. But if we think about enchanted stories, I would include so many from Narnia and beyond! I do recommend reading "On Fairy Stories" by Tolkien because he nails what is a fairy, a fairy story, a fairytale, and Fäerie. (He'd honestly not be pleased with how little I defined my terms here! Ha!!)

Woo! Thank you, Becky! Magic stories can be dangerous ground, so I'm grateful for your encouragement here!

If you have the chance, read them instead!

Ah, St. George! He is my eldest son's favorite saint as well.

I love that. I hope it continues to be a gift to my children as they grow!

Hmm. I could see the modern cynicism making it difficult to reconcile a good God with evil in the world or the hope of Good winning in the end, for sure. But I'd still point back to the mythic and moral imaginations which come alive in most people when they engage with story: You know Frodo is the hero, not Sauron. And you hold out for hope no matter how dark the story becomes. I think if you work backwards you'll also find that all stories echo certain truths (across time, place, and people) which reach their fullness in the story of Christ, the God-man. If you'd actually like to do some more reading on this, I recommend Lewis' "When Myth Became Fact" or "The Abolition of Man"!

You are so welcome!

You're very welcome!

A patron shared some of his thoughts on dragons and I thought they were spot on! And another patron (So many smart patrons! Ha!) uses the phrase "truer than true" with her kids because dragons are real; they may be archetypes, metaphors, or literal, but they are true and lift the veil of our limited world to show us Reality.

Thank you! I love fairytales!

And then we promptly borrowed it from the library!

St. George! A true hero in this house! I’ve never read ND Wilson but I did listen to What Have You for years! (I no longer have a smartphone so I rarely listen to anything.) I loved their conversations.

The first exposure I hate to ND was his book Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl. His defense of magic sounds much like yours, and has said a few helpful things re: Harry Potter in his podcast Stories Are Soulfood that I’ll have to revisit when we decide whether or not we’ll let our children read those.

@@lindsaybarlow7946 Lovely! My guess is we’re both echoing the same beloved writers. I always love how ideas can be bridges between people and shared threads to weave a larger picture!

Thank you! Coming on Monday!!

Thank you! Should be up in a couple of weeks!

I didn't grow up as a Christian so it was a great surprise to me when I learned that HP was a THING within the Christian conversation! But yes, the next video will touch on the magic itself!

Ooh yes. It's a whole world! I'd recommend reading a lot of Lewis, Tolkien, and Chesterton to get your head around truth/fact. Then I recommend Joshua Gibbs' new book, Love What Lasts, for some helpful commentary on the Enlightenment within this classical conversation.

So glad to hear it!

Same.

I would love to work on preparing a whole project of just Lewis! (Jack is my dear friend.) I will definitely keep it in the back of my mind!

It's on my shelf and I really do need to read it! Thank you for the reminder!

Love me some fairytales.

Ah, this is so hard! I have so many bad copies of Grimms! I will usually do a Google search to get a feel for editions people recommend. (Our curriculum, the CMEC, actually provides this information now which I love!) I think illustrations are very important and I've found that the better editions also come with better illustrations!

It's on my shelf and I believe that I would enjoy it too! I keep meaning to get to it! Ah, those who have grown cold towards fairytales. Yes, it is sad. But not without hope! As Lewis said, we're all old enough fairytales again one day. I recommend starting with really good novels. Getting lost in a story (or, the ability to be self-forgetful) is a necessary part of enchanted tales too and something kids are so good at, while we adults struggle to enjoy Otherliness.

Great question and one I think a lot of us ask! I think it helps to consider education as one's "natural inheritance". Just like we can understand the natural law that "water flows and fire burns", we can understand certain educational laws that work with our nature/flourishing like in nature. (Ie. A plant needs good soil, water, and sun. A child needs certain things to grow.) Education should meet those needs (the natural laws designed by God). Just like we can reasonably expect a plant to grow if we adhere to natural laws, we can reasonably expect a child to grow toward wisdom and virtue. * But * just like we adhere to the natural laws of growing things, we must pray for God to give growth beyond our responsibility. I think that's where education meets prayer/salvific work. The "gospel seed" must come from God, but the soil into which it drops is prepared by "education" in all life. Education focuses on preparing good soil to enlarge the soul to receive the gospel.

@@thecommonplacehomeschool right, definitely a prep and a guide, not the source. Amen!

Of course! It's actually my photography camera: Sony A7Riv! I was using a Sony vlogger camera before since it did some of the video legwork for me. (Video is a different ball game than photo, you know?) I'm actually looking into a Pentax K1000 to carry around in lieu of my smartphone camera. Do you want to go digital or have you considered a smaller film?

I actually do have a film point and shoot! It’s so fun and I love that medium. I’m just looking for something to use for every day video and photo digitally…do you like your blogging camera for that? Any recommendations? 🙈

@@rachelclarkephoto I have the Sony ZV-1 and I did like it for what it is. I'd probably be frustrated by it for actual photography!