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An Exemplary Fairy Tale

An Exemplary Fairy Tale

C. S. Lewis said, “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty.” The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald is a book worth reading. It is worthy of the primary student as an exemplary fairy tale […]

Books Worthy to Own

Books Worthy to Own Thumbnail

“I need help,” she said. “I can no longer change clothes in my bedroom.” Pausing my work, I promised our daughter, Michelle, that I’d help clean her overcrowded room. I knew the usual suspects were partly to blame: Shoes needed to be returned to her closet, papers needed to be sorted, and a good sweeping […]

Moonbeams and Music

Moonbeams and Music

“How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?” This charming line from the song “Maria” in The Sound of Music reminds us that music cannot be held in the palm of one’s hand or measured by physical parameters. Like a moonbeam, music’s substance is intangible. Music springs to life from sound waves emanating from […]

That Which Is True Is Ours

That Which Is True Is Ours

I have always loved to read. I have always loved the sense of entering a completely new world, yet finding points of contact with my own. I have always felt the relentless pull of whatever might be on the next page of a book. I have often lived through my imagination. And I have always […]

C. S. Lewis on Why We Should Read Old Books

Why We Should Read Old Books

The flood of hot topics that comes through our innumerable feeds has a way of trapping us in a whirlpool of endless scrolling. We read the same sentiments over and over again, since there are, after all, only so many things to say about a celebrity’s shallow comments on a shallow subject at a shallow […]

The Accidental Community

The Accidental Community

We didn’t intend for it to happen; it just did. It actually began on our honeymoon, when we popped into quiet, out-of-the-way bookstores in Paris between visits to more traditional tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. It continued during the couple of years we lived in Europe, where we scoured used bookstores in […]

The River Daughter’s House

The River Daughter's House Image

On November 3, 2020, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, while most of the nation nervously watched the election returns, in Concord, NC, I and a group of my closest friends were eagerly putting the final touches on a wooden countertop meant to cover up the paint-splattered remnants of a decades-old checkout counter. Roughly […]

Strategic Study Habits

Latin Curriculum books stacked on one another

Arguably, the greatest student-teacher relationship in ancient history was that of Alexander the Great and Aristotle. Although Alexander’s genius contributed enormously to his success, there is no doubt that Aristotle’s tutelage also served to shape his famous student. In his book, The Life of Alexander the Great, Plutarch recounts how Alexander treasured his copy of […]

Letter from the Editor Spring 2022: Civilization by Candlelight

Civilization by Candlelight

The expression “dark ages” refers to the period of time after the fall of Rome in the fourth century A.D. until the resurgence of learning in Western Europe that started in about the eighth century. We  call it “dark” because the light of learning that had been ignited by the Greeks and carried on by […]

Nero: A Mother’s Son

Nero: A Mother's Son

At sixteen, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus stood overlooking the people of Rome. People cheered below as he stepped out on the balcony and he saw the excitement on their faces. He beamed out at his subjects, full of youthful energy and confident that he would bring prosperity to Rome. Right beside him, stood Agrippina […]

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