This month our literature club is reading Gulliver’s Travels. It’s a great book to learn about the writing device, satire. SATIRE as defined by dictionary.com is: the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.; a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held [...]
Reading Gulliver’s Travels in April
Thursday, April 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
Studies That Improve Speech
Sunday, February 17, 2013 Leave a Comment
“The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 2 Samuel 23:2 Of course David was God’s chosen king, his chosen representative and a picture of the Christ to come. Prophets and priests who acted as the oracle for God were trustworthy men, a grace to their people and to [...]
Transforming a Non-Reader
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Leave a Comment
Living Outside the Lines is spreading her wings. A book will come out this year that will show you how to create and enjoy the classics by reading them as a group, sharing a meal, discussing the books and creating project presentations with your friends and children. The club began in Tyler, Texas in 2002. [...]
CHARACTERIZATION: Getting Acquainted with the Three Musketeers
Monday, February 4, 2013 Leave a Comment
So you want to start a book club? Or, maybe you have a book club and you’re looking for ideas. Living Outside the Lines has an idea for you. Our club meets on the first Monday of each month. We are a group of parents and children who love reading the classics together. There is a book conversation, [...]
A Timeless Beginning
Friday, December 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same god who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” - GALILEO GALILEI If I am to enjoy an old book like Paradise Lost then I must make friends with the author and his characters. Otherwise it’s just a [...]
A Face Lift for King Arthur
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 1 Comment
After reading Le Morte de Arthur, I asked the kids in Literature Club to write a story based on one of the themes from the book or to rewrite a scene. Either way, the fun part of the project was to use modern day characters that most of us would recognize as the main characters [...]
King Arthur, What Did Ē-ssay?
Friday, November 30, 2012 Leave a Comment
Since some of you are using the essay questions from Living Outside the Lines as part of your curriculum this year you might find this post, What Did Ē-ssay helpful. It includes simple definitions for the various types of essays you might want to assign your child to write and links to a couple of reviews on [...]
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Project
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 1 Comment
Monday night Living Outside the Lines shared a meal and had a conversation about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Afterwards, the kids presented their projects. I enjoy listening to their work and watching how much fun they have. They are so special to me. During the conversation we talked about these ideas: Why is [...]
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Leave a Comment
Happy Halloween
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 2 Comments
Frankenstein is one of my favorite classic stories. Not the television versions but the story by Mary Shelley. She may not have intended to write a story that reveals our great need for love, acceptance, and redemption, but that is what I get from the story. If you haven’t read it because you think it’s [...]
