Hello, I'm Suhaila and welcome to my blog!
I started this blog to keep track of the books I'm reading and the books my children are reading, as well as random thoughts and homeschool-related musings. Our homeschool formally started in September 2017, and this blog was started in September 2018.I'm a self-confessed picky reader.
And I fully intend to pass on that pickiness to my children. I believe that what we read shapes us into who we are. Hence, I put a lot (read: a lot) of thought into my homeschool curricula and the books I make available to my children. I am often frustrated at the quality (or lack thereof) of the books my children pick up, especially Islamic books. Some people say that any book is better than no book, but personally I disagree. Some books do more harm than good. I veto about half of the terrible books they show me, especially if it doesn't meet my Islamic book standards. My kids do read a little "fluff" here and there, but in our family the "fluff" is comparable to the occasional chocolate bar, and not something we read every day. |
| My 5-year-old, S, with one of her favourite books. |
In this blog, I'll be posting book lists for various units (along with our reviews), and also occasionally my reflections on books I'm reading for general interest. I hope this will be useful to other homeschooling families who are designing their own curriculum.
Here's a little bit of background about me:
- I'm a 33-year-old Muslim mother of three girls, living in the Greater Toronto Area with my husband and kids. They are 5, 3, and almost 2, and they seem to love reading as much as I do, alhamdulillah.
- One of my dreams is to write a book and have it published. I have a million ideas but haven't actually set aside the time to do it. Part of my problem is my confidence in my writing skills, so writing this blog will force me to practice!
- I read a lot of nonfiction -- on parenting, environmentalism, productivity, self-development, and I could go on, but I won't. I go through phases of reading fiction, but tend to fall back to non-fiction pretty quickly. When I do read fiction, I love to read fantasy and sci-fi. I also have a special place in my heart for Anne of Green Gables.
- My eldest daughter has been reading since she was 3, and she reads books like they're going extinct -- and sometimes I unfortunately feel like they might! Her favourite books right now are Walter the Lazy Mouse, My Father's Dragon, and the Magic Tree House series.
- I am an extremely novice CrossFitter, waiting for a day when I can finally drop the word "novice" from this statement.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog, and that it helps you pick up a few good books!
Suhaila <3