Day 11: Reads, Series Recap, and Soup

Happy Saturday, friends! I’m under the weather today and my brain feels a lot like my body.

So, here’s what I’m reading and a recap of the series so far. {Plus an easy Mexican soup because why not?}

We’re a third of the way through the Cool About School series. I have the rest of the days outlined and some of them roughly scrawled out but I welcome your ideas. Anything you’d really like to see me cover in the remaining twenty days?

I’m reading this book and you guys, it is so encouraging. I’m very sensitive to the “tone” of books about parenting and school. And this is a book with a tone of grace, goodwill, and hope. You won’t find self-righteousness, an air of know-it-all-ness, or exclusivity in this book. It’s simply straight-up encouragement for Christian families who choose to public school. It doesn’t try to persuade anyone that this is the way and it definitely doesn’t bash those who choose private school or homeschool.

The Prichards have spent their careers shaping the lives of young people through Young Life and community action. They also have eight children of their own. They write from experience is what I’m saying. And they’ve been proactive in helping their kids not just survive, but thrive in public school. I haven’t finished the book but so far, it’s been just the encouragement I’ve needed now that we’re three years into our own public school journey.

Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School by David and Kelly Pritchard [with Dean Merrill]

Here’s a quote from Chapter 1 that I love:

We are more convinced than ever before, after 18 years of public-school experiences with our children {and at least a dozen yet to go}, that God is bigger than the modern educational monolith. He is on the side of the children he created, and He is not nervous. He is sovereign, after all.
If Christian parents in the old Soviet Union, or in the anti-Christian nations of today, have managed to raise godly children despite the pressures of the hostile school system, we on this continent have little excuse. ‘The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world,’ wrote the apostle John, while living in a pagan, idol-worshiping Roman empire. [1 John 4:4]. This promise is still true in the twenty-first century.
How does God protect and nurture boys and girls in the public-school environment? What is his strategy for overcoming the difficulties they face? The main answer is this: parents. We who brought them into this world hold the keys to getting them safely through childhood and adolescence. God equips us — just ordinary moms and days — to equip and fortify our kids. In so doing, we set them up to face adulthood with strength and conviction. Starting in the very first classroom, our home, we teach them to be the influencers rather than the influenced.

What a breath of fresh air.

There’s not a single educational path we can choose that’s easy. There’s not a single path that works well for all of us. But for families who choose to “go public” — whether by design or by default — the Pritchards’ words and life story are such good news. They don’t offer guarantees; they simply offer hope. They tell their own story and it’s a beautiful one — real, honest, and experienced.

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I know it’s crazy to keep up with every single post for 31 days. {I can barely keep up myself.} So in case you’ve missed some that you’d like to go back and read, here they are.

May your weekend be one of renewal, encouragement, and hope. And if you’re under the weather like me, may it be one of Kleenex, cough drops, and satisfying soup.

By the way, here’s the one I made yesterday so that we can enjoy it all weekend and so that I won’t have to drag myself into the kitchen until Monday. It’s an EASY Mexican chicken soup — 20 minutes max. Rotisserie chicken from the deli. Any jar of salsa will do. Add the juice of one lime. And if you love soup as much as I do, here’s my Pinterest board dedicated to the glory and honor of soup.

Series recap:

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Again, I heartily welcome your questions and feedback about future posts you’d like to see.

For all the posts in this 31-day series, go here. And to read the other posts I’ve written on topic of schooling, you can go here and find them all in one place.

I’m linking up with The Nester and her tribe of 31 Dayers.

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