Hi! I just noticed that no one had responded back on that last post I had made and I just wanted to make sure that you all had read where you could find all of the books by Karen at….someone had mentioned they could not find Beautiful Girlhood on her site…and this is the site you CAN find it at! OKAY It’s http://www.homeschoolhighlights.com. You just click on ‘books’ when you get to this page and it should bring them up! Hope this helps! HAPPY EASTER!
Right, you can certainly find anything you need at Amazon! That’s for sure! But the main reason I posted that was because Sonya had mentioned the “Parent’s Review” magazine and wondered if it was still available, and it is at that site I believe! And someone else had mentioned not being able to find this particular site with ALL of Karen Andreola’s books!
So….hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday with family and friends!
Christie, thank you! I was able to find Beautiful Girlhood on Homeschool Highlights. I wonder why it’s not on the Karen Andreola site. What would be an appropriate age to start that book? Someone on this forum mentioned starting at age 8, but Karen (Andreola) said she started at age 12.
I know what you mean, and I actually tried to start it with our daughter as well and she is 8, but found that there were only a few chapters that might be appropriate to cover at that age because most of the chapters deal with more mature topics. I would say 12 might be a more appropriate age, but you could use your own judgement I suppose! Some topics may be OKAY to go over now, and then again at a more mature age! I really wish my mother would have read this book with me when I was younger! Actually, I would like to have been homeschooled period, but, I am just glad I have chosen this lifestyle for my own! Bye!
Faith, and also, you asked why it wasn’t on Karen Andreola’s site, and this actually is her site too. When you go to her main site, it actually has links to all the other sites her and her husband have as well, and homeschool highlights is one of them.
I have started reading PARTS of the book to my near 8yo DD, as this allows me to have a foundation with her in conversation, etc. It gives us TIDBITS to be able to sit together and talk about, and it paints a picture for her, of what she is striving for in a sence. I will definately go more in depth with it as she gets older, but through working with the youth at our church, I really see areas where beautiful girlhood could have been used in parts of their growing up to help them on their path. I hope that makes sence? I would love to hear if anyone else is using another book, as I am always on the hunt with raising so far…3 girls!! =)
I think what Christina said is fine. Reading parts to your 8 year old would be fine. Other books…hmmm…well there really aren’t any that I can think of, other than just reading good wholesome literature out loud together that teaches character values in young women. My daughter and I are reading aloud together the first book in the Elsie Dinsmore series. It is wonderful. And books like Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, and my daughter is reading the Little House series silently right now. Of course, there’s always the Bible! We have read aloud alot of Proverbs together as a family and our family devotions help in the area of raising our gals and guys to grow up in the way they should! But maybe someone else can think of another book similar to Beautiful Girlhood that I don’t know about!!
I had found a book several years ago called “A Girl of Beauty” by Carol Fiddler–kind of a BG for little girls. I don’t know if it’s still in print, but it would be appropriate for the 8-12 years old. Here’s an excerpt from “To the Parent”
“Early on in my daughter’s life, I began to see things that caught me off guard, things that would not have been questioned or addressed in our boys. Around the time she turned four, I began to search for tools to help me in expressing the qualities I wanted her to accept and appropriate. I longed for something concrete, something I could grab hold of and use to convey to my daughter the things she is to aim for in her life. Three years later I found a revision of *Beautiful Girlhood*, by Karen Andreola, which pulled together virtues and ideals for a girl growing into womanhood. The book was inspiring.
“As I homeschooled my daughter that year, I decided I needed to find a way to present these concepts in a manner suitable for her age level. The Lord stirred within me the desire to publish these ideas for girls in a way that would not be overwhelming. *A Girl of Beauty* represents my effort to appropriately communicate essential concepts of character building for a younger girl (8-12 years old). It is designed to teach virtues in relevent and practical ways, with short lessons and colorful images that will hold her attention.”
I’ve really liked it–in fact, I realize I need to get it out for my younger set of girls who are getting that age!
I’m glad you could still find the book for younger girls! It really is sweet.
Cindy, I’d love to read the original one. Where did/do you find it?
You know, it’s funny, when I started homeschooling 16 years ago, there just wasn’t all the wonderful things that are available now! Unfortunately, there’s so much now it’s hard to make decisions! A nice problem to have 😉 but it WAS simpler back then! I’m very grateful for the homeschoolers that have created these resources (or reprinted them for us!) I tell people I use as much that has been created by homeschoolers for homeschoolers as possible!