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Do You Allow Your Children to Read Literature/Books Which Contains Elements of Magic?


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Do you allow your children to read literature/books which contains elements of magic?  

  1. 1. Do you allow your children to read literature/books which contains elements of magic?

    • Yes
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    • No
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Without question, reservation or qualms. Absolutely.

Grimm's Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Andrew Langs entire fairy series, Narnia, LOTR, Harry Potter, Shannara, Spellsinger, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Percy Jackson, you name it, our lives would be poorer without them.

 

I've written about it a couple of times.

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/03/of-favorites-and-fanatics.html

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/06/many-partings.html

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Just wanted to say, I really enjoyed your blog posts! Very well said.

 

 

Without question, reservation or qualms. Absolutely.

Grimm's Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Andrew Langs entire fairy series, Narnia, LOTR, Harry Potter, Shannara, Spellsinger, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Percy Jackson, you name it, our lives would be poorer without them.

 

I've written about it a couple of times.

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/03/of-favorites-and-fanatics.html

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/06/many-partings.html

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I guess I'll be the lone dissenter. We are VERY cautious when it comes to magic. I have two girls 4 1/2 and 7. My eldest dd is very sensitive spiritually. We've read some fairy tales but my girls don't like them. They don't like anything with witches or mean people. They won't even watch Cinderella or Snow White. They're naturally turned off by them. Just this week I pulled out my collection of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales to read and they both took one look, turned up their noses and asked me to read something else.

 

I've considered introducing the myths because it seems the curricula I've chosen keep pushing them our way. I've even shown her some of the books. She's completely turned off and wants nothing to do with them. Even if she reads a chapter book or picture book and it has a witch, she'll bring it to me and not read it. Actually, I'm very proud of her. We talk about magic vs. tricks/illusions and witches, gods and godesses, etc. from a biblical perspective so they are certainly exposed to it. They do enjoy Magic School Bus and Magic Tree House books and videos. They seem to be in a different vein than fairy tales and myths.

 

I do plan on studying the myths but not with my girls this young. They're not interested and neither am I. We're focusing on learning our own faith and basic exposure to world religions.

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Frankly, it's my favorite genre. Magic is a LARGE part of our family's ethnic / cultural background (Celtic, British, Norse, Western European). I do tend to stick to the classics, though, including Tolkien, Lang, Nesbit, Lewis, Collum. I didn't read HP until a few years ago-- at which point I devoured all seven! (The seventh is definitely my least favorite, however; and I have not yet had ds read any HP, since he is so interested in other books at this time. Plenty of time for HP later;) )

Edited by Medieval Mom
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Depends on the age and stage of learning. Not too scary when they are single digit ages.

 

I avoid using myths in curriculum until upper grammar/early logic stages... just because some programs do them earlier, I choose not to do that.

 

but let's just say preschool "magic" is just fun to play dress up and poof things just change. We have to get little star home to the moon. My autistic kid knows that she is pretending to toss a star in the sky.....

 

then, castles and dragons and all of that much later. My dh and oldest dd liked Pendragon: Sword of his Father, movie from Burns Family Studio. not a book, but....

 

All Things in Moderation as my MIL says.

 

-crystal

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Yes, but we are selective. Rarely is that based on the *magic* in the books but rather the other dark or mature elements. As a whole, we do have more issues with the fantasy genre then with other genres. I think that genre uses fantastical elements to introduce deeper, more complex, life issues and sometimes my kids just are not ready for that.

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This week's question is "Do you allow your children to read literature/books which contains elements of magic?"

 

Before I was a Christian, The Lord of the Rings was my favorite book, and I felt it was one of the most deeply Christian books I had ever read. Now that I am a Christian I love it even more. :001_smile: So my answer is yes, definitely, absolutely! As with any genre, I use discretion in what I select for my daughter to read. But there are some works in this genre without which I feel her education would be incomplete. Not to mention, they are fun, uplifting, and heart-warming.

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Frankly, it's my favorite genre. Magic is a LARGE part of our family's ethnic / cultural background (Celtic, British, Norse, Western European). I do tend to stick to the classics, though, including Tolkien, Lang, Nesbit, Lewis, Collum. I didn't read HP until a few years ago-- at which point I devoured all seven! (The seventh is definitely my least favorite, however; and I have not yet had ds read it, since he is so interested in other books at this time. Plenty of time for HP later;) )

 

I forgot about E. Nesbit, love hers too. :)

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Yes. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was my favorite book as a child. I couldn't wait to read it. My 12 year old was chumping at the bits to read Harry Potter years ago but I had her wait. She finally read the 1st two books and decided she didn't like it but she loves the Chronicles of Narnia (mostly Aslan) as she says, " I love that lion."

 

Tuck Everlasting was my 2nd favorite book as a child. We read that one together last year.

Edited by burleygirl
Add comment about Tuck Everlasting.
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If we didn't read books with magic, hat would we read?! :001_huh: We love fantasy and sci-fi here. I also love books by Austen and Alcott, etc., but fantasy and sci-fi are my favorite genres.

 

My oldest two (10 and 8) have gone through the entire Harry Potter series. My 6yo is in book 7 now (audiobooks). There is so much room for great discussion in books like Harry Potter. :)

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Without question, reservation or qualms. Absolutely.

Grimm's Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Andrew Langs entire fairy series, Narnia, LOTR, Harry Potter, Shannara, Spellsinger, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, Percy Jackson, you name it, our lives would be poorer without them.

 

I've written about it a couple of times.

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/03/of-favorites-and-fanatics.html

http://www.aworkinprogress.net/2010/06/many-partings.html

Thank you for sharing your blogs.

I enjoyed reading them! :001_smile:

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