Thanks to all the parents who participated in the Mainly Music parenting seminar on Story and Virtue Formation! Here are some of the resources mentioned there . . . and a few more:

Books

1. Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
   This is the single best introduction to the world of children’s literature!
2. The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
   This is the picture book written by the psychiatrist who cared for Ruby Bridges.
3. The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination by Robert Coles
   This is Coles’ magnum opus on the glory and power of story.

Web Resources

1. Aslan’s Library is a great blog devoted to ‘beautiful and true theological books for kids’ – and is co-authored by my sister-in-law and another dear friend.
2. Tumblon is the web app my good friend Jonathan and I built to enable parents to track their kids developmental milestones – and it is free! This rough video shows how it works.
3. Liturgies of Life is an essay that I wrote for Cardus on the role of habits in forming children, and The Essential Story explores the role of stories in virtue formation.
4. And you can download The Apprenticeship of Being Human here.

Printable

Here is a printable version of The Practice of Parenting (an appendix from my book). It is designed for you to complete to help you:

1. Assess your family habits of Love, Language and Literature.
2. Evaluate how these practices establish Normal and Normative expectations.
3. Consider how your habits influence your children’s Character, Competence, Creativity and the ability to Collaborate.
4. Decide on a specific practice that you want to nurture (like reading together) or eliminate (like yelling in conflict).

Feel free ask questions, share suggestions and leave comments below. And feel free to use the share buttons to share these resources with folks who weren’t able to participate in the seminar!