If you hang out in the same corner of the internet as me (and hi, if you’re reading this, you probably do) then you have certainly seen Habits of the Household recommended. I’m here to say it’s with good reason! With chapters covering Waking, Mealtime, Discipline, Screentime, Work, and more, this book is packed full of actionable and simple ideas for implementing purposeful family habits in even the smallest moments. After reading two of his books (and preordering the newest one!), Justin Whitmel Earley has earned his spot on my list of trusted authors and I am jazzed to discuss Habits of the Household today.
To keep things organized (because I could truly go on and on), I’m going to give you four reasons I loved this book, four takeaways, and three suggestions. Let’s go!
Four Reasons I Loved Habits of the Household
1. The writing. For me, Justin’s passionate yet elegant writing makes this book. He is earnest and genuine, and his heart for what could be a dry topic comes through so clearly. He wears the dual roles of relatable dad and thoughtful expert beautifully: with a wife, four young boys, and a full-time legal career, it’s clear he is living the struggles and triumphs right alongside his readers. This work matters to him – and he has so many anecdotes and experiments to share – because he’s in the thick of it, too.
2. The practicality. For as beautifully written of a book as this is, it is extremely practical. It’s also meticulously organized – easy to read and apply even as it packs in a ton of information and ideas. I love how the ten chapters move chronologically, covering habits from Waking to Bedtime. Each chapter offers thoughts on the significance, opportunities, and potential pitfalls of an aspect of the household, presents some ideas for character- and family-forming habits, and then neatly sums everything up at the end of the chapter with the main idea, key takeaways and images, things to try, sample scripts, potential boundaries or expectations, and further resources.
3. The reminder of grace. If you struggle with legalism (the idea that your good works alone can ingratiate you with Jesus), then you might approach a book about habits of faith with apprehension. Justin heads that off by including the above reminder in the summary of every single chapter, and I think it’s perfect in its concision and clarity. He’s relentless in his belief that good habits are worth developing and equally relentless in his insistence that they don’t replace relationship.
4. The epilogue. He really brings it home at the end, touching on several of my pet themes: time, intentionality, the big picture (the family-age chart exercise is eye-opening, isn’t it?). And then he goes and references one of my favorite lines of scripture in a passage I’ve highlighted and starred in my copy:
I love this. I love it. I love that he speaks to the weight of our role without weighing us down. I love that he takes our duties as parents seriously, but remains lighthearted. I love that he points to the finitude of time without panicking. And I love how he closed with memories of his dad, tying it all back to Jesus in the most beautiful, affecting way.
Four takeaways from Habits of the Household
This is a book I will be returning to over and over, and I imagine I’ll take away something new each time as our kids move through different stages. But here are four favorite takeaways I had on my first read-through: either new practices we implemented, or particular encouragements to keep on our current path.
1. WAKING | The waking chapter was one of my favorites, and resulted in two of my most tangible new habits: a short kneeling prayer at the side of my bed first thing in the morning (I literally roll out of bed onto my knees, ha) and the family blessing before leaving for school/preschool/work. When we were first establishing the habits, post-it notes on my bedside table and on the wall near our front door served as helpful cues.
My favorite part about the blessing is that – just as Justin says – it noticeably changes my heart posture towards the kids in the moments leading up to it. It’s hard to snap at someone to PUT ON THEIR SHOES when you know you’ll have to hold hands and pray together ten seconds later :)
2. SCREENTIME | This chapter did not disappoint – I was nodding along with every page. Though I loved his thoughts on curation and many of the habit suggestions (like watching through the end of the credits!), what stuck with me most was the idea that setting screen time and curation limits is a way for the parent to take on pain now so that their kids don’t have to later.
As a parent, it’s often much easier (in the moment) to allow more screen time. It is much harder to say no, to enforce limits, to create the conditions for solo or group play away from screens. “We aid our children’s formation in character, wisdom, emotional intelligence, and creativity,” Justin says, “by intervening as parents and taking the inconvenience of saying, ‘Yes, this is going to mean I get fewer breaks and have to be more involved and have to manage constant requests, but this is for their formation, which means it is a fight worth fighting well.” This chapter gave me words for and even ennobled what can feel like a never-ending slog.
3. WORK | I loved this chapter so very much – it had many echoes of Hunt, Gather, Parent, and bolstered my belief that kids would almost always prefer to be doing something alongside a parent, invited into their work, than shunted off to the side or occupied with an activity designed for kids. For Shep, especially, we have noticed that one of the best ways to deal with any miscreant behavior is to redirect it into helping us in some way – drawing him closer and putting him to work instead of sending him away.
This chapter also encouraged me to just talk about work more, especially at the dinner table. Just as we ask our kids about their days, we can tell them about ours and actually include some real details.
4. PLAY | The opening of this chapter is beautiful – all about the importance of a playful Christian imagination, how “in Christianity, you won’t get very far without a healthy imagination.” And that is not because the story of God is made up, but because it is so very real: “the world is so much more than meets the eye. This is the wisdom of all fairy tales and of any good kids’ movie – that things are more than they seem. Extraordinary things are patiently waiting, right here in this reality, to be discovered … Play is thus a way to reenchant a disenchanted world.”
This chapter had echoes of Sally Clarkson for me, and I loved it. It gave me encouragement to keep on the track we’re on, ensuring plenty of margin and scaffolding for imaginative play and curating life-giving imaginative stories.
Three Suggestions for Reading Habits of the Household
1. Start small | It’s hard for me to imagine someone having a complaint about this book, but if they did, I imagine it would be that there are too many good ideas to choose from and it feels overwhelming to know where to start. I suppose in some ways this didn’t seem like an obstacle to me, because I write about habit formation and goals as a career, but I also get it – there are a LOT of really great ideas packed in here!
The encouragement I’d give you is this (the same advice we liberally dole out at Cultivate and that Justin underlines, too): start small. Pick 1-3 things you’d like to try and just try them. If they stick? Great! If you find they’re not quite right for your family, that’s okay. Go back and pick something else. And once you’ve mastered those, you can move on to something else. This is a long game, and it’s okay to go slow.
2. Don’t worry about your kids’ reactions | Perhaps my children are just used to my *interesting* ideas and experiments when it comes to their household and routines, but in general, I think kids are extremely adaptable. They’ll accept most new things without batting an eye! And even if there’s initial skepticism or resistance, it’s okay! Keep going! They’ll adjust – they really will. I was a bit worried about how to introduce the morning blessing and whether our kids would think it was weird, but they just rolled with it.
3. Read with a friend | Earlier this year, a friend invited me to read Habits of the Household alongside her. I was flattered and excited, and immediately said yes – but I had no idea how good it was going to be. Our two-person book club has met several times over the last few months – usually while walking or bike riding – to discuss a handful of chapters at a time. We share our favorite parts, what stuck out to us, what felt hard to swallow. We talk about new things we’re trying and swap practices that have been successful in our families.
I cannot recommend this approach to the book more. It is GREAT accountability for actually implementing new things, it will be an encouragement to you in the good work you’re doing of leading and shaping your family, and it will absolutely bring you closer to your friend. Highly, highly recommend. Grateful for you, Elisha!!
Friends, we get to decide the culture in our homes, and that is a great responsibility and a great privilege. We can form our children in God’s love. We can train them in meaningful relationships. And, as Justin says, we can create homes that are missional lights in a dark world. Habits can help, and so can this book. If you decide to pick it up, I hope you really love it! And if you’ve already read it, I’d love to hear your favorite part!
If you have a voracious reader at home, you know at this age it can practically be a part-time job to keep him or her in books: chatting with friends about recommendations, scanning book lists, vetting new titles, making requests at the library (or sometimes putting in a materials request!), picking up holds, returning piles of completed books, oh my. It can be a lot to keep up with, but as a lifelong reader who hopes to kindle the same in her kids, it’s also a true joy.
To hopefully make one part of the process a bit easier for you, I present to you 12 book series for kindergartners and first graders that June has loved. (I’m planning to do another post in the future on her favorite individual books at this age, but series are an excellent time saver so we’re starting here!) Where I could, I’m sharing a picture of the interior pages – hopefully that will make it easier to see if a particular title is the right fit for your little reader.
KINDERGARTEN:
These are all series that June read independently and loved in kindergarten. She still reads and enjoys most of them now, having just completed first grade!
The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne | A brother-sister pair travel back in time to ancient Egypt, the Civil War, Pompeii, Imperial China, and just about everywhere else in time and space. This is apparently the number one bestselling chapter book series of all time, and with 38 titles to choose from, there’s lots to explore.
The Princess in Black series by Shannon and Dean Hale | Perfectly-pink Princess Magnolia has a secret, monster-defeating alter ego. Funny, action-packed, and with colorful illustrations throughout, there are 10 books to enjoy.
Magic Treehouse on the left and Princess in Black on the right
ThePuppy Place series by Ellen Miles | This was the first chapter book series June latched on to, and she’s read most of them (there are currently 67!). These are formulaic, a la The Babysitter’s Club of yore; in each book, a brother-sister pair foster a puppy and ultimately find it a home. Prepare to hear about lots of different dog breeds :)
The Adventures of Sophie Mouse series by Poppy Green | Sweet and gentle, Sophie Mouse is the perfect beginning chapter book series: big type, short chapters, and illustrations on almost every page. These are cheerful little stories about Sophie and her animal friends’ kindness and everyday adventures. 20 books in this one!
The Critter Club series by Callie Barkley | Another great beginning chapter book series (26 currently) that’s very similar to Sophie Mouse. Four friends have pet-centric adventures as they care for all kinds of animals. June blew through three of these in an hour last week.
Puppy Place on the left and Critter Club on the right
The Lighthouse Family series by Cynthia Rylant | In a lighthouse by the ocean, Seabold, a dog, and Pandora, a cat, live with their three little mice children. Most of the 8 books in this series by a Newberry Medalist author find the family helping some creature that’s washed ashore. Sweet, peaceful, and perfect for ocean lovers.
The Tales from Deckawoo Drive series by Kate DiCamillo | Fans of Mercy Watson (or illustrator Chris Van Dusen!) will love this funny and heartfelt spin-off series focusing on a different character on the street in each title. 7 books!
Boxcar Children on the left and Anne on the right
FIRST GRADE:
These are all books June read for the first time in first grade, but depending on your reader, some could definitely be good for a kindergartner (or a second grader!), too!
The Anne series by Kallie George | As an Anne with an E lover myself, I was delighted to see these charming early-reader adaptations. Plucking episodes from the original books and combining them with vintage-esque illustrations, they’re the perfect introduction to Green Gables and a great prelude to reading the real thing. There are five books in the series so far!
The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler | With 164 books to dive into, the original Boxcar Children books seemingly never end on the shelf. I adored these four siblings and their adventures when I was younger and love that June is enjoying them, too. Like many parents before me, I love that Henry, Jessie, Benny, and Violet show love, resourcefulness, and kindness as they work together and care for each other.
Heartwood Hotel on the left and Craftily Ever After on the right
The Craftily Ever After series by Martha Maker | A diverse cast of four friends crafts its way through elementary school while surmounting your typical 8-year-old challenges. The eight books in the series have lots of illustrations, easy-to-understand language, and sweet resolutions. Very similar to Critter Club!
The Heartwood Hotel series by Kallie George | If June was challenged to choose a favorite series from this list, I think it would be this one – there are four books so far, and she’s desperate for Kallie to write more. “Courage, kindness, and adventure abounds” in these books with details that delight (acorn souffles, moss-lined beds). These are a step up in difficulty from the early-reader picks but still very approachable.
The Missy Piggle-Wiggle series by Ann M. Martin | While June has panned the original Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books (for now!), she loves this spin-off series featuring her niece. Missy has inventive cures for all sorts of childhood misbehavior that had June laughing out loud. There are three books so far.
This should take care of your resident early-elementary-schooler’s summer reading, right? :) I’d love to hear what books the kids in your life are loving these days, or if you’re also a fan of any of the books I’ve rounded up here!
When I hosted my first book swap in 2019, it was such fun that we vowed to make it an annual thing, or at most an every-other-year affair. Well… you know what happened next. But here we are, four years later, living our best readerly lives at a book swap once again, and it was a delight. In case it might inspire some of you to host a swap of your own, I’d love to share some photos and details from this weekend. (And if you’re just here to vicariously enjoy our readerly shenanigans, that’s a-ok, too.)
This time around, my beautiful friend Bethany agreed to be my co-host. She’s an avid reader, a wonderful cook, and an even better friend – plus, she has an inviting home with many large surfaces on which to display books (so you can see why she was a slam-dunk pick).
One Paperless Post invitation later, our guests were a mixture of Articles Club gals, preschool mom pals, and neighborhood buddies, plus a smattering of book-loving friends from other corners of our respective lives. It can feel a little nerve-wracking to bring together different groups of friends, but books are the great uniter, aren’t they? We invited 24 guests and had about 16 attend with summer travel and a few last-minute sick kiddos.
Food for a book swap brunch
We opted to host this year’s book swap in the morning – 10am – and so we kicked off the party by piling plates high with brunch food: two kinds of quiche; mini white chocolate baguettes from a local bakery; a mini pancake platter with nutella, soft butter, and syrup; smoked salmon sliders; and a monochromatic fruit salad inspired by a long-ago Cup of Jo post. (I’ve been holding on to that inspiration for 8 years! It finally had its day in the sun!)
We also served sparkling water, mimosas and bellinis, and coffee.
Book swap activities
Most guests brought their plates out to the sun porch and patio where we had scattered two literary quizzes for a little fun. The first listed groupings of characters and challenged guests to supply the book titles; the second required matching literary quotes to their books. Turns out both were quite challenging, ha! You can download them here for your own book swap, if you’d like: Literary Quote Quiz and Literary Character Quiz.
We also had little stickers with “ask me about…” written on them at the door. In lieu of their name, guests could write in the name of a book they love to discuss. We were hoping this might spark conversation, and it did!
How our book swap worked
While some people style their book swap like a Yankee Swap, my goal in hosting was to clear out my shelves, pass on well-loved books, and get several new books in return. Because of this, we allowed gals to bring up to 10 books to swap that they already owned. (One book was totally fine, too! I’d say most people brought about 3-5.)
Any kind of book was welcome – fiction, nonfiction, memoir, cookbook, coffee table book, and even kids’ books this time around. The only requirement was that they had to be GOOD! We asked guests to write a little sticky note with what they loved about each book and stick it on the cover.
Upon arrival, we asked each gal to “shelve” her selections – we had designated areas for fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, and “everything else.” This was a great way to break the ice, give people something to do right away, and get everyone moving around the room.
The actual swap happened at the very end – after much browsing, guests took home as many books as they contributed. If there were any leftover (which there were!) after the initial round of picks, they were open to all.
Bookish decor and favors
Bethany’s home is very lovely, and just a few bookish details made it shine for our book swap: a watercolor book garland cut from a calendar and teeny little watercolor books scattered as confetti throughout the downstairs. Bethany also supplied flowers from her garden – what a treat!
As a last fun detail, we gifted everyone an illustrated bookmark as they headed out. I considered making our own design, but what a delight it is to support other creative women doing what they do best.
And there you have it! Book Swap 2.0 was just as good as the first time around, and I intend for it not to be the last.
We’ve read aloud to our children before bed almost since birth – first with board books, then with stacks of picture books. When June entered kindergarten, she and I embarked on a new season of chapter book read alouds, and it’s been the sweetest stage. (This was a few months after Annie was born, and though June needed no convincing to join me into this new world, pitching it as big girl time with mama (which was somewhat harder to come by with the addition of a new sister) surely didn’t hurt.)
Though chapter book read alouds are not a new idea, they weren’t a big part of my childhood. My parents reading picture books to me is a cornerstone memory – a daily occurrence – but chapter books? That’s not really something I remember. (Mom and Dad, correct me if I’m wrong!) I devoured them on my own, but wasn’t read aloud to as much once I graduated to longer stories.
Though I emulate my parents’ parenting in most ways, this is one area I’m willing to part ways, and hope to continue to as long as possible. One of the many reasons I love our nightly read alouds: like family movie night, I choose the books. (Sometimes I’ll give June the choice between two or three options, but it’s more a choice of order than title. Of course, I’m open to this shifting as she gets older!) As with movies, this has been the most delightful way to revisit some of my childhood favorites (and crack open some new favorites, too).
In Habits of Household, Justin Whitmel Early writes about the privilege, joy, and importance of curating our children’s media. I love what he has to say. As parents, we have the gift of pointing our children toward what is good, true, beautiful, and praiseworthy. We also have the responsibility of walking with them through things that are hard, sad, and ugly, and books can help us do that. Through it all, we have the opportunity to show them that books are a joy, and that life as a reader brings delight. We can do this by taking the time to read with them, and by expressing our own excitement for the books we get to read. It’s not always easy (there have been more than a few nights I’ve drifted off leaning against’s June’s pillow), but to me, it’s worth it.
We’ve been at this read aloud thing for about 1.5 years now, spanning ages 6 to 7 for June (kindergarten and first grade). I am always looking for book suggestions from people I trust, and I hope sharing our list can do that for you. Here are our first 15 read alouds, with a bit of commentary for most.
1. Little House in the Big Woods | I loved the Little House books growing up and it was a given that I’d share them with my children. June easily fell in love with the characters and we both were drawn in by the everyday details of pioneer life on the prairie. These books are relatively long and somewhat slow, so I actually might not recommend them for a very first read aloud – but don’t skip them! I value the sweet, unhurried pace they have to offer, the love of the Ingalls family for one other, and the values of hard work, sacrifice, endurance, and happiness in small things as well as the honesty of Laura’s admissions of feelings like boredom, jealousy, and fear.
It’s worth mentioning that these books take place in the 1870s-80s and the characters hold views reflective of their times – specifically, ones that are fearful, ignorant, and even hateful toward native and black people. There are also passages that reflect outdated ideas and societal expectations about women and girls and beauty/body image that I’m not eager to pass on to my daughter.
Throughout our reading of these books, I dealt with these passages in a variety of ways. Sometimes I’d read the text as written and pause to chat briefly with June about how that view is wrong and why they might have held it (a beautiful opportunity to reflect on positive change, too). Other times I’d omit the word, passage, or scene entirely and move along without comment.
Something that has been comforting to me throughout: I read all of these books growing up without parental elision and not only didn’t come away believing those views were correct, but couldn’t even remember they were in the books (some of them shocked me upon re-reading!). What I did remember was the beauty and comfort of spending time with the Ingalls family, and the value of what I learned from them. That’s what I hope my children take away, too.
For more on reading the Little House series and dealing with these issues, you might enjoy this Read-Aloud Revival episode (Sarah calls The Long Winter one of the best children’s novels ever written!).
Note: I haven’t offered individual commentary on most of the Little House books below, but this sums up my general thoughts on all of them :)
2. Charlotte’s Web | The sweetest tale of unlikely friendship. A classic and Newbery Honor award winner for a reason.
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | John was the one to read this to June, but I still sat in and listened a few nights. There is so much to love in this epic classic, from the sibling relationships, the magical characters, the virtuous and moving themes, and the simple but arresting writing.
“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox | This was my favorite Roald Dahl book growing up – I was enthralled by the clever foxes, the intricate schemes and tunnels, the elaborate gathering of the feast elements. If you’ve read Dahl, you know that his writing and descriptions can be crude and callous in a way that’s jarring to our modern sensibilities – so much so that new editions have been released correcting his perceived wrongs. I appreciated Helen Lewis’ say on the (nuanced)topic and took the liberty to silently edit words or descriptions where I felt it necessary.
7. Matilda | A close second for my favorite Dahl book! June really loved this book and loved both versions of the movie (which we watched after finishing the book). Matilda is the perfect precocious, spunky heroine, and it’s easy to cheer for her bond with Miss Honey and chance to find familial happiness.
9. The Penderwicks | I am something of a Penderwicks evangelist at this point, but with good reason: it is the sweetest story of four sisters. Described as “deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, with a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day,” it has the slow, earnest feel of some more beloved older books – a true modern classic, IMHO. I’m always looking for books with positive sibling relationships, and this one hits the nail on the head: the relationships between the sisters and their dad are loving but real. (I’m hoping OAT becomes a thing in our home!) June and I have only read the first book together, but have the boxed set and look forward to reading the next four.
10. The Long Winter | Just a quick note to say that though I enjoyed all the Little House books, this one might be my favorite! It was the one I remembered most strongly from my childhood: Almanzo hiding the seed in the wall! Pa and Laura twisting hay! The freezing sled ride to bring back wheat for the town!
11. Pippi Longstocking | June cackled at parts of this one :) It was a quick, easy read.
14. The Mouse and the Motorcycle | A Beverly Cleary classic! I wasn’t sure how June would feel about this one since it feels slightly more geared toward boys, but she LOVED it. It was a quick, sweet read that left us both wanting more. (June’s since gone on to read the sequel by herself, but that’s a post for another day.)
15. Adventures with Waffles | Originally written in Norwegian, this one felt similar to Pippi Longstocking – short, heartfelt chapters relating old-school scrapes and mishaps between two friends who live in the country. June cackled at this one, too :) I appreciated that it incorporated issues like death, faith, sadness, and friendship worries in a way that didn’t feel too heavy for bedtime reading.
This list just makes me smile. Of course, these 15 volumes are only scratching the surface of all the amazing books I hope to share with my children over time. There will be many more posts like this to come if you enjoyed this one! In the meantime, I recommend the reading lists of Everyday Reading and Brighter Day Press for more suggestions – it’s where we find many of our favorites.
I’d love to hear: what books have you loved reading aloud with your kids? Any titles you’re excited to introduce them to in the future?
