It's a Classical Life

  I had a lot of fun compiling this list, and only used the classic books on our bookshelf that have been loved and read by three children (now all past age 5, but these books still remain!) As my idea to write a list for Classic books for children turned out to be a very long list, I decided to break it down into age groups. Here is the first group, for children aged 0-5. This is not, by any means, an exhaustive list. Please feel free to add your favourite classics in the comments below.  1. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy, Lynely Dodd Source 2. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown. This is such a favourite book of ours that we even have it in Spanish! Our children were raised bilingual and the simple language with the effective pictures was such an engaging read - in both languages. I always wanted 'a great green room'  of my very own. 3. The Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle. Another one that we have in both English and Spanish, as the children learned the days of th...

Although the ancient art of calligraphy, or fine lettering, has been around for millennia and spanned many countries and regions, I am a complete novice at this! But what could be more relaxing than sitting down with some nice paper and a fountain pen and practising some calligraphy? Calligraphy is very well know in Asia, the Middle East and even classical Greek and Rome. We see it used in medieval Bibles and the books published often used calligraphy text. Here is an example of a papyrus from the British Library of  Bacchylides’ Epinician Odes and Dithyrambs from the 2nd Century. Source This beautiful example is from the 16th Persian calligrapher, Mir-Emad Hassani. Source So inspired by this beautiful past-time, I thought I would attempt to learn calligraphy myself. Many modern calligraphers use a flexible-nib pen to create brush lettering, but as m y mother had already gifted me with a beautiful Sheaffer Classic Calligraphy Kit (I couldn't find my kit online but here is one...

  There are many ways to define classic and classical , especially when it comes to style. But I like the Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary's  version of classic (style):                         made in a simple elegant style not much affected by changes in fashion The simple ways I have chosen to add some classical style to your life, I think, fit this bill rather nicely. I have also used the definition of classical  to guide my list: of ancient Greek or Roman literature or art Put these two definitions together and you get our list! So, without further ado, read on to see how you can add some classic, classical style to your life! 1. Paintings There are so many pictures of life in Ancient Greece and Rome to choose from that I didn't know how to choose those which made the cut here! First of all, I had to choose my all-time favourite painting, Dolce far niente , which means the sweetness of doing not...

                                                                        As the weather starts to warm up we are all shaking off the blankets of winter and getting ready to emerge in the sunshine. Perhaps it is a spring picnic or a lie in the hammock that calls for a book. Or, on a drive into the country to see all the trees as they burst forth in happy spring time bloom. Or, as it is here today, cloistering ourselves indoors once more as the spring rains bring nourishment to all the plants and animals blooming. Choosing books to escape into spring with is not a daunting task. There are many classics perfect for this season. This list includes modern and ancient classics, to get you in the mood for spring.  1. Aesop's Fables . Although this book is believed to have been w...