When Creating a Family Home, Channel Grandma

Room by room, guide offers practical hints for making a house a home

AUSTIN, Tex. – In the past few years, “slow” has made quite a comeback. The Slow Movement. The Slow Food Movement. Bolstered by the recent recession, old-school practices like home cooking, shopping at the farmer’s market, knitting and sewing are now in vogue, providing a welcome reprieve from our typically teched-out, anxious and fast-paced existence. But in a culture of text messages, Twitter and information overload, how can we support the values of a simpler time? More importantly, how can we pass on ‘slow’ to a generation of Baby Einstein grads?

According to author Shannon Honeybloom, it all starts at home. In her new book Making a Family Home (SteinerBooks, January 2010, $20.00, Softcover), she shows readers room-by-room how to cultivate an enriching shelter, one that encourages children to learn and imagine. Combining the mindfulness of modern homemakers with an understanding of childhood development, and an attention to universal truths such as love, goodness and beauty, Honeybloom outlines simple steps towards creating a beautiful and nurturing home.

“Anxiety-driven over-parenting has reached a peak, and parents everywhere are yearning to get ‘back to basics’ at home and with their children,” says Honeybloom, a parent and former educator. “In the end, it’s not about enrichment classes, educational videos, multiple after-school activities. It’s not about spending a lot of money or buying a lot of things. It’s about creating a calm, beautiful, and healthy home for our families. Such a home is the foundation for happiness and success in the world.”

A former high school English teacher in New York, as well as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, Honeybloom has inhabited a wide variety of homes during her adult life, from a cramped Brooklyn apartment to an adobe dwelling in the desert. It was when she settled down in Austin, Tex., eventually becoming a mother of three, that she sought to create a living, artistic home. And for that, she turned to the wisdom of her grandmother.

“My grandmother imbued her household with love, simplicity, and joy,” says Honeybloom. “In putting together my own home, I asked myself: What makes a space sheltering, harmonious, and healthy? What kinds of materials can be used that help the development of my children? So I wrote this book to share my discoveries.” From the front porch of a home to its basement and backyard, Making a Family Home moves through the entire house with simple suggestions for enlivening each corner.

Inside Making a Family Home, readers will also learn:

• How to make your home warm and cozy
• How to support your child’s development at home
• How to create a home that is the perfect expression of love for your family
• How to involve your children in homemaking – cooking, crafting, cleaning, and so on
• How to create routines that support difficult transitions (bedtime, mealtime, and so on)
• How to get more play and leisure use out of your yard
• How to create a community of support for your family life

Shannon Honeybloom earned her M.A. in Literary Cultures from New York University and an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College. It was during graduate school that she began an academic study of domestic arts, which provided the foundation for Making a Family Home. In addition, Honeybloom’s original screenplay Borders was a finalist in the 2009 International Cinema City Film Festival in Los Angeles. She is currently working on another novel and a second screenplay, and lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and her three children. To learn more, please visit www.shannonhoneybloom.com.