Even though Mother’s Day 2025 is over, I’m going to continue to use the theme of mothers for my blogging throughout the rest of May. I’m going to highlight mothers in this new series I’ve created called “Mother of the Day in May.” I passionately believe in the power of mothers to influence the world for greatness. Countless every day, ordinary mothers can inspire us with their examples of sacrifice, love, intelligence, light, care, service, persistence, devotion, mother bear chemistry, beauty, and ingenuity. Mothers are the gatekeepers of Christ’s love. They do this all with the stewardship of loving children. We owe our very lives to our mothers. So let’s celebrate mothers even more, after the official day!

Today’s Mother of the Day in May is Jan Bloom. Isn’t her last name perfect for the month of May?

I just learned about Jan by hearing this podcast a few nights ago. It was the perfect capstone for the day, to listen to while I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed. Jan was the guest for this interview conducted by Carole Joy Seid, of homeschoolmadesimple.net. That was Part 1.

In it, you can hear Jan’s story of how she and her husband discovered the power of great books for children on their path of homeschooling. It’s a delightful story! You will love it! Listen here.

This podcast was pure cream for the mind. So rich and delightful! I was thrilled to hear that her oldest child, a graduate of their homeschool, is studying to be a professional homeopath. I love that she and her husband are book missionaries, with a mission to share the love of good, old books across the USA as they crisscross the states. You can see their schedule for appearing at homeschool conferences here.

In the Part 2 episode, you will learn about the three books every homescool mom should own, and how to guide your children in picking books.

I quote two nuggets of truth from that episode:

“80% of books in existence have been published since 1980, and 80% of those were better off left as trees.”

“Read great books, mostly old.”

Want more of Jan Bloom? Go here. Buy her books here. They will guide you in how to find the best books for your homeschooling family library.

Want more of Carole Joy Seid? Check out her interview with Sarah Mackenzie here, and her website here. She says that Gene Stratton Porter’s books are so good, parents should bribe their children $100 to read a GSP book. That makes me happy! I love those books too! Good thing my children didn’t know about that proposed bribe. We listened to the Limberlost book years ago as our “car audio” book for a few months one spring going to and from classes and I didn’t bribe them. Then we watched the movie. Both are so fabulous!

Happy listening, reading, and book-collecting!