We have been homeschooling for many years and I sometimes forget that what we do isn't the same for others. So, I decided to try adding a monthly homeschool recap to this blog to demonstrate one way (there are so many methods out there!) that homeschooling can work.
We use an eclectic method of homeschooling that leans very heavily towards the Charlotte Mason method of teaching. Without going into too much detail about this method, it can be described as very literature-heavy. We read and discuss A LOT of books. We don't spend a lot of time on workbooks, worksheets, etc., We have gravitated toward this method over the years and found that it works very well for our learners and family lifestyle.
Here are some items that we have read, listened to or watched during the month of December:
The Holy Bible
Operation Rawhide by Paul Thomson
*Kirby McCook and the Jesus Chronicles by Stephen Arterburn
The New Answers Book 1 by Ken Ham
The American Boy's Handy Book by Daniel Beard
*How Not to Suck at Life by C. Boyack
Tuttle Twins Podcast
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
The Ultimate Guy's Body Book by Walt Larimore
Learn Our History DVDs
Poor Richard by James Daugherty
This Country of Ours by HE Marshall
Rush Revere and the First Patriots by Rush Limbaugh
*Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Lion's Roar by ML Stainer
Age of Fable by T. Bullfinch
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
*By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*A Foxfire Christmas by Eliot Wigginton
*Mother West Wind books by Thornton Burgess
*Listen to Beethoven CD
Moonshiner's Son by Carolyn Reeder
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
The Storybook of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
*Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Poetry for Young People - Carl Sandburg
Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of December:
Beautiful Feet Books - Around the World with Picture Books
Song School Latin
Creative Problem Solving by The Critical Thinking Co.
*Right Start Math
*Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
*Exploring Creation with Zoology 3
Here are some online classes that we have used:
Typing.com
Webucator.com - Intro to MS Word
Webucator.com - MS PowerPoint
Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:
*Items marked with an asterisk are my personal favorites and highly recommended.
Here are a few field trips/activities that we have participated in:
We continued with our co-op. The boys participate in Apologetics, IEW writing and Anatomy classes. The girls participate in Bible, PE, Writing and Science classes.
We hosted a homeschool gathering. We intended to bake Christmas cookies, but we were having so much fun just hanging out and talking that we never made it to the baking part of the day.
We participated in our Co-op's Christmas party. It involved food, games and companionship.
Each one of the girls spent an afternoon helping their grandmother bake cookies and make Christmas candy.
The kids tested out the baby equipment with the cats to ensure that their baby sister will enjoy them.
Our oldest spent a day assisting his grandfather in building and repairing fence.
Our son received worms for his birthday. He was excited to get this project set up to produce the "black gold" for his plants in the spring.
Our daughter restarted her cross-stitch project.
We started a new tradition of individual shopping trips with mom and each kiddo that ended with a meal or treat.
*the teenager didn't want to pose for a picture.
Despite the cold weather, the girls continued their horse riding lessons at Riding with Rhythm.
Our daughter designed and built a Christmas gift from scratch.
Baby Updates:
She discovered the toys at Co-op.
She hit a growth spurt and started marathon feeding. It was exhausting for all of us!
She tried baby cereal for the first time.
We experienced our first Christmas as a family of seven!
We are excited to see what the next year will bring for our learners!
In case you are interested, here are some links to the places/items mentioned above:
Leesburg Christian Church - Co-op
The Tuttle Twins Podcast - The Tuttle Twins
Online and Onsite Instructor-led Training Classes | Webucator
History for Kids! | Learn Our History - Kids Books & Videos
RightStart™ Mathematics by Activities for Learning, Inc. - (rightstartmath.com)
Home | Uptown Eats (uptowneatsky.com)
Ice Cream, Candy, Baked Goods by The Sweet Boutique Near Cynthiana, KY (thesweetboutiquellc.com)
*For those that enjoy the booklists, I have attached links to my Amazon affiliate account. As an Amazon associate, I will earn money from any qualifying purchases made by using these links.