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 January:
The Holy Bible
Color Yourself Smart - Masterpieces of Art
*Heroes of the Bible by Joshua Cooley
*Kirby McCook and the Jesus Chronicles by Stephen Arterburn
*Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
Operation Rawhide by Paul Thomson
The New Answers Book 1 by Ken Ham
Blaze and the Mountain Lion by CW Anderson
Tuttle Twins Podcast
The American Boy's Handy Book by Daniel Beard
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Tuttle Twins - Food Truck Fiasco by Connor Boyack
Richard Hallibuton's Book of Marvels - Orient
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C Holling
My Travels with Clara by Mary Holmes
The Lion's Roar by ML Stainer
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
*Fearless Girls Wise Women and Beloved Sisters by Kathleen Ragan
*The Great Explorers by Robin Hanbury-Tenison
Never Give In by Stephen Mansfield
*Our Island Story by HE Marshall
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon
*Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle
*Watch Farmageddon documentary on Youtube
Age of Fable by T. Bullfinch
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
*By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Mother West Wind books by Thornton Burgess
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
No Fear Shakespeare - Henry V by John Crowther
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
*Aesop's Fables
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
*Inhale-Exhale Devotional by Mercy Me
*Watch Mercy Me music videos on YouTube
*Listen to Beethoven CD
Moonshiner's Son by Carolyn Reeder
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
*Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
*The Elements by Theodore Gray
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik
The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence Richards
The Storybook of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
*Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America
*Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley
*Herb Fairies Book 8 by Kimberly Gallagher
Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker
*Paddle to the Sea by Holling C Holling
Bushcraft 101 by Dave Canterbury
Variety of Tennyson poems
*Now We Are Six by AA Milne
Variety of Frost poems
Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of January:
A Humble Place - Van Gogh Artist Study
Beautiful Feet Books - Around the World with Picture Books
Song School Latin
Creative Problem Solving by The Critical Thinking Co.
*Right Start Math
Exploring Economics by Notgrass
*Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
English Lessons Through Literature
Here are some online classes that we have used:
ChalkPastel.com
Typing.com
Webucator.com - Intro to MS Word
Webucator.com - MS PowerPoint
Seterra Online Map Games
Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:
Tuttle Twins Card Game
*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.
- Our son spent a day with his grandmother. It is good for them to have this one-on-one time even if he talked her into purchasing more nerf guns!
- It was a birthday party month with one or more of the kids attending a total of three parties with friends and family. Our girls are not shy and are quickly making friends in the area!
- The girls are playing basketball with a local Upward Church group. One of our daughters is fortunate enough to be on the same team as her cousins and is coached by her uncle and the hubby. I'm not sure who's more entertaining to watch, the kids or the men wrangling the 5- to 7-year-old kids!
- The kids continue to help with the animals.
- Our son set up his worm bin. It is a custom bin that allows the worms to migrate to another area when they have converted all of the material into castings. It also drains out the water for useable worm tea fertilizer.
- The girls helped their daddy set up the basketball goal and have been practicing their skills.
- The boys helped the hubby build the outdoor playset.
- Our oldest was charged with rebuilding the chicken roost. It had fallen because the hubby had used screws that were too short (he was in a hurry and didn't want to make another trip to town to get longer screws). Our son learned that not all things can be fixed with duct tape as his first attempt quickly collapsed under the weight of the chickens. He used his problem-solving skills, and our roost is still standing today.
- All of the kids have jumped in to help take care of their baby sister.
- They learned to bake blueberry muffins from scratch.
- We worked together as a family to clear overgrowth from the fence line so that we could make some much needed repairs. The baby even slept peacefully in the carrier on my back despite the noise from the brush cutter and the chainsaws.
- We attended an American History class at the library.
- The boys have been learning to ride the ATV responsibly around the property. For some reason, I failed to get a single picture of these attempts. They are becoming proficient drivers.
Baby Updates:
She has become proficient in rolling over and is anxious to make her way around our home.
She cut two bottom teeth.
She traveled to all of her sibling's events and cheered them on...
...or fell asleep.
We are excited to see what the next month 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
Inventors STEAM Video Art Lessons - You ARE an ARTiST! (chalkpastel.com)
Van Gogh Picture Study Aid and Art Prints - ahumbleplace.com
The Tuttle Twins Podcast - The Tuttle Twins
Online and Onsite Instructor-led Training Classes | Webucator
Learn to Type | Type Better | Type Faster - Typing.com - Typing.com
Homeschool Curriculum Through Literature - Beautiful Feet Books (bfbooks.com)
Farmageddon documentary on YouTube: https://youtu.be/J5ZKZshwOtw
Public Library | Grant County Public Lib | Grant CPL (grantlib.org)
RightStart™ Mathematics by Activities for Learning, Inc. - (rightstartmath.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.