Homeschool Update - January

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

Veggie Tales - Jonah DVD

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

Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley

Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C Holling

My Travels with Clara by Mary Holmes

Almost 12 by Kenneth Taylor

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

The Plutarch Project Volume 8

Age of Fable by T. Bullfinch 

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

*Charlotte's Web by EB White

*By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

*Mother West Wind books by Thornton Burgess  

*The Giver by Lois Lowry

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

*Sibley Field Guide to Birds

*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

*Story of the World 

Song School Latin 

Basics of Critical Thinking

Creative Problem Solving by The Critical Thinking Co.  

*Mind Benders

*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

*Sibley Bird Bingo

Bananagrams

 

   *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

 Seterra Geography Games

 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.    

 

 

 

 


Older Post Newer Post


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published