We have been homeschooling for many years, and I sometimes forget that what we do isn't the same for others. So, I am writing a monthly homeschool recap 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
Read various journal articles, PowerPoint presentations and completed question worksheets about animal science provided by their FFA teacher.
Watched various YouTube videos about animal science provided by their FFA teacher.
Review 4H Skillathon activities.
Watch How to start your own profitable grazing operation without owning land - Greg Judy Regenerative Rancher on YouTube
Watch Could Insects Value Add Your Farm Waste? - Farm Learning with Tim Thompson on YouTube
Stockman Grass Farmer online class - Small and Special presentation by Joel Salatin
Watch Farmland
The Annotated Mona Lisa by Carol Strickland
Art Masterpieces to Color by Marty Noble
A Child's Introduction to Art by Heather Alexander
The Usborne Book of Famous Artists by Ruth Brocklehurst
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
To a Different Drum by Pauline Hamilton
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
The New Answers Book 1 by Ken Ham
Utopia by Sir Thomas More, Edited by Paul Turner
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
Various articles from the Student News Daily
Watch Hand carding 100% angora rabbit wool for beginners and chit chat - Rabbitry & Yarns on YouTube
Watch How to Crochet for Absolute Beginners: Part 1 - simplydaisy on YouTube
Watch How to Crochet a Heart in just 2 minutes - Hooked by Robin on YouTube
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Anno's Italy by Mitsumasa Anno
Richard Halliburton's Book of Marvels -The Orient by Richard Halliburton
The life of Christopher Columbus by Edward Everett Hale
Don't Know Much About the 50 States by Kenneth Davis
Marco Polo by George Makepiece Towle
Watch Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? DVD
The Ultimate Girls' Body Book by Walt Larimore
History's Most Magnificent Rulers by Hywel Williams
Our Island Story by HE Marshall
The New World by Winston Churchill
This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
The Voyage of the Armada by David Howarth
The Little Duke by Charlotte Mary Yonge
A Child's History of the World by VM Hillyer
Watch The Delicious History of TV Dinners - Weird History Food on YouTube
Never Give In: The Extrordinary Character of Winston Churchill by Stephen Mansfield
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England by Diane Stanley
A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver by Aliki
Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster
The Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber
The Life of Sir Francis Bacon by William Rawley
Prince Henry the Navigator by Leonard Everett Fisher
Daily Life in Ancient and Modern London by Betony Toht
Plutarch's Life of Phocion with Study Guide by Anne White
*The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Listen The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyon on Audible
*Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
The Lost Prince by Francis Hodgson Burnett
All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot
*Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
No Fear Shakespeare - As You Like It by SparkNotes
The Heroes by Charles Kingsley
Parables from Nature by Margarett Gatty
Pilgrim's Progress Part 2 by Jim Pappas
Various poetry selections by Robert Frost
Various poetry selections by Walter De La Mare
Everyman & Other Miracle & Morality Plays by Anonymous
Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley
English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Elsie Dinsmore Book #2
American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat
Various poetry selections by Sara Teasdale
*Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff
Poetry for Young People - Carl Sandburg by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Listen The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame on Audible
Alice in Numberland - Fantasy Math
Watch Stand and Deliver (2010) DVD
Watch Learn Our History - Money Doesn't Grow on Trees DVD
Listen/Study Hymn - Trust and Obey
Listen/Study Hymn - Keys to Canterbury
Listen/Study Composer - Vivaldi
Photograph for Kids by JP Pullos
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
The Winged Watchman by Hilda Van Stockum
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig
Listen Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant
The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
Watch Are Robots Dangerous? - TeachKidsRobotics on YouTube
STEM Starters for Kids Robotics Activity Book by Jenny Jacoby
Watch How do robots know what they are looking at? - TeachKidsRobotics on YouTube
Watch How do robots experience the world? - TeachKidsRobotics on YouTube
*Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History by Penny Le Couteur
Adventures with a Microscope by Richard Headstrom
Watch various microscope videos on YouTube
A Drop of Water by Walter Wick
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
Herb Fairies Book #11 - Fireside Stories by Kimberly Gallagher
Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker
Watch How the Movement of the Earth and Sun Cause the Days, Seasons and Years - Virtual Elementary School on YouTube
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik
It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence O. Richards
Watch Climate zones explained - explainitychannel on YouTube
Watch Seasons: What causes summer and winter? - LiacosEM on YouTube
Watch Fahrenheit to Celsius: History of the thermomether - Met Office - Learn About Weather on YouTube
*Watch various episodes of Ryan Hall, Y'all channel
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
First Studies of Plant Life by George Francis Atkinson
The Great Astronomers by Robert S. Ball
Watch Growing Asparagus at Home - TEO Garden on YouTube
Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herb by Rosemary Gladstar
Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of January:
A Humble Place - Caravaggio Artist Study
A Humble Place - Albrecht Durer Artist Study
Beautiful Feet Books Around the World
The Story of the World Volume 3
The Story of the World Volume 4
Mind Benders by The Critical Thinking Co.
*Life of Fred - Jelly Beans by Stanley Schmidt
*Life of Fred - Apples by Stanley Schmidt
*Life of Fred - Dogs by Stanely Schmidt
The Art of Problem Solving, PreAlgebra by Richard Rusczyk
*Life of Fred - Prealgebra 2 with Economics by Stanley Schmidt
Abeka reading books - these were gifted to us, and we use them for reading practice.
*Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Apologia - Anatomy and Physiology
Completing entries in a Nature Journal
Watch Restoring an Abandoned Orchard - Anne of All Trades on YouTube
Watch Should We Bring Back Extinct Species? - After Skool on YouTube
Rural Hours by Susan Fenimore Cooper
The Story of Punxsutawney Phil by Julia Spencer Moutran
Michael Faraday's The Chemical History of a Candle with Guide and Activities by William Hammack
Here are some online classes/resources that we have used:
Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:
Build Offroader kit
Activities with Snap Circuit Classic
*Items marked with an asterisk are my personal favorites and highly recommended.
Here are a few field trips/activities that we have participated in during the month of January:
- We obtained two new goats. One of them is a project for our son. He plans on breeding her and starting his own small herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats.
- After obtaining new goats, our wether became more aggressive. We gave him time, but he continued to become a problem. We made a difficult decision to part with him. Our son assisted with the sale of this troublesome goat at the Farmers Stockyards.
- Our sons attended 4H Skillathon meetings. They spent time preparing for the upcoming state competition. It is a very involved competition in which participants compete in the following topics: breeds of livestock, external parts of livestock, skeletal anatomy of livestock, feedstuffs used in livestock diets, equipment, wholesale and retail cuts of meat derived from livestock, expected progeny differences (EPDs), common calculations used to measure animal performance and profitability, judging hay, judging meats, and judging performance classes of livestock.
- Our kids attended 4H Livestock Judging meetings. They are learning how to evaluate the differences between animals, rank them and verbally justify their choices in front of judges.
- Our sons attended a site visit to Oxbow Meats with our FFA group. They learned about the processing facility and discussed how meat was judged.
- Our sons attended a site visit to a Kroger meat department with our FFA group.
- The girls and I spent a day at the Ark Encounter. We had a great time!
- Our son helped to operate the sawmill. We dry the lumber in our kilns and use it for various projects or sell it to customers.
- Our daughters attended the Pilgrim's Progress play by the Logos theater with our Co-op.
- Our son continues to maintain his worm farm. We hope to utilize the worm castings in our garden this spring.
- The girls continued to work on their crocheting skills. They made accessories for their stuffed animals.
- Our oldest attended elective classes at Bluegrass United. He is participating in a Comic Club, a computer class of Introduction to AI (to clarify, artificial intelligence not artificial insemination) and a history class focused on Events that Changed the World.
- Our daughters attended multiple birthday parties with friends. They have a more exciting social life than I do!
- Our son attended the Winter Dance at Bluegrass United.
- We hosted a few get-togethers with friends.
- Our son continued to participate in his indoor soccer season. He enjoys having fun with friends while continuing to improve his skills.
- We attended an archery meet to cheer on family members.
- Our daughter continued to work on her photography by taking winter pictures and making cards. She is struggling with the bright lighting associated with the sun reflecting off of the snow.
- Our son continued his wildcrafting unit study by researching and preparing various herbal preparations. He made an herbal tea and hot ginger balls.
- Our son continued to work on various woodworking projects.
- Like most of Kentucky, we had to deal with several inches of snow.
Our lives are not what is considered normal, but we are loving it this way!
*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 link