Homeschool Update - June

We have been homeschooling for many years and I sometimes forget that what we do isn't the same for others. So, I am 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. 

 

During the month of June, we chose to decrease the workload but not take a traditional summer break. My older kids are reaching the age where they are contemplating their career goals and pursuits after high school graduation. Nowhere in the real world (other than the world of academia), do individuals get a "summer break". We are working to prepare our children for their future endeavors and decided that we would adjust the workload throughout various times in the year and take breaks when needed. We will change our focus to year-round schooling to mimic the realities of what they should expect upon graduation. Each child receives a break from schoolwork this summer, but they are staggered, and the lengths of breaks are different for each kid. 

 

Here are some items that we have read, listened to or watched during the month of June:

*The Holy Bible

Watch videos on Small Engine Repair provided from our FFA instructor - (catching up as we were a little behind on the assignments for the class during the year) 

Watch Composting with Worms Video on YouTube 

The Story of Painting by HW Janson

Bright Valley of Love by Edna Hong 

*The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

*Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Mayberry 

Home Geography for Primary Grades by CC Long

*Richard Halliburton's Book of Marvels - The Occident

Watch various YouTube videos of locations mentioned in Halliburton's book

The Ultimate Guys Body Book by Walt Larimore 

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Paul Brand 

Magic Treehouse - Thanksgiving on Thursdays by Mary Pope Osbourne 

*Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle 

George Washington Carver by David Collins  

Daniel Boone by RG Thwaites  

Carry a Big Stick by George Grant 

A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer 

The Birth of Britain by Winston Churchill 

In Freedom's Cause by GA Henty 

*This Country of Ours by HE Marshall

Our Island Story by HE Marshall

Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula

*Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame  

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens  

Age of Fable by T. Bullfinch   

Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel  

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott 

Robin Hood by Howard Pyle 

Kim by Rudyard Kipling 

Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 

Michael Faraday by Charles Ludwig

A Wonder Book by Nathanial Hawthorne  

The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney 

The Tripods - When the Tripods Came by John Christopher  

The Tripods - The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher  

Watership Down by Richard Adams

*Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

*King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table by Roger Green

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

Seabird by Holling C Holling

The Head Bone's Connected to the Neck Bone by CK McClafferty 

*Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley 

First Studies of Plant Life by GF Atkinson 

Adventures with a Microscope by Richard Headstrom 

Watch Ameobas under the Microscope on YouTube

Watch What is Ameoba? on YouTube

The Life of a Spider by Jean Henri Fabre 

The Wonder Book of Chemistry by Jean Henri Fabre

The Story of Inventions by Michael McHugh

Eric Sloanes Weather Book

*The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess

*Parables From Nature by Margaret Gatty

Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thomas Seton

 

Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of June:

*A Blue Stocking Guide to Economics  

*Story of the World IV 

*The Fallacy Detective by Nathaniel Bluedorn   

*Life of Fred - PreAlgebra 1 with Biology  

 Apologia - Anatomy and Physiology

The History of Medicine by John Hudson Tiner   

Signs and Seasons by Jay Ryan  

The Art of Problem Solving, PreAlgebra by Richard Rusczyk

 

Here are some online classes/resources that we have used:

Use LivestockJudging.com website as practice for competition

 

Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:

(We haven't played any games, but have been outdoors a lot)

 

     *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 June:

- Our kids helped with the booth at the Harrison County Farmers Market. 

 

- Our son participated in the delegate meeting at the FFA State Convention and attended the convention. 

 

- Our son helped to run the sawmill. 

 

- Our oldest three participated in the 4H State Competition for Livestock Judging. They all worked very hard, and we are proud of them for their efforts. 

Our son won 7th place in beef judging and 20th place overall in the event. 

 

- We attended the 4H State Livestock Judging Competition banquet held at the Kentucky Castle. 

 

- We were invited to hang out at a friend's house. We all had a great time!

 

- We enjoyed time at the pool.

 

- We continued working at the Bluegrass Farmers Market in Lexington, Ky. The kids help to prepare items and work the market booth. 

 

 - The boys continued to participate in the youth group at church. 

 

- Our daughters have been participating in the Young Disciples group at church. It is a fun monthly activity aimed for children in 3-5th grades. 

 

- Our son continued to maintain his worm farm.

He sells his worm tea fertilizer here.

 

- The kids continue to alternate the cooking responsibilities. They are becoming great chefs and are learning a lot about cooking from scratch. 

 

 

 - The kids continue to help with the animals on the farm. 

 

 

 - Our daughter has continued to work on photography projects. She has chosen her favorite photos from the farm and is selling them in various formats: cards, journals, etc. You can check out her work here.

 

 

Our lives are not what is considered normal, but we are loving it this way! 

 

If you are interested, here are some links to the places/items mentioned above:

The Bluegrass Farmer's Market (bluegrassfarmersmarket.com) 

Home | Harrison Co Farmers (hcfmky.com)

Harrison County 4-H | Facebook 

Leesburg Christian Church - Home

 

*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. 


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