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
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
*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.