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 November:
*The Holy Bible
Watch Cleavers Connection - Herbal Jedi on YouTube
The Tuttle Twins and the 12 Rules Boot Camp by Connor Boyack
Watch WW2 Veteran vs HOA - Van T. Barfoot - The Fat Electrician on YouTube (good story but uses strong language so pre-watch)
Read various current event articles
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury
Watch Thomas Sowell - Basic Economics - Hoover Institution on YouTube
What the World Eats by Faith D'Aluisio
Our Island Story by HE Marshall
Watch Easy Crochet Bird - Skein Spider on YouTube
Watch How Amish Clean Their Homes Without Store-Bought Products - Frugal Solutions on YouTube
Herb Fairies Book Four: Treasure by Hopping Frog Pond by Kimberly Gallagher
Watch Respiratory System - Overview - Armando Hasudungan on YouTube
Watch The Anaconda is a Heavyweight of Snakes - Nat Geo Animals on YouTube
The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James W. Sire
Rights of Man, Common Sense and Other Political Writings by Thomas Paine
Stories from the History of Rome by Mrs. Beesly
John Adams by David McCullough
The Once and Future King by TH White
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
The Great Explorers by Robin Hanbury-Tenison
American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg
Listen to The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald on Audible
One Race One Blood by Ken Ham and A. Charles Ware
A Child's History of the World by VM Hillyer
Listen I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni on Audible
Watch Crochet: Cotton Spa Headband, Lots of Sizes, Crochet Pattern -Winding Road Crochet on YouTube
Read articles and watch videos provided by the FFA teacher related to record keeping and legal aspects of running a farm business.
Correct and rewrite misspelled words for spelling practice
Watch Learn Our History - WWII DVD
Read Historical Document: Free Grace - John Wesley Denounces the Doctrine of Predestination (1872)
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
The Story of David Livingstone by Vautier Golding
Watch The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006) - Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice on YouTube
Poor Richard by James Daugherty
The Story of the Romans by HA Guerber
*Answering the Cry for Freedom by Gretchen Woelfle
The New Answers Book 2 by Ken Ham
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew with John & Elizabeth Andrew
Asgard to Athens by Anne E. White
The Bears of Blue River by Charles Major
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Five Little Peppers and How they Grew by Margaret Sidney (we have an older copy but this one is comparable)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (we have an older edition, but his one is comparable)
A Tale of a Tub and Other Works by Jonathan Swift
History's Most Magnificent Rulers: From Ramses II to Napoleon by Hywel Williams
Watch Who was the Real Colonel Sanders? - Weird History Food on YouTube
Listen and study various hymns and folk songs
Listen to works by composer Frederick Delius
Read various poems by Alred, Lord Tennyson
Read various poems by William Blake
Blaze and the Forest Fire by CW Anderson
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
Marco Polo by George Makepiece Towle
The Story Book of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Isaac Bickerstaff: Astrologer and Physician by Sir Richard Steele
The Story of Napoleon by HE Marshall
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
The Book of Virtues by William Bennett
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder by Walter Wick
Watch All About Lizards for Kids - Free School on YouTube
Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
Sailors and Seababies: The Fairy Tales of Charles Kingsley by Anne E. White
*Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley
*Bright Valley of Love by Edna Hong
Review various Nature Field Guides
Watch Iguana Chased by Killer Snakes - BBC on YouTube
Watch Tracking Giant Galapagos Tortoises - BBC Earth on YouTube
*Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A Price
No Fear Shakespeare - Othello by SparkNotes
*Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
The Plutarch Project Volume One by Anne E White
Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of November:
Create and update a personal quote book
Create and update a timeline
Exploring Creation with Physical Science by Jay Wile
The Art of Problem Solving, Introduction to Algebra by Richard Rusczyk
Life of Fred - Beginning Algebra Expanded Edition by Stanley Schmidt
Unit Study on Camille Pissarro from A Humble Place
Fix It Grammar
Life of Fred - Cats by Stanley Schmidt
Life of Fred - Farming by Stanley Schmidt
All In One Homeschool Online Spanish Course
A Bluestocking Guide: Justice by Kathryn Daniels
Getting Started with Latin by William Linney
Mind Benders by The Critical Thinking Co.
Completing entries in a Nature Journal
Apologia - Anatomy and Physiology
Signs and Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy by Jay Ryan
Here are some online classes/resources that we have used:
Turning Point Bahnsen Economics Course
All In One High School - Biblical Hebrew I Course
Principle Based Permaculture Design Course by homefoodsystems.com
Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:
Rummy
*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 November:
- They attended activities with the youth group at church.
- They enjoyed free time outdoors.
- Our high schoolers attended elective classes at Bluegrass United that include Freshman Foundations, Intentional Technology, Epistemology and The Art and Science of Wellbeing.
- They helped with market events. They placed items of their own to sell and helped customers during the day.
- They prepared meals from scratch including spaghetti, pork chops, pumpkin pie.
- We celebrated a birthday.
- They worked on their individual SAE projects for FFA. This included woodworking, activities related to raising sheep, photography and vermiculture.
- We attended a FFA site visit and class at Oxbow Meats. We toured the facility and learned about how this type of business is created and made successful.
- We decorated the house for the holidays.
- Our fellas participated in a father/son paintball event.
- We attended the Bluegrass United Boys Soccer banquet to celebrate their 2025 season.
- We took family pictures.
- Our daughters continued to practice crocheting.
- We practiced shooting skills.
- Our daughter created a hand sewn cat toy for her spoiled pets.
- We hosted a tea and boardgame day with friends.
- Our son passed his driving test.
- The kids continued to assist with farm work.
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