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 October:
The Holy Bible
*Kirby McCook and the Jesus Chronicles by Stephen Arterburn
The Man Who Laid the Egg by L. Vernon
VeggieTales - Minnesota Cuke DVD
Tuttle Twins Show on YouTube
*How Not to Suck at Life by C. Boyack
Richard Halliburton's Book of Marvels - The Orient
*Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C Holling
Facing the Facts by Stan Jones
The Ultimate Guy's Body Book by Walt Larimore
Learn Our History DVDs
This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare by Marcia Williams
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
*The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon
The Lion's Roar by ML Stainer
Sir Walter Raleigh and the Search for El Dorado by Neil Chippendale
*Our Island Story by HE Marshall
Never Give In by Stephen Mansfield
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Poor Richard by James Daugherty
*By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
*Mother West Wind books by Thornton Burgess
At Night by Jonathan Bean
Age of Fable by T. Bullfinch
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Curly and the Wild Boar by Fred Gipson
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
*Parables of Nature by Margaret Gatty
*Aesop's Fables
Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang
Hexaflexagons by ViHart on YouTube
*Listen to Beethoven CD
*Listen to Dolly Parton songs on Amazon Prime Music
*Lives of Musicians by Kathleen Krull
US Government and Politics - Crash Course on YouTube
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
*All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
*The Elements by Theodore Gray
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik
The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
*Madame How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley
The Storybook of Science by Jean Henri Fabre
*The Crazy Makers by Carol Simontacchi
*Peterson Field Guide to Birds
*It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence Richards
Large Kratky Hydroponics by Peter Stanley on YouTube
How to shear angora rabbit - Razzle Dazzle Rabbitry on YouTube
How to grow malabar spinach - TEO Garden on YouTube
ID Acorns and Oaks - Gorman Outdoors on YouTube
*Paddle to the Sea by Holling C Holling
Five Mistakes Beginner Backpackers Make - Homemade Wanderlust on YouTube
*The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs by Tristan Gooley
Selection of Tennyson poems
Selection of Frost poems
Here's a list of more "formal" curriculum products that we have used during the month of October:
*Van Gogh Picture Study from A Humble Place
The Plutarch Project - Marcus Brutus
*Right Start Math
*Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
*Exploring Creation with Zoology 3
Here are some online classes that we have used:
Webucator.com - MS PowerPoint
Seterra Online Geography games
Strange History online class
Here are a few games/activities that we have enjoyed:
*Uno
*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:
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.
The weekly Bible study classes continued at our church.
Our sons completed their soccer season at Georgetown Football Club.
We invited friends to join us at a local orchard. I instructed the kids to pick pears and apples. I became distracted and they took my instructions seriously. They picked over 100 pounds of fruit! Be careful what you ask of these workers.
Our son helped with the sawmill and learned about how to safely use the machines.
We attempted to hike with friends at Big Bone Lick State Park. A friend scheduled this event. We were late and told them that we would catch up. I forgot that cell service was spotty at this park. We went the wrong way and didn't meet up with our friends until after the hike. While we missed our friends, we did enjoy a great hike at a fun park!
We played games with friends at Idlewild Park.
The girls continued horse riding lessons with Shirley at Riding With Rhythm.
The girls joined their cousin for a fun-run at a cross country meet.
The kids participated in a special Hands on Horses event at Riding with Rhythm.
The girls visited their grandparents and enjoyed an afternoon on an Ohio farm.
The kids dressed up to enjoy time with friends for Halloween.
*Photo obtained from Facebook post.
Baby Updates:
The baby joined us at the Self Reliance Festival in Camden, Tennessee. She relaxed through the presentations like an angel.
She spent a lazy afternoon on the couch.
We are excited to see what the month of November will bring for our learners!
In case you are interested, here are some links to the places/items mentioned above:
Van Gogh Picture Study Aid and Art Prints - ahumbleplace.com
Leesburg Christian Church - Co-op
South Fork Christian Church – Verona, KY – Changing our community, one HEART at a time.
The Tuttle Twins Podcast - The Tuttle Twins
Season 1 | Tuttle Twins | 4k Episodes - YouTube
Online and Onsite Instructor-led Training Classes | Webucator
History for Kids! | Learn Our History - Kids Books & Videos
RightStart™ Mathematics by Activities for Learning, Inc. - (rightstartmath.com)
Georgetown Football Club | Home (georgetownfc.com)
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site | Ky Parks
England Idlewild Park (boonecountyky.org)
Self Reliance Festival – Event in Camden, Tennessee
*For those that enjoy the booklists, I have started attaching links to my amazon affiliate account. As an Amazon associate, I will earn money from any qualifying purchases made by using these links.