A Review of Simply Charlotte Mason’s Spelling Wisdom and Using Language Well
I have reviewed several of the Simply Charlotte Mason products because, truth is, I really love their resources. We are a pretty Charlotte Mason focused homeschool so I’ve made use of a ton of their plans, subject-based items, and podcasts, guides, and videos. I love how SCM keeps things very accessible but also challenging and pretty true to Mason. We have been using Spelling Wisdom and Using Language Well for several years now and have quite enjoyed these two resources all around. (Our kids using these are 15, 13, 11 and they all enjoy them.) What is Dictation? Spelling Wisdom uses the idea of Prepared Written Dictation to accomplish…
A Review of ‘100+ Easy and Fun Creative Nature Walks’ and a coupon code just for you!
Cindy was very sweet to offer me a coupon code just for you guys – so, right now until June 15th , use coupon code “NATUREFUN” for 25% off absolutely everything in the shop at Our Journey Westard. Over the years we have had SO MUCH fun and created so many good memories with the amazing nature study units and resources from Our Journey Westward. (Click here to see the full review I wrote on NaturExplorers: Coping with the Cold.) Nature Study is one of the most enchanting and lasting ‘subjects’ we engage with in out homeschool. I’m not very…
Our Favorite Read-Aloud Books from this School Year.
As a Charlotte Mason-inspired, book-based homeschool, we try our hardest to read lots of high quality, living books in our home. I thought I’d share what we’ve read and enjoyed this year… Novels we all loved… Alright, I can’t possibly comment on every single book photographed (well, I could but it would take way too long…). I always try to pick a good selection of classics, award winners, historical fiction, comical, mystery, etc.Many of these we listened to on audio. Audio books are a life saver for me! Books we found on audio included: Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea, Frindle, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Elijah of…
A Review of Simply Charlotte Mason’s Visits To… Geography Series (Curriculum)
I’m happy to give my full review of the “Visits To…” Geography Series. So… Geography has always been a bit of a mish-mash for our family. When the kids were younger we covered most of our geography through Five in a Row. Now we read books that are specific to certain geographic areas and have basic discussions about them and find them on a map. Geography is also naturally covered in History read-alouds and discussions. We’ve also done Map-Drill, which I highly recommend for memorizing maps. The “Visits To…” series has 5 book or region options to choose from: Europe (what we have), North America, South/Central America and Australia,…
A Review of Simply Charlotte Mason’s Stories of the Nations and Stories of America
Our family uses many of the resources found over at Simply Charlotte Mason. I honestly love the friendly, easy to use materials and their affordability. Last year we worked through the Family Guide for Early Modern History and Epistles . This took us on a living books learning journey from 1550-1850 that centred around family learning and reading. I’m always adding to and changing the formal plan laid out in the guides but they are so affordable, it’s completely fine in my opinion even if you only use them as a springboard for era study. You can, mind you, use them as a well laid-out curriculum. This year…
Keeping Homeschool Simple when Life is Busy and Time is precious…
Oh, hi there! It’s been well over a month since I’ve been able to post anything on this little blog but I promise, I have VERY good reasons! Our family is actually walking through the journey of fostering to adopt a beautiful baby boy. There is so much more I would love to share about how amazing God is and how He weaves all things together but that will have to wait until the adoption is final… *smile* Then, watch out… because I won’t be able to stop talking about how Jesus works and posting about a million photos of this little one’s precious face! What I can say…
The Value of Play (what Charlotte Mason had to say…)
“There is a danger in these days of much educational effort that children’s play should be crowded out [or what is the same thing] should be prescribed for and arranged until there is no more freedom of choice about play than about work. We do not say a word against the educational value of games (such as football, basketball, etc.) … but organized games are not play in the sense we have in view. Boys and girls must have time to invent episodes, carry on adventures, live heroic lives, lay sieges and carry forts, even if the fortress be an old armchair; and in these affairs the elders must neither…
Review of Simply Charlotte Mason’s Family Study Handbooks
I’m super happy to review Modern Times, Epistles, and Revelation from Simply Charlotte Mason for you. *smile* I love SimplyCharlotteMason.com and have blogged extensively about how we implement Charlotte Mason inspired plans with the help of much of the SCM resources If you ever use Simply Charlotte Mason’s free curriculum guide you will be directed to choose a history time period to study together as a family. These guides, arranged by time period, by Sonya Shafer, act as the backbone of the Simply Charlotte Mason ‘curriculum’. They are central to carrying out the SCM program in your family.There are six guides for six different time periods flowing…
Autumn Nature Studies from NaturExplorers
It is no secret I love the NaturExplorer Nature Study Units from Our Journey Westward. I thought I would share some of the great nature studies available for the Autumn season. This is such a beautiful time of year for so many of us – Harvest, leaves changing colour, cool nights, sunny, wind-blown days. Pumpkins, corn stalks, wheat bundles, Mums on the door step… oh, how I LOVE Autumn! It is also a fantastic season for all kinds of nature studies! If you are looking for easy, hands-on, ready-to-go Nature Studies, the NaturExplorers units are a great option. What is included in the NaturExplorer Units? There is…
The difference between a Schedule and a Rhythm (and how Rhythm brought Rest to our Homeschool)
Schedule A. a plan for carrying out a process or procedure, giving lists of intended events and times. B. to arrange or plan events to take place at a particular time. Rhythm A. a strong, regular pattern of movement or sound. B. a repeated pattern of events marked by natural flow and regular reoccurrence of certain activities. When I first started my Homeschooling journey, I tried desperately to create (and re-create) very specific Homeschool Schedules I wanted us to follow. These comprised of many boxes and many little increments of time, all filled in with exactly what we would do every second…
