Charlotte Mason was a very wise teacher. I’ve been pondering her thoughts on nature study lately and have to say…she was right! My children are living proof – as are so many children of families who make nature study a priority. Just what exactly was she right? Oh, so many things. I’ve taken some time to pull together several…
The middle school homeschool curriculum options are some of my favorite things! The year before I got a full-time job teaching, I was a substitute teacher for three school systems, K-12. Let me tell you…after about two months, I informed the central office that I was available for anything except middle school. I loathed middle school. There were…
How does a Charlotte Mason education mesh with busy kids – or inquisitive gifted kids – or minds that jump from one thing to another in seconds? Actually, pretty well. Charlotte Mason and active kids can be a match made in heaven! Quite naturally, many of the methods of Charlotte Mason’s style work alongside children…
I’m sharing some of my very favorite homeschool curriculum with you today. I hope you find some treasures! Before we get started, did you know I have a master’s degree in elementary education and taught in a classroom for several years? Yep. Why does that matter? Well, I’ve been trained to recognize a good curriculum. Flip the coin. Did…
You will love these top picks for upper elementary homeschool curriculum! Third through fifth grades are some of my favorite years to teach. During this period, children are usually pretty good readers – making it more fun to dive deeper into other subjects. And, they still have a zestful spirit about learning which means we get to…
Do history textbooks ever fit into a living literature-based homeschool? Of course they do! But, if we’re being honest, they often don’t fit in very well because dry text isn’t the name of the game in the Charlotte Mason style. Think about this, though. If we only used living literature when teaching history, for instance,…
I love homeschooling middle school students. They are so ready to dive deep into learning because they finally have the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic down. On the other hand, they are still completely open to creative lessons. You can just do SO much with this age group! In our eclectically Charlotte Mason homeschool,…
When you think of teaching grammar to your elementary student, does the word “boring” pop into your head? Maybe not your head, but your children’s perhaps? Well, I have two pieces of good news for you! 1. Formal grammar lessons aren’t all that important in elementary school! Really. A little here, a little there and…
As I began making plans for 2015 here at Our Journey Westward, I naturally took a look back at 2014. I jotted down my personal favorite top 10 posts in an effort to see if it’s clear where my heart is in this little cyber space. Most of you know my heart is to share…
(This post contains affiliate links.) I have a senior this year. A senior. Time. has. flown. While it’s bittersweet to plan the last homeschool year for my little girl, I’m finally at a point where I can say with full realization that homeschooling works AND it’s been worth every single second. I’ll post soon about…
I love Pinterest. It’s such a fabulous way for me to keep track of all those wonderful homeschooling ideas I come across on the web. Because of this, it’s even changed the way I plan our weekly homeschool lessons! When looking for creative lessons, I used to pour through book after book on my resource…
What is Narration? The art of retelling. Anything can be retold – poems, verses, fables, stories, ideas from textbooks, recipes, directions… Why Narration? Oh, so many reasons! Builds short term memory and working memory. Builds auditory memory. Develops the skills of attention and observation of details. Builds comprehension. Builds vocabulary. Develops the pre-writing skills of…