Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Happy Sunday, everyone! I don't get to it every Sunday, but when I do share a blog post, I like to keep Sundays for scripture. Currently, I am working slowly through the book of Proverbs. I share a short section of scripture, and then share my thoughts. At the end of this post, I will link up my previous posts I've done on the book of Proverbs. Let's dive in!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

~Proverbs 3:5-6

Sometimes, fully trusting in the Lord goes against our human understanding and instincts. We can find ourselves in a situation where it's extremely difficult to wrap our mind around fully trusting and completely giving up control to the Lord. Believe me when I tell you, I am totally preaching to myself here. This passage is telling us that if we completely acknowledge God, acknowledge and trust in Him fully, He will direct our paths.

How do we do this? How do we put our complete trust in the Lord and lay complete control at His feet? This is another one of those things where I have no easy answer, friends. There is no set formula. But, I will say, that I think the best place to start is prayer. Pray for God to show you how to trust Him. I believe that if you truly want to, He will give it to you. Seek Him earnestly in prayer!

Lean not on your own understanding, and certainly lean not on my understanding, either! Seek God in prayer, acknowledge Him, and trust Him. And He will direct your paths. And if you follow those paths that He directs you on, you are not guaranteed the perfect life in this world, but know that He will never steer you wrong!

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As I mentioned above, don't lean on my understanding...read God's Word for yourself, praying that He will give you understanding. I hope I have encouraged you to dig in to God's Word. Have a blessed week, everyone!

1-Proverbs 1:1-7
2-Proverbs 1:8-9
3-Proverbs 1:10-19
4-Proverbs 1:20-27
5-Proverbs 1:28-33
6-Proverbs 2:1-9
7-Proverbs 2:10-22
8- Proverbs 3:1-2
9-Proverbs 3:3-4

Book of Mottoes for June 2019

 

Hey, everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! Being that it's just about the end of June, I thought I would start a new monthly share.

This past month, I had my boys each start a Book of Mottoes as a part of their Language Arts. I first read about this from the Simply Charlotte Mason website, as something that Charlotte Mason herself had her students keep. I have also seen this called a Commonplace Book. Basically, it's a notebook where you write down quotes or sayings as you hear or read them, that speak to you. I really love this idea, so I decided to start my own Book of Mottoes!

As I have added to my own book, I realized that you could really get to know a person by looking at what they choose to keep in this book. So, I thought I'd share some of the sayings I collected throughout the month.

Mom's Book of Mottoes-taken throughout June 2019

"Duty makes us do things well;
love makes us do them beautifully."
~Zig Ziglar

"I am. I can. I ought. I will."
~Charlotte Mason

"Never back down! Never gonna quit!"
~Lanco (a country music band, from their song "Rival." Hubby and I love this song!)

"We need to take our mission, but not ourselves, seriously."
~Unknown

"One settles down into a sort of selfish seriousness, but one has to rise to a gay self-forgetfulness. Seriousness is not a virtue, seriousness is a vice. It is really a natural trend, or lapse, into taking oneself gravely, because it is the easiest thing to do. Solemnity flows out of men naturally, but laughter is a leap. It's easy to be heavy, hard to be light. And Satan fell by the force of gravity."
~G.K. Chesterton

"Cease endlessly striving for what you would like to do, and learn to love what must be done."
~Goethe

Homeschool Choices for 2019-2020: Science & Bible

 

Happy Friday, all! We made it through another week! And now that Friday's here, it's time to share what homeschool curriculum we are using for the 2019-2020 school year. So far, we have shared our choices for History/Geography/Social Studies, Math, and Language Arts. Today, we will be sharing our curriculum choices for Science and Bible

I have the privilege of co-hosting this collaboration with 5 other wonderful ladies this week. They are YouTubers Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, Kim at The Homeschooling Grammy, Corrine of Mama’s Little Lambs, and Vani at Mrs. Mom's Homeschool; and fellow blogger, Stacy at DyerTyme. Please make sure and check out each of these ladies' channels or blogs. They each have excellent content for those of us on this homeschooling journey! I will also be adding a playlist and blog list at the end of this post. There you will find other homeschoolers participating in this collaboration. If you're still looking for ideas for next year, check those out!

Bible

First, I want to talk about what we'll be using for our Bible time. In the curriculum itself, it is done very simply and seems like it's not as much as we're used to. But, we're going to give it a go, and if I feel later that we need to add more, I will do that.

Scripture Memory

Daily, we will work on memorizing scripture using this system from Simply Charlotte Mason. I have never seen this system before looking in to this curriculum. And I love it! The only hiccup, is that my family prefers the NKJV version for reading and memorizing. So, I will be making my own cards from scratch. Print, cut, paste. And, since I can't purchase the tabs separately from a set of memory cards, I will be doing those on my own as well. At least I have the rest of the summer! Once I get the tabs done, it will be pretty easy to maintain. I will be using the memory verses suggested by SCM in their enrichment ideas.

Bible Study

Once per week, there will be an in-depth Bible study. This year, we will be studying the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Hebrews, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. So one day per week, we will read from a portion of scripture and do the study as laid out in the lesson plans.

In addition, my 13-year-old will be working through 2 books in conjunction with our family study. One book is called Discovering Doctrine, by Sonya Shafer. This book is laid out into 10 different doctrines of scripture. After we read our scripture for the day, my son will go over the verses and categorize them into the different doctrines, writing each verse on the appropriate page in his book.

The second book he will use is called Growth in the Word, by Sonya Shafer. I really love this book! Growth in the Word teaches how to study your Bible effectively. This book contains studies for each of the books of the Bible we will be studying this year. I think this will be a really good way for my son to hone in on God's Word.

Now that I have it all typed out, our Bible plans don't seem too light after all! Maybe so for my youngest, who will not start the above 2 books until his next year. However, we also read from The Daily Light on the Daily Path in the morning and evening. So either way, we're getting daily scripture reading in.

Science

This year for the first time, each of my kids will be doing their own separate science. This is one of the many ways I am transitioning them to be more independent with more of their subjects.

13-Year-Old

The main science spine for my 13-year-old will be Exploring Creation with General Science, from Apologia. I used Apologia in the older grades with my oldest, and I do love their curriculum. And their books fall right in line with the "conversational texts" for upper level science recommended by Charlotte Mason. I do remember General Science starting out somewhat "dry" in the first lesson or two, but it does get better from there. We have the companion notebook, so hopefully that will help with the flow. He will be taking the tests, but for the most part, they will be open book. Because that's just how I roll.

Another book I will be integrating with my 13-year-old for science is a living book. It's called A Piece of the Mountain: The Story of Blaise Pascal, by Joyce McPherson. This is a biography about an important scientist during the 1600's, who converted to Christianity as an adult and became a devoted apologist for the faith. My son will be reading this on his own and narrating to me. But, I plan on reading ahead of him, and I can't wait to share this story together.

10-Year-Old

My youngest son will be going through Apologia's Exploring Creation with Zoology series. I did get all 3 books in the series, although I'm not sure if we will finish all of them in one school year. I have not done these particular Apologia books before, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about God's creatures together with my son! With all of our Apologia science, I always choose to add the accompanying notebooks. I have flipped through them, and they look really fun! I will start out the year reading aloud to him out of the books. But eventually, I want to read ahead of him and have him read and complete the work on his own. 

Extras

The Sciences, by Edward S. Holden. I purchased this as an extra reference book. This book was recommended in the Ambleside Online paraphrased version of Home Education. The Sciences provides conversational information about Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology, and Physiography. I believe this book was originally published in 1902.

Lives of the Scientists: Experiments, Explosions (and What the Neighbors Thought), by Kathleen Krull & Cathryn Hewitt. I purchased this in brand new condition from a used bookstore. We already have Lives of the Musicians by the same authors and have enjoyed it. So, when I saw the scientist version, I snatched it up. I thought it would be fun to have this book on hand with my 13-year-old learning about various scientists throughout history in General Science.

I haven't purchased anything else yet, but I will be keeping my eye open when I'm at Lakeshore Learning or Dollar Tree, as we go through our year. If I can, I like to purchase kits or activities that have to do with what we're learning in science.

And, as always, there will be trips to the library and lots of library books through the year to go with each subject in our science.

That's All, Folks!

I think I've covered everything! I hope this post was helpful to you if you're looking for your next Bible or Science curriculum. If you have any questions about what we'll be using, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Also, if you have used any of these things in the past, please comment and let me know what you thought.

Thank you for reading everyone! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Playlist: Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

2019-2020 Curriculum Review Part 4: Bible and Science-DyerTyme

Homeschool Choices for 2019-2020: Language Arts

 

Happy Friday, everyone! It's time to share what homeschool curriculum we are using for the 2019-2020 school year. So far, we have shared our choices for History/Geography/Social Studies and Math. Today, we will be sharing our curriculum choices for Language Arts!

I have the privilege of co-hosting this collaboration with 4 other wonderful ladies this week. They are YouTubers Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, Kim at The Homeschooling Grammy, and Corrine of Mama's Little Lambs; and fellow blogger, Stacy at DyerTyme. Please make sure and check out each of these ladies channels or blogs. They each have excellent content for those of us on this homeschooling journey!

Language Arts

Last month, I shared what we were using this past homeschool year in Language Arts. That is all changing. In fact, like Math, this is one subject I switched up before we finished this current school year. Spelling had been fine, but everything else was getting increasingly frustrating. Especially the writing portion. We've been using our new curriculum for a few weeks now in our homeschool, and it is going so well! I have been very pleased with the curriculum from Simply Charlotte Mason.

English and Spelling

With this curriculum, English, Spelling, and Writing are all done together using prepared dictation. One book will last for 2 school years. My 13-year-old technically should have done the last half of Spelling Wisdom Book 2 this past year, and then the first half of Spelling Wisdom Book 3 for the 2019-2020 year. When I got the book, however, and took a look through it, I knew he would be overwhelmed starting where he "should have." So, I started both him and the 10-year-old at the beginning of Book 2. Then, I just have my older son at double the pace of the younger.

Spelling Wisdom is meant to work together with Using Language Well. Each book contains 140 total exercises. Each Spelling Wisdom exercise contains a passage from a living literature source. The corresponding exercise in Using Language Well contains English questions pertaining to that passage, usually identifying parts of speech and the like. When that is finished, the student studies the passage for dictation. They are to observe format, punctuation, and any spelling words they may have trouble with. They are to study until they are confident they can write the passage from dictation without looking at it. Then, I will dictate the passage to them, standing by with my White-Out tape to immediately cover spelling mistakes so they don't have a picture of the error in their mind.

Built-In Writing

With the above method, writing is taught naturally. As they study and write from dictation, passages of good, living literature, they naturally learn writing and composition. They learn how it is formed, and they learn what good writing looks like. I absolutely love this, because I was desperately looking around for writing curriculum. What we were using was just not working. And it seemed like I was going to have to break the bank to find something that would. But this works for them! In just a few weeks, I have noticed that when they're writing on their own, it has very noticeably improved, along with their spelling. With no more tears!

Formal Grammar

Starting in 6th grade, Simply Charlotte Mason recommends an optional program in addition to the above, for those who want a more in-depth grammar study. And I do, as both of my students love to write their own stories and have both expressed interest in writing a book someday. This program is not offered by Simply Charlotte Mason, but recommended by them. It is called Analytical Grammar. I started my 13-year-old on it when we started the other new LA materials. My 10-year-old will start it his next school year. This book is used over the course of 3 years.

Analytical Grammar also uses passages of good, living literature to study and learn grammar. I love this! They start out very simply, learning one concept at a time. The student learns what the part of speech is. Then, they learn to take a section of literature and parse (label) it, with only the parts of speech they have learned so far. They also learn how to paraphrase a passage, and eventually sentence diagramming. I absolutely thought my son would balk at this, but he's been doing amazingly well! I was really surprised! With the gentle way this curriculum introduces diagramming, he's already surpassed me in his knowledge. He often has to explain to me why something goes somewhere. LOL!

How it's broken down

The first year in Analytical Grammar consists of 11 units, with 5 parts to each unit. Each unit can be done in 1 week. The first day, the student learns the concept and does the first exercise. Then, there are 2 more days of similar exercises relating to that concept. On day 4, is a page called "Skills Support." This is when they are given a passage to parse and diagram (when they get to that point). Then, the student is to paraphrase that passage. Finally, on day 5, they have their exam.

Once those units are done, there is a review book. With the review book, you only need to complete one exercise every week, or every other week, depending on how they're retaining what they've learned.

Each year of Analytical Grammar is broken down in the same way. So, the first part of the year is more intense. Then, it's just occasional review to make sure they stay sharp on what they've learned.

That's it!

Wow, writing it out, that seems like a lot! But really, once we got into a routine with this new curriculum, it doesn't take nearly as long as it seems at first glance. Without Analytical Grammar yet, my younger son spends maybe 20 minutes at the most on Language Arts. Since he is going at a faster pace with Spelling Wisdom and Using Language Well in addition to Analytical Grammar, my older son is spending 30-40 minutes per day on Language Arts. They may not always be super excited when it comes to doing this subject, but I have not heard any serious complaining since we switched over. And they are showing some serious improvement. And for me, both of those things are huge!

Thanks for reading, everyone! Don't forget to check out the playlist below to see what other mamas are choosing for next year's Language Arts curriculum in their homeschool, as well as blog post links below that. There are all different kinds of curriculum choices presented here. So, if you're new to homeschooling or just looking to make some changes, you will find some great ideas! Have a great weekend!

Playlist: Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

2019-2020 Curriculum Review Part 3: Language Arts-Dyer Tyme

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 3:3-4

 

Happy Lord's Day, everyone! I am back with another short section from the book of Proverbs to share my thoughts on. Let's dig right in!

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart,

And so find favor and high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:3-4

Those virtues, mercy and truth, are to become a part of us. Both inside and out. Notice, "...around your neck," would be something you put on that shows on the outside. And of course, writing them on the tablet of your heart would be making those virtues a part of who we are on the inside as well.

How do we do that? How do we become not only a person that others see as honest and merciful, but also a person that we know and God knows is that way, even when nobody is looking? I think this loops back to verses 1 and 2 in this chapter. "My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you."

We need to not forget God's law (His Word), and we need write it on our heart as well! The more we soak in God's Word and God's promises to us, the more we will have peace added to us. I think part of this is because as we read about these virtues (mercy and truth) that God has towards us, we will take these virtues on ourselves. And guess what? If we are consistently truthful and merciful towards others (and ourselves!), our conscience will be at peace!

Verse 4 comes into play in that, if we are truly merciful and truthful both inside and out, and we have a general disposition of peace because of that, there is something about those qualities that attract others to us.

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As always, in sharing my own thoughts on scripture, I hope to inspire you to do the same. Read God's Word for yourself, and pray that the Holy Spirit will show you His truth.

1-Proverbs 1:1-7
2-Proverbs 1:8-9
3-Proverbs 1:10-19
4-Proverbs 1:20-27
5-Proverbs 1:28-33
6-Proverbs 2:1-9
7-Proverbs 2:10-22
8- Proverbs 3:1-2

Thank you for reading, and have a great week, everyone!

Homeschool Choices for 2019-2020: Math

 

It's Friday! And that means it's time for another post about what curriculum we are using for the 2019-2020 school year! This is a collaboration that I am co-hosting with 3 other lovely ladies. They are YouTubers Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles and Kim at The Homeschooling Grammy; and fellow blogger, Stacy at DyerTyme. Please make sure and check out Ingrid’s and Kim’s channels, as well as Stacy’s blog. They each have excellent content for those of us on this homeschooling journey!

In this collaboration, we are sharing what our curriculum choices are for the upcoming 2019-2020 homeschool year. Last week, we shared our choices for History/Social Studies/Geography. Today, we are sharing our choices for Math in our homeschool. And stay tuned, because we have more coming for the next 3 weeks!

Math

As I shared last month, we currently have a mixed bag of homeschool math curriculum. My youngest currently uses Singapore Math, and my middle currently uses Life of Fred, with Khan Academy as a supplement. For our next homeschool year, one child will keep with the same curriculum, the other will change.

13-Year-Old

My middle son is the one who will change. And we will actually not be waiting until we finish out our current homeschool year for this math change. We will be starting next week. As I discussed in my previous math post, he is not naturally a math-minded person. We have switched him around a few times over the years. He did really well with Life of Fred. However, as he gets into the higher levels, he is struggling more. I mentioned in that previous post that I had added Khan Academy as a supplement to try and help him get it more. But, he is still struggling more and more with the Bridges (kind of like open-book tests every 5 chapters).

Enter God's perfect timing! At the time I started to become concerned about his struggles, I was watching the videos of others who were reviewing their math curriculum from their past school year. There were quite a few reviews for Teaching Textbooks. This curriculum was not new to me, in the sense that I had looked at it several times over the years. It was in my mental stash of curriculum I wanted to try if what we were using didn't work out. Well one of the mamas reviewing Teaching Textbooks was also doing a giveaway. For an entire year's subscription! Of course I entered, not thinking that I'd win. I figured we'd plod along with our current set up until the end of our year, then I would look into TT.

We were on our family vacation when I happened to check my email one day and found out that I had, in fact, won! I cannot tell you how absolutely excited I was! For once, I didn't have to buy a new math curriculum to try it out and see if it will be a good fit for my son. We get to try it for an entire year. And if it works out, we will most definitely be going back as paid subscribers! Although, he still wants to continue to read Life of Fred. He loves the story that much! So, I told him he could read it in his free time, as long as he's putting in an honest effort with Teaching Textbooks.

Teaching Textbooks is an accessed online, and you get a PDF file with your subscription so that you can print them out if you want. But there are videos for each lesson, and someone else does the teaching. Which is a huge plus for me, because I'm not a huge math fan, either! Then, the student completes the lesson online. Not only that, but TT keeps track of everything for you! Here is the link to the review by Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles with a walk-through of the curriculum.

10-Year-Old

Singapore Math is working really well for my youngest son, so that's where he'll stay. He loves its structure, and the level of rigor is perfect for him. This one is a naturally math-minded kid, so he's definitely having an easier time of it than his brother. I will say, though, he is still challenged in this curriculum! We switched him from Life of Fred back to Singapore a few months ago, and he's already cruised through Levels 3A and 3B, and has already started Level 4A. I explained placement and a little about the curriculum itself in my previous math post.

Short & Sweet!

This is definitely one of my shorter curriculum posts! One child is sticking with what I already previously reviewed, and one is going into something we've never tried before. Given all the reviews I've been reading and seeing for TT, though, I'm excited and hoping this is "the one" that will help my middle son understand the higher math better.

Don't forget to check the playlist I link below, as well as any blog posts below that! Thanks for reading everyone, and have a great weekend!

Playlist: Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

2019-2020 Curriculum Review Part 2: Arithmetic - DyerTyme

Declutter With Me: Homeschool Edition

 

For many, it's that time of year. Another homeschool year is ending, and homeschoolers have either purchased or are getting ready to purchase next year's curriculum. And that often comes with assessing the current stash. There is a mass declutter of homeschool books and supplies.

We school year-round here, so there's never a set time of year for this to happen. This year, however, I just happened to have recently finished accumulating my materials for next year. I discussed in previous posts the massive change we are making in our homeschool next year. This means more books and supplies than if I had just stuck with what we were doing. Since our space is limited, this also means I need to go through and make room!

Now, I am a lover of books. And I have to tell you, I despise getting rid of them. I'll bet that there's many homeschool mamas out there that feel the same! But for many of us, there comes a time when you just have to go through and declutter those homeschool shelves. In this post, I will share some of my thought process behind deciding what needs to go. I will also share a few ways that make it easier (for me at least) to let those things go.

What Needs to Go?

Books

As I go through the bookshelves, I start out by asking myself some questions. The first is usually, "How long has this been sitting unused?" If it hasn't been touched the entire school year, or maybe it was shelved in the beginning of the year, it becomes a suspect.

Once a book becomes a suspect, I ask myself, "WHY has it been sitting unused?" If I know I'll use it down the road, because it just didn't go with what we're studying that year, I will probably keep it. However, if it hasn't been used because we tried it and it just didn't work for us, that makes it easier to let go. Sometimes, us mamas want something to work because we love it. And we're frustrated that it's just not clicking for our kids. Seriously, unless it was just over their heads and you're waiting to see if it will work down the road, let it go! There are just some things that we will be excited about, but it won't work for the kiddos. And that's okay!

Another thing I need to do more often, and will definitely be doing this year, is assessing the readers' ages. I know for a fact I have books on my shelves that are way too young for even my youngest kiddo. Now, if there is a book that is beloved by your child or sentimental to them, by all means keep it! There is nothing wrong with having a beloved book below their reading level. When I find "younger" books that my kiddos are adamant in keeping, I give it to them. They have shelves in their bedrooms that they can then keep those books on. Everything else goes!

School Supplies

I know that I'm not alone in the fact that I am also a lover of school supplies. Pens, pencils, erasers, sticky notes, bookmarks, paper clips, markers, colored pencils, notebooks of all kinds, etc. I could go on, but I'll do you all a favor and not.

For homeschool supplies, I tend to obsessively organize rather than declutter. I mean, unless something is broken or I know for a fact we'll never use it, it stays. For instance, my boys are "too big" for crayons and never use them, so I ended up giving our stash to a friend who would. By obsessively organize, I mean I will dump a plastic shoebox of markers all over the table. Then, I will test each one and toss the markers that are dead or almost dead. I will do the same with colored pencils, sharpening each one and tossing the ones too small to fit into the sharpener. Any notebooks that still contain paper are great for scratch paper. Most homeschoolers know, when it comes to school supplies, we will find a way to use it up or wear it out! 😂

By the way, I love those plastic shoe boxes you can buy! They are my favorite way to organize all of our school and craft supplies.

Craft Supplies

Speaking of craft supplies, in this house they pretty much go hand-in-hand with school supplies. I can craft and figure things out if I have to. Or if I become temporarily obsessed with a certain kind of craft. But I am by no means a naturally crafty person. And I'm okay with that!

As I mentioned, plastic shoe boxes are my favorite way to store crafts supplies. Most of our supplies have been obtained because they were needed for school projects. I have quite a bit to go through, because many were used once and then never touched again. The staples we use over and over are paints and brushes of all kinds, sharpie markers of all colors and sizes, wooden dowels, craft sticks, a few different kinds of glue (including a glue gun), glitter, and yarn or twine. When my kiddos were younger, we also had a supply of beads and ironing beads, stickers of all kinds, and pipe cleaners.

In order to declutter these, I will just dump out the shoe boxes one at a time, and anything that my kids will use regularly goes back. The rest will either be tossed or given away. I have a few crafty friends and homeschool friends nearby that I know will use whatever we don't want.

Get it Gone

And that brings us to the point of letting stuff go. How do I declutter the homeschool stuff?

Give it to someone. For me personally, this is always my first preference. My sister-in-law lives close to me and also homeschools her kiddos. So anytime I have a pile of books or supplies I'm getting rid of, she gets first dibs. It always helps to let go of things, when you know they're going somewhere where they will be a blessing and get good use. After that, any non-curriculum books that she doesn't take, I will donate to our church library.

Do a giveaway! On the same line as the point above, give it to someone in the form of a giveaway. If you have a blog or a YouTube channel that discusses homeschooling, why not do a giveaway of curriculum you're not using anymore? I recently saw a YouTuber run a giveaway of curriculum she no longer needed, and I thought that was a genius idea!

Sell it. Sometimes, we tend to keep those curriculum books and let them take up space because we paid good money for them. There are plenty of ways these days to sell those books, especially online. If you don't like the online route, there's always used curriculum fairs! Will you make all of your money back? Of course not! But it will be better than taking up precious space on your bookshelf doing absolutely nothing! Plus, you will be blessing someone who either can't, or doesn't want to, pay for brand new.

Donate it. If you can't give it away, and you can't sell it, you can always drop it off at your local thrift store. Or, see if there's a library nearby that will take it. Another option is to see if there are any charities in your area that could use the books or supplies.

Toss it. Finally, if it's broken supplies, or a book in tattered and poor condition, that's probably a good indication that the best place for it is in the garbage can.

Get Decluttering!

I hoped this post inspired you to declutter your homeschool areas! For many of us homeschoolers, this is a difficult thing to tackle. But I also know from experience, that once our homeschool area has been freshly decluttered and organized, our days go so much smoother! Things are quicker to find because we don't have to dig through a bunch of stuff we never use. And I know that for us personally, our brains are more ready to learn when the area around us is not a distraction.

I would love to see in the comments your tips for how you go about tackling the homeschool clutter issue! Please share, because I know we could all use some help to declutter our homeschool things, especially this time of year.

Thanks for reading, everyone, and have a great day!

Book Review: The Language of Sycamores

 

First, a little story of my own...

Today, I'm excited to share with you a book I read back in May, called The Language of Sycamores. We were on our family vacation, and the first half was camping in our pop-up trailer at a Jellystone campground. One slightly chilly afternoon, Hubby and I were sitting and dozing in our chairs near the campfire, while the kiddos were off playing their umpteenth round of mini golf.

Long story short: Hubby suddenly wanted a book to read, I was shocked but pleased. We needed a few supplies, so we made a trip into town to Walmart. We found said supplies, as well as a couple of paperbacked treasures.

(That was a lot shorter than my original version. You're welcome!)

Hooked!

When we got back to camp, I made it a point to finish A Charlotte Mason Home Companion. Then, I started The Language of Sycamores, by Lisa Wingate. I had never seen this title or heard of the author before. Ms. Wingate did not take long to pull me into the story of Karen Sommerfield. I finished it in a mere few days, before we even headed back home.

The Language of Sycamores

Karen Sommerfield is not in a very good place in her life. She's basically estranged from her extended family, and she and her pilot husband have been drifting apart. 

From the very beginning, you can see Karen had gotten herself to a place where she wrapped up her whole identity in her career. The day she found out the cancer she had previously beaten may be back, is the same day she and her entire department were laid off. For some reason, she keeps all of this to herself that day. She felt that telling her husband would cause undue stress and worry.

Through a series of events, Karen ends up flying to her late grandmother's farm where her sister and family now live. She had spent many childhood vacations at this farm, and has been avoiding it, as well as her family, for most of her adult life. She goes with the intention of saying nothing to anyone (including her husband still) about her job or health. It's just a temporary change of scenery, until she can figure out what to do next about finding another job. All while avoiding the tests she knows need to be done.

Karen's stay ends up being extended again and again. And she ends up finding unexpected answers to questions she'd been avoiding asking even herself for so long. Her short stay turns into a journey to finding life.

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Lisa Wingate's writing is excellent and easy to read. This book was a page turner, for sure. It made me laugh, cry, and ponder. When I entered The Language of Sycamores into my Goodreads account, I found out it is actually book #3 in a series! I will say, this book can definitely be read as a stand-alone just fine. I loved this book so much, that I will definitely read the other 4 books in the series. Recently, I obtained and started reading book #1, Tending Roses. I haven't decided yet if I will review each book, or just review the whole series.

That wraps up my review of The Language of Sycamores, by Lisa Wingate. I highly recommend adding it to your TBR list! If you've read this book, or any others by Lisa Wingate, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I would also love to hear what you've been reading lately, that you have enjoyed.

Have a great rest of the week!

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 3:1-2

 

It's the Lord's Day! I realize it's been awhile since I picked up with my Proverbs study. I'm trying to get myself back on a regular blogging schedule around here. What better way to start than by a short and sweet Sunday Proverbs post?

For those just tuning in to my blog, I will link the past posts on this study below in case you want to start at the beginning. This is just me taking a small chunk of the book of Proverbs and journaling my thoughts. As slowly as I'm going through it, I'm determined to stick with it until the end of the book!

Let's dig in, shall we?

My son, do not forget my law,

But let your heart keep my commands;

For length of days and long life

And peace they will add to you.

Proverbs 3:1-2

These verses remind me of the first commandment with a promise: "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you." ~Exodus 20:12

Here, Solomon is talking to his own son. His law, expressed in the book of Proverbs, is God's Word coming through Solomon. There are so many passages in scripture that talk about God's Word, or law. Psalm 19 and Psalm 119 both come to my mind.

We are not to forget the law of our Father. We are to write His words on our heart (Deuteronomy 11:18, Proverbs 6:21). If we do that, we will know the heart of our Father towards us and how we are to live. This does not promise us a perfect life, but it does promise us His peace. And that is a peace we can hang onto, even in the midst of all the turmoil life can throw at us.

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I hope this post inspired you to dig into God's Word and really see what He's telling you! And don't take my word for it...dig into scripture yourself and pray that God will reveal Himself to you through His Word.

1-Proverbs 1:1-7
2-Proverbs 1:8-9
3-Proverbs 1:10-19
4-Proverbs 1:20-27
5-Proverbs 1:28-33
6-Proverbs 2:1-9
7-Proverbs 2:10-22

Stay tuned to the blog this week as I will be sharing a book review or two, decluttering adventures, and our language arts curriculum choices for the 2019-2020 school year. Have a great week!

Homeschooling Choices for 2019-2020: History & Geography

 

Good morning and Happy Friday, everyone! I cannot tell you how excited I have been to share this post with you! This is the first post in a collaboration series that I am co-hosting with 3 other homeschooling mamas. They are YouTubers Ingrid at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles and Kim at The Homeschooling Grammy; and fellow blogger, Stacy at DyerTyme. Please make sure and check out Ingrid's and Kim's channels, as well as Stacy's blog. They are each wonderful ladies who love the Lord, love their children, and love homeschooling! And I am honored to be co-hosting this collaboration with them. ❤️

What is this series all about you ask? Well, a couple of months ago, some of us shared and reviewed what curriculum we had been using for the past school year in our homeschool. Starting today, we are getting together to share what our curriculum choices are for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year. Today, we will be talking all about homeschool history, social studies, and geography. And I gotta tell you, I'm excited to see everyone's contributions! I will put a playlist at the end of this post, and I will also list other blogger's posts that come my way. So make sure you check that out when you're done here.

Outside the Box

In my last post, I shared about how I came to make some changes in our homeschool. So, I won't rehash that here. I will say, though, that after 13 years of getting most of what I need all in one box every year, it was a little nerve-wracking for this mama to piece things together, even though I had a guide to help me! But I had a ton of fun, too! Shopping around for the best prices, getting lots of little packages spread out over a period of time, and watching my "next year" book shelf fill up was way more fun than unpacking everything out of one box for a half an hour and then you're done! LOL!

I joke, but seriously. How am I going into my 14th year of homeschooling and I just. JUST! found out about ThriftBooks.com 2 months ago??? Anyways... 😏

Just Get to the Curriculum Already!

Being new to going full-on CM, I appreciate the History/Bible/Geography guides put out by Simply Charlotte Mason. They give you suggested booklists for family-together learning, plus lists for each age group you will be teaching. The guides also help you schedule those books throughout the year. Some books you can order through SCM, others you will have to find on your own; you either buy them, find them online for free, or check them out at the library. Unlike what I'm used to, they don't sell nice, tidy packages of these books. But that's okay, because you can absolutely substitute with other living books of your choice if you want...it's totally customizable for your needs and family! Being this is my first year "on my own," I decided to stick with the suggestions. They all look wonderful! There has been excitement on ALL fronts as the books come in. And that, I love.

Since we are working on finishing up the period of Rome to the Reformation from MFW in history this current year, I ordered the Early Modern & Epistles guide for next year. This covers Early American History (2 days per week), World History going on at that time (2 days per week), as well as North American Geography (1 day per week). They also cover in-depth Bible study 1 day per week, but I will cover that in another post. These guides also break down what to read each day and helps guide you using the CM method. In that aspect, as long as you have collected everything you need, it's still open-and-go. And I really like that, as it makes things less overwhelming for our first year!

Geography

All of the Geography is done together as a family (myself and both of my homeschooled kiddos). Our main spine for this is the book Visits to North America, by Sonya Shafer of SCM. Each child gets their own copy. These books include mapwork, learning the countries, states, and provinces in North America, as well as "visits" with families in different areas of North America as we study them. These visits are done using the books Material World and Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, both by Peter Menzel.

In addition, I purchased the following books to round out our Geography study through the year:
Hey Canada! by Vivien Bowers
Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling C. Holling
Minn of the Mississippi, by Holling C. Holling

Plus, there are other suggested books we will be checking out of the library.

*By the way, on the Simply Charlotte Mason site, in the description of each of the guides, book lists are included. So, I'm not violating any copyrights by sharing the books we will be using out of those guides.

History

Below, I will list all of the books that are scheduled and will be read this year for our History studies. Under "Family," are the books we will all read together. Under the separate ages for my sons, are additional books that they will either read on their own or I will read to them, as scheduled, and they will narrate after each episode (reading session).

Family

Stories of America, Volume 1, by Charles Morris and Sonya Shafer of SCM (our main American History spine)
Stories of the Nations, Volume 1, by Charles Morris and Sonya Shafer of SCM (our main World History spine)
The Stuff They Left Behind: From the Days of Early Modern, from SCM. This is a portfolio containing high quality pictures of historical artifacts from the period we will be studying.
Master Skylark, by John Bennett. This is a read aloud we'll be doing on our World History Days. (I found this for free for my Kindle.)

13-Year-Old

My Book of Centuries, by Christie Groff & Sonya Shafer of SCM. This is his own personal timeline book that he will keep for the rest of his homeschool years, and fill in on his own as we study history.
Poor Richard, by James Daugherty (American History)
The World of William Penn, by Genevieve Foster
Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham (American History)
Diary of an Early American Boy, by Eric Sloane (American History)
Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (American History)
Hearts and Hands, Volume 4: Chronicles of the Awakening Church, by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
The Story of Modern France, by Helene Adeline Guerber
The Year of the Horseless Carriage, by Genevieve Foster

10-Year-Old

Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare, by Diane Stanley
Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England, by Diane Stanley (getting this from the library, since we don't need it very long)
Along Came Galileo, by Jeanne Bendick
The Landing of the Pilgrims, by James Daugherty (American History)
The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare (American History)
The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton, by Joyce McPherson (on my Kindle...it was either free or 99 cents, I can't remember at the moment)
The Story of Napoleon, by H.E. Marshall
A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy, by Jim Murphy (American History)

Extras

By no means, do you need to add anything else for History and Geography. But there are a few things I found that I think will be fun and helpful.

• National Geographic Kids Ultimate Globetrotting World Atlas. It adds another way to study maps, and it contains fun activities as well.
• A small American desk flag to put out on the table for our American History days. It will be a helpful visual reminder, so that we don't confuse American and World history.
• American flag stickers. These are for my 13-year-old, when he makes entries into his Book of Centuries that are specific to American History. Unfortunately for my son, the only flag stickers I could find that would be small enough to work for his book were hearts. 😂 He's not thrilled about that, but he relented, "I love all American flags, so, oh well!"
• U.S.A. floor puzzle. I found this at our church garage sale even before I had any serious thoughts about changing around our curriculum. But, since I knew we'd be studying American History and geography the next 2 years in our sequence, I snatched it up! This will be a fun way to remember where the states are.
• Finally, I bought new maps! Yes, I'm probably a nerd, but I really don't care. I had a world and U.S. map tacked to the wall for quite awhile. I like having the boys point out where we're reading about. But, being the maps weren't laminated, they've ripped and torn and have been re-tacked over the years. So, I decided to splurge and purchase a couple of nice, new, laminated maps for our new adventure.

Is that it?

I think I covered everything! Maybe? At any rate, that's all I've got for now. That covers what we'll be using for our 2019-2020 homeschool History and Geography! We are all super excited to be embarking on this new adventure!

Thank you so much for reading! And I hope you enjoyed my tour of next year's homeschool History & Geography choices. Now, I'm off to go check out what my co-hosts and other participating mamas are sharing! Don't forget to check them out as well! I will post the YouTube playlist here below, and as I receive blog post links I will post them below that.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

2019-2020 Curriculum Review Part 1: History/Geography/Social Studies-DyerTyme

Homeschool Changes, Plus a Book Review

 

Today, I want to share with you and review a book I recently finished reading. I've been hinting about changes coming to our homeschool in the next school year. I think this book review will give you a big clue as to what's coming! 

I've had A Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola on my wish list for quite a few years now. For whatever reason, I never got around to purchasing it, until recently. After reading it, I could kick myself for not getting it sooner! However, I do think the timing worked out just as it was supposed to.

You see, I do love My Father's World. I recommend it enthusiastically to anyone just starting their homeschool journey, as well as to anyone looking for a new curriculum. It is an excellent open-and-go curriculum, and in my opinion, a great value compared to a lot of the box curricula out there.

Feeling the need for a change in our homeschool

However, there are a few factors leading me to make some changes. First, as my teaching style and my childrens' learning styles evolve, some of the curriculum recommendations are just no longer working for our family. We jumped around in our math choices over the last few years. Also, the language arts were just not..."there." Nothing in the curriculum changed. It worked well for my oldest (for the most part), and it works for many others. It's just too far away from my current students' styles.

Second, ever since we started homeschooling, I've been drawn to the Charlotte Mason method. My Father's World incorporates three homeschooling styles into their curriculum: Charlotte Mason, Classical, and Unit Study. From the tidbits I've read over the years about Charlotte Mason and her philosophy, everything about it just resonated with me. Quite a few years back, I found Ambleside Online, and really liked what I saw there. My Father's World absolutely does not need supplementing. But, I would supplement from time to time with some of the reading from that site. A few times, I was tempted to switch over. But ultimately, I knew it would be too overwhelming for me to go that route.

Finally, in planning our next homeschool year, I gazed a little further ahead. When my middle son starts high school, my youngest would be in his final year of the family cycle. For me, that means teaching the cycle for the third time. Even though I wouldn't complete 3 whole cycles, and even though I love the curriculum, I think you can understand how I did not feel the excitement.

Something new for our homeschool

My previous knowledge of Charlotte Mason, along with my search for new language arts curriculum, led me to Simply Charlotte Mason. After much research and prayer, I knew this was the route to go. This meant more decision-making and piecing together than I'm used to, but I was up for the challenge! I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here what I will be doing, as that will be in a few upcoming posts. For now, suffice it to say that I'm super excited and super motivated to finish our current year!

Book Review

Now on to the actual book review. Once I did my research, talked to God, talked to my husband, and made the decision to switch, I decided to finally purchase Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion. I needed a more thorough understanding of Charlotte Mason's philosophy and method. And while I do plan to read Mason's own writings, I felt that Karen Andreola's book would give me enough to go on in time for our next year. It did exactly that.

Karen Andreola's gentle, eloquent writing style is both easy and a pleasure to read. She tells about how she discovered the Charlotte Mason method, and the book is filled with her experiences over her many years of teaching the CM way to her own children. The book covers the CM philosophy and method well, and makes it easy to understand. She teaches you how to incorporate that method into each subject you teach in your homeschool. Not only that, but the book covers why Charlotte Mason taught the subjects she taught and how she taught them. It also gives practical applications and examples for teaching each subject today. Karen Andreola does an excellent job of incorporating the CM philosophy as a way of life, rather than just having "homeschool" as something to check off of your list.

Finally, reading A Charlotte Mason Home Companion reminded me of certain aspects of My Father's World that I had become complacent on. Such as narration, nature study, and really just enjoying art and music study. Reading this book has really motivated me to refocus on these aspects, and I feel it has really improved our school days and weeks.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I am so glad that I finally purchased it! A Charlotte Mason Companion will be a staple on my bookshelf, and I know I will reference it often as I embark on this new journey.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Starting this Friday, I will be co-hosting a collaboration series where myself and other homeschooling moms will be sharing what we will be using in the upcoming school year. We will go subject-by-subject, and first up is history/social studies/geography. That is where I will go into more detail as to what we will be doing in our next school year. So, if you're looking for inspiration or ideas and want to see what myself and other mamas are using, stay tuned to the blog!