A Fresh New Year?

 

It's the first Monday of a new year! I'm not sure about anyone else, but to me, this does NOT feel like the usual clean slate. Not after last year. In some ways, it seems there will be more of the same. But, while I am paying attention to what's going on "out there," I'm not going to talk about that here. As much as I don't really feel that "clean slate" feeling right now, I am determined to MAKE one. For myself, my home, and my family. What I want to do this year, more than ever before, is to focus on GOD, family, and home.

:: I Need My Eyes On Jesus! ::

In times such as these, it is so easy to get swept up in the goings-on of the world and get overwhelmed. VERY overwhelmed. So much fear, worry, and panic is absolutely vying for our attention. Demanding our focus. I spent a good chunk of time last year entertaining them. NO MORE! The only thing I want to be overwhelmed by is the peace that passes all understanding (Phillipians 4:7) and the liberty of Christ (Galatians 5:1). Keeping my focus on Jesus is my number one priority. Spending time with God, studying His Word, spending time in prayer, praise, and worship.

With my relationship with Christ as my foundation, I can then make myself (as a wife and mother) and my home a refuge and a haven for my family. Which brings me to my number two priority...being intentional about pointing my family to Jesus in every circumstance. Being a Christian homeschooling family, yes, of course we are learning about Jesus, reading our Bibles, and praying. But there's definitely room for improvement. Not only in doing those things, but also in connecting them to every-day, moment-by-moment life. I'm asking God to remind me when all those little opportunities arise.

:: Prioritizing Family and Home ::

One thing that hasn't changed for me with the New Year is feeling the need to refocus on taking care of my family and home. Not that I ever really lost focus of that, per se. Things just need some readjustment. As with everyone, the chaos of last year stomped its way in and made us lose focus at times. Some things were shoved out of the way. It's time to pick up the pieces, bring back those things we want to keep, toss what we realized we really didn't need, add some new things we've learned, and gird ourselves against those things the enemy uses to destroy.

With those "pieces," I mean both spiritual AND physical. As we learn to keep our eyes on Jesus, I am confident He will purge us of those things unneeded in our life and spirit. At the same time, I want to also go through and purge our home of those things that are not edifying or useful.

:: Learning From 2020 ::

As bad as 2020 was, I can definitely say my family has learned some useful things! I'm not going to go into specifics in this post, as I really don't want my first post of the year to be a novel. Suffice it to say that 2020 has really cleared up some fog, and has shown us what is truly important to our family and what was a waste of time and energy other things were. And I hope to take those lessons into 2021.

For Such a Time as This

 

Hi all! It's been awhile. I am realizing that, even in the midst of the chaos that is our world right now, making our homes a haven is more important than ever! And that waiting for things to "settle down" in life is just not an option. Once the holidays are past, I plan on blogging regularly once again.

For now, I will leave you with this short, sweet, and to-the-point Bible verse that's been weighing on me lately, and is for ALL of us living during this weird time in history:

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" ~Esther 4:14

He is Risen!

 

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,  saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

 And they remembered His words.  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
~Luke 24:1-12

Hallelujah!!! Christ is risen indeed!!!

No matter what is going on in this world, no one will be able to take away the fact that our Lord and Savior, King Jesus, has risen from the dead! The Living God is on His throne. Amen!!! 🙌

I hope this post finds you in good health and rejoicing spirit! Have a blessed Easter, everyone!

When Life Ain't Perfect

 

Hello and welcome! I realize I have been on a long blogging hiatus. After a lot of busyness on the home front, I struggled for quite awhile with my old friend Perfectionism. I could say I had writer's block. But really, I didn't feel like I had that perfect thing to share with anyone. Then I had hiccups with my camera, so I couldn't, you know, take that perfect picture if I ever did come up with a post. But I've missed writing and interacting with you all, and have been feeling a stronger and stronger tug on my heart to just. start. up. again. already! So, here I am! If you are new here, welcome! I hope you enjoy your time here at my little corner of the internet. If you do, please consider hitting the Follow button over on the sidebar. If you are a returning visitor, welcome back! And thank you for your patience with me. 😉

A world of chaos?

I also realize I've returned to blogging in the middle of a world-wide pandemic. I pray you are all doing well! Please let me know if you have any prayer requests in the comments below. I would be happy to pray for you, and I would love it if we could all pray for each other!

There have been quite a few changes around my home. My oldest has temporarily moved back in until things have leveled off. My Hubby is an essential employee at both his full-time and part-time jobs, one being a first responder. That in itself presents a whole new level of precautions and prayers in our home. Especially since I myself am in what is considered the "high risk" category, being diabetic and having an autoimmune disease.

It has not been easy, but I have found a few ways to find peace in the midst of all of this chaos.

How I make my home a haven for my family in the midst of a troubled time

• Prioritize your focus! I'm not gonna lie. Last month, I started losing my focus on Jesus. There was so much going on, so much information (and disinformation) coming in, so many things to do, adjustments to make. I started losing sight of the One that was needed more than anything else. While I was keeping up on my Bible schedule, I came to realize that that's pretty much all I was doing. Keeping up. Checking it off the list. So I could move on to the next thing. I became weary, exhausted, both in body and spirit. When I realized (finally!) what was happening, I asked the Lord to help me bring back my focus to where it needs to be. I now wake up in the morning excited again to spend time with my Father. And I am definitely feeling His peace again.
  
• Love on and care for my Hubby. His already hefty jobs just got heftier. Plus, with my being high risk, he has taken on the task of going out to get things when we need them. I always try and make sure I'm taking care of our home and family in a way that will lighten his load, while making sure I still have more than enough energy for him when he finally walks in the door at night. Now, I'm trying to be even more diligent. I'm definitely not perfect, but I'm keeping GRACE in my mind and on my heart.
  
• Routines! Oh, these are so, so important right now! I think it was a little before Christmas or Thanksgiving of last year that I jumped back in hard core to the Flylady method. And I am still going! Not 100% perfect at being consistent, but most of my morning and evening routines are automatic by now. Which is great, because it brings a sense of stability to our home life. Even though we are in a time where we can't have guests into our home, I still try to keep things "guest ready." Except now, I say that it's "family ready!" With my routines on autopilot, I do it without even thinking about it.

Make your haven a place to relax!

With the exception of not being able to go places, not much has changed in our homeschool. I do relax on it at times right now, however. Some days, we all have the energy to speed along. Other days, it's more like we have to chip away at it. And some days, we just plain need a brain break. I really think God is using this time to show me that our homeschool doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing thing. There's a flow that is unique to each family, and it is GOOD to go with it!

Besides school, it seems like everyone in my family is really learning more to enjoy each other's company. And at the same time, respect each other's space when it's needed. I really believe these times are also making us more thankful for so many things we have previously taken for granted.

How are YOU doing?

I would love to hear below some good things happening in your life, in general, or maybe specifically because of having to shelter in place. I also welcome prayer requests and I would love us all to be praying for each other!

Thank you, friends, for stopping by and reading! I hope you all have a blessed Easter weekend!

Back to Basics After a Season of Chaos

 

Hello everyone! Yep, it's been awhile. We had so many things going on the last few months that something had to get pushed aside. A few somethings. Blogging was one of them. Illness, including a couple of big scares that ended up turning out alright; a wedding in which both myself and my Hubby were participants; a new school year with new curriculum; and my first birdie getting ready to fly the nest. It's been a whirlwind, definitely super stressful at times. And I am SO READY for routine. For calm.

That being said, the next month or so will be all about pulling back and getting back to the basics. My oldest will be moving out at the end of this week, so we still have some not normal stuff left. But in order to keep the transition as smooth as possible on both ends, I'm trying to get back into a modified routine this week.

::God::

First order of business. I need to get back into regular, daily Bible study. I have been slacking on this lately, and I gotta say, I can feel it both mentally and physically. This needs to happen in the morning right when I get up. The two that I'm homeschooling will also wake up before chores and breakfast and separately do their own Bible study. My 13-year-old son has an independent study he's doing for school, and my 10-year-old will just read out of his own Bible while myself and his brother are doing ours. He does enjoy journaling while he reads, so he will have those supplies on hand.

::Sleep::

On top of everything else going on, Hubby has had some weird work schedules lately and both my and his sleep have been sorely lacking the last couple of months. I've been relying entirely too much on coffee during the daytime hours to keep me spinning and it is catching up! Getting back into the habit of having a decent bedtime is going to be essential now.

::Food::

Confession time. I have not been eating the best at all lately. In the beginning of all the busyness, I made sure to prep. Toward the end, I started slacking. I have not fallen off the Trim Healthy Mama wagon altogether, but there's been quite a bit of off-plan food slipping through the proverbial cracks around here. It hasn't gotten to the point where the scale or my clothes have been affected. But again, it's catching up with me and I am REALLY feeling it. Between this and my sleep situation, my energy is running on fumes.

So, I'm bringing back the mentality I started a little over a year ago when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Eating off plan is simply not an option. As I type, I have my Instant Pot and Crock Pot going, getting on-plan food prepped for the week. I have finished restocking my pantry with THM-friendly foods, and am currently working on my freezer.

::Movement::

This goes right along with the food. My workouts have pretty much stopped these last couple of months. This is another factor in my waning energy and mood swings, feeling bloated, and rising blood pressure. I want that feeling back that I am getting strong! Since the weather is getting colder, I have my stack of preferred DVD workouts. To keep it from getting boring, I'm changing it up every day. On the nice days we still have left, my workout will be bike riding with my boys.

::Basic Daily Routines::

A couple of weeks ago, I had this notion that I was going to do a massive Fall cleaning and decluttering. Well, that fizzled out pretty quickly, as most would understand with everything else. Now? Nope. Taking it way back to basics and just having Flylady tell me what to do! It's so much more simpler than when I try my own perfectionist methods. And ironically, it gets more done!

::Homeschool::

Our homeschool over this busy season certainly hasn't gotten shoved aside completely, but out of necessity it had to be moved down on the priority list a few notches. Starting last week, it got moved back up to one of the top priorities in our home. And we are on an awesome track! It helps that we all absolutely adore our new curriculum. Stay tuned for posts about that in the coming months!

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Hmm, seems like a lot doesn't it? These were all in place before the whirlwind, so believe me it is SO NICE to get back to it! Obviously, I am slowly getting back to blogging as well! I also enjoy YouTube, both making my own and watching the videos of others. I haven't done either one lately. I definitely want to get back to watching and supporting my friends! And I'm sure I'll eventually get back to making videos, but that can't be my priority quite yet.

Thank you all for reading! It's nice to be back. If you would, I would so appreciate your prayers for this mama heart and my family as we navigate this time of transition in our lives.

Have a great week!

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 3:9-10

 

It's Sunday! I hope you're all having a blessed August so far! Once again, it's time to take a look at the next few verses in Proverbs. If you're new here, this is my Proverbs study. I'm slowly working through the book of Proverbs. I share a few verses at a time, as well as my thoughts. If you're interested in checking out past Proverbs studies, see their links at the end of this post. Let's dig in, shall we?

Honor the Lord with your possessions,

And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

So your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

~Proverbs 3:9-10

How Do We Handle Possessions?

Everything we own should be used to honor the Lord. After all, everything we own is actually His, is it not? Psalm 24:1, as well as many other verses, tells us this. I could go into a whole separate blog post about decluttering those things that aren't being used for anything honorable. But I won't. I think you see where I'm going with this one.

Also, give to God first of your increase. This means not giving Him what you may have left, after using what you "need" first. Give to God first, and then trust that He will provide for all of your needs. This can be very hard for some people to do. And I get it. My family has seen some pretty tough financial times. Many, many others have seen far worse. So I can't speak for everyone, and no one can speak for me. Ah, but see what happens when we look at others instead of Jesus? What does God say? Just look at the above 2 verses! If we honor Him and trust Him with all we have, "our barns will be filled with plenty, and our vats will overflow with new wine." To me, that says that not only will God provide all of our needs, we will have an abundance! Perhaps this includes not only needs, but some of our desires also.

Getting Practical

How can we apply this to our lives? I always say, first you need to pray! Look at verse 9. Is there anything you own that is dishonoring to God? Is there any way that you can use it to honor Him instead? If not, it likely needs to go! How can you honor God with the "firstfruits of your increase?" Again, pray! It is between you and God what you give and who you give it to, in order to serve Him.

Finally, how can we trust God to provide for our needs? I think you know what I'm going to say. If you first need to pray for God to increase your faith and trust in Him, do that. He honors the honest prayers of those truly seeking Him.

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I apologize if it seems like I'm being a bit vague here. I don't really feel like I can give you a specific to-do list for this topic! Since I depend on prayer and communicating with God through His Word, I want to encourage you to do the same! Pray, read God's Word, and pray for answers.

I would love for you to add to the discussion, though, and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope you all have a blessed week!

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
10-Proverbs 3:5-6
11-Proverbs 3:7-8

Wow, It's August Already?! Update From My Home

 

Is it just me, or has this summer flown by especially fast? I cannot believe it is already almost a week into August! It won't be long until Summer winds down and Autumn will be upon us. Despite some incredibly hot and humid days, I've really enjoyed this summer and I'm a little sad that its end is rushing to meet us so quickly. However, Autumn is my favorite season. And by August, I am definitely ready to start looking forward to the cooler days of September and October!

I've been a little quiet here on the blog lately, but I assure you, that it definitely won't stay that way! While we homeschool through the summer, we've still managed to soak in a lot of that "lazy day" summer goodness! While there is most certainly a time for that, I decided a few weeks ago that I needed to start adding more structure back into our home. Good habits are forming again, but that has left me little time to write. And that's okay! Once our routine settles in again, there will (hopefully!) be more time to add back in the relaxing activities.

So bear with me a little longer and stick around! I have a good list of posts I would like to write in the near future. I also want to hear from you, my readers, if there's anything in particular you would like me to post about. And if you haven't already, I would love for you to subscribe to my blog! Just hit the follow button in the sidebar.

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next post! Have a great week, everyone!

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 3:7-8

 

Happy Sunday everyone! It is the Lord's Day, and it's time for another short Proverbs study. If you're just joining me, I've been slooooooooowly working through the book of Proverbs in the Bible a few verses at a time. Sharing the verses, and sharing my thoughts on those verses. At the end of this post, I will share the links to my past posts on this study just in case you want to read those. Let's get started, shall we?

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

It will be health to your flesh,

And strength to your bones.

~Proverbs 3:7-8

It is dangerous to live the way we think we ought to live, and to demand that God act the way we think He should act! Sometimes, we may think that we have found a "better" way than what God lays out in His Word. But anything different or opposing to God's Word, is really just us thinking we are wise when we are actually being fools.

On the other hand, accepting and trusting GOD'S way instead of our own, will give us true health and strength. Does this mean that we will have a perfect life? Does this mean we will be perfectly healthy and strong physically? No. God's Word does not promise us a perfect life this side of eternity. However, if we put our full trust in God, He will be faithful and give us His strength to get through whatever life may throw our way.

The waters will not always be nice and calm. In fact, they will be stormy and downright treacherous at times. But we need to remember that God Our Father, Who is bigger than anything else we can imagine, is right there with us. And He asks that we place our trust in Him. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Easier said than done! But if we can start with even earnestly asking Him to increase our faith, He will be faithful to give His children what they need.

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I highly encourage you to study God's Word for yourself. Don't take my word for it! Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you understanding, and then dive in to God's Word!

Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a blessed week!

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
10-Proverbs 3:5-6

Charlotte Mason Resources: My Favorites

 

Hi everyone! We are working on finishing up our homeschool year, since we are all ready for our brand new year! In previous posts, I have shared how our homeschool will be changing big time in the coming year. In light of that, I have been doing lots and lots of research on the Charlotte Mason method. Today, I want to share with you some of my favorite Charlotte Mason resources that I have come across so far.

These resources cover everything from the CM homeschooling method, curriculum, and Mother Culture (for the homeschooling mother). Now, keep in mind, these are just my personal favorites that I have found in my research. I know there are tons more resources out there that I just haven't stumbled upon yet. If you have any additional Charlotte Mason resources that I don't have here, please share down in the comments!

Books

• Home Education, by Charlotte Mason. This is the first book in the Charlotte Mason series. I did read the modern English version, as Miss Mason's Victorian style was hard for me to read. This was a great book to get acquainted with Charlotte Mason's thoughts on education.

• A Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola. I recently did a review on this book. It gave me a good overview of the Charlotte Mason method, as well as tons of ideas to incorporate that method into all the different subjects. Even though I've read it through, I will be referring back to it frequently, especially during our first year.

• Mother Culture, also by Karen Andreola. I have not read this book all the way through yet. I have flipped through it and started it. I already can tell this is going to be a great resource for me as a homeschooling mother.

Those are the only books I have read so far about the Charlotte Mason method. I do plan to eventually read the rest of Charlotte Mason's series. I want to try and read the original versions as stiff books for my mother culture reading. There are other books out there that will eventually make it to my reading list. I recently ordered Consider This: Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition, by Karen Glass.

Curriculum Resources

Ambleside Online. This was my favorite Charlotte Mason resource for a long time! This is a free CM curriculum site that provides complete booklists, schedules, and resources for each year, grades 0-12. Now, there are some things you will have to gather yourself and purchase (math, language arts, etc.), but many of the books they recommend are public domain and can be opened or downloaded in your favorite reading app. Also, you can always use your library, or just purchase the books if you're trying to build a home library. Even though this wasn't our main curriculum, I have used the booklists and recommendations for nature study, composers, artists, and more for years to supplement our curriculum.

Simply Charlotte Mason. This is the main curriculum I will be using in our next year to help us transition over to the CM method. I came upon this site when searching for a different language arts & writing program. I just fell in love with the resources and suggestions there!

My Father's World. Now, while this curriculum is not fully Charlotte Mason, I have to plug it here. It is what we started out with and used for nearly 12 years. This curriculum incorporates CM, along with the Classical and Unit Study methods. And it's what turned me on to the Charlotte Mason method in the first place. Even though we are switching away from it, I still recognize it as a great curriculum, and I still highly recommend it!

Websites/Blogs

Simply Charlotte Mason. Yes, just like the curriculum site, Sonya Shafer maintains a blog on that site. I do prefer watching her videos, which I will link below, but there's all kinds of good info on the blog as well.

AfterThoughts Blog. Brandy has been using the AmblesideOnline curriculum with her children for years and has tons and TONS of information in her blog posts! This blog contains lots of good CM info, booklists, printables, and so much more!

Sage Parnassus. I just very recently found this blog, and have yet to explore it deeply. But just from what I've read so far, and the content menu, I know I will be referring back to it frequently as a resource in our new school year.

Simply Convivial. Mystie combines Classical and Charlotte Mason. I love her posts not only about homeschooling, but homemaking as well! In my opinion, many different homeschoolers can find something useful on her blog.

Homeschool Solutions with Pam Barnhill. Pam also incorporates some Charlotte Mason into her homeschool. I just love her morning basket, ideas, and encouragement she has for homeschoolers!

Again, I know there are many other websites and blogs out there for Charlotte Mason Homeschooling! With all the perusing I've been doing with the above lately, I just haven't discovered them yet. 😉

Podcasts/YouTube

As of late, I think podcasts and videos are my favorite way to absorb the Charlotte Mason way of life. I have really been enjoying the following.

Scolé Sisters. You will recognize the 3 hosts of this podcast from a few of the blogs above! This is my absolute favorite podcast right now. I've been binge-listening starting with the first episode, trying to make my way to the current one. So much great information and inspiration!

A Delectable Education. Another great podcast that I felt like I had to start at the beginning and catch up.

Simply Charlotte Mason. Now, this is also available as a podcast. But, since I prefer watching on YouTube when I can, that's what I'm linking here. Again, lots of great information, especially if you're using any Simply Charlotte Mason curriculum.

Those are the podcasts I'm currently stalking. Again, I know there are more, including some of the bloggers I listed above that run their own podcasts. But, I like to pick a few and catch up. Then, I will add another. It's just how I roll!

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So, the above are all my current favorite Charlotte Mason resources that I just had to share with you all. The more I absorb and learn, the more I feel that I made the right choice to switch over. And, the more I see that the Charlotte Mason method is not just for that certain part of your day when you're "doing school." It really can become a beautiful way of life. ❤️

Thank you so much for reading! If you have any other resources that would be helpful in the Charlotte Mason journey, please share them in the comments below. Have a great day!

Homeschool Choices for 2019-2020: Electives and Enrichments

 

Woohoo, it is the first Friday in July! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer so far! It is now time for the fifth and final post in this collaboration series. If this is your first time visiting, this series has been about homeschool curriculum choices for the 2019-2020 school year. I am co-hosting this collaboration with 5 other wonderful homeschoolers. 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!

Also, be sure to check out the playlist and blog list at the end of this post, which contain posts from other participants in this collaboration. If you're still looking for curriculum ideas and suggestions, you will find many here. So far, we have shared our choices for History/Geography/Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, and Science & Bible. Today, we will be sharing our choices for electives & enrichments.

I will add, that since we are changing around a lot of our curriculum this year, I am following a lot of the suggestions found in the Year 1 Enrichment Ideas from Simply Charlotte Mason.

These are the subjects I'm most excited about this coming school year, so let's get to it!

Habits & Personal Development

Laying Down the Rails

I'm really excited to be focusing on habits this year! In Laying Down the Rails, Sonya Shafer has compiled everything Charlotte Mason has written about habits. The book is organized into Decency and Propriety Habits, Mental Habits, Moral Habits, Physical Habits, and Religious Habits. I also have Laying Down the Rails for Children, Books 1 & 2, by Lanaya Gore. These books take each of the habits Charlotte Mason wrote about, and gives you lessons to work with your kids on those habits. Charlotte Mason advocated for instilling one habit at a time, while just keeping an eye on the others already instilled. Each habit should be focused on consistently for 6-8 weeks before moving on to the next habit. 

I picked 3 habits to work on during the next school year: Attention, Obedience, and Truthfulness. According to Charlotte Mason, these are the 3 most important habits to instill before adding in the others. I agree! If children have these 3 locked down, the others will fall into line more smoothly.

Ourselves

In addition to the above, my 13-year-old will be reading, on his own, a book called Ourselves, Book I: Self-Knowledge. This book is part of the series that Charlotte Mason herself wrote. He will be reading the first half of this book this coming year. Ambleside Online has all of Charlotte Mason's volumes for free reading on their website, and that's what we'll be using for this. 

My Own Additions

I also have the following books that I will be adding to our book basket: The Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennet; and A Child's Book of Character Building, Book 1, by Ron & Rebekah Coriell. Both of these books contain short stories, categorized by character traits. We have been reading The Book of Virtues already, but we still have a lot to read in it.

Math Enrichment

I forgot to put these in my Math post, but since they really are an enrichment and not the main math curriculum, I went ahead and added them here!

Both of my boys were interested in this, so I ordered them each a kit from the Your Business Math Series from Simply Charlotte Mason. One child wanted the Pet Store, the other wanted the Book Store. These books show your kids the basics of starting up and running a business.

The start up for the business includes: creating a logo, ordering and recording inventory, setting prices, and starting and keeping a ledger. Then, the book goes through 12 months of scenarios for that business, and includes "chance cards" to draw that will switch things up. The child then needs to figure out how to keep their business running each month.

Each month, they will learn how to write checks, pay bills, figure sales tax, adjust inventory, pay sales tax, advertise, calculate profit/loss, and more!

My sons already have their own lawn mowing business, so I think these books will help them sharpen up their business and customer service skills!

Picture Study

Picture Study, like Music and Poetry Studies, is an area where I could have saved some money and just gathered the resources myself. But since this coming year is going to be such a big change for us, I wanted to really get a feel for how these are done in the Charlotte Mason method. So for this year, I ordered the materials offered by Simply Charlotte Mason.

We will be studying 3 artists this year: Constable, Velazquez, and Rembrandt. I ordered a Picture Study Portfolio for each, put together by Emily Kiser. Each portfolio contains 8 full-color works of the artist. In addition, there is also a book that explains how to do Picture Study, a brief biography of the artist, and a story/description of each of the works contained in the portfolio.

Music & Hymn Study

This year, we will be studying 3 composers: Bach, Chopin, and Beethoven. These music kits, Music Study with the Masters, were done by Sonya Shafer of Simply Charlotte Mason. Each kit comes with a booklet that tells you how to do music study, as well as a biography of the composer. The kit also contains 2 CD's each full of that composer's music.

We also will be learning some hymns throughout the year, using Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan. I love this book, as it gives the story behind each hymn and its writer. We will also be using YouTube to find the tune and sing along.

Poetry

For our Poetry Study, we will be learning about Robert Louis Stevenson and reading his poems throughout the year. We will be using Enjoy the Poems: Robert Louis Stevenson, by Ruth Smith and Sonya Shafer.

Shakespeare

We will be doing a Shakespeare study for one term this year. I chose A Midsummer Night's Dream. We will be using the Shakespeare in Three Steps guide by Sonya Shafer. I also ordered the recommended Ark Angel audio reading of the script. I was able to find this on Thrift Books for a reasonable price, still in the packaging!

Handicrafts

We all discussed what kind of handicrafts should be taught. Handicrafts need to be useful skills. So, after much discussion, we chose CPR/First Aid for one term. Hubby is on our fire department and a certified instructor, so he will be able to both teach and certify each of the boys. For one term, they are to take a firearms and safety class. And for one term, they each chose something different they would like to learn. My 13-year-old wants to learn photography. We have a photographer in the family that we will soon be asking to help us out with that. And my 10-year-old wants to learn woodcarving, especially whittling. We already have the basic tools for this, so this should work out great!

Nature Study

For Nature Study this past year, I purchased each of the boys one of these Nature Journals by The Thinking Tree. We have all kinds of beautiful parks in our area where we can go walking and just observe nature. We have not used these a whole lot, so for this next year, we will continue to use these Nature Journals. When the weather's nice I try to get us out for a nature walk at least once per week.

We also have collected tons of field guides for our state and region to study & reference. Trees, edibles, wildflowers, birds, butterflies, mammals, and also an animal track pocket guide.

Foreign Language & Latin

For Foreign Language, we will continue with Mango Languages. I love this program! I pay $20 monthly, and I can have up to 5 different users on this account, and as many of the languages as they want. We have done some Spanish, and my oldest did German when he was in high school. A couple of months ago, we decided to switch over to French. I took 3 years of it in high school, and we have all been doing it together.

In addition to Mango, my 13-year-old will start a basic Latin study this year. Over the past 2 years, we did a simple vocabulary study of Greek and Latin roots in our English language. This book should take my son a little deeper into Latin, while still being quick and light. I believe learning Latin helps solidify understanding the English language.

Family Read Aloud

And finally, these are the read-alouds from the list I chose this year:
Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan
Bambi, by Felix Salten
The Story of the Treasure Seekers, by E. Nesbit
The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George
I already had Treasure Island, and I believe it is an abridged version. So before we start that book, I am going to see if I can find a non-abridged version. I like reading the original stories. Other than that, I am so looking forward to reading all of these books with my kids! ❤️

That's It!

Whew! Now that is a long list of enrichment & elective goodies! Keep in mind, these will be spread throughout the year, nothing except read-aloud is done every single day (in fact, many are only once per week), and many of them will be short lessons each time we do them. And except for the few things I noted as separate for my 13-year-old, all of these will be done all together. So, yes, looking at it all in one post seems like a lot! But I'm hoping the schedule I am working out for everything will be well-balanced.

Thank you, if you have read this far with me! I would love to see your comments below, if you have any questions, or if you have used any of these items or will be using them. I hope this post gave you some ideas, and don't forget to check out the playlist and blog list below!

Have a great weekend, everyone! And if you're still celebrating the 4th, be safe!

Playlist: Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

2019-2020 Curriculum Review Part 5: Electives and Enrichment-DyerTyme