Designing a home-centered life: learning, exploring, and creating with our five littles
When we begin Classical Conversations Cycle 3 in the fall, my littles will be ages 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11. This is our second time through this cycle and my oldest son's last time. I've decided to create a book list all my own this year. (As opposed to previous years where I've layered over an AO list.) I have consulted my best "book buds" - Five in … [Read more...]
In Spring and Summer, we're very nearly all baseball all the time in this family. Since my crew loves the game, I thought perhaps they would love some books involving the game. These books are their favorites, but they are more than baseball books. They're just really great stories. So, maybe they'd be home runs with your gang even if … [Read more...]
Lots of people homeschool for religious reasons. That's true. I guess you could call our reasons religious. Although if you asked me, I'd more likely tell you the reasons weren't our own but God's. However, if you think you can lump us together with those homeschooling simply to shelter their children from the sin of this … [Read more...]
Y’all, I love giving good gifts. It’s fun for me to have an idea and share it with someone with love. I’ve been talking with friends and we’ve all found it a little tricky to shop for this age. So I compiled a list of my favorite ideas. I think I could go on and on with ideas, but I’m just going to stick with the ones that I think my boys would (or … [Read more...]
"...he called out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'" Luke 8:8 Christmas is such an exciting time in our home, as I'm sure it is in yours too. We want to seize this exciting time to tell our children over and over again about Jesus. To praise His name, to speak of our love, to tell His story. It naturally provides even more … [Read more...]
"Art is one of the basics for little children. They love talking, listening to stories, and drawing or painting." Isn't what Susan Schaeffer Macaulay shares in For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School true? Put two of those together and I think you have some of the best building blocks for teaching art. I've made … [Read more...]
At the end of each school year, I pencil out a simple, summer schedule. Mostly full of hopes for our summer and a tiny bit of intentional learning. This year, I’m keeping it even more simple than ever before. Because I’ve learned something this year. I don’t want more, I want more in our less. I want to pick some really good stuff and … [Read more...]
Guys, seriously so many good books in this world! I get so excited when I find some we love and I love sharing them with you. Here are some books we love reading that just so happen to teach us great things about animals. They're like science in a storybook. 1. I Love My Daddy, Because... - In beautiful drawings of daddy animals caring … [Read more...]
Ever since I read this article, I've been wanting to talk with y'all about it. These statistics on biblical illiteracy reveal a sad state of affairs. Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a … [Read more...]
{I say with the utmost affection,} You might be a math geek if you play board slam at home at night with your husband. You might be a competitive math geek if you happen to forget to tell your husband he can use cubes and squares to get the answers he needs. Ha! But, either way, here are some ideas for keeping the game interesting … [Read more...]