Tag Archives: homeschool

Our Homeschool Curriculum (I Bought a Whole Program!)

Our Homeschool Curriculum (I Bought a Whole Program!)

I know a lot of you are thinking about next year’s curricula for your homeschool and some of you may be thinking about homeschooling for the first time. I’ve received numerous emails asking what we are currently using. I haven’t posted our plans in awhile because we’ve been trying something, and I wanted to give… Continue Reading

Summer Picture Book Recommendations

Summer Picture Book Recommendations

I have vivid memories of spending long summer mornings at the library picking out piles of books to read. My very first trip to the library was the summer after my kindergarten graduation. The elderly librarian handed me a vintage hardback of Betsy’s Busy Summer by Carolyn Haywood–a little treasure in a sweet series of… Continue Reading

Best Secondhand Bookshops in the UK

Best Secondhand Bookshops in the UK

This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series Sabbatical and Scholé You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Before we ever left for the UK, I knew that I wanted to bring back books. I am just a build-a-library, rescue the out-of-print books kind of person. I have been a reader since childhood, I majored in English literature at university and I’m currently working on a PhD, and now I homeschool my children,… Continue Reading

Favorite Family Nature Walks in the UK (with a Baby and Toddler)

Favorite Family Nature Walks in the UK (with a Baby and Toddler)

This entry is part 11 of 13 in the series Sabbatical and Scholé You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

We did lots of historical things and many typical touristy things during our months in the UK, but some of our very favorite adventures were the nature walks we took as a family. Anytime I looked for a nature walk, I wanted it to be doable with a toddler and a baby. I had to… Continue Reading

I’m Back with the Best of the UK (with Kids)

I’m Back with the Best of the UK (with Kids)

This entry is part 10 of 13 in the series Sabbatical and Scholé You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

  I went MIA. I fully admit it. Blogging through our months in the UK was my original plan, but stretches without internet and the pace we kept during our stay made that plan prohibitive. Plus, I kept a journal every single day all those months, which basically used up any writing energy I had… Continue Reading

Sabbatical Homeschool Planning: The British Year (with Book Lists)

Sabbatical Homeschool Planning: The British Year (with Book Lists)

This entry is part 6 of 13 in the series Sabbatical and Scholé You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

We’re getting ready to leave tomorrow! We’re zipping up suitcases, cleaning house, and finalizing transportation and accommodations. And to add to the mix, I’m planning how we’ll homeschool in another country. About a year ago I started asking for advice from other homeschoolers who’d lived abroad short term. There were a surprising number who had,… Continue Reading

Mothers, Make Time for Yourselves…Read a Book

Mothers, Make Time for Yourselves…Read a Book

Consider this: Parents are called by God to disciple their children. Luke’s gospel tells us,  “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). This is true of character, but this is also true of habits and loves. Consider this: Mothers bear the image… Continue Reading

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for 5th and 7th Grades

Homeschool Curriculum Choices for 5th and 7th Grades

We started back to school this week! Here is what we’re using this year in our homeschool to foster a joyful search for wisdom and beauty and the formation of habits of Christlikeness. Read to the end to find out what new things my kids are loving so far. Language Arts Spelling Wisdom from Simply… Continue Reading

Beautiful Poetry Anthologies for Children

Beautiful Poetry Anthologies for Children

In honor of national poetry month, here is a list of my favorite poetry anthologies to use with children. A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (My favorite illustrated versions are by Tasha Tudor and Jessie Willcox Smith.) A Child’s Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa A Child’s Treasury of Poems by Mark… Continue Reading

A Homeschool Mom Reads: February and March 2017

A Homeschool Mom Reads: February and March 2017

Here are my noteworthy reads from the last couple of months:           Augustine’s Confessions, translated by Maria Boulding–Our church ladies’ book group finished this in February. I really enjoyed this very readable modern translation. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, read by Nadia May [audiobook]–Love, love, loved this! Great narration also. A Handbook to Morning Time by… Continue Reading

A Homeschool Mom Reads: June and July 2016

A Homeschool Mom Reads: June and July 2016

June was baby month around here (Christopher arrived on June 20th). In addition to getting everything ready for his arrival and resting up for the big day, I managed to get in a decent amount of summer reading as well. I love the extra time I generally have in the summer for reading. Here’s what… Continue Reading

A Homeschool Mom Reads: May 2016

A Homeschool Mom Reads: May 2016

We finished school this month, so that has, thankfully, left me with some more time to read. As a summer goal, I’m going to try each month to read some fiction, have a biography or history going, and also have a more purely didactic book going (on education, theology, Christian life, parenting, etc.). We’ll see… Continue Reading

Why music should be central in your homeschool

Why music should be central in your homeschool

My goal in this essay is to convince you that it is important that music be a part of your homeschool. My goal is to persuade you that music is essential to your children’s educational development. For you this may not be necessary — you recognize the benefits of music in the lives of your children. But perhaps you view music… Continue Reading

A Homeschool Mom Reads: My Book List for 2016

A Homeschool Mom Reads: My Book List for 2016

First of all, if you follow this series, you know I didn’t post the books I read in October through December. The truth is, I can’t remember all of them! I’m usually very good at keeping track on Goodreads, but we did a lot of traveling, which meant a lot of library downloads to my… Continue Reading

Children’s Books Shopping List (with FREE download)

Children’s Books Shopping List (with FREE download)

Our library book sale is coming up this month, plus I’ve been frequenting our local Half Price Books, so I recently made myself a book list to take along anytime I’m doing book shopping. I’ve gleaned these books from Sarah Clarkson’s Read for the Heart (I explain why I like this better than Honey for… Continue Reading

Virtue Formation Through Liturgy in Our Homeschool Morning Time

Virtue Formation Through Liturgy in Our Homeschool Morning Time

  Earlier this month I had the privilege to speak at a women’s conference for ten like-minded Fort Worth churches. I spoke on family worship in the home–developing daily habits, or liturgies (which can be defined as habitual group actions), reflective of the gospel and of the church’s worship in order to cultivate Christlikeness in… Continue Reading