A philosophy of education....

Have you ever known something but didn't have the words or thoughts to put it into words?  Well I have, many times in fact.  I think a lot of my brain freezes is because of the constant chatter that is going on around me all day everyday!  I can think fast, but as far as thinking something thru long enough to write it, well, that's a whole other story!  I'm always being asked the question; "What curriculum do you use in your homeschool?"  ERRR, UHHH, well, that's not an easy question.  Basically, a little of this, a lot of that, but none of the above!

If I were to try and explain a 'curriculum' I might be heard to say things like: Charlotte Mason, Sonlight, Classical, The Principal Approach, living books, and the study of Latin and the Arts.  "BUT, what curriculum do you use and what does all that mean?" (However eclectic I tend to go in our homeschool my intentions are to always incorporate CM's methodology in whatever resources I choose to use)

Thanks to Christine Miller I now have as close to my homeschool philosophy as I am going to get. At least until the chatter in my brain and in my world ceases long enough for me to use my own words. For now though I would like to share an awesome article that finally puts words to 'the curriculum that I use."  (However eclectic I tend to go in our homeschool my goal is to always incorporate CM's methodology in whatever resources I choose to use)

Here is a snippet to whet your appetite!

The Classical Christian Homeschooling approach to education takes from the best of both worlds, the world of school as play, the joy of discovery, as well as the world of the classical curriculum and academic rigor.  It recognizes the importance of Language and Latin for producing truly well-educated children, while tailoring how those lessons are presented to children in their different stages.  The teaching method, much more like Charlotte Mason in the elementary years, tries to retain the joy of learning strength of Charlotte Mason, while focusing the lessons on the strength of classical education, the core, the tools of learning. However, as a child matures, the method o teaching - dialectic and rhetoric - matures with him.  HERE is the full article.  

Karen Andreola on Charlotte Mason

Children and a love for learning

What parents wouldn't want their children to love books?  I know I am thrilled when one of my children are caught with a book in their hands.  You know, the "unassigned" kind! I was a reader as a child but today holds more of a challenge to instill a love of reading in our kids.  Today we have to compete with iphones, ipads, computers, electronic games, movies, etc. etc. etc.  When I was a kid the only distraction came in the form of the idiot box.  And fortunately for me my dad rarely let us children veg in front of it.  Of course, we complained, stomped, screamed, and all that but it never swayed my dad! Today, however, I am thankful for it.

So today, how do we instill a love of reading in our offspring? If you have read this far you are probably thinking that I have formulated some great plan to accomplish this but I haven't. I apologize! I do know this though!  

Kids are naturally curious and have a natural tendency towards learning new things.  And reading to them from great books from infant hood is key in developing these desires.  They are fascinated with the stories mom and dad read to them as a small child and as they grow it is only natural for the fire that you built in them as a young child to continue to burn with the children feeding it themselves once they learn to read on their own.  Like anything, teaching and training while young is key to nearly everything we want our children to learn.  Some simple tips to begin your child on his/her journey into the wonderful world of books.

     Read out loud to them while they are very young.

Take them to your local library frequently and let them choose their own (appropriate) books.

Interest them in little 'tea parties' where reading aloud to them imparting good feelings towards books.

Perhaps design a 'special' reading place for your child with baskets of favorite classic books, pillows and blankets.

Send extra praise towards your reluctant reader upon completion of reading for a specified time.

And most of all, again, as with anything we mom and pops do example soars above all else.  Pick up a book yourself and in doing so you will be sending a powerful message to your children.

And remember this.  No matter how much you plead, bribe, beg, demand, or even expect some form of read to come from your child it just might not happen.  If this is the case then I suggest that you stop beating yourself up and accept that for whatever reason your child is either not ready, or simply is not interested in reading at all.  It happens, because we are all created individually by a loving creator and no one is created equal.  Different strokes for different folks.

Commonplace Books/Learning Journals/Notebooking

Here is the long awaited post I have promised to those who have emailed me in the past asking for ideas and examples and how we create these awesome and fun copybooks.  HERE are the copybooks we have chosen to use but any kind of resource such as a spiral ring notebook, or a 3 ring binder would work.  I have a friend who, at the end of each year takes the pages of her children's notebook and has them made into an actual book!

What ever a person decides to call them! Here I have shared several photos of various pages from my children's learning journals. We have chosen this method of learning in our homeschool instead of the more typical ways of showing information received which come in the in the form of tests, book reports, quizzes, etc. It is another from of narration if you will. Oral narration certainly has its place but I am finding my children enjoy the use of their learning journals so much more! We have done this for several years and are getting quite the collection of the most beautiful works of art imagined. In their pages I am finding the imagination of each child while still being able to critique in a sense the depth of their learning.

So what exactly goes into a commonplace/learning journal copybook? Basicall, anything that can fit between the pages of a book! Here is a list of what I have seen in ours!

Favorite poems Passages from a book that is being read
Scripture verses that were important to them
Tidbits of facts from history, geography, nature studies, composer study, or art study Latin sayings Recipes and photos of the dish they was prepared
Photos of a recent project that they created
Drawings
Diagrams
Vocabulary words that they found interesting. I have one child who loves saying words and she puts them into her journal Summaries of their reading
Coloring pages from online pertaining to something being learned
Clip art
Maps from a particular geographical location pertaining to studies
Details from a field trip taken along with photos

The ideas are endless. I'm 100% certain I have forgotten much of what I see in their books but off the top of my head I hit it pretty well!  If you have more ideas not listed here I would love to hear about them. There is always room for more imagination.

Your questions answered....

A question received through email....

"I love to make homemade, whole grain bread for my family and I see that you make it too. But I can't seem to get my family to enjoy it because by the time it's finished it is like a brick. Any suggestions on how to take out the heaviness?"

It's quite simple actually to tame those heavy grains! Pre-soaking in vinegar, yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, etc. is the way to lesson the heaviness. Not to mention the agent chosen to soak the grains in pre-digests those harder proteins making it easy on our tummies and digestion system. I have a few recipes that would work nicely for this. This should cure the 'brick bread' woes all the way. The bread is so very much lighter and fluffier than any I've ever made. The links below are for a quick whole grain bread, and one for yeasted whole grain bread.

Quick whole grain bread

Kefir whole grain bread