Photos

Drawing the robin we saw in our yard.

Making scented bath salts for handicrafts.

Creating Bacteria Cultures

Tree class on location.

The Pumpkin Patch at 7 Acre Woods

Petting Zoo

Listening to Beethoven while drawing.

Searching for a beaver dam.

Making a store at park day.

Fire Station field trip with the homeschool group.

Woodworking with Papa for handicrafts.

Nature hike.

The rope swing at the park at the end of my street.

Learning to sew.

Writing in the nature notebook.

Location

Weather permitting, work is often done out of doors or comfortably situated on a couch in the family room where students are free to relax while listening to or reading captivating stories that transport us to faraway places or times in history.  The kitchen becomes a work space for copywork, art, math or learning to cook a recipe.  The yard is a place where imaginations run free and children can play, swing or climb a small tree.  The park at the end of the street is a place to explore and observe nature, catch minnows in a river or swing from a rope swing.

Curriculum Description

A Rich Curriculum to Develop The Whole Person and Inspire Character

This curriculum is implemented through a gentle and easy approach that respects the child as a person.  The student is given the gift of reading the works of authors that are passionate about their subject and have presented their ideas in a way that creates an emotional connection to the characters or people being written about.  The result is a relationship that is built between the author and reader. 

History Delve into the past with the works of renowned historians such as This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall, Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster or Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula.

Literature Read time honored classics like Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit, Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty, Robin Hood by Howard Pyle, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle.

Art Appreciation Study artists and their works that span the Renaissance through modern times such as Albrecht Durer, Jean Honore Fragonard, Norman Rockwell, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat.

Art Learn to draw, paint, and sculpt through the modeling of the works of master artists.

Biography Read riveting biographies of famous people which inspire like The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge, Michelangelo by Diane Stanley, Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik, Galileo and the Magic Numbers by Sidney Rosen.

Composer Study Throughout the day, listen to the works of composers starting in the Middle Ages and through to modern times and learn about the men who created them.  Some of those studied are Beethoven, Hayden, Chopin, Vivaldi, Debussy, Bach, and more.

Hymns & Folk Songs Sing traditional songs like Waltzing Matilda, Aiken Drum, Sweet Hour of Prayer, What a Friend we Have in Jesus, and many more.

Bible  Read the old and new testaments to build a foundation for faith in Christ and renew the mind with The Child's Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos and the NIV Bible.

Geography Explore our world through the pages of books like Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling, Marco Polo, and The Book of Marvels: The Occident by Richard Halliburton to name a few.

Poets and Poetry Poetry is read on a daily basis and some poems are committed to memory and recited to an audience.  Learn about the poets such as Walter De La Mare, Robert Frost,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Tennyson, and William Wordsworth.

Mathematics Learn to think mathematically with a mastery approach curriculum that encourages children to learn mathematics concepts through problem solving.  Fully master a concept before being introduced to a new concept.

Nature Study Explore God’s creation through the study of insects, trees, wildflowers, mammals, birds, and so much more.  Learn to draw and paint the natural world in a nature notebook.  Books include The Burgess Bird Book by Thorton W. Burgess, Pagoo by Holling C. Holling, The Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long.

Handicrafts Learn life skills that are acquired slowly and carefully over time such as knitting, sewing, woodworking, basket weaving, leather crafts and more.

Habits Training Internalize habits to promote smooth and easy days and self sufficiency such as the habits of attention, obedience, perseverance, and observation.

Copywork Master the art of beautiful handwriting while, learning spelling and grammar through the modeling of quotes from quality literature and scripture.

Co-op Days Every other Monday, participate in a co-op with other children to do fine arts like composer study, foreign language-French, Shakespeare, poetry, nature study, and more.

Narration A means for the student to interact with the author and the ideas that have been communicated.  It is a way for the student to process the information and make connections. 

Who is Charlotte Mason?

Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was a British educator whose philosophy of education so accurately described how children learn naturally that it has withstood the test of time and is as relevant in our day as it was in hers.  She believed that children where persons capable of intelligent independent thought, in contrast to the common belief that children were blank slates to be written on by the teacher or an empty bucket to be filled with knowledge.  Mason believed, and I think correctly, that children are born persons with abilities, dispositions with the power of independent thought.  They need vital ideas to feed their growing minds rather than dry facts.  Rather than the teacher becoming the middle man dispensing filtered knowledge to the child, the child should do the work of dealing with the ideas and making connections.  Mason believed that education is “…an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.”  It is about finding out how we fit into this universe that God has created for us.  Her philosophy of education has revolutionized thought on how children learn and therefore should be educated.  You can read Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series at http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/toc.html.