One of the very best things about homeschooling your kids is that you are free to choose any philosophy of teaching you wish.  Paying attention to the way your child learns and adhering to his/her needs in the classroom is a huge benefit that homeschooled kids have.  Many of you reading this review may have chosen to homeschool for the very reason that your child could not learn the in the style being taught at a  traditional school.   There are plenty of styles of schooling your kids out there.  There’s Classical, Eclectic, Unit Study-based, Unschoolers, and more.  But the style that has most worked with our family is the Charlotte Mason approach.

In a nutshell, Charlotte Mason was an educational reformer that live in England in the late 1800’s.  She completely disagreed with how school worked and thought it could be better.  She had no children of her own, but she made it her life’s mission to improve the educational system as it was.  She set to work and started her own school.  I love a woman willing to go against the grain!

Her philosophy can be hard to adopt for homeschoolers that were brought up in public (or private) school because it is so different from “regular” school.  With a CM approach you use no text books.  Everything is taught on a literature-based standard.  Instead of having children memorize names and dates and cram for tests, you would read interesting and exciting literature to paint a mental picture that sticks with them…encouraging a love of learning.

So…pardon me for the long introduction.  I’ll get the the review now .  It can be difficult in the beginning to know how to use this philosophy, but I’ll share some of my very favorite Charlotte Mason guides that really helped me. (Please note: There are TONS of great websites and books to help you learn more, but these are my most “beat-up” CM books…meaning they are dog-eared, highlighted, “coffee-ringed”, and creased!)

Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola:  Karen Andreola is a forerunner for starting the Charlotte Mason revival in the homeschooling community.  She has written many books about teaching certain subjects the CM way, but this book is a compilation of allaspects of teaching the CM way.  The contents include everything you need to know. She includes a background about what drew her to the CM method and bumps along the way.  The book is sprinkled with personal stories about her life as a homeschool mom.  She stresses the importance of having a support system and possibly even starting your own CM group.  Each chapter ends with discussion questions and room for notes.

A Charlotte Mason Education Series by Catherine Levison:  These are the books that first got me excited about CM.  I love the way Catherine writes and her clear explanation of everything she discusses.  Her series is made of three separate titles:

• A Charlotte Mason Education
• More Charlotte Mason Education
• A Literary Education

The first book is an overview of each school subject and how to do them the way CM would have.  The second book goes a bit more in depth and gives great ideas for your classroom.  Both books have great examples, lists, and sample schedules to help you get started.

The third book in the series is  a compilation of books that CM used in her teaching and newer books that follow her guidelines of teaching.  There are many books reviewed and I use many of them in our homeschool.  This book also includes a great scope and sequence of grades K-12.  It’s a wonderful way to get started, even if you don’t follow it all the way through high school, it’s a great starting point.

Catherine’s website also includes excellent articles that I’ve read over and over.

Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg with Charlotte Mason helps.  A few others that come to mind are:

• Simply Charlotte Mason (website)
• Living Books Curriculum (website + curriculum)
• Penny Garner’s Charlotte Mason Website
• Ambleside Online (website + curriculum)
• For the Children’s Sake by Susan Macaulay
• When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper

-Written by Alicia, a Charlotte Mason-loving, mom of three. You can find her blogging at La Famille.

Since I was a little girl, I’ve been an avid reader.  I remember coming home from the library, barely able to balance on my 10-speed because of my huge load of delightful reading.  Even earlier than that, I remember my mom sighing as I climbed into bed, struggling with the stack of books I expected her to read to me before bedtime.  Memories like these come back to me when I take the kids to the library and I pick myself up another couple of books from The Royal Diaries series.  I had been searching the library shelves for some good summer reading books for my (now) 3-grader when I found The Royal Diaries: Anastasia.  The story of Anastasia has always intrigued me, but as I looked further, I saw there were tons of these books!  I went home with two of them and have been reading them all summer.

Each book is based on the life of a young, royal girl.  The books are written like a diary would be.  They are fictional books, but each one is written based on facts.  These stories are all exciting, factual, and chalk-full of learning potential!  I’m pretty sure Charlotte Mason would agree

Besides the fact that there are 20 princesses in this series, such as…

• Cleopatra VII
• Isabel of Castilla
• Marie Antoinette
• Anastasia of Russia
• Elizabeth I
• Mary, Queen of Scots…just to name a few

…each book offers tons of information at the end of each exciting story.  The diaries are written when the girls are around the ages of 12-14, before they are famous.  Then the story ends right as something big in their life begins to happen, such as a royal marriage.  After the diary, each book includes:

• an Epilogue explaining how the story continues or ends
• Historical Notes, giving  more information about the royal families and the effect they had on that period in time
• A Family Tree with continuing pages explaining each person on the family tree and their role in history
• Drawings, paintings, photos, or statues of the royalty depending on the point in history
• Maps showing the area that the princess was talking about in the story
• About the author section where it explains their research for the book (there are several authors in this series)
• Pronunciation of difficult words found in the book
• Glossary of characters, which is very helpful since many of the books have lots of characters

You can purchase the entire series from Amazon.com here. There are also several VHS tapes based on the books that can be purchased here and here.

Overall, these are absolutely fabulous books to include in your homeschool curriculum.  At our house, we are studying the Middle Ages this year so I think I could use several Royal Diaries in our studies.  I think these would be great read-alouds for middle-elementary kids and then even better books to assign to upper elementary and middle-school kids to read on their own.  Of the several diaries I have read there has been some violence, but very minimal and I tend to over look some of that for the sake of history and learning.  I would highly recommend these lovely, historically-rich books!

-Alicia can be found either reading classic literature to her three busy kids or blogging over at La Famille.

As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, teaching with living literature is imperative to me. And considering that I like to package much of our history and science learning into unit studies, incorporating living literature into our current unit makes awesome connections for my children.

The History Comes Alive books written by Barbara Greenwood fit both the CM and unit study aspects of our homeschool perfectly! Written about four major eras of North American history, the books are a wonderful mix between historical fiction, factual snippets and simple hands-on activity ideas.

I’ve used these books with my children from 2nd grade on up. They’re each well over 200 pages, but are illustrated in black and white pencil drawings to keep children intrigued. It’s very easy to skip around and only read certain parts, too, if you’d rather not go through the entire book.

A Pioneer Story introduces you to Sarah and Willy Robertson, Canadian pioneer children of the 1840’s who must be hard-working members of their family in order to survive. Breaks in the story-line turn to more factual information about such things as what a typical log house would’ve looked like, how a farm might be situated, the maple sugaring process, the process of weaving and much more. Activity breaks are also included in the story which will give step-by-step instructions for making cheese, making a homemade balance scale, stenciling and many others.

There are two smaller books available by the same author on the subject of pioneers, too – A Pioneer Thanksgiving and A Pioneer Christmas. Both are written in the same style as the above book, but only have about 48 pages each.

The Last Safe House (our very favorite) is a story of the Underground Railroad. Two preteen girls, Eliza (an escaped slave) and Johanna (a daughter in the home of a safe house) become wonderful friends. Johanna is introduced to the world of slavery, escape, fear and freedom in this wonderful tale. On the factual side of the story, you learn about famous slaves, slave labor, the Underground Railroad and even a few slave songs. The activities teach how to make corn-husk dolls, tin lanterns, gingerbread cookies, and how to spin a good story.

Gold Rush Fever is set in the Klondike in 1898. Thirteen year old Tim sets off with his older brother on the dangerous journey through the Yukon territory in an attempt to get rich during the gold rush. This book not only takes you on the hunt for gold, but starts at the beginning in Seattle where you start the trip through treacherous conditions. It’s a good view of the entire sacrifice and determination on the part of those who left home in search of gold. The factual snippets teach you about gold mining equipment, boat building, mining towns, what happened when gold was found and more. The activities introduce you to a sour-dough biscuit recipe, knot tying, playing solitaire and other ideas that are particularly boy-friendly.

Factory Girl brings you face to face with the reality of children working in factories in the early 1900’s. Meet 12 year old Emily as she works long hours in a unsafe, dark, overcrowded sewing factory where she is treated poorly by her demanding and unfriendly boss. Don’t be fooled, this story isn’t just for girls. The informational sections take you on a photographic journey through all sorts of child labor conditions of the times including coal mines, housemaids, and other factories. You will learn about immigration, living in large cities in the early 1900’s, schooling, women at work, and laws that changed child labor and working safety.

Although this books is unlike the others in that it doesn’t include activity ideas, it’s still our second favorite in the series. This is an issue that’s harder to find literature about for children, so we were very excited to dive in!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and you can find her nature studies at Shining Dawn Books.

Nature study can be so rewarding and memorable for our kids, but sometimes getting the motivation to go outside and go on nature walks can be tough.  Especially when the weather is cold and there’s lots to do inside the house.  For me, I felt like I wanted to do fun nature walks, but had no direction.  And for this list-making, plan-it-out kind of mama, I needed more direction.  So, when I found NaturExplorers over at Shining Dawn Books, I was very pleased.

The books are written by two nature-loving homeschool moms, Cindy West and Melissa Leach. Their love of nature drips from the pages of these wonderful nature guides.  Each book focuses on a different area of nature, such as:

~Fruits and Nuts
~Spiders
~Birds
~Rain
~Snow and Ice
~Butterflies
~Fungus
~Rocks
~More! (there are 19 books in the series)

What I love about these books is the flexibility and the many, many options and ideas they provide.  They are absolutely full to the brim with information and ideas.  Not only does each book include tons of information on the subject it’s based on, but it includes ideas of how to incorporate many different areas of your homeschool right into nature study.
Areas like:

• Artist Study
• Composer Study
• Art
• Bible
• Poetry

For example, when my kids and I were studying from the Fruits and Nutsbook, one suggested activity was to study the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians and gave great ideas of how to do so.  What a fabulous way to bring nature study inside and keep right on learning!

In our homeschool, we study one area of nature for about a month or two.  So, when we go on a nature walk we know what to look out for.  We read some background info that each book provides along with some of the additional reading they suggest, and away we go.   You can use these as the spine to an in-depth unit study or you can definitely pull them right off the shelf and use these books as guides as you go on your walks.  Their notebooking pages and many suggestions make it possible for any homeschool mom to use them, no matter what your teaching style.

We have enjoyed making Nut Dye, coloring in the snow, inspecting snowflakes, and gathering samples of coniferous trees.  NaturExplorers have been so helpful in our nature study.   I now feel like I can look through these, get ideas and have a plan before we go on a nature walk.  You can visit the website at Shining Dawn Books where you can read their nature blog or ask them questions.  They are great about giving advice and answering questions.

If you don’t want to just take my word that these are wonderful books, you can read Shannon’s review by clicking here. I have to say that my very favorite part about NaturExplorers is they inspire me to explore God’s awesome creation!  I hope you are encouraged to go out and do some exploring yourself!

Alicia is a homeschool mom of 3 nature-loving kids and can be found blogging at La Famille.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess is a delightful blend of storytelling and nature study.

Published originally in 1919, Burgess meticulously weaves the non-fiction details of bird life into the fictional account of a curious rabbit named Peter.  As Peter explores his surroundings, the Old Orchard, the Green Forest, the Green Meadows and even the banks of the Big River and its tributaries, he also pursues his longing to find out more about his feathered friends.  Their ways intrigue Peter, so he sets out to discover them, interviewing Jenny Wren and dozens of other birds commonly found in the United States.

Peter is the secret to the book’s story-telling success.  He is sometimes prideful, generally curious, and always growing.  Peter’s personality especially appeals to children, as he flits around his world encouraging his friends, meeting new birds, and generally enjoying the whole experience.  His antics and manners reflect a joy of learning and life.  In addition, he is a good role model, one who chooses to learn from his mistakes and who appreciates those around him even though they are different from him.

Peter is joined by a numerically formidable group of his feathered brethren.  Each bird—91 birds total—has a name created by Burgess that is intended to reflect the bird’s personality and characteristics.  It is combined with the commonly used name (names in some cases) of the bird.  The non-fiction nature study component for each bird includes the birds’ descriptions, male and female, and generally also discusses the bird’s diet, call, nesting practices, migration tendencies, and daily habits.  The sharing of these facts does not become tedious or mundane, however; Burgess utilizes story to maintain interest.  Each bird becomes a true character in his own right, engaging the reader and informing at the same time.

Burgess’s method works amazingly well.  My lower elementary-aged children never failed to request “one more, please” as we worked our way through the short chapters.  Though the language is not particularly difficult, it is typical for the time in which it was published and uses phrasing that is not commonly used today.  This was not an issue, even though my children are young.  In fact, they have retained information from the book, sometimes regaling me with their bird knowledge at unexpected times.

There are great possibilities for study with this book.

●Use it as a read-aloud.  Enjoy both the story and factual elements.

●Use it as the foundation of a bird unit study.  Add a field guide and some library books for an amazing nature-based science unit covering birds.

●Use it to teach the masterful combination of fiction and non-fiction in story form.  Have your student give it a try.

●Use it as independent read for an older student.  Expect a bird-centered project at the end.

●Use it to encourage bird watching and general nature appreciation for the whole family.

●Use it to painlessly learn the details of bird life in the United States.  A field guide and audios of birds singing their tunes would complement the book nicely.

●Use it for art.  Ask students to draw and color the birds from the book’s descriptions and then compare their work to photographs.  For younger kids, print coloring pages.

●As you read, use it for copywork and narration.  The short chapters lend themselves to this approach.

●Discuss character lessons drawn from Peter and the other creatures as you read.  Collect Bible verses that illustrate similar character values and virtues.

●Use it seasonally, returning to it each spring as the birds return.

For the most part, we just read the book and loved it.  It is a book that teaches without trying; a “living book” to which we will return for more in-depth study as my kids get older.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is available for purchase from Dover for $8.95.  It can be found for free at Project Gutenberg and LibroVox.  A quick search of the internet will provide a number of useful sites, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds guide.  There are also quite a few homeschool mamas out there who have used this book and share their ideas.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is really not just for children.  It is a book that will encourage and engage readers and listeners of all ages.  Don’t be surprised if you learn something, too!

-Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

When I was a child, my younger sisters studied grammar differently than I did. They learned something mysterious called ‘diagramming’ and had very interesting textbooks.

Many years later a friend of mine was selling some books, and in the pile I found Rod and Staff grammar texts. Exactly what my sisters had studied! Of course I bought them.  We were ready for a formal grammar program.

Following Charlotte Mason’s ideas, we did not do grammar for the first few years, but my oldest was certainly old enough by this time. We had tried Simply Grammar, but it did not have enough practice for the children and required too much of my time. We tried Grammar Songs, but did not appreciate the music. We had a little grocery store diagramming booklet, but that wasn’t enough. Daily Grams had been a good introduction, but we were ready to move on, and the accompanying Easy Grammar was not as thorough as I wished. Christian Liberty Press Grammar had been a huge disappointment because it did not teach in a way that worked for us.

So we were eager to try something else. It turned out that the Building Christian English series from Rod and Staff Publishers was the answer. This is a rigorous, thorough, well-organized, clear, Christian, mom-friendly, multi-year grammar program, with good answer keys and tests. It also includes significant lessons on writing and communication.

About Building Christian English Levels 4-8:

• Each hard cover student text contains about eleven chapters, comprising approximately 120 lessons, and is illustrated with simple black and white drawings.
• The lessons contain clear explanations and examples, with important concepts in boxes.
• After some oral drill questions, the lessons end with written practice and occasionally a review section. Every chapter also ends with an entire review lesson.
• Interspersed through the grammar teaching are writing exercises which are clearly labeled in the table of contents as well as in the text itself.
• The index is clear and thorough.
• In each of these volumes, poetry appreciation and sentence diagramming are taught.
• Exercises and examples often relate to the Bible, nature, or everyday Mennonite life.

The Teacher’s Manual contains the entire student text, with teaching notes and answers printed in large, colored margins. Answers to the worksheets, the chapter tests, and the exams (for higher levels only) are in the back of the book. The worksheets, tests, and exams come in 8×11 inch paperback booklets.

Building With Diligence, 4

This book begins with an overview of the text itself and then moves on to simple studies of subjects and predicates; sentences; nouns; verbs; pronouns; adjectives; adverbs; punctuation; prepositions and conjunctions; and capitalization and dictionary use. Composition lessons include instruction about sentences, paragraphs, unity and order in paragraphs, poetry, reports, stories, and letters. Each chapter begins with a relevant rhyme and has worksheets and a test.

Following the Plan, 5

This level begins with review and covers the previous year’s topics in greater depth—topics such as compound sentences; appositives; outlining; kinds of pronouns; direct, indirect, and divided quotations; conversation in stories; using a concordance; and more. Chapters begin with picture discussions of the subject matter.

Progressing with Courage, 6

Topics range from perfect tenses to diagramming appositive adjectives, from courtesy in conversation to using subordinate conjunctions, and from complex sentences to writing a report. Each chapter begins with a grammar definition and a Bible text. A final test finishes up the year.

Building Securely, 7

This book teaches paragraph coherence, taking notes, oral reports, poetry, and stories. It also refines the student’s understanding of complex sentences, verbals, pronouns, conjunctions and much more.

Preparing for Usefulness, 8

Originally the final volume in the series, this book deepens a student’s ability to prepare paragraphs, letters, reports, outlines, stories, poetry, directions, and summaries. It also reviews and enhances grammar concepts such as compound complex sentences, dashes and parentheses, and verbal phrases.

We are beginning the level 9&10 books, Communicating Effectively, this summer. The two books at this level do not follow each other but can be studied independently. They involve more writing, editing, and speaking skills and less grammar. At this level our children are learning a lot of grammar in their foreign language studies, so I think we will really appreciate the focus on communication.

How We Used It

After a bit of fumbling about with my oldest, who was the patient guinea pig in our search for a grammar program, we discovered a great way to use the Rod and Staff grammar series. Since it only goes to level 9&10, and since it is quite rigorous, we decided to study each volume two years later than recommended. So, in grade 6 our children begin with the level 4 text, and so on.

This works well because by this age our children can study largely on their own. They do not want me to sit down and explain each concept; that is much too slow for them. The writing involved in level 4 is not too overwhelming for a child in grade 6. By the time the child is in grade 7, working on the level 5 book, he or she is able to absorb much of the content without doing all the exercises. I’ll mark whatever a child chooses to do, and then the child takes the test. If the test score is below 80%, the child has to repeat the chapter, doing all the work in order to learn the material. In this way our children develop maturity and are allowed to take charge of their own learning. At the same time, they acquire a thorough and rigorous knowledge of grammar which is helpful in their writing and their foreign language studies.

By starting with the level 4 book, we miss the content of the earlier textbooks. That is not a problem, because by grade 6 our children have learned a lot of grammar concepts from their language lesson programs. Through the years we also casually discuss parts of speech, often in relation to a foreign language.

Obviously, the children need to do their work in scribblers. They write the tests on loose leaf, though this requires creativity with some of the proofreading exercises. For those, the children usually copy down the word or words that need correction. Although this takes some extra time, it works well for us. Of course, you can always buy a test booklet for each child.

We are eager to begin the level 9/10 program for grade 12 next year. I think we will be able to do both texts in one year if we use the content of other courses as topics for the writing exercises.

Our Opinions

The Building Christian English program from Rod and Staff Publishers is rigorous but not overwhelming. It is suitable for independent study, and has a very helpful and thorough answer key for the grammar lessons. Unfortunately there are no marking rubrics for the writing assignments. The tests are thorough, balanced, and have clear answer keys.

Even though we do not agree with every idea presented, I love the fact that many of the examples and exercises reflect the Bible and Christian living. A non-Christian family might find the religious content overwhelming; for us it is part of the program’s appeal.

Our Recommendations

If you want a thorough, well-organized, Christian grammar program, you should check out the Building Christian English series from Rod and Staff Publishers. Although this Mennonite publishing company has no website, there are two related sites that sell this grammar series: Rod and Staff Books and More (sample lessons available) and Anabaptist Bookstore. The series is also available from some homeschool suppliers.

Disclosure: This review is of a textbook series we have used and loved for years. We already had the products and received no compensation for this review.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five great children, who blogs at Tea Time With Annie Kate.

As a Charlotte Mason educator, some of our homeschool time is spent learning about artists and completing picture study. And, continuing in Charlotte Mason style, I try to only use living literature in our homeschool. Luckily, I’ve found several wonderful children’s books about artists including the Getting To Know the Great Artist Series and Smart About Art Series.

But my most favorite living art books are the Anholt Art Books for Children. Beautiful illustrations and lovely story lines tie the artist and his art into a fictional stories that are lighthearted, but captivating. I’m a huge fan of clever stories, and these are very clever!

The main character in the stories, other than the artist himself, is always based on a real person whom the artist knew. Even though the storyline is fictional, at the end of each book, you will find a non-fiction biography about the artist and how the main character of the book relates to him.

If you’re looking for a mostly factual selection, then one of the series mentioned in the first paragraph might interest you more. However, don’t push these aside before giving them a chance. At least see if your library has any of the titles – you and your children are sure to enjoy them!

There is no age range given on the publisher’s website, but I found them appropriate for children 5-12. I’m listing a few books below that I haven’t read, but I wanted to give you a complete list of the Anholt titles available. Note that not all of these are authored by Laurence Anholt, but all have a similar style.

• Cezanne and the Apple Boy
• Degas and the Little Dancer
• Leonardo and the Flying Boy
• The Magical Garden of Claude Monet
• Matisse, the King of Color
• Picasso and the Girl with the Ponytail
• Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs
• Renoir and the Boy with the Long Hair
• Rockwell: A Boy and His Dog
• Suzette and the Puppy
• Van Gogh and the Sunflowers (My library has this as Camille and the Sunflowers)

Do you know of any living art literature that I haven’t mentioned?  Please share!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature studies at Shining Dawn Books.

Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, another veteran homeschooler recommended that I take a look at “the Greenleaf history guides” from Greenleaf Press, and I am so glad that she did, and I did! I ended up buying a few of them and have had no regrets whatsoever! They have turned out to be a perfect fit for us in many regards, at different seasons in our homeschool journey, but today I’d like share with you specifically regarding The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History by Rob and Cyndy Shearer, “History for the thoughtful child.”.

When our older kiddoes were younger we had a few favorite Bible and devotional-type story books that we read aloud from to them regularly for the majority of our “Bible time”. However, once we started reading aloud straight from the Scriptures, this guide offered us a helpful tool for making that transition easier and more thoughtful.

Therefore, let the minds of young children be well stored with the beautiful narratives of the Old Testament and of the gospels; but, in order that these stories may be always fresh and delightful to them, care must be taken lest Bible teaching stale upon their minds.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 251)

The Shearers have basically taken the Scriptures, from Genesis through Nehemiah (though they left out Leviticus- which we cover with different resources anyways, and may be a bit laborious for younger students), and broken them down into 196 readings, each from a chapter to two chapters long.

To see a complete listing of how the Bible chapters are broken down, as well as a few examples of what each reading/lesson looks like, click here on this link to see it over at cbd.com and you’ll see some links there to view pdf samples.

One of our favorite aspects of this guide has been the open-ended discussion questions included with each reading. A few years ago, as we used it along-side of our family’s Bible read-aloud time, we used these questions as oral narration prompts. However, as our children are now cycling back through these Old Testament readings again, our son has been using these discussion questions as writing prompts for his own private Bible journal time.

There is some brief commentary and helpful “background information” included where necessary, a graphical timeline of Ancient History, along with references to Bible maps, as well as some brief teaching suggestions mentioned here and there. Overall, this guide provides a wonderfully simple to use, comprehensive study of Ancient Israel’s history, using the best historical document we have, the Bible itself.

There are a few recommended books to go along with this study of Ancient Israel, which though they are not necessary, we have found helpful. This book is just what it claims to be, a simple guide to take you and your children through the Old Testament at a nice, comfortable pace. However, we’ve often broken a lesson into two separate readings. The Shearers recommend that you use their Guide to Ancient Egypt (which we’ve also used and appreciate) alongside of this guide for a more involved, complete ancient Bible history program.

Note: The two primary aspects of this guide that I most appreciated, those being its simplicity to use (as in no projects nor preparation necessary) and open-ended (as in no “answers” provided) discussion questions, are the very aspects that caused a friend of mine to not like it, nor use it.

I am reminded of the wise words of Charlotte Mason in this regard, with which I do concur:

We are probably quite incapable of measuring the religious receptivity of children. Nevertheless, their fitness to apprehend the deep things of God is a fact with which we are called to ‘deal prudently,’ and to deal reverently.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 248)

I have found that our children do a good job of thinking through the Scriptures’ ramifications and implications as they read them for themselves, and have personally appreciated their not being told what to think as they read the Word for themselves, especially during their private devotional reading times in the mornings. When they do have questions beyond me (and as they’re getting older, they DO!) we now find ourselves turning to meatier commentaries and texts together anyways, so this guide has been perfectly adequate for our usage!

The price is nice too, especially for all of the use we’ve gotten out of it over the years!

Written by Beth Brewer, a Charlotte Mason inspired, Spirit-led, relaxed-eclectic homeschooling Mama of 3. She’s also an author at The Homeschool Post and blogs her photos, musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as she lives, loves and learns with her family at the brew*crew adventure.

Since I began homeschooling, I’ve loved almost every subject.  Really…I have!  Science and all the experiments, history and the wonderful literature that goes along with it, even the quieter subjects like grammar and spelling are great to me because there’s not a lot of prep work for Mama!  After being turned on to the Charlotte Mason way of teaching over a year ago, I’ve tried to incorporate other subjects that she recommends, like nature study, and I love most of those too.  Notice I said most….one subject not included in that most category is poetry.  Not meaning to offend anyone out there at happens to love poetry, it’s just never been my thing.  I’m an avid reader, but that’s just never been something really I’ve enjoyed reading.  But over and over I read how important Ms. Charlotte thought it was to read poetry to children, so I decided I should set aside my feelings and include it in our school anyway.

Part of my problem with reading poetry to my kids was that it seemed like all the books I found were 4 inches thick and completely void of illustrations.  So when I came across Poetry for Young People at Barnes & Noble one day, I was so excited!  Seriously, these books are done so well, they make even a person like me enjoy poetry.

Here’s some info about this series and why I love these books:

• Large Variety of Poets-Each book is a collection of a different poet or collection of like poems and there are many to choose from:
  -William Blake
  -Edgar Allan Poe
  -Shakespeare
  -Edward Lear
  -Longfellow
  -Emily Dickinson
  -American Poems
  -Animal Poems
  -And More!
• Great Illustrations- Poetry for Young People series are full of excellent illustrations.  I love that on each page, a beautiful picture is painted in our minds as we read the poems, giving us a visual that helps with memorization later or just helps to better understand the poems.
• Large Collections of Poems-Each book includes many poems.  For example, the Robert Frostbook has a collection of around 30 poems and they are catergorized according to season.
• Explainations of the Poems-After each poem, there is about a paragraph explaining what the writer was saying in the poem.  This is especially helpful when you are reading more difficult poems that your children (or yourself) don’t understand.  It’s good to help clarify and give you a better grasp of what the poet is saying.
• Background about the Poets- At the beginning of each book, there is a short chapter on the background of the writer.  I loved this bit because it made us more connected to the poems.  It helped to know where he or she grew up and what kind of  childhood they had.

So, if you love poetry or you don’t love it and you want to give it another shot, I highly recommend Poetry for Young People.  These books have become great additions for our home library and have given me a better appreciation for poetry.  They are available from a number of stores for really decent prices.  I am planning on buying more and using them in our home school next year and I hope you’ll give them a whirl too.

It is confession time.

We used First Language Lessons this year for our language study.

We also used Language Lessons for the Very Young 1.

It is true.  I subjected my six-year old first grader to two different language books.  Gasp. 

I had decided to use First Language Lessons when I saw the picture studies in Language Lessons for the Very Young 1.  The gorgeous, full-color reproductions of real art containing child-friendly subjects drew me in.  I ordered it, but I did so with no intentions of abandoning the copy of First Language Lessons that was already in my possession.

First Language Lessons is the first book in a series of elementary language texts by Jessie Wise.  It follows a classical method in line with The Well-Trained Mind, of which Mrs. Wise is a co-author.  The non-consumable, scripted book contains 100 first grade lessons and 100 second grade lessons.

First Language Lessons is complete and methodical, covering nouns, common nouns,

FLL picture study

proper nouns, the four uses of verbs, the four types of sentences, along with several essential topics such as seasons, months, and days of the week.  The text also discusses the use of capitalization and end punctuation.  The lessons are cyclical.  A new topic is covered and then the old ones are reviewed.  In addition, it includes some copywork and a couple of black and white drawings for picture study.  It provides a complete early discussion of grammar topics in an adequate, appropriate manner.

Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 is one of a series of language books in the Charlotte Mason method.  It is written by Sandi Queen of Queen Homeschool and is intended for seven to nine year olds, but is appropriate for children who are reading fluently.  The book, intended to be consumable, contains 180 lessons to be completed in one school year.

Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 is gentle but also complete, covering capitalization in poems and sentences, nouns, identifying the subject and predicate of the sentence, singular and plural nouns, a vowel and consonant review, use of ‘a’ and ‘an,’ common and proper nouns, action verbs, identifying complete and incomplete sentences, and end punctuation.  New subjects are continually introduced, but there is plenty of review.  The lessons are very short, in keeping with the Charlotte Mason method, so though there are 180 lessons the book is easily completed in a year.  The text also contains six poems for copywork and memorization, each taking at least as many days to complete as there are stanzas in the poem, and six pieces of art work for picture study and follow-up discussion.  The lessons are integrated, so that poems, pictures, narrations, and grammar complement and complete each other.

FLL lesson on sentence types

The differences in the two books are subtle.  FLL uses parts of speech to build a grammar discussion, while LLVY begins with the sentence and progresses from there.  There are fewer lessons in FLL, but the length of LLVY is deceiving as it contains several series of lessons in which the student copies one stanza of a multi-stanza poem.  FLL contains a more focused, informative explanation of verbs, discussing the four categories of verbs with precision.  LLVY, on the other hand, covers the creation of sentences and the use of punctuation in more detail.  While both texts use poems for copywork and memorization, FLL utilizes shorter, nursery-rhyme-ish poems and LLVY uses longer, more intense selections.  Both also include picture studies, but LLVY provides lovely, full color reproductions of art, while FLL includes only non-descript pencil drawings.  FLL costs $18.95 and is intended for use over two years of study, while LLVY covers one year and costs $22.95.

Another difference in the two books is that one is a classical text and the other is

LLVY poetry copywork

a Charlotte Mason text.  It is easy to discern Charlotte Mason’s methodology in the poetry, copywork, and picture studies included in LLVY.  It is more difficult to recognize the parts to whole discussion of grammar that evolves in FLL’s continuum from nouns, pronouns, and verbs to sentences, as compared to the use of the whole, sentences, to derive the parts in LLVY.

Both texts complete the objective of teaching grammar gently and completely to a young audience.  Though they use different methodologies and end with slightly different products, these two early elementary grammar texts are both excellent and useful.

Back to my confession:  My daughter didn’t mind using two grammar texts.  As far as she knew, it was what all the cool kids were doing for language.

Personally, though I know that it was not necessary, I liked it.  Because the two books approached grammar from somewhat oppposite directions, I was able to effortlessly review and test her grammar knowledge retention over a school year and with two different approaches.  So, when she demonstrated knowledge, it was knowledge of grammar, not just understanding of a program and how it worked.

First Language Lessons and Language Lessons for the Very Young 1 utilize different methods to reach a common purpose.  I am delighted to recommend both of them (seperately or together) to you for your grammar needs!

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

I am proud to introduce you to Artistic Pursuits.  I will admit that teaching art was not my strong point.  Mostly art classes in my home consisted of activities I looked up online or using my own imagination.  While I came up with some creative and fun ideas, I was not teaching art but allowing my children to use different mediums to express themselves visually.  I needed a curriculum that was solid, informative, taught concepts about art and was fun.  I began to think what I was seeking did not exist until Artistic Pursuits.  In fact, I would have to add that Artistic Pursuits is among my favorite curriculum I have discovered this year.  I had the pleasure of reviewing Book 1 for Grades K-3.

What you will need:

The curriculum is simply one book containing 32 lessons with an associated art project.  You will have to purchase your art supplies separately.  The materials are easy to find and include common items like scissors, tissue paper, construction paper and drawing paper.  You will also need to purchase an ebony pencil, oil pastels and watercolor pencils among a few other items.  I found all my supplies at Micheals.

How much time will you spend:

This book is not a collection of art projects but art lessons with an associated art project to reinforce the lesson and allow for creative interaction.  It is best to take about about fifteen minutes to read through the lesson and art project thoroughly before beginning with your child.  You may also want to take a few extra minutes to prep the lesson to make your time run smoothly.  The lesson can be as short as five minutes with a ten minute art project or you can extend the learning time for a full thirty minute class.  This will depend on how much time you want to spend on the lesson.

How is the book divided?

The book contains 32 lessons with art projects.  Within the book you will have three sections:

• What Artists Do
• What Artists See
• Exploring Ancient Art

Most lessons will provide a picture of a work of art and a picture from the student gallery.  The works of art shown on the lessons can be easily adapted into art study or narration for Charlotte Mason style teachers.

The Ancient Art section is wonderful!  We had a great time exploring ancient art since we had just studied ancient history the year before.  The lessons were through yet not overwhelming for the age range.  I did allow my two older children to partake in the lessons and projects in this section since this was a wonderful reinforcement of ancient history.

Artistic Pursuits will take your child on an journey from color mixing to brush work, to pottery, to murals to bookbinding and more!  Along the way your child will learn how artists imagine, how art is crafted and ancient art history.  I highly recommend Artistic Pursuits for your child’s creative pursuits in education.  You can find books from preschool through high school.

What a wonderful experience I have had the last few months!  I received the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD, seminar workbook, and the Laying Down the Rails book and Workshop on DVD from Simply Charlotte Mason to review.  If you have never been over to visit Simply Charlotte Mason, I highly recommend you take a look.  They offer free curriculum guides, free ebooks, and many materials for purchase as well.  They truly help make Charlotte Mason’s homeschool ideas simple.  Their blog is one that always inspires me.

I began by watching the 3 DVDs for the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar and taking notes through the accompanying workbook.  I did this over the course of several evenings while my children were falling asleep in their beds, which allowed me some quiet to focus.

Session 1 (34 minutes) introduced me to Charlotte Mason, who she was, when she lived, and her ideas about education.  It was neat to get to know her this way.  I had tried to read her books in the past, but just could not get through them.  It took too much brain power at a time when I was trying to just keep up with my young children and get sleep.

Session 2 (78 minutes) and 3 (71 minutes)held my hand as we went through each subject applying Charlotte Mason’s methods.  Here is where I had many, many ah-ha moments. Short lessons, living books, and narration – these things made sense and could easily be integrated in our unit study family.  I appreciated that I was not expected to add everything in at once.  The appendix explained a doable plan for making the transition to a Charlotte Mason approach a step at a time.  Here is a short clip from the workshop about using narration.

Are we now becoming a Charlotte Mason family? Yes and no.  (grin)  I think narrowly defining any homeschooling family by one method is usually inaccurate.  We prefer to pick and choose the pieces that work for our family.  I have discovered that many of the Charlotte Mason pieces fit our family!  We have already begun to incorporate the following:

• living books
• narration
• scripture memorization

We have plans to incorporate these ideas over the next year:

• map drill
• picture study
• music study

Now let me tell you a little bit about the  Laying Down the Rails book and DVD Workshop that came as part of this set.  I watched the DVD first (45 minutes), using the workbook section for it from the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar as I went.  I love Charlotte’s idea that good habits are like railroad tracks, they smooth life out because a child is not having to make the same decisions over and over and over.  I know that is true, even in my own life.  Habits help me to accomplish many of the routine things in my day without the extra effort of decision-making.

Sonya, the workshop presenter, is funny and helpful as she leads you through many of the habits a child can learn.  While there is an extensive list, she emphasizes to start with one habit, and not to add another until the first is truly habit.  It was really helpful to watch the DVD with my husband. He was not up for reading the book, all 230+ pages, but the workshop got us both on the same mental page easily.  He was as excited about habit training as I was.  You can watch a short clip from the DVD right here.

I next spent nearly a month reading and pondering the Laying Down the Rails book.  What a treasure!  It contains Charlotte’s words on each habit gathered into one place, prefaced by a concise definition of the habit and a story that shows how the habit is important.  There are entire chapters on ‘repairing the rails’ – breaking the bad habits we already have, including chapters on some specific problems like dawdling, temper tantrums, and lying.  See a sample from the book HERE.

Where are we now? Well, habit training is a process, and I will be honest that the first person who has to acquire the new habit is me.  However, we are working on our habits slowly and steadily, and I find a lot of support and encouragement when I read through Laying Down the Rails.

Would I buy these products? Yes!  That is an unequivocal yes.  The entire set can be purchased HERE for $54.95.  That includes 3 All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar DVDs, the Session workbook, 1 Laying Down the Rails workshop DVD, and a print copy of the Laying Down the Rails book.  I love having the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD, a shot of motivation that I can turn on whenever I need a boost.  Homeschooling is a process, and the experience is different with each child.  Having Charlotte Mason’s ideas broken down into manageable tasks gives me easy action plans to try when we need something adjusted.  Laying Down the Rails is a treasure trove of ideas for habit training.  Time will pass and our children will acquire habits.  The question is what habits will they develop – ones we have carefully helped them build or contrary habits that we lazily let develop?

Written by Tristan, mom to 5 going on 6 children, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks.  You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

{Disclaimer: I received these products free from Simply Charlotte Mason to enable this review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions presented herein are my own.}

Although we are not a homeschool family that schools through the whole year, nature study is something we do as a family no matter what time of year it is.  As I type, I’m looking at a whole basket of pinecones collected by my sweet, little, pre-pre-schooler, Sophia; my boys are carefully observing a little frog they caught; and to my left is a tiny tadpole we’re attempting to raise.

No, nature study is not something we take a break from during the summer.  So naturally, I’m always looking for appealing books to help us out in our nature study to help spark my kids’ interest in all things outdoors.  When I found my first “Take-Along Guide” at a used book store, I was interested so I purchased it.  But it was later when I began really reading it that I became really interested.

These books are so perfect for any part of nature you are studying.  They are available in almost any subject you can think of.

Such as:

• Birds, Nests, and Eggs
• Berries, Nuts and Seeds
• Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies
• Frogs, Toads, and Turtles
• Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks
• Tracks, Scats and Signs
• and More!

Although each book is a little different, here’s why I love them so much:

• Series available in pretty much every subject you’d want
• Each page is laid out very nicely with great illustrations and just enough text to keep an elementary student’s attention
• Very informative facts on all subject matter
• Each book includes several fun and simple projects
• Small enough to take with you on nature walks
• Great tips for nature walks throughout the books

I would recommend reading through your Take-Along Guide before taking off on your nature walk.  Then you can put it in your bag and bring with you on your walk  and use it to identify things as you go.
I highly recommend these books for all elementary students.  They are terrific for inspiring you in your nature study!

I have recently had the pleasure to read the first e-book by Kris, the widely read author of the blog Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.  The book, in true WUSH fashion, features games, projects, learning centers, and presentations all with a focus on hands on learning.

Get Your Hands on Learning! has four main sections, as well as an appendix full of even more information.  The sections include:

• Projects: Papier-mache Model, Salt Dough Map, Cookie Dough Map, Ongoing Studies
• Games: Bingo, Memory/Matching, Go Fish, Board Games
• Learning Centers: Writing Center, Preschool Learning Centers, Mini-Offices
• Presentations: Around the World Day, Night at the Museum Party, The Castle Presentation Board, Knights Shields and Swords
• Appendix: Helpful Websites, Basic Papier-mache Paste Recipe, Basic Salt Dough Recipe, Fifty State Friday Resources, Blank Bingo Card, Reading Bingo Card, Learning Center Resources, Hands-on Activities to Enhance Any Study, Narration, Paper Bag Report

What I Liked:

• Great Variety – There is a great variety of activities in this e-book, which can appeal to both the families that don’t mind mess, as well as the families that avoid it like the plague.  It’s a nice reminder that hand-on doesn’t have to mean messy, but it can.
• Step-by-Step Directions – Things like the word “papier-mache” give me hives.  However, with Kris’ easy to understand, step-by-step instructions, it makes me a little less nervous.  The layout, in general, makes it easy to read and follow.
• Lots of Full Color Photographs – Because I am a visual learning, the combination of photographs with the step-by-step directions are exactly what I would need to execute these projects.  It’s also always nice to see what a finished project should look like.
• Length of Book – At 50 pages, this is a book that I felt comfortable sitting down and reading in one sitting.  Not that I can’t read a book that will take me many sessions over several days (because of other commitments), but it’s nice when I can sit down and just finish a book.
• Well Organized – I enjoyed that the activities are each in their own section, so that when I want to implement an idea, I don’t have to skim back through the whole book to find what I was looking for.
• Reasonably Priced – At only $7.95 for an immediate download, this e-book is competitively priced compared to other e-books that I have purchased.

What I Would Change:

• It’s Just What I Was Looking For – This e-book was exactly what I anticipated it would be, so I couldn’t really think of anything that I would have changed.

Get Your Hands on Learning! is available for immediate download for $7.95 at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Disclosures: I received this e-book for free in order to review it, although I had planned to buy it before receiving it for free.  Although I have been a fan of Kris’ blog for several years, in interest of full disclosure — I am the founder/editor of The Homeschool Classroom where Kris is a writer.

Angie is a university trained elementary and special ed teacher turned eclectic homeschooler.  She can be found working at Many Little Blessings, The Homeschool Classroom, and Catholic Mothers Online.  It is also very likely that if you find her, she will be tired.

TruthQuest History guides by Michelle Miller are among my favorite, most valued homeschool resources; a gem that I am so thankful to have found. You see, we haven’t ever read our history solely from a textbook (though I have actually found a favorite one recently- that we’re reading from as a spine at the moment!) and since I’m usually designing our history and literature reading plans by pulling from a variety of sources, from the best book lists of literature and biographies to primary sources to documentaries and movies, etc., I began to realize early on that I really needed help- a way to help me tie it all together, to mindfully keep the big picture of our LORD’s Sovereignty over the affairs of men before us as we learn.

Enter TruthQuest History… these guides have helped me to do just that, providing me with the perfect balance of structured commentary from a purposefully Christian world view synchronized with chronologically listed book suggestions! As we’re watching HIS-story (history assimilated with a Providential understanding) unfold before us, these guides have enabled me to draw more deeply from the well of thoughts and questions inspired by so many wonderful living books and other sources that we’re finding recommended along the way. Learning history together in this manner has become a rather serendipitous adventure, always interesting and no doubt has partly been the catalyst of our 14 year old son’s love for history (which he pursues even more in depth on his own time). These TruthQuest guides are so much more than just literature guides or book lists, though they are an exceptional source in that regard as well.

The input I’ve received from these guides has given me the confidence I needed to approach a subject that though I love, I know very little about (thank you public education!), in the manner which my children and I most love to learn about it, through the reading of great, living books (chosen at our own disgression)! With Michelle Miller’s help, I’m better able to assimilate our (eclectic) history lessons into a cohesive strand of meaningful discussions (and thus, narrations) and purposeful planning. I am enjoying having the daily, helpful input of these amazing guides, learning history with Michelle Miller as my mentor. Most of all, I’m just love, love, loving that I am re-learning history right along-side my kids in such a wonderfully fascinating, informative and meaningful manner!

Please take the time to read here if you would like to know more, in Michelle’s own words, about What is TruthQuest History?

We began our journey with TruthQuest a few years back, when I bought our first guide, American History for Young Students I (Exploration – 1800) to supplement our studies of American history. We just read through it at our own pace, selecting various book titles to read as we went along, from our own collection, favorite book lists and according to what we found at our library.

I will tell you that there are SO many amazing books suggested, that one could easily get overwhelmed or bogged down in an era, if they actually tried to read them all… you’re not supposed to, there’s just way too many to choose from here! Michelle even recommends that you skip some topics as you deem best, mentioning those that are safely omitted. However in my mind, this is really a strength of the program, as you’re bound to find plenty of inspiring recommendations suitable to your family, even at your local library. Michelle has included as many suggestions as possible, “leaving the executive decisions up to you!”

I’ve found that using Truth Quest is sort of like a buffet of some of the richest living books arranged chronologically for you to choose from (along with age appropriateness listed beside each one) as you journey on this Quest for TRUTH with a most helpful and insightful guide to point out the sights and ideas not to be missed!

Now that our kids are older, and the years are flying by faster than I can hardly keep up, I’m finding that my planning of our journey through the corridors of HIStory is more purposeful and scheduled than it used to be. There’s just so much that I’d like to be able to cover and learn alongside of our kids during these preciously few years I have left to focus on our studies with them. Thus I’m synchronizing our TruthQuest guides with our scheduled history and literature reads from Ambleside Online (though for the record, these guides would stand alone beautifully with only a few of their recommended books for each period, or they could work with just about any other history curriculum or homeschooling method for that matter). They mesh beautifully and the Ambleside advisory has even recommended these guides in their HEO (highschool) line-up. Looking ahead, I’ve seen that I will be doubly thankful for Michelle’s invaluable help in navigating our studies and world-view discussions as we adventure through our history, literature and philosophy readings during highschool!

Now that we have recently finished up our study of Ancient Egypt, we are digging deep into Part II of this particular guide, “pursuing the vast breadth and depth of Ancient Greece in a chronological investigation enlivening its history, art, culture and ideas.” We’ve chosen to read from one or more of the recommended spines for each time period (history is our favorite subject!), though these spines are purely optional. Over the years I’d tried quite a few different  (literature-based) history guides/programs and this is the only one that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with and have kept. I anticipate gleaning from them with my children for years to come, regardless of what other books/curricula we may or may not use, thankful for an ally as we proceed in our Quest for HIS Truth!

I love how a Biblical worldview is strengthened as relevant scriptures and spiritual concepts are woven seamlessly throughout all of the commentary Michelle’s written for each time period. For instance, take a moment and check out this sample portion excerpted from the first chapter of our Guide to Ancient Greece. Notice how it sets the tone for our studies of Greek Mythology: Greek Beliefs (Mythology) Wonderful, isn’t it?!

So far we have mostly used the Think Write writing exercises (which mostly consist of a lot of open-ended questions prompting the student to consider his/her own thoughts and formulate a response to what they’re learning) scattered throughout the guides as oral discussion prompts, however as my kids are older and we’re entering into meatier guides and discussions, we’ll be doing more writing with these too.

Another thing I’ve really appreciated about these guides is their versatility. We’re covering Greece in 12(ish) weeks and will be doing the same with Rome (we school through the year), though this study (each guide) could certainly last an entire year if one wanted it to. Our kids have already learned a lot of ancient history over the years, and so we’re doing a sort of formal survey, bringing it all together within the context of our discussions and TruthQuest readings, before moving on to our much anticipated study of the Middle Ages. We have lots of reading selections scheduled into each week. I’m hoping to spend a full year with each of the Age of Revolution guides (which I’ve heard are not to be missed in highschool- and have been told really do almost require a year each, especially the last two!).

You can slowly meander through a particularly interesting era, or if in a hurry, you and your students would benefit greatly simply by reading the commentary and background information Michelle’s written on each time period. I’ve even heard of older students reading through a guide or two independently, covering more ground quickly, and thus gaining an overview of an era(s) before settling into a desired spot in the chronological history cycle.

However one goes about using them, I would think that the amount of learning one gains from the use of these guides (both factual and ideological) is priceless.

Here’s more on How to Use TruthQuest History and other FAQ.

Here’s a thorough Product Description of TruthQuest History from Christianbooksdistributors.com

This thorough compendium of living books and picture books is arranged by subject and date, with grade levels clearly notated. Commentaries summarize and tie topics together as you go from book list to book list, analyzing what is called “life’s two most critical questions: Who is God? And who then, is mankind?” Written directly to students in a very informal tone, they’ll move through history in chronological order; you have all the freedom in the world to pick and choose what books to use and how to integrate activities (reports, newspapers, building demonstrations…).

History may seem murky, but only because we wrongly focus on the long corridor of human actions. History is really a door to God Himself!God created mankind and his times. He is the initiator; we are the responders. So, it is first God’s truths and then our responding beliefs which shape all of history: government, philosophy, art, architecture, literature, scientific thinking, economics, law, and the value placed on human life itself.

TruthQuest History opens the door to it all by bringing together worldview wisdom, literature recommendations, and chronology… all in a fascinating storyline of spiritual context!

How? Picture your family reclining in a comfy boat. The current of TruthQuest History carries you… because each topic has its own powerful commentary and reading list. Your children do not just visit times… they understand them! They do not just read… they see cause-and-effect truth!

Whatever your style, TruthQuest History can benefit you. It follows key Charlotte Mason and Classical resources, and assists unit-study and unschooling familes exploring an era. TruthQuest History even helps you teach your own theology and choose your own resources! Adaptable for all grades.

I also appreciate TruthQuest’s 6-year history cycle, the merits of which are explained here by Karen Glass, an Ambleside Online advisory board member: Classical Education and Four-Year Cycles

However, if you don’t start TruthQuest with six plus years left before your child’s graduation, Michelle has provided a helpful guide with suggestions for figuring out where to jump into the history cycle, according to how many years of schooling you do have left with your kiddos, among other variables such as placing multiple children here, TruthQuest History: How to Choose.

There is also a very large, active yahoo group of families using this history curriculum which I’ve found quite helpful in the past: HIStoryQuesters

Curious as to what’s inside?

Here’s a listing of the various guides’ Table of Contents, along with Sample Chapters (in pdf format) from each guide:

American History for Young Students I, II, III: Grades 1-5

American History for Young Students I (Exploration – 1800)

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

American History for Young Students II (1800-1865)

Sample Chapter

American History for Young Students III (1865-2000)

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Ancient Civilizations: Grades 5-12 (Recommended age-range, though book recommendations ARE provided for elementary grades as well.)

The main TruthQuest History series (seven guides which begin with ancient history and fully cover European and American history to just after the year 2000) are designed for Grades 5-12.

These guides will take you deeper than you ever dreamed you’d go, but the learning is so lively, so personal, and so incremental that the students hardly realize all they’ve absorbed until the truths begin to meld in their hearts. The depth of commentary and topics increasingly advances as the series progresses, so your graduating seniors are fully prepared to understand and minister to the needy world they are inheriting. Younger siblings can often tag along (see further discussion of this below), and though the commentary and ThinkWrite™ exercises are deeper in these upper guides, the reading lists include all the book titles for the younger set as well. These upper TruthQuest History guides can be used by non-Americans as well, for all are interested in ancient and medieval history, and even the three guides which cover American history (Age of Revolution I, II, and III) have about half of their material on European history.

~ excerpt from TruthQuestHistory.com

Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Ancient Rome

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Laurie Bluedorn, co-author of Teaching the Trivium, has this to say of these guides:

Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome: These two study guides, which can be used by students of all ages, contain short, concise historical commentary along with exhaustive book recommendations (both in-print and out-of-print) for every key person and event covered. Also included are writing exercises placed throughout the commentary. These guides, which are thoroughly Christian in their worldview, can be used as your sole history curriculum for these time periods, or as a supplement to any other history curriculum. I love the cautions that Mrs. Miller gives us. At numerous points she suggests that we be careful in our study of ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilization, and she shows us which books would not be appropriate for young children or even some older students. There is just enough commentary throughout the books to guide us and keep us on the correct path so that we won’t leave out any important historical events or people. A family is free to spend as long or as little time at each stop on the timeline as they wish. Mrs. Miller recently revised these two guides including: citing our “Ancient History from Primary Resources” book/CDs set and showing when to use it; adding more ancient writers and more in-print spine books; numbered the sections and subsections; included more Ambleside Online spines/books/resources; and there is a corresponding “Table of Contents” which makes planning and using the guides easier. With these additions, Mrs. Miller has made a wonderful curriculum even better. I wish my children were young again so we could use it.

Middle Ages: Grades 5-12 (Recommended age-range, though book recommendations ARE provided for elementary grades as well.)

Middle Ages (500-1400)

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Renaissance-Reformation: Grades 5-12 (Recommended age-range, though book recommendations ARE provided for elementary grades as well.)

Renaissance/Reformation/Exploration (1400-1600)

Table of Contents

Sample Chapter

Age of Revolution I, II, III: Grades 5-12 (Recommended age-range, though book recommendations ARE provided for elementary grades as well.)

Age of Revolution 1 (US/Europe, 1600-1800)

Sample Chapter

Age of Revolution II (US/Europe, 1800-1865)

Sample Chapter

Age of Revolution III (US/Europe, 1865-2000)

Sample Chapter

Our son has been particularly enamored with Alexander the Great over the last couple of years, reading many wonderful, mature books about him. I was so thrilled to have found this poem contrasting that world-famous king with the King of Kings in our guide to Ancient Greece, p. 64. What a beautiful reminder it’s been of Jesus’s own words:

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

~ Matthew 16.25

Jesus and Alexander (Anonymous)

Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three;

One lived and died for self; one died for you and me.

The Greek died on a throne; the Jew died on a cross;

One’s life a triumph seemed; the other but a loss.

One led vast armies forth; the other walked alone;

One shed a whole world’s blood; the other shed his own.

One won the world in life, and lost it all in death.

The other lost His life to win the whole worlds faith.

Jesus and Alexander died at thirty-three;

The Greek made men slaves; the Jew made all men free.

One built a throne on blood; the other built on love.

The one was born of earth; the other from above;

One won all his earth; to lose all earth and heaven.

The other gave up all; that all to him be given.

The Greek forever died; the Jew forever lives;

He loses all who gets, and wins all things who gives.

(Quoted from: Varner, Williams “The Greeks” Israel My Beloved, Aug/Sept 1994:14.)

Written by Beth Brewer, a Charlotte Mason inspired, Spirit-led, relaxed-eclectic homeschooling Mama of 3. She’s also an author at The Homeschool Post and blogs her photos, musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as she lives, loves and learns with her family at the brew*crew adventure.

Prolific children’s non-fiction author, Seymour Simon has teamed with HarperCollins Publishers and the Smithsonian Institution to produce a series of books about the natural world.  Tucked into the prolific and still-growing library of scientific information produced by Simon and the Smithsonian is a sub-series about the human body.  The books in the human body series provide a treat for the eyes and a feast for the brain.

At present there are eight books in the series.

●The Human Body

●Eyes and Ears

●The Brain:  Our Nervous System

●The Lungs:  Your Respiratory System

●The Heart:  Our Circulatory System

●Guts:  Our Digestive System

●Bones:  Our Skeletal System

●Muscles:  Our Muscular System

The Human Body,  provides an overview of the twelve major body systems.

It discusses the following topics:

●cells

●the integumentary system (skin, hair, and bones)

●the skeletal system

●the muscular system

●the circulatory system and blood

●the respiratory system

●the digestive system

●the nervous system

●the immune and lymphatic systems

●the urinary and excretory systems

●the endocrine system

●the reproductive system

●the five senses

The remaining books discuss the body system of their title using correct anatomical terms, detailed descriptions of body processes, and a depth of information that is accessible to elementary-age students but applicable for older students.  The books make use of technological advances in the medical field by incorporating computer-colored x-rays, MRI scans, and incredible inside photos of the body, along with applicable diagrams.

The impressive, real-life illustrations combine with a detailed, systematic approach to the human body’s inner workings to produce a useful product that is a delight to peruse.

I chose these books as the spine for our human body study.  I could not be more pleased with them.  They were easily found at the library, detailed enough to provide food for thought for my children, and used the correct terms for body parts and processes.  Since my kids are lower elementary and preschool-age, there were a couple of times that I skipped a page or two that contained more detail than we needed.  In those cases, we checked out the pictures and continued on to the next subject.

My children learned a lot about how our bodies work, and enjoyed learning what we look like on the inside.  Personally, I found the books to be fascinating.  Each volume contributed to our understanding of the human body.  My children were especially delighted with the book about the digestive system, Guts, as it let them in on all of the nitty gritty details of how the body extracts the good stuff from food and then passes the rest out of the body.  Ask my six-year old about passing gas.  She will fill you in on the how and why.  She will also giggle with abandon.

Keep these in mind when you study the human body.  They provide scientific information without sucking all of the fun out of it!

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess.  A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that  wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional. 

I had my eye on the Epi Kardia curriculum from the moment I heard of it. I was caught immediately by their name alone as it conveyed exactly the type of homeschooling theology in our home! Imagine my delight when I was offered a 1st grade set to review!  We couldn’t wait for it to arrive!

Epi Kardia is a “historically structured, literature-based curriculum using Charlotte Mason methods” available for grades Kindergarten through High School.  So why Epi Kardia as the curriculum name?…

(from their website) “The Greek words “Epi Kardia” mean at the heart. At Epi Kardia, we feel the heart of home education is the Christ-centered mentoring and discipleship relationship between parents and their children.”

This completely embodies our goals for our homeschool so I just had to try it out.

The day the box came in we were so excited!  I had to rip the box open and dig right in!

My kids were so excited and I was even more pleased with the packaging: eco-friendly packing peanuts!    I joyfully packaged those up for crafts at a later date! (As frugal homeschooling mom, I never miss a moment to reuse and recycle!)

I enjoy the way that the curriculum is broken down into three books so they were not cumbersome to use and their packaging was really pretty! (LOL)

I received the Epi Kardia 1st grade “Lesson Plans” set. This choice is laid out in a daily lesson plan format that outlines each subject for each day, including hands-on ideas, lapbooking suggestions, arts, crafts and more; so you can really just jump in and go!

Epi Kardia offers two different types of curriculum:

1. Complete Programs — their most cost-effective option, Complete Programs  can be used for three years each following our methodology.  Using unit overviews, history, science and music/fine arts book-lists divided by topic,  along with the suggested projects and activities, you write your own lesson plans.

2. Daily Lesson Plans — Love homeschooling (or want to homeschool) but you know you are not a planner, organized or you have a hard time following through? The Daily Lesson Plans are already-planned-in-advance and are written for specific grade levels.  They include weekly goals and objectives for each subject and daily lessons planned integrating the studies of history, science (K-8), language arts and projects.

Features of Epi Kardia Curriculum

• Based on Charlotte Mason methodologies include reading whole, living books, short lessons, oral narration, using copy work and dictation to teach grammar and composition, and more!
• All books listed in the curriculum have been read and evaluated from an evangelical Christian worldview by at least one of the authors
• Integrates the subjects of history, science, language arts (including reading, grammar, composition, phonics, poetry, literature studies, spelling) and fine arts
• Activities, books and projects recommended for each learning style
• Provided in their complete program, components are historical overviews of each time period for teachers/older students, as well as a customizable CD with teaching tools and helpful forms
• The 100+ page teacher’s manuals include abundant information about teaching covered subjects and as well as curriculum related material
• The 6th – 12th grade manual includes an extensive section regarding teaching high school writing.

Epi Kardia is a living book based curriculum, so books are an integral part of it.  In each set there is an outline of books that will be used for that quarter. Although the books are not offered as part of the curriculum purchase, I have found that most are easily found online for free, at your local library, or available used online.  (They even offer the books via links to amazon on their website, to save you time and energy).

Being the frugal family that we are, I’ve elected to procure the books from our local library and online at the free books sites (as listed in my listing of free curriculum). So far, the books have been fun and fairly easy to get. We love going to the library!

I look forward to finding new books that we may have never been exposed to! Like others in living book style curricula, I fully expect to find some books my kids will adore so much they won’t want to return them.

In my humble opinion, Epi Kardia compares nicely with other, more known curriculum such as Sonlight, My Father’s World, or Tapestry of Grace.  Of course, each of these curriculum offer their own perspective, features and lesson plans, which makes each one unique and tailored to each families personal needs.  However, I think the Sullivan family has joyfully found our core curricula of choice!

Prices for the curriculum varies according to your curriculum style choice and media. You can elect to buy the spiral bound books (like pictured above) or a CD.  Prices start at $75.00 for a full curriculum book or, you can choose to try their lesson plans, you may purchase the first unit (The Ancients–six weeks of plans) for only $25.  Epi Kardia is so sure you are going to love them, they even offer a full credit if you choose to buy the full set after purchasing the trial.

Searching for geography curriculum has been a fruitless pursuit for me, so I dabbled in creating my own. We discussed earth being our home, looked at maps, and located places on the globe from our history and literature studies. That was enough, but I wanted to go more in depth.

When I was introduced to A Child’s Geography, Explore His Earth by Ann Voskamp, I thought, “Maybe this is it!”

A giddy, homeschool mom drooling over curriculum is not new, but I’m still excited after starting the lessons, examining the activities, and skimming the suggested reading lists.

The first lesson echoes the first idea I presented to my children. This amazing earth was created by God as a home for us, but Ann goes deeper to explain the enormity and beauty of our world.

Engaging, conversational chapters expand a child’s understanding of atmosphere and climate, continents and earthquakes, maps and oceans, and more. The Scriptures scattered throughout are an integral part of the text.

Each chapter is followed by a clever review. Postcards are used to record the main ideas of the lesson. (template included) Thorough instructions for hands-on activities further enrich the lessons.

My favorite parts are the Reaching Out segments, because they include tangible ways to minister to our neighbors on this spinning sphere. Geography is God’s handwriting on the earth he created, so it is fitting to intertwine his loving purpose while studying. Ann Voskamp does this eloquently and practically. She gives a portion of the proceeds to World Vision.

The only thing I want to change is the ebook format. I wish I’d gotten a print copy, which are now available at Christianbook.com and Timberdoodle.

Written by Renae Deckard, Biblical Principled mother of 3. Find Renae’s reflections about homeschool and family life at Life Nurturing Education. (Originally published at Heart of the Matter Online.)

Most of you already know I’m a huge fan of a good book.  Whenever I can use a book to kickstart a lesson, I jump at the chance.  When I saw the book Legends & Leagues had a Workbook to go along with it, I couldn’t pass it up!

Legends & Leagues or, Mr. Tardy Goes from Here to There by Ned Bustard introduces you to two funny little men named Mr. Longitude and Mr. Latitude.  They take forever to help poor Mr. Tardy find his destination as they ramble on and on about maps and their importance.  In the end, Mr. Tardy is very thankful for their explanations.  Surprisingly, he even gets to his destination on time despite the roaming conversation of Mr. Longitude and Mr. Latitude.

The book was cute.  I’m not going to say it’s on the top of my living literature list, but I don’t consider it twaddle either.  The better part for me was the Legends & Leagues Workbook!  It takes concepts from the book and turns them into easy to understand lessons with great map making activities.  My children are hands-on learners who don’t prefer to fill in worksheets if they can help it.  This workbook gave them just the balance needed between worksheets and creating their own maps.

Not only are the activities very creative, but I couldn’t believe how many mapping skills were covered for the early to mid-elementary crowd.  Topics like:

• Strip maps
• Map symbols
• Using a compass
• Hemispheres
• Grids
• Latitude and longitude
• Continents
• Geography terms
• Landmarks
• Time Zones

In 44 pages, there’s even a little final exam, a glossary and a memory song with piano notes!  The book isn’t absolutely necessary to go along with the workbook, but the book does make a nice addition.  You can purchase both for $19.00.

What are your favorite resources for teaching map skills?

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of three.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and Shining Dawn Books.

This is one of the first books I purchased when we began homeschooling, and it remains an all-time favorite of mine. I’m typically not a text-book kind of homeschooling Mom – except when it comes to math. It was always my weakest subject, and I don’t have the confidence to stray from my dearly beloved math curriculum. However, I do like to spice math up a bit so that it will be an enjoyable subject for my children.

Contrary to my need for a math curriculum, Games for Math by Peggy Kaye was the only resource I used when my oldest was in Kindergarten, and it nurtured in him a real enjoyment of math. Now it makes a nice supplement to our curriculum.

It includes games for Kindergarten through Third Grade, covering a wide variety of topics including:

• Counting
• Logical Thinking
• Size and Shape
• Addition and Subtraction
• Multiplication and Division
• Estimation
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Place Value
• The Number System (Base-10)

I have also benefitted from the author’s teaching experience, as she offers valuable insights into a child’s development, how they think about math concepts, and how she has used games to successfully teach math to children for over twenty-five years. Her writing style is conversational and makes for an enjoyable read. She really makes me think about how I interact with my own children when teaching math.

You can download some of the games from the book at Peggy Kaye’s website. (Please note that the math games are interspersed with games from her other books on reading and writing, which I will review in the future.)

If sampling a game or two whets your appetite for more, you can find her book at certain local libraries or an online bookseller.

I hope that this resource will help you and your children to have some fun with math!

Written by Shannon, who blogs about her family’s homeschooling adventures at Song of My Heart.

I’m so excited to be typing my very first review here at The Curriculum Choice!  I truly love books of all kinds and I especially love when I can find great books for my homeschool that cover multiple subjects, which is why I chose Christian Liberty Nature readers for my first review.

I chose this series for my 2nd grader to practice reading because although Spring is around the corner, it has not yet reached my doorstep and we’re looking for it wherever we can get it!  These books are plum full of scents of Spring!  Especially for boys that love the outdoors, these readers are a must.

I love Christian Liberty Nature Readers for several reasons:

• gentle readers, but with just enough challenge
• they feel like nature study, even when it’s too cold to go outside
• little siblings love to listen
• the glossary in the back gives good practice for looking up words they’re not sure of
• the sections are short, making it easy to just read a little at a time if need be

These books are great for not only reading practice and comprehension, but they paint a beautiful picture of God’s awesome creation.  There are numerous subjects covered and each book is a little different.  The book we’re reading right now for instance talks about all kinds of things in nature from the honeybee to quails to bison.

The series consists of six books ranging from PreK to 5th grade, each book getting a little more challenging.  These are great living books that are available for great prices.  If you feel like you need to enhance your nature study or just get some fresh, new books for some good Spring reading, I highly recommend Christian Liberty Nature Readers.

~posted by Alicia, homeschooling mama of 3.  Find her blogging at La Famille.

I like using notebooking as a form of narration in our Charlotte Mason styled homeschool. My preference is to use blank notebooking pages or to make our own, but I also enjoy History Scribe retail notebooking pages.

Why do I like History Scribe? My daughter is creative and loves to sketch. If I give her a notebooking page with graphics on it, she generally feels disappointed. After all, in her mind, the funnest part is already done. Blank pages are what she prefers because she has room to draw and to write. (And I’m in hearty agreement with blank pages. After all, the more she completes herself, the more learning she is demonstrating and reinforcing.)

History Scribe fits her perfectly.

This is the anatomy of a History Scribe notebooking page:

1. Heading — including a title and a short introductory blurb
2. Top half – space for drawing, affixing images
3. Another section for a second heading or caption to the image.
4. Bottom half, lined for writing 9 lines

Biography pages are a bit different. Each has the person’s name for a heading at the top. The bottom half is lined for writing. The top half has empty space for creative expression plus an oval area and a small box called Fact File with some basic data to fill in.

If you have a highschooler, be sure to consider the History Scholar pages which have smaller lines and more detailed areas to fill in. You can see samples here.

Each set comes with some blank pages without any text at all. These are great for topics that aren’t included in the set.

So what if your child doesn’t like drawing? Actually, you can still use the blank space for affixing maps or images printed from other sources.

You may be wondering why you would want to buy a basically blank notebooking set. Three good reasons:

1. If you plan your own unit studies, you may find the history scribe notebooking sets helpful for identifying key topics.
2. Independent work. The top blurb gives enough introductory information for a student to get started on his own research and complete the notebooking page.
3. If you use project based learning, you could give a student the table of contents and ask for a set number of pages to be completed as part of a unit of study. The student could choose his own preferred topics from the available pages.

Tips for using
Print the table of contents page for each set you buy. Keep that page with your planning notes so that you don’t forget what you have available.
Inject some variety.  Print notebooking pages on colored paper or print 2 per page or 4 per page for making themed minibooks.

Examples of History Scribe pages in action:

• photos at Jimmie’s Collage (my blog)
• photo at Virtuous Foundations Home Education (a biography page)
• Smooth Stones Academy has a list correlating SOTW1 with History Scribe pages.

Where can you buy History Scribe notebooking pages? I buy them from Currclick where I can immediately download the files and begin printing them out. (There are frequent 50% to 75% off sales.)

If you prefer a CD instead of a PDF instant download, visit the Westvon Publishing homepage or History Scribe.

Based on my conversations with other homeschoolers over the years, we have mixed opinions about the importance of handwriting instruction within our homeschools.  Why do I bother to teach my children cursive handwriting in this age of e-mail, texts, and instant messaging?

• My children need to be able to read the cursive handwriting of others.  For example, they will need to be able to read both the love notes and the grocery lists that their future spouses leave for them!
• I firmly believe there are times when a handwritten note is most appropriate (for example, a handwritten note in a sympathy card).

My goals for my children’s handwriting are quite few.  I simply want them to be able to:

• Read the cursive handwriting of others.
• Write in a neat and legible cursive script.

Happy Scribe Copybooks have helped my children meet the handwriting goals that I set for them.  Happy Scribe Copybooks are inexpensive, simple to use, and perfectly complement a unit study approach.

Inexpensive

Happy Scribe Copybooks are available for purchase either as an e-book or on CD.  Currently, the price for a copybook is $1.50.  Each copybook includes 20 phrases related to a specific topic, alphabet pages, number pages, and blank pages.  As well, each copybook includes three different handwriting/printing styles:

• Classic Block
• D’Nealian Italic
• Classic Cursive

Simple To Use

After purchasing and downloading the desired copybook, I simply print out the pages in the handwriting style I desire.  All of my children are now writing in cursive, so I choose Classic Cursive.  Then I print out a copy of the front cover for each child.  The front covers are lovely and in color.  Lastly, I have the book bound at my local office supply store.

A page or half a page per day could be assigned, depending upon the age of the child.  After the model sentence, the first line is to be traced.  Then, there are additional lines to copy the sentence again.

Complements a Unit Study Approach

My favorite aspect of Happy Scribe Copybooks is that they work well with a unit study approach.  As we work through a unit study, I try to pull as many academic subjects as I can into the study.  So, for example, when we studied Ancient Egypt, I used the Ancient Egypt copybook with my children.   When we studied Ancient Greece, I used the Ancient Greece copybook.

Currently, there are 37 different copybooks available covering not only many different time periods; but science topics, bible topics, and some “just for fun” topics like Pets.  With so many different copybooks, it is often possible to find one that coordinates with our current unit study.

If you would like to try a Happy Scribe Copybook, a free Weather Folklore copybook can be downloaded at their website.  Happy Scribe Copybooks have been a good fit for our family and our unit study approach.

Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at tobebusyathome.

For some of us the idea of doing hands-on projects with our children can be daunting. I am neither crafty nor artistic, and I don’t enjoy making and cleaning up messes during the course of our school day. However, I have come to the conclusion that with a little bit of forethought and planning, including hands-on activities in our history lessons can be painless and fun.

Most importantly, the right project can bring a historical topic or time period to life for children. I am always amazed when one of my children brings up a project we completed several months ago and is still able to associate it with the concept about which we were learning.

Today I thought I would share with you a couple of my favorite resources for user-friendly, hands-on history projects. Most of these books can be found at your local library or an online bookseller.

• American Kids in History by David C. King – There are several volumes in this series that cover different time periods. We have only used Colonial Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes and Revolutionary War Days: Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes.   Some of our favorite projects from these include quill writing, making and playing traditional colonial games, and dipping candles.

• More Than Moccasins: A Kid’s Activity Guide to Traditional North American Indian Life (A Kid’s Guide series) is just one of many Activity Guides that Laurie Carlson has written for different periods in history. From this book we enjoyed several Native American projects including making and trading wampum (clay beads), making and wearing paper bag vests, making and playing with spinning tops, and playing Shinny, an early form of hockey.

Most of the games, crafts, recipes, and other projects that we have done in these books were moderate to easy for my 6 and 8 year old to complete, along with a little bit of help and guidance from me. The time required to complete each project was anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. (O.K., except for the candle-dipping. That one required a lot of help from me and took a long time to complete, but the kids have not forgotten it!)

For most of these projects, we used supplies we already had on hand or recycled household items. Some of the projects do require materials that you would probably have to purchase, for example, the paraffin wax for the candles.

I hope that you’ll check out these resources and find them helpful in spicing up your history studies with some hands-on fun.

Written by Shannon, who is a history-buff at heart and enjoys blogging about her family’s homeschooling adventures at Song of My Heart.

Winter isn’t a season we get much enjoyment out of in my part of the country.  It doesn’t snow much here.  It’s just cold and windy!  However, I was able to dive into winter with this fabulous unit study.  This downloadable e-book is chock full of wonderful information about the winter season.  We read many wonderful books, viewed video clips, and went on nature walks as we worked our way through this incredible unit study.

During this unit, Emma and I talked about the first day of winter and plotted it on our calendar.  We watched videos of it snowing in places like Boston and Maine.  We learned how plants and animals prepare for the winter.  We made bird feeders to feed our fine feathered friends – and the occasional squirrel!  As science is a big part of learning about the seasons, we talked about snowflakes and icicles.  Emma did some winter art work and a few science experiments as well. Nature walks were a huge hit as we looked for signs of winter and even the upcoming spring (in the buds on the trees).

Though the unit is designed to be completed in one week, we took two weeks to complete it.  There is a lot of information to cover especially if you view all of the links. This unit is over 70 pages long and complete with lapbooking and notebooking activities.  Also included are craft and cooking ideas, a library list, nature walk journaling pages, and more.

This unit is available for purchase from The Old Schoolhouse.  You can also purchase more “download n go” units at the same site.  A few of the other units available include George Washington, Whale Tales, Expedition Australia, and Sea Shells.  You can buy subscriptions to these units, as well.  (This is what I did.)  You can buy a one month subscription, a semester subscription, or a year-long subscription.  If you purchase a subscription, you will also receive one or two free unit studies (depending upon the level of your subscription.  The prices of the units are very reasonable at less than $10 per unit.  I highly recommend these unit studies to anyone looking for a unit study that is very informational and fun to do!

Written by Tara, who is homeschooling two with a little bit of everything. You can find her blogging at Mom Teaches 2.