In addition to reading For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School
by Susan Macaulay and Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home
by Elizabeth Foss, another favorite general home education book that started me down my path to developing my own lifestyle of learning was The Simplicity of Homeschooling: Discover the Freedom of Learning Through Living
by Vicki Goodchild.At some point during those first years I was introduced to MODG. I have really enjoyed utilizing Mrs. Berquist's book 'Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum' and using her syllabus to teach certain topics. Even though she follows a classical education model I found her utilization of living books, to compliment her history textbooks, very attractive. I have also enjoyed and found her listings of books helpful in giving a more accurate perspective of historical events.
Mrs. Berquist has also written a wonderful book of poetry for memorization and dictation/copy-work called The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum.
It was also through Mrs. Berquist that I learned about Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons by Emma Serl. These two wonderful treasures are perfect for teaching third or fourth graders language arts in a simple and gentle manner. Both compatible to Charlotte Mason's methods. They are a wonderful sequel to Ruth Beechick's Strong Start Series on the Three Rs (reading, writing & arithmetic). I am a firm believer that drilling children on these subjects at such a young age is a complete and utter waste of time and energy! Language arts topics, in my experience, should be directed in a more natural manner, until the child becomes able to write their own narrations and creative stories effortlessly (around 5th or 6th grade), but that is a whole other posting.
I learned about implementing unit studies from a home school veteran, Valerie Bendt. My favorite of all her publications is 'Creating Books with Children'! Implementing these "rabbit trails" (unit studies) have also became regulars in our home school journey. Actually, one of the very first unit study type programs we used with our beginner readers was called Five in a Row. This literature based program is fabulous and has become a favorite in our home.
My resource list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Maria Montessori. Her respect for children and emphasis on observing the child has led me to become a more observant and gentler parent. I love how her activities offer the individual child a path from the concrete to the abstract through the use of hands on materials. I use some Montessori methods with all of my children. I have also enjoyed using Montessori materials to teach the truths of our faith (catechism). One of my favorite programs is The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This program has been a real complimented to our current curricula the Baltimore Catechism and the Faith and Life Series. Of course we also round out our subject of 'religion' with daily prayers and readings from the Mass, singing hymns, reading many biographies on the saints, participating in the sacraments regularly, and actively living and participating in the liturgical events of the church calendar. A couple books I have found very useful are:
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: Pre-School Years
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: The School Years
- Teach Me to Do It Myself: Montessori Activities for You and Your Child
- I Can Do It! I Can Do It!.
An excellent online website we use regularly for printed Montessori materials that I highly recommend is Montessori for Everyone.
Before I finish this posting I want to briefly mention one last resource that I use on a regular basis. They are a curriculum supplier called Catholic Heritage Curriculum, who take a very hands on approach to teaching their subjects, because their philosophy is based on both the Montessori and the Classical methods. This hands on approach to learning is a good fit for my family. I absolutely love their Catholic Speller and Language of God Series for summer review, and we use a lot of thier materials to enhance and live our liturgical year. Their approach is very simple and gentle.
These past couple postings in 'Our Homeschool Journey' series show some of the academic resources that over the years have grown into indispensable treasures in our home. Of course, this whole process of finding our style for educating did not happen overnight. It has taken many years to evolve before finally beginning to fall into place. Another factor one has to keep in mind is that life has unpredictable timing so my schedules vary slightly from one season to the next just like my academic resources.
In my next posting I will attempt to show different schedules and grading systems that I have implemented over the years and how I blended my two worlds into one.
