From wrapping each other up in toilet paper when learning about mummies to building the Great Wall of China out of blocks, we've always had so much fun studying ancient times. I've mentioned in previous posts that we do a four-year history rotation (ancient, medieval, renaissance and modern). We've done two cycles of ancient history … Continue reading Ancient World History: Living Books and Resources
What do you picture when you think of the Middle Ages? Do you imagine castles and knights and damsels in distress? What about smelly cess pits or teeth-pulling barbers or the bubonic plague? There are so many interesting things to learn about when studying medieval times. I've always found the Middle Ages to be the … Continue reading Living Books and Other Resources for Medieval History Studies
It's officially summer break (with the exception of some leftover math and spelling lessons), and I'll soon be sitting down to schedule and plan curriculum for the fall. I already have most of what we'll need for next year, which is a wonderful feeling. Since I love reading about other people's curriculum choices, I thought … Continue reading Our 2019-2020 Homeschool Curriculum Choices for Grades 3 and 4
The decorations are down and Christmas is over, but I wanted to take some time to share a little bit about our Victorian Christmas. When I planned out our modern history studies for the year, I was excited to see that our unit on the Victorian era fell near Christmastime. Many of our modern-day Christmas … Continue reading History Adventures: A Victorian Christmas
Christmas Eve. Voices echoed angelic songs in darkness lit by hundreds of tiny flames that flickered like stars. I held my candle carefully as I sang the miracle and mystery of a Saviour come to earth. Heaven stooping low. The glorious beauty of ancient prophecy fulfilled. My children, beside me, looked on with wonder-filled eyes. … Continue reading Charlotte Mason Inspired: Step-by-Step Christmas Hymn Study
Last Tuesday was curriculum share night at our homeschool parent support group. It's basically adult show-and-tell, and it's the best thing ever. I learn more from these nights—from thirty women taking two minutes each to talk about their favourite teaching tools—than from any conference or workshop or talk that I have ever attended. I always … Continue reading A Charlotte Mason Inspired Homeschool Curriculum Switch Up: Math, Grammar, Art and More
I creak my eyes open and fumble for my phone, trying desperately to figure out how to snooze the soft music that sounds too loud in the stillness. It's time to wake up and I'm not ready. Within minutes, I hear the slapping of little feet on hardwood in the hallway. It's my littlest, and she … Continue reading A Peek Into Our Homeschool Day
Our feet are noiseless on a trail of packed dust that winds along a tree-covered ridge. We are in Niagara wine country, and the chatter of our three little girls is punctuated by the sounds of bird bangers in the valley below—propane-fired cannons used to ward off hungry avians. Overhead, the constant whirr of sight-seeing … Continue reading This Week in the Woods: Late Summer Wanderings and Back-to-School Ponderings
"Children should have the joy of living in far lands, in other persons, in other times - a delightful double existence; and this joy they will find, for the most part, in their story books. Their lessons, too, history and geography, should cultivate their conceptive powers. If the children do not live in the times … Continue reading Modern History: A Living Book List
The Grace-Filled Life 