Getting geared up...

I always get excited around this time of year, because I am knee deep in plans for the next year. I usually spend a little bit of time in the spring planning broadly what I want to do the following year, while things are fresh in my mind... I usually make adjustments to the next year, remembering what my children enjoyed, where they need to be challenged, where I need to be challenged, etc.

Then, around this time of year, I am making lists of books I need, scouring yard sales, thrift stores, and homeschool used curriculum sales. I also start dividing the books I plan to use by how many weeks of school I am doing the next year. Last night I had an illustrated History of the World open on the floor, looking for any interesting subjects for a biography or in depth study during our time period for next year. I think we are going to learn about David Livingstone and his travels in Africa.

Recently, I heard a comment second-hand from an educator about the dangers of focusing too much on a "western white mans history", and his comment was meant as an encouragement to not narrow our history too much, and that our children need to be aware of a broader world than the western one we know so well. It challenged me to see how each year, we could study someone whose life would give us a glimpse of life elsewhere. Last year, we studied Marco Polo which proved to be a great feast (and one we could have kept going into for years).

Also, I am having fun planning for a co-op that we began last year. I have a great group of kids signed up for next year, and I am thrilled about being able to teach Zoology 1 (a book focusing on the flying creatures- birds, bugs, bats, etc). I am breaking up the reading for the year by week, planning nature walks, activities, etc. It is such a joy to learn alongside my children. I really have a blast!

If you are interested in help from me for the upcoming school year, please let me know soon, so I can get as much done for you as possible before the school year starts. I am really looking forward to beginning my new adventure with you.
:) parke

My grandaddy and history...

My grandaddy was a great storyteller, and what kid does not love a great story. And, what was better was that his stories were true! My grandfather was born in the very late 1800s, and he lived in a house and on a farm that he had helped to build. The early 1900s seemed a world away to me, and I used to walk around the farm pretending that I lived in that far off world when he was a boy. I could picture him building stilts with his brothers; one set was as tall as the second story porch. Also, I could picture him working in the general store that they had in what was now the laundry room/porch. (He even still had the ledger from the store).

Then, I heard him tell stories of his uncle who built and flew a plane before the Wright brothers! It did not fly as far, but it was true!!!... and when I went to the Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, there it was hanging from the ceiling... the actual plane of my relative. Wow! That was an amazing story for a young girl, and it made school fun when we were studying flight.

He had other stories of relatives who were involved in various wars, back to the American Revolution. Again, it made history come alive to me in school. It was very influential in history becoming one of my favorite subjects; through his stories, I realized that history was full of real peoples' stories. I especially loved biographies as I grew up.

The teaching of history was just one area that rang true with me in regards to an education along the lines that Charlotte Mason talked about. She advocated giving children access to great biographies, well written, about people during the time period being studied. One well written biography may take a half or even a whole year to get through, but at the end the child was well acquainted with a "friend" who lived and responded to life during that era.

For example, my 10 year old has been reading Abigail Adams, witness to a revolution, written by Natalie Bober. It is a difficult book to read because of the vocabulary/ language used at the time that Mrs. Adams lived, and because the book directly quotes from her letters to her husband, John Adams. But, as he worked through the book slowly, he got used to the language, and he got a real taste of her personality, and what was going on in that tumultuous time during history... the revolution.

Biographies (and certain other overview of history books) are great because they are written by one person who is passionate about their subject, instead of a history textbook written by a board who are just trying to cover it all. I think it is better to know one person's life in depth, a story told by that person (autobiography) or one who is passionate about that person (biography) than to read what 12 people think I should hear in that particular grade. Getting the information from a first or second-hand source is usually so much better!

Thank you Homer Smith for introducing me to the world of history... I wish he was still alive so that I could hear more!

So... here we go...

I am trying to get the word out about this blog. I want to use it as a way for people to be inspired in their homescooling, to be encouraged by others who are doing the same things, and as a way to get the word out about my "new job". I am going to try to add at least one entry a week, about different aspects of homeschooling, and if you have a specific thing you would like me to share about, please ask.
Also, I think I have nailed down how I am going to do this. If you are interested in using me as a consultant, just email me with some of your basic info and what you are wanting. Then, we can either talk on the phone or skype once I gather some info for you- we will just set up a time to chat. I will charge for the initial consultation, and then based on what we decide during that time (not to exceed an hour), I can send any documents you need (that I mentioned in my previous post). A friend of mine is helping me to set up a paypal account, and to change my documents to pdf formats, so that you can pay online, and I can just email you the documents. Then, we can have follow-up talks, etc, at a price we agree on.
I would really love to offer a type of curriculum-in-a-box at some time. I would work with you on a schedule, and then gather the books for you, make a weekly schedule for you, and ship it straight to your door! I gather used books to sell to my homeschool friends all the time, and I could save you a lot of money, if you are willing to have used books at about half the price!

So, feel free to email me, or leave a comment with your email address, and we can get started.

Reinventing the Wheel

I had a wonderful teacher and advisor in college. She was my block teacher for elementary education. She ran her "block classes" like no other, and it was incredible. She taught us how to resource instead of coming up with our own ways- she was the queen of resource, then tweak. Gleaning is a skill, and a very valuable one! I took her teachings to heart (which was easy, because my parents taught me to be a gleaner in life), and I have taken that to heart in teaching in a Charlotte Mason style.

There are so many amazing people who have gone before me, so I would like to help be a resource, and a pointer-out of resources to people. As I continue to search these people, books, and websites out; I want to share them with you.

So... what I am going to offer is consulting per hour and per document. I either have or will have documents about :
worship time and scripture study
picture study and artists to study
math
history & biographies
science and nature study and bios of scientists and naturalists
composers and study of music
how to choose good literature & book lists resources
tips on how to organize your days and weeks and seasons
lists of great online resources
tips for people who are homeschooling for only a season (for a short time between going to a "regular" school)
tips for missionaries

Hopefully these will be helpful for you.

My hearts desire... a little history

I have a passion that I realized while homeschooling (and even before I started). It is curriculum- and my biggest interest within that is teaching with a Charlotte Mason philosophy/bentness. I was an education major in college, was an enjoyer and lover of children of all ages, and an avid reader. I have always enjoyed learning, and specifically from first-hand sources.

I knew that I wanted to homeschool when my first was very young, so I started asking a lot of questions about homeschooling, different methods, curriculum, etc. I heard about a woman from England who lived at the turn of the last century, so I followed that thread, and what I found was a treasure trove of ideas... a philosophy of education that rang true! I first read about her, and then I got my hands on her actual writings, and I literally devoured them; I was so excited. And then, I found a group of women who also liked this way of "doing school". We met together for many years, and I gleaned so much with and from these women as we read Charlotte Mason's own writings, and numerous other sources that resonated with her philosophy. We (the moms) were putting into practice the things we were learning (or in some cases, moms had been doing it for years), and we were coming together monthly to share with each other, and to continue our learning.

One of the statements that I heard, pondered, etc. was this...do you want your child to have a lot of information when they are done with school, or do you want to have helped create a lifelong learner? The answer is pretty obvious, I think.

Well, many years later, I have been homeschooling this way for 5 years, and I still love it; it still rings true. Through the years, I have delved deep into the world of homeschool curriculum, and excellent children's literature. I am always excited about helping people with their curriculum choices, and trying to help them tweak the ideas to their own home, their own city, country, etc.

I have helped many people and even a school make curriculum choices. I spend a good bit of time in thrift stores, yard sales, estate sales, etc. looking for the great "living books" that are out there... the types of books that I and my friends want for our little "schoolrooms". I buy them up and pass them on to fellow homeschoolers and teachers.

Now, I am realizing that my passion is something that can help many people, and that could help my family financially in our endeavor to support 7 people on one income. I am organizing my daily schedules, yearly book lists, tips on making history and geography fit your area, etc. I guess I am becoming an "official" homeschool consultant, but what I really feel like is a mom who wants to share her heart and passion for education with others.

I am trying to come up with prices per hour for consulting, what a "package" of a years curriculum would cost for me to put together, and what I would charge for simple word documents like examples of my daily, weekly, semester schedules would look like. I also I am pulling together my information on various church year holidays for people.

Let me know if you are interested.

humbly, parke