Preschool at home

Little Faith enjoying life!

Believe it or not, I get a lot of questions as to precisely what one should do with preschool children; what kind of curriculum to buy, etc.

When I was a young child, "preschool" meant just what the word suggests; an important period before any formal schooling began. Back then, even Kindergarten was not considered absolutely necessary.

Sometimes I feel as though I am on some sort of crusade back to common sense, a campaign aimed at freeing parents from the pressure of feeling they if they don't put their children in "programs" at the tender ages of three or four to keep the youngsters from being hindered or damaged in some way for the rest of their lives.

I am convinced that children who have time to develop in a warm, familiar home environment, without the pressure of a formal program, are much better off in the long-run. I've my suspicions that the social engineers are quite aware that children fair worse in institutions, but they are also less malleable by the "system" if they are allowed to bind with their families more than to their teachers and peers in early childhood.

Lorilee at three-years-old

I don't care what Sesame Street has set out to do, and I'm not impressed with what all of the workbooks, and mp3 videos, and apps programs that have tried to convince us of; especially relating basic "readiness" skills does not require a system, a program, or a curriculum.

Readiness is nothing more than giving love and attention to young children and including them in every-day life.

I recently needed my three-year-old to retrieve a plastic container of barrettes from the drawer in my bathroom. I told her that the item I needed was located in the top drawer, that it was round, and that it was colored orange. Wanting to please me, she ran off excitedly and came back with the exact thing I wanted, even though there are three drawers in my bathroom, and the topmost one is full of all sorts of other things.

In order to complete her task, she had to know what "top" meant, what "round" meant and what the color orange looked like. I, and the other family members in this house, have systematically taught her all of these things, although not in any certain sequence or order. She has also taught herself, as she has asked us questions and observed life going on around her.

Building mechanical aptitude

Available to her are large Legos, markers, colors, paper, scissors, dolls, kitchen utensils, a sandbox and swings, closets full of clothes to try on (and take off, and try on, and take off, and try on...), older sisters to put lipstick on, picture books to study, other books to listen to, and parents and older siblings to snuggle with when the movie gets too intense.

We take her on errands, make her sit quietly with us when we have our family singing and Bible study time, and have her help us when we are cleaning the yards, or folding clothes, and making dinner. All of these elements combine to give her a well-rounded idea of early life. 

World Book has graciously provided lists of a typical "course of study" for the different grades. This is how they explain how they have formulated the readiness requirements for preschool-aged children:

...the early childhood education staff at the University of Georgia, with a grant from World Book, Inc., surveyed kindergarten administrators and teachers across North America to determine what skills, competencies, and understandings a child needs in order to perform successfully in the first formal school situation. Well over 3,000 educators responded to the Readiness Skills Study. The results identified 105 desirable readiness skills that will help a child get off to a good start in school.

Any parent, if he/she is attentive, loving, and caring, can easily fulfill and surpass the requirements listed here, the toddlers I have raised are all living proof!

 Size

*Understands big and little.
*Understand long and short.
*Matches shaped or objects based on size.

Colors and Shapes

* Recognizes and names primary colors.
* Recognizes circles.
* Recognizes rectangles.
* Matches shapes or objects based on shape.
* Copies shapes.

Numbers

* Counts orally through ten.
* Counts objects in one-to-one correspondence.
* Understands empty and full.
* Understands more and less.

Reading Readiness

* Remembers objects from a given picture.
* Knows what a letter is.
* Has been read to frequently.
* Has been read to daily.
* Looks at books and magazines.
* Recognizes some nursery rhymes.
* Identifies parts of the body.
* Identifies objects that have a functional use.
* Knows common farm and zoo animals.
* Pronounces own first name.
* Pronounces own last name.
* Expresses self verbally.
* Identifies other children by name
* Tells the meaning of simple words.
* Repeats a sentence of 6-8 words.
* Completes incomplete sentence with proper word.
* Has own books.
* Understands that print carries a message.
* Pretends to read.
* Uses left-to-right progression.
* Answers questions about a short story.
* Tells the meaning of words heard in story.
* Looks at pictures and tells a story.
* Identifies own first name in manuscript.
* Prints own first name.

Position and Direction

* Understands up and down.
* Understands in and out.
* Understands front and back.
* Understands over (on) and under.
* Understands top, bottom, middle.
* Understands beside and next to.
* Understands hot and cold.
* Understands fast and slow.

Time

* Understands day and night.
* Knows age and birthday.

Listening and Sequencing

* Follows simple directions.
* Listens to a short story.
* Listens carefully.
* Recognizes common sounds.
* Repeats a sequence of sounds.
* Repeats a sequence of orally given numbers.
* Retells simple stories in sequence.

Motor Skills

* Is able to run.
* Is able to walk a straight line.
* Is able to jump.
* Is able to hop.
* Is able to alternate feet walking down stairs.
* Is able to march.
* Is able to stand on one foot for 5-10 seconds.
* Is able to walk backwards for five feet.
* Is able to throw a ball.
* Pastes objects.
* Claps hands.
* Matches simple objects.
* Touches fingers.
* Able to button a garment.
* Builds with blocks.
* Completes simple puzzles (five pieces or less).
* Draws and colors beyond
* a simple scribble.
* Able to zip a zipper.
* Controls pencil and crayon well.
* Cuts simple shapes.
* Handles scissors well.
* Able to copy simple shapes.

Social-Emotional Development

* Can be away from parents or primary care givers for 2-3 hours without being upset.
* Takes care of toilet needs independently.
* Feels good about self.
* Is not afraid to go to school.
* Cares for own belongings.
* Knows full name.
* Dresses self.
* Knows how to use handkerchief or tissue.
* Knows own s*x.
* Brushes teeth.
* Crosses residential street safely.
* Asks to go to school.
* Knows parents' names.
* Knows home address.
* Knows home phone number.
* Enters into casual conversation.
* Carries a plate of food.
* Maintains self-control.
* Gets along well with other children.
* Plays with other children.
* Recognizes authority.
* Shares with others.
* Talks easily.
* Likes teachers.
* Meets visitors without shyness.
* Puts away toys.
* Able to stay on task.
* Able to work independently.
* Helps family with chores.

(List courtesy of World Book)

For the Christian family, I would add in these items:

• The Golden Rule
• Genesis chapters 1-9
• The Sermon on the Mount
• The Ten Commandments
• The books of the Bible
• The redemption story 

"Cheating" in order to learn

God's Holy Commandments

There is a type of cheating that breaks God's law; it is stealing, lying, and coveting. This is done when we look at someone else's answers during a test, or reproduce someone else's work and hand it in as if it were our own, or when we plagiarize a writing assignment.

But there is another kind of "cheating" that isn't cheating at all; it's just an alternative way to learn, or to beat the "system."

For instance, I have often been stuck without a clue while working on a math problem, and peeking at the answers at the back of the book helped put me on the right track. This is not only allowable, this is expected, which is why textbook publishers have the even (or odd) answers included in the back. Most teachers expect students to show their work anyway, so it is really impossible to do anything unethical.

Working on a math problem

Since we enjoy using the Ray's Arithmetics on the discs from Dollar Homeschool, I've printed out the answers into helpful booklets and handed them out to my children--then they are free to look lessons up in order to to see if they understand what is being asked of them, or precisely how a problem should be solved, just as long as they know that they must show all of their own work.

There is another way to "cheat" that is often very beneficial; this is when one is supposed to read through a chapter of information and afterwards answer a series of questions in order to confirm comprehension of the material. The content of the reading assignment is usually the most important in the chapter, and the type that would most certainly be on a test. Now, if a person is extremely interested in the course of study, then he or she would probably want to read the chapter very carefully, and even follow up with a bit of additional research, but, unfortunately, most texts theses days are pretty dry, and the information they contain may be either irrelevant, slanted, or obvious propaganda. In such cases as these, a person just wants to grab the most pertinent data without clouding his or her mind with a lot of nonsense.

This is when the index becomes a student's best friend! By taking a key-word from the question and using it to look up the specific page, often the specific paragraph, in which it is contained, an accurate answer can be formulated. This is a great time-saver, and, especially when the class is required but is also full of a lot of hogwash, this saves brain-space for more important things!

Discovering the proper solution to a problem

Now, I have never used the "regurgitation" method of learning in my homeschool (reading a section and then answering several "canned" questions, or some fill-in-the-blanks, etc.) for about 20 years. In certain ways, this may leave my precious children more vulnerable, since they have never undertaken a subject that, for them, was not either vital or interesting to them, and so they have a tendency to take everything put before them very seriously. But they will need to learn specifically how to use this strategy whenever they are forced to take one of these courses, so I teach them how to perform well while hardly being influenced.

Regurgitation, as I call it, is one of the worst ways to really learn anything. It actually does very little for real retention at all, and is more about memorizing mere facts than in communicating important ideas that a student can then internalize so as to make a lasting impression on his or her reservoir of true and beneficial knowledge.

For instance, I might be able to rattle off the exact dates of the beginning of the Revolutionary War and some of the names of the major persons involved, but I might miss the actual reasons for the war, or the larger implications for mankind, or how the attitudes and ideals of the Founding Fathers could or should affect me in my thinking today. And even if I was made to memorize a statement or two concerning the reasons and effects, it would make very little difference if I was not able to think them through for myself and connect them with other lessons of history or the way I look at my life.

Besides, there are so many angles from which to view any event in history. There are often many different ways to answer even the most basic question of why something happened. Was the Civil War fought exclusively over the issue of slavery?--not hardly! 

A few of our own notebooking pages

Students need to have the opportunity to interpret and analyze the facts in their own way, from their own perspective. This is why the Charlotte Mason method of narration is so much superior to that of simply getting the answers to some "canned" questions. Of course, there are quite a number of different styles of "narration" for any lesson, chapter, book or subject. With my creative and resourceful children, we like not only to write, but to illustrate, act-out, or in some manner display what we are learning. Notebooking is one of the terrific vehicles for this, but there are many others.

What are some of the alternatives that you have found?

Children are special!

Sarah Elizabeth

Here I go again, nag, nag, nag! 

After 29 years of parenting, I honestly believe that I have taped recordings of lectures that are stored in my mind which can go off quite automatically on certain cues. I have precise sayings that immediately dribble out of my mouth without any special forethought whatsoever.

Seriously, raising children takes a lot of repetition, a lot of pestering, and a lot of "constructive criticism." Every day I'm reminding people to brush their teeth, make their beds, be humble, be sweet, be respectful, be diligent, wipe their feet, put their shoes away, take out the trash, clean the counters, finish their schoolwork, write thank-you letters, stand up straight, and on, and on it goes... 

After a while it can grate on one's nerves, all of this energy expended in seeming futility. If a mother is not careful, it can wear her down, steal her joy, and keep her from truly delighting in her children.

Patience being her wonderful self!

Everyone needs a little correction and accountability from time-to-time, but constant "fixing" can tear down a home from the inside-out. If we want to grow a healthy plant, we certainly are not going to prune it down to the root, or drown it with too much water. No, there are times when we must very carefully bind up its tender shoots, and set it on the windowsill so that it can soak up some much needed sun-light, and their are times when we simply sit back to admire it. 

Parents can get so busy, that they allow the circumstances of life to rob them of the emotional energy they need for their children. They might have the best of intentions, but if their little ones rarely hear a positive word, they may never get to benefit from the gift of love and acceptance they need from the most important people in their lives. 

All too soon the youngsters are off and gone, and then the words spoken are often too few, and the relationship is too distant to make any real difference.

Faith, Patience and Lorilee

The proper time to enjoy our children is now--this very instant. It doesn't matter if they are in dirty diapers or have faces covered with acne; they need our affirmation and unconditional love, through the daily expressions of our total delight in them. 

So remember to smile, and flirt, and tickle them. We need to grab them up spontaneously and kiss them behind the ears. We need to learn to play with them, and tell them jokes and funny stories about times when they were little babies, or even when we were babies, share the memories that will make everyone laugh. We must learn to listen to their stories, and laugh at their jokes, and take pleasure in their artwork, even if we can't always tell what it is they were drawing!

And we have a divine opportunity to be their very first and best cheerleaders--their champions in a scary world.

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Merry Christmas - Now 33% Savings!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Click on book image

Homeschool Sanity: Not $22.00, not $16.00, now only $15.00 (a savings of 33%), through New Year's Day!

Add this book to your cart and then enter this discount code:  BCDY6B9W

Click on book image

McGuffey's Primer Flashcards Helps and Hints: Not $13.75, Only $9.75 (a savings of 30%), through New Year's Day!

Add this book to your cart and then enter this discount code:  CYGY8DTM

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Perfect Christmas Gift for Him!

Looking for the perfect gift!

It seems that it's so easy to shop for the female gender. Women and girls alike can never seem to have enough "accessories," and every retailer on the planet seems to offer something that ladies just can't live without!

Males, on the other hand, are almost impossible to shop for. We wear out our shoes searching the mall, or spend hours clicking through site after site, desperate in our quest for the "perfect" gifts for the men in our lives.

I believe that men are very basic creatures. Their clothes are simple, their speech is succinct, and even their meal choices can be quite predictable. This is at times puzzling to most women because we just couldn't exist without embellishing almost everything in our lives. A bachelor's apartment might be fitted out with a bed and a blanket, a few utensils, and even some basic food in the cupboards, but as soon as he gets married, suddenly there are flowers on the table, pictures on the walls, and a whole set of dishes, not to mention matching towels in the bathroom!

Hanging out the wash

If a man has some good jeans, a few nice shirts and a pile of T-shirts, his wardrobe (for him) is complete. If he has a comfortable chair to relax in and a hot meal waiting for him at the end of the day, he feels like a king. He doesn't care that much what type of chair he rests his weary bones in, nor does he notice whether or not his dinnerware came from Pottery Barn or IKEA. He usually knows exactly what he likes, and doesn't see any need whatsoever for change.

This is when there is a clash between the s*xes, especially at Christmas time. In a woman's flawed "creativity" can be found a misguided need to "change things up" through the act of gift-giving.

His favorite shirts

For the husband who refuses to wear anything but T-shirts (even to church), we offer a new suit with matching tie. And for the man who is a sports-enthusiast, we offer season tickets to the theater or opera instead of to the football game. We can always justify purchasing a work-out membership for a couch-potato, or a set of Bible CD's to a man who shows little or no interest in spiritual things.

But I'm proposing a different sort of attitude altogether. How about giving a man what he craves; unconditional love and acceptance. 

For the casual dresser, a stack of his favorite T's. For the man who enjoys watching sports, how about a pair of tickets to watch a local team (with the promise of watching and enjoying the game with him). What about a set of DVD's from an old western series and some popcorn, now that would be a great blessing for the man who just wants to sit down and watch John Wayne get the bad-guy (back when life seemed to make more sense), especially if you are willing to sit down with him and watch them, too. As for the man that seems to be averse to spiritual matters, how about putting on a quiet heart that prays and lives so that the Bible can be read in his wife's daily demeanor and actions--now that just might be the best gift for a man like that! 

A long day at the office

It all boils down to loving, accepting, and, yes, enjoying our men for exactly who they are; no posturing or pressuring. 

After all isn't this precisely what we hope they will do for us?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)

What will you do with Jesus?

Joseph, baby Jesus and Mary in the manger

It is perfectly acceptable to speak of Him as a sweet babe. We wrap Him in swaddling clothes and lay Him in a manger; we even cover Him with light and give Him a radiant halo.

But He is all grown up. He is no more swathed in cherubic sweetness. He was a man--better than that He said he was the Savior--the Lord--the Son of God--what then, will we do with Him?

We can call Him a great teacher--but His lessons are too harsh. His message was about dying in order to live, and losing in order to gain. He traveled throughout Israel like a common transient--He gleaned His food from the fields and slept with only a rock as His pillow. He gave until His skin was bruised and torn and His life's blood flowed. 

Though he was God, yet He was not His own Boss. He laid down His own will and took up His Father's. He fully submitted to God, "Not my will, but Thine," and in the surrender of His life He demonstrated to us the way to life. He is not the fulfiller of dreams, He is the Dream. 

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

We can call Him a Prophet--because He spoke the words of God. But He was God, and He was the Word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:1-5)

We want to include Him in a group of all sorts of good, spiritual men, but He will not fit. He was not good, He was Goodness. He was not spiritual, He was the Son of God, the very God Himself in the flesh. There is nothing spiritual besides Him, and all attempts to glory in any other is vain.

We cannot have Jesus and...

Savior and Lord of all!

...Jesus must stand on His own. Yes, He was a lamb led to the slaughter, yet God declares Him the Lion of Judah. He comforts and loves all who are His own; He died that all might live, but it is a "free-will" choice--to choose Him--to choose life. Each of us must decide for ourselves, because if we are not for Him, we are against Him.  

Someday, when the tombs of all the other "gods," prophets, and kings are swept away into forgetfulness, Jesus will take His place as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Will we be able to claim Him as our Treasure, our One Desire, our God and King, or will we be smitten to the ground, fearful of our fate before His Holy Majesty?

What will you do with Jesus?

Lilla Rose--We have a Winner!

Patience modeling a clip

Blessings and salutations!

We have a winner of the Lilla Rose Flexi Clip giveaway--#41, Sara, with 4 girls!  Heather Mason will be in contact with you concerning receiving your prize.

Remember, if you "like" Lilla Rose on Facebook, you can keep up with the latest sales and specials, besides the bonus of learning all about Flexi-Clips in action!

And, if you order any three clips through Dec. 5th, not only will your order come by Christmas, but you will receive a fourth clip, absolutely free (this fourth clip may not arrive in time for December)!

Lilla Rose giveaway!

Why do so many ladies, both young and old, like Lilla Rose hair clips? I think it's because they capture a hint of the past, and so they allow us to enjoy some of that charm in our every-day lives.

I received a package of two beautiful Flexi Hair Clips today in the mail from Heather, a mom of nine children, who has asked me to do a review and a giveaway.

Well, I was skeptical that they would work for us--we all have the straight, glossy type that seems to resist any sort of hair accessory!

Was I surprised at the "grab" these clips have! I believe it must be the ingenious idea of having them "flex" to hold more hair. And they are so sturdy, definitely a totally different experience from using those cheap things I usually purchase from the department store! They are more than barrettes; the little girls naturally call them "hair jewelry."

Of course, we all had to have a go at trying them, so we set up the lamps in the family room and did our own little photo shoot. Here are some of the results:

Little Faith already had braids in, which added something special.

Ellie has a huge amount of hair, so hers was a great test of the "half-up."

She has so much hair that we thought we would try two clips for her up-do. Turned out really neat, don't you think?

The smaller clip really dressed up Sarah's red wool coat. This would be the perfect entrance for a Christmas party!

This is the largest clip we received (there are actually seven sizes, and this one is the third largest), but worked quite well in little Lorilee's hair (she just turned six years old).

Now for some terrific news: Heather Mason is sponsoring a giveaway of any Lilla Rose clip priced up to $16! Just leave a comment at the bottom of this post before December 4th to enter! (Please note: the clip may not arrive in time to be a Christmas present--so you might just have to pick one for yourself!)

Heather

But wait, there's more! Even if you don't win the giveaway, anyone new to Lilla Rose who buys three clips through Heather Mason will receive an e-mail to make the choice of a fourth clip (up to $16) for FREE! Just be sure to purchase your Lilla Rose products before December 4th to ensure delivery by Christmas!)

If you have any questions, you can contact Heather Mason directly: heather@psalm127.us

Here's an interesting video clip about sizing:

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. 

--Author Unknown

Presi­dent Abraham Lincoln

About a hundred and fifty years ago, Presi­dent Abraham Lincoln recognized what he believed was God’s hand of judgment on America “for our national perverseness and disobedience.” People were falling away from God, and Lincoln declared the first national “Day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” In his 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation, he stated:

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and pros­perity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. …We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeem­ing and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Perfectly Mellow

All my little ducks in a row

"You must be so organized!"

How many times have I heard that from curious onlookers as they have watched me waddling through the store, ducklings in tow.

Really? Organized? Well, I suppose you could say that my house is usually tidy, and we do eat three meals a day, and we have clean laundry hanging in the closet.

But, if you really saw me at work, you would be scratching your head in wonderment.

Match of the century!

You see, there is a great battle going on inside my cranium, much like the contest between Godzilla and King Kong.

I am what you might call a "creative perfectionist," or a "perfectionistic creative," whichever makes more sense. One side of me is dressed in a Soviet-style uniform and answers to the name Comrade Dobrovska, and the other side is dressed in a long, gauze gown and wears flowers in her hair.

So some days I want to carry a clipboard and a whistle, and other days I just want to sit and philosophize and pick daisies. This means that I have a lot to overcome from the morning on!

I love the flower girl "song"

If you saw how I cleaned a room, you would understand. Comrade Dobrovska tells me that things must be perfect, so I strap on my apron and press my eyebrows together and dig in, and then the Flower Girl in me shows up and I begin to reminisce as I pick up a photo to dust it, and I might grab a small child and kiss her and then talk about the photo with her and, just when I realize that it's almost lunch, Dobrovska shows up and scolds me and I have to start cracking down on the whole house full of kids, who have been hoping that the Flower Girl would rule the day! 

Now, my prefectionistic self loves, loves lists and plans. I will spend hours perfecting them and then printing them out and copying them and handing them out to my troops children and then setting them down while I give the pep talk and set them off. But it isn't too long (sometimes it takes even a few days or weeks) before the creative side of me gets really tired of my new routine, so I have to give it a break and breathe for a while, which is really happy for me until...

...I realize that things just aren't getting done! So I ask Dobrovska to stop by and we consult together.

Thank God, I can still pray. And I have to! This is why I might allude to a schedule around here, but I try (although I have slipped before) not to recommend any certain way that I do things or that anyone else should do things, simply because I am always finding a better, or at least a different, way of doing them myself.

So, if you have come here to find out just how everything should be done, you will have to forgive me; I am still learning how myself!

How to Homeschool

Before you take your first step, pray. It really amazes me how often we forget this most vital yet indispensable detail!

Then please, please, don't rush out and buy curriculum. It doesn't matter if the publisher claims Einstein would have used it, save your money, your time, and loads of frustration and take the real first step...

...educate YOURSELF! Whether you were publicly or privately-schooled, chances are you have a definite idea of what "education" looks like, but you just may be surprised that it has very little to do with real learning!

Just stop and think for a minute; out of all of those hours of instruction you sat through, and of all the tests you took, how much do you really remember? Besides, if the way we educate today was truly effective, then why are we all so ignorant? Why do employers complain the workforce is so inept, why do we rank so low in academic test scores?

And, here's the most important question, why would we want to emulate a failed system, when we can implement any type of system we deem best for our own children? 

Get a hold of books and materials written by the modern pioneers of the homeschool movement like: Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore, Ruth Beechick, Cathy Duffy, Charlotte Mason (via new voices such as Karen Andreola) just to name a few. Also, check out some tomes that break down just what is wrong with education in America, such as books by John Taylor Gatto.

It is also very important glean everything you can from and about these pioneers on the Internet. Here are some websites that may be helpful: 

The Odysseus Group 

The Moore Foundation 

Cathy Duffy Reviews 

The next step is to find out about alternative and creative ways of educating children, such as Montessori, Waldorf, Charlotte Mason, Widsom's Way of Learning, Robinson Curriculum, and simply good, old-fashioned McGuffey's style ( I love old-fashioned ways, mixed with a good dose of Charlotte Mason, notebooking, and helped by some modern technology). 

Here are some websites that may be helpful: 

8.5" x 11" paperback now available

Montessori on a Budget 

Donna Young

Charlotte Mason Help 

Homeschool Sanity 

Homeschool Oasis   

"Just what do I do with my child(ren) while I'm busy undertaking all of this self-education?" you may be wondering. Here are a few ideas:

• Don't allow any video games or television during the day.

• Get your children to listen to you and to help with chores.

• Read Bible stories aloud (from the Bible), talk about them, and pray together.

• Go on lots of nature hikes--even just around the block. You can look at the sky and try and figure out what kind of weather you will be having, or notice the frost on the ground, listen for different birds, etc.

• Read loads of books out-loud, especially while cuddled under warm blankets together.

• Go the the Library and check out every book they have on a particular subject that you all want to learn about (such as flowers, clouds, music, Vikings, etc.).

• Bake cookies and try new recipes.

• Write letters to Grandmother.

• Take your children grocery shopping and explain how you choose the food you eat.

Of course, you don't have to do each of these exercises every day! Just live and be sure to include your children. Did you know that teachers of young children go to great lengths to imitate learning at home? If you think of it this way, you are already have the advantage!

After you have spent some time familiarizing yourself with all the methodologies that are available, you can begin to search for "curriculum" items, or even opt for a whole, everything's-in-the-box sort of system.

Hopefully, if you follow this plan, you will have a better idea of what's really necessary to purchase, and what isn't!

Since I have been homeschooling for 24 years and have graduated seven children (with eight more sweeties to go!), I have written quite a lot on the very important subject of How to Homeschool your children.

My new book, Homeschool Sanity, is finally in paperback and is now being sold on Amazon.com!

Many of my friends and loyal followers have been asking me just when I was going to publish my book in paperback form. Because they wanted something to put in their own hands that they could use as a resource that they could easily to refer back to--well it's here now! 

I asked Mrs. June Fuentes, of A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, to write the foreword for the new paperback version and she generously agreed. The paperback has been totally revised and now contains 178 pages including "full page" homschooling charts, forms and helps--along with several pages of homeschooling resources!

My book gives an overview of the different methodologies of homeschooling along with a brief history of education in America. Some of the subjects that are covered are:

Preschool

Reading and literature

Grammar

Arithmetic

History

Science

Notebooking

No fancy psycho-anything here. I've rediscovered precisely why things used to work, and why they're so very broken today.

Readers will discover a catalog of successful methodologies for their own re-education. After reading my book, you will not feel tired and anxious; you will be refreshed and filled with real hope!

Gain clarity. Find Peace.

You can now purchase my brand new (large) 8.5" x 11" book, Homeschool Sanity, now in paperback for $22.00! Simply go to: Amazon.com.

Please let me know what you think of the new paperback version by commenting on my blog.

Here is some additional information on my new paperback:

Publication Date: Jul 18 2012

ISBN/EAN13: 1478164425 / 9781478164425

Page Count: 178

Binding Type: US Trade Paper

Trim Size: 8.5" x 11"

Language: English

Color: Black and White with Bleed

Related Categories: Education / Home Schooling 

Below are some links with some of the best articles from the Large Family Mothering blog that I thought would assist you on your homeschooling journey:

What is so great about public schooling?

Homeschooling--socialization

Virtual schooling vs. homeschooling

Home-style learning

Homeschooling--one thing is needful

Homeschool sanity (the essay that started the book)

Homeschooling little ones--the learning basket

Homeschooling--less is more links and lists

Relatives and other bullies

Homeschool Sanity (my book)

It's my desire to lead the way into a fresh effort to bring back the best of the past in order to prepare our children for the brightest possible future!

Here are some more of our products:

McGuffey's Primer Flashcards, Helps & Hints rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Buy Ray's Arithmetics Flashcards & Helps Buy
Homeschool Planner! Updated for 2013!
Buy