Piney Woods Homeschool

For the last two years, during Advent we've read daily from The Jesse Tree , a beautifully illustrated book that follows a traditional sequence of daily Jesse Tree readings from the Old Testament.  The frame story used in this version by Geraldine McCaughrean involves a curmudgeonly man carving Jesse Tree figures in a church and a little boy who asks constant questions about the figures.  In response, the carver tells each Bible story, explaining why it is included on the tree.  We enjoyed these daily Advent readings and will read them again. This year we're reading from The Christmas Mystery as a change.  This book also has one chapter to be read each day, but the chapters are significantly longer than those in The Jesse Tree.  The Christmas Mystery does tell the story of the nativity, but not directly.  The frame story hinges on an unusual Advent calendar, the story the calendar tells, and what that story means for the "real" world.  The calendar...

I like lists.  I like calendars and planners and organizers.  I have a stand specifically made to hold my Daytimer (only that brand will do) for which I have a lovely binder to hold my lesson plans.  I love to plan out my day and then check off items all day long.  I have an app that plans out my FlyLady zones .  I have another app that tracks my to-dos .  I feel wonderful when I've accomplished all my goals. Children, however, do not fit into neat and tidy lists or schedules.  I've seen the books that purport to make children fit into boxes, but I don't own any.  I've glanced at the websites, but it's a bit like an alcoholic stopping in front of the bar on the way home.  I try to walk past as quickly as possible.  Probably those books and websites help those who find scheduling a mystery or a burden.  They inspire *my* soul with a zeal to make my day conform to my plans, and that zeal does not make me a good mom. I have to ...

I've written a guest post at Afterthoughts to explain how phonics fits into the Charlotte Mason method .

I've guest-posted over at AfterThoughts to share insights about Charlotte Mason and her recommendations for outdoor time .  Check out all the posts in this series, Busted:  31 Days of CM Myths .

Why do we teach children about history (or literature or any of a number of subjects)?  What is the best way to teach these subjects?  How do we know if we have taught them successfully? In Consider This:  Charlotte Mason and the Classical Tradition , Karen Glass explains the choices facing all of us who have the responsibility of teaching children.  When we choose to present or not present certain topics, even more so when we choose to present topics in particular ways, we are making philosophical choices whether we know it or not.  These choices have a profound effect on the way each child views the world. Karen explains that today's preferred methods of teaching resemble the old story of the blind men and the elephant, as we present children with disconnected bits of information without ever showing them the whole.  Without that view of the whole, children do not come to care about the subjects of their studies or to care about the process of learni...

I've blogged about different aspects of this process at different times.  Here are the key posts, all in one spot!  (Updated in January 2020) Sample Term Schedules - See a sample (for each AO year I've scheduled so far) of the schedules I create for my own family. How I Scheduled Year 3 - Walk through the process of planning Year 3. How I Scheduled Year 4 - Walk through the process of planning Year 4. How I Scheduled Year 5 - Walk through the process of planning Year 5. How I Scheduled Year 5 (Another Version) - Walk through the process of planning Year 5. How I Scheduled Year 6  - Walk through the process of planning Year 6. How I Scheduled Year 7 - Walk through the process of planning Year 7 for an 8th grader. How I Scheduled Year 10 - Walk through the process of planning Year 10. A Natural Reward - Guest post at Afterthoughts. Planning Our Ambleside Year   - What resources to pull together at the start of the year. Chart Format Example - See a s...

Today we transformed a diaper box into a Road Trip Treasure Chest by covering it with pages from a worn out picture book.  Inside, we stowed interesting items, bundled in groups of four similar items, which will make their appearance during our next long road trip.  For a long trip (more than 3 hours), every 100 miles we get out a bundle of items.  Each time it's a different child's turn to pick first from that bundle, but each child gets an item from each bundle.  (Unless that child has seriously misbehaved during the previous 100 miles.  In that case, no item from that bundle.) This provides frequent changes in activities, something interesting to look forward to, and regular opportunities for logical consequences to reinforce helpful behavior. What do we have in our treasure chest?  I gather items all the time, from stores, garage sales, thrift shops, bookshelves and toy bins at home--anywhere! small chalk boards with chalk and eraser magne...

18. The way of reason : We teach children, too, not to 'lean (too confidently) to their own understanding'; because the function of reason is to give logical demonstration (a) of mathematical truth, (b) of an initial idea, accepted by the will. In the former case, reason is, practically, an infallible guide, but in the latter, it is not always a safe one; for, whether that idea be right or wrong, reason will confirm it by irrefragable proofs. - Charlotte Mason, Volume 6  Charlotte Mason suggested two guides to "moral and intellectual self-management": 'the way of the will' and 'the way of the reason.'  Teaching a child to recognize and use the strength of his own will power allows him to manage his thinking and behavior.  Teaching a child to recognize and beware the limitations of reason helps him to avoid being deceived by his own mind. Reason can be a powerful tool.  But when reason is used to provide support for an idea, it can find support for...

When each child reaches K or 1st (depending on the child and what all is going on), we begin slightly formal musical instruction with a lap harp.  Lap harps work well for early music instruction because each string makes one note, so the child doesn't have to try to make the instrument produce the right sound, and the song sheets lie under the strings and show the child where to pluck.  I've used three different lap harps, one for children, one for adults, and another one for children that I just bought.  This last is by far my favorite for this type of instruction:   Hape Early Melodies Happy Harp .  During our lap harp phase, I expect to work on rhythm, music reading (just learning to read the different types of notes), and hearing the scale.  I tune the instrument myself and sit with the child during each lesson and most practices. After a year or two of lap harp, each child has moved to a recorder.  I never have bought a recorder because I was gi...