In this installment of the Grand Adventure series, (aka homeschooling), I’ll be brutally honest. I’m on information overload!
I love having the internet at my fingertips to help me find anything. And the homeschooling industry is booming online. There are daily free downloads, scope & sequences, books, e-magazines, daily tips, helpful hints, etc., etc…. I tried to pick and choose just a couple sources to get continual information from, but alas, they make suggestions (and good ones!) for more information.
But it isn’t just the internet. I am a bibliophile (a lover of books). I have Charlotte Mason method books, Lorraine Curry books, Susan Wise Bauer’s books, Trivium methodology, etc. I try to read through one at a time but I read like my personality….I am eclectic so my reading follows my mood!
But here’s what I found to be the most helpful right now:
The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. In this book, Bauer gives the step-by-step process for obtaining the Classical education you never got when you were in school. I had a good start into classical method because my mom unknowing used it. So this is a great resource for me to further my own study. She gives excellent suggestions for building your reading basics and furthering your study of classical literature. If you aren’t afraid to read Homer’s Illiad or Beowulf, then your child won’t be!
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thomas Burgess. Published in 1919, this gem is an amazing science resource. Booksellers are selling copies of this book currently but they are scanned pages from the original book. I have a copy of the original book and the new version and as much as I appreciate the new binding, the color plates in the original book are much better than the scanned black & white copy. This book tells the tale of Peter Rabbit who hops around the Old Orchard greeting his newly arrived feathered friends. You hear from Jenny Wren, Chippy the Sparrow, and Bully the English Sparrow. As your child enjoys the story, he or she is learning the markings of the birds, the reasons for their coloring, how they build their nests and where, and how they sound. It is remarkable how much I’m enjoying learning with this book. Of course, it’s one of Red’s current favorites because it’s about birds. (She’s a huge bird lover!)
50 Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. This book was first published in 1896 and is another gem from yesteryear. These stories were considered essential for the well-educated and well-rounded child. Some of the stories are fiction and some are true stories of historical figures. The stories contain good morals and valuable character lessons, self-sacrifice, compassion, diligence, etc. They are short, only 2 or 3 pages in length and some have an illustration. They are enjoyable and understandable for children and adults alike.
See Inside Your Body by Katie Daynes. We came across this Usborne board book in the library and we’ve now renewed it so many times that we’re actually going to have to return it. The book has little flaps to help you see “close up” what a blood cell looks like or how the muscles work. My 6 year old enjoys it so much we’re probably going to have to purchase it. What I love is that the book gives the real names for things instead of “dumbing it down.” She knows what villi are and how they work. She can correctly identify the lungs, heart/heart valves, etc.
There’s certainly no shortage to the great books for this Grand Adventure! I’ll share more as I come across them.
For now,
Call me overwhelmed (but still loving it!)
