Hooray! I'm happy to be hosting this edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival! I've never seen a CM Blog Carnival that's anything less than great, but I do think there are some exceptionally great articles in this one--and a lot of them! I enjoyed them all and I think you will, too.Preparation & Organization:
Right now, most of us are either getting ready to start our school year, just recently began, or we're going year round but in need of a few fresh ideas. Erin at Delighting in His Richness shares her thoughts in New Year -- preparing your brain. Gearing up for the next grade also means figuring out what to do with notebooks and such from the previous year. Renae helps us figure that out in Storing Notebooks posted at Life Nurturing Education.
Barb at Harmony Art Mom says, "take time to reflect when your homeschooling is not proceeding as planned. Don't spend your whole term or year unhappy with the results of your educational plan. It is never too late to regroup and rethink." She gives us some wonderful food for thought in Is It Me or Is It Them? Charlotte Mason's Reminders To the Rescue.For an outline about how CM homeschooling can overlap with other methods, as well as some ideas about setting priorities and assessing curriculum accordingly, read Susie's post Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling, Traditional huh? at Hearth and Home.
Lizzie at A Dusty Frame shares a round-up of many helpful and handy homeschooling links: Homeschooling Resources.
How do we teach our kids about handling money in a smart way? Kathryn at Milestones Academy shares how her children are learning about finances in Louis Financial University. Many of us are tightening the budget these days, and that can affect what we have available to spend on our materials for homeschooling. Kathryn has some great ideas about that, too: Help! I Have No Budget For Homeschool!
Momma of Many at Distinctly Different couldn't find exactly the right grade level for her daughter this year, so she created her own individually customized plan: My Ambleside Online Year 1.5.
Language Arts & Narration:
How in the world is writing a lot like gardening? And how do we teach our kids not to get caught up in the "hows" that they miss the "whys"? Suzanne at :: adventures in daily living :: helps us learn to overlook the weeds in writing & gardening.Jimmie at One Child Policy Homeschool knows that we should narrate, and most of us even know how to do it; we simply forget to do it! I think these free narration bookmarks she shares will help remind us: Narration Reminders.
Nature Studies:
Here in Rose Cottage, we started our own second grade school year about a week ago.
We've really been enjoying nature study all summer long, and had fun with our Birds and Butterflies recently. And I'm delighted to announce that of last weekend, we finally have hummingbirds frequenting our feeder! Yippee!!!Keri at Sunny Shoots Nature shares another fun and relaxed nature study she and her boys did in Nature's Son.
I'm so grateful to Barb (aka Harmony Art Mom) at Handbook of Nature Study for starting those weekly Nature Hour activities; they've really been a blessing to our homeschool! In Everyone Has Their Own Style-Nature Journals, Barb reminds us that our journals don't have to look like anyone elses'--they are as individual as we are.
Sometimes all we need for a whole new outlook is a new perspective. I love the creative way Andrea at Kids and Nature is getting her kids (and herself) more excited about nature study: Storytelling on our nature walk.
I enjoyed Tammy's reflections about some of the joys of studying nature in Nature Study at Adventures On Beck's Bounty. Her kids have such an enthusiastic love for nature that even her husband has joined in the fun, and wishes he'd grown up doing nature study as well!
Nature Mama at Nature Notes From Above has enjoyed joining a group of families participating in weekly nature walks to local trails and beaches; she shares about their first excursion and some of their neat finds along the way in Nature Walk ~ MacDonald Wood Nature Park.
Social Studies:
I'm just loving this fun way to do geography. You've probably heard of Flat Stanley, but Dana at school for us added her own creativity to their "Flat Fun" in Unplug Your Kids - Flat.Just how much does a second-grader "get" about history and such? Mama Squirrel tells how she and her little squirrels in Dewey's Treehouse do social studies in her post, Crayons' Grade Two: Social Studies.
Making a Book of Centuries is something I keep saying I should do, but have yet to actually make any progress. Penny in the Yellow House Homeschool has a new way of doing it, which I may just have to try for myself! Read about how she made hers in Easy Book of Centuries.
Art:
I have not done nearly enough fun art stuff, but Melissa at at In the Sparrow's Nest shares how she combined nature study and art in one wonderful lesson! I've got to do this soon! Nature's Paintbox: Summer Watercolors ~ Nature Walk, Georgia O'Keeffe, & Antonio Vivaldi.I love to combine subjects; if you like that idea as much as I do, you'll love Math, Science, Art, and Fibonacci posted by Kris at At Home Science. I'm going to have to show this one to my husband; I know he'll love it, too! (Don't worry, I'd never heard of Fibonacci either! I am impressed by anyone who is already familiar with the term!)
Cindy at On Our Journey Westward has a few tricks up her sleeve to keep the kids busy, so she doesn't have to hear, "I'm bored!" Learn her secret at Super Sensational Summer Sparks Box.
This has been lovely! Thank you so much for joining me! I do hope you'll come back and visit me again soon! Cindy at On Our Journey Westward will be hosting a special "back to school" themed edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival on August 19th. For submissions to this special edition,
we would love for you to answer any of the following questions:1. How do you tailor CM to your family? Plans for the year that are a little out of the ordinary are welcome.
2. Reviews of CM sorts of products or links to products you are going to try this year.
3. Organization tips for CM topics like picture study, nature study, narrations, or anything else.
4. How do you pick your books for the year? Is everyone following closely to the Ambleside Online suggestions?
Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Charlotte Mason blog carnival using our carnival submission form. I hope to see you there!
