Homeschool vs. School at Home

If there's one bit of advice I've heard more than any other from homeschoolers, it's the fact that home school is NOT school at home!  Your own reasoning prompted you to keep your children out of public schools, so why would you want to bring that very school system into your home?  Such is done in the method of virtual schooling, to the detriment of students, parents, and the home schooling community. But my focus here is with homeschooling families who begin bringing the classroom methodology, scheduling and general mentality into their home schooling approach.  This may be a natural first tendency, especially if you were public/private schooled, or you've been a school teacher.  It is what you know... what you're familiar with.  But... it is not the ideal for helping your children reach their learning potential, nor for inspiring a life-long love of learning.     

My Favorite Charlotte Mason Resources

Here's A Peek at Charlotte Mason Education, for those who aren't familiar with it already! There's an abundance of great Charlotte Mason resources available to homeschoolers. Here are my favorites...

Living Books...

• Living book search  - This is a great resource! Use it to find living books by subject and reading level. 
• The Ultimate Living Book List for History Studies! I arranged living books (recommended by Sonlight and Simply Charlotte Mason) chronologically, by level, to supplement our history studies. These could be used with any history study.  

Classic Education... the Charlotte Mason way

Classical Education is the age-old method that produced many educational "giants"  like Aristotle, Newton, C.S. Lewis, and Thomas Jefferson, among others. You can't pin one precise recipe for Classical Education, since of course the Greeks and Romans didn't all do the exact same thing, or even label their educational method as "Classical," for that matter. But they did have a common goal. It was not the mere development of the intellect, but also that of producing virtue in their pupils and influencing their conduct. Students were taught to think for themselves and become life-long learners. 

Classical Education involves teaching children is based on their stage of cognitive development: Grammar, Dialectic, then Rhetoric. Most educators today would define those stages as something like this: 

1. Grammar - Grade school students absorb lots of facts, laying the foundation for future study
2. Dialectic - Middle school students begin questioning and evaluating the facts, and learn to think through arguments
3. Rhetoric - High school students apply what they've learned by making arguments themselves through speech, writing, etc.

Interestingly enough, what we call "Classical Education" today isn't necessarily so. I recently read a great book showing the connection between Classical Education and the Charlotte Mason approach. I came to realize upon reading it that today's version of Classical Education (whether in schools or home schools) may be an attempt to replicate doing what classical educators did rather than getting to the heart of why they did it. This actually matters a great deal, as it can result in the modern version no longer remaining true to the original purpose. 

Let me explain. 

Classic Education began with Rich Literature, Not Rote Memorization

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 4: Wars of Independence to Modern Times

Key: MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

I made these book lists as a reference for choosing the best living books to enhance our MOH world history course. After completing it, we plan to take a course specifically on American History (Sonlight core D & E for grades 3-7, core 100 for grades 7-11). Due to the incredible amount of books on this list (which combines book suggestions from SCM and SL), I broke the modern timeframe into two book lists: 

• The first list (this one) is what I’ll choose from during our general world history study (MOH 4 supplemented by SCM and SL world history books)
• The second list is specifically for American History study, and the books are primarily those used in SL cores D,E, and 100 (SL's American History cores). There are only a very few books that I included on both lists (for the benefit of those who only use one list or the other), and those books are marked on this list with the notation *AMHIST (showing that they're also listed on the American History book list). 

If you’re planning to combine American History and World History rather than taking a separate American History course after MOH 4, then you’d combine this list and the next one and choose from the combination of the two. But that’s an awful lot. Without further adieu here are the living book suggestions for MOH 4...

Better than Worksheets, Quizzes, Tests!

One of the beauties of home schooling is that we can utilize different methods of education for our children than the school system does. After we realize that home schooling isn't school at home, we open ourselves up to a phenomenal wealth of possibilities. The more I read about education, the more I find myself identifying with the Charlotte Mason Method. There are so many gems within it, and today I want to share one of them with you. It frees you and your child from the mundane grind of endless busywork, worksheets, quizzes, and tests. Best of all, it helps students to truly own their knowledge and keep it, rather than regurgitating it temporarily only to lose it later.

What I'm referring to is narration. 

What exactly is narration? It is the telling back of what the student knows. "As knowledge is not assimilated until it is reproduced, children should 'tell back' after a single reading or hearing: or should write on some part of what they have read" (Vol 6, Preface and p. 155)  

In practice, it goes something like this:

Living Books by Level for American History

Key: MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for world history, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family

1492-1850 - Stories of America, Volume 1, by Charles Morris and Sonya Shafer
Though written for the younger grades, this gentle introduction to American history will make a nice Family spine, contribute some additional biographies and information, and help tie together the different characters the older students will be reading about. (SCM Family book or grades 1-6, Exclusive to SCM. *MOH volume 3.) 

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 3: The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

·   Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation by Rob Shearer - While the previous Famous Men books were written for elementary students, this one was written with an upper elementary and older audience in mind. If you are teaching only grades 1–3, you may want to skip the readings from this book. Look at a sample online and decide for yourself. (SCM Family book. Rated 3.9 stars.)

·  The Man Who Laid the Egg by Louise Vernon
 - The story of Erasmus. (SCM family book. Not adequately reviewed. 3.7 stars. MOH lesson 15.)

· Thunderstorm in Church by Louise Vernon (The story of Martin Luther.) (SCM family book. Am grade 4 and up. Rated 4.5 stars. MOH lesson 18.)

·  The Bible Smuggler by Louise Vernon - The story of William Tyndale.
 (SCM family book. Am grade 4 and up. Rated 4.6 stars. MOH lesson 34.)

·  Master Skylark by John Bennett
A living picture of England during the days of Queen Elizabeth and Shakespeare, with appearances by both. Enough plot twists to keep the interest of the whole family, yet innocent enough for the young ones. Highly recommended as a Family read-aloud. (SCM Family book. Rated 5 stars. Around MOH lesson 38.)

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 2: The Early Churchand Middle Ages

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction by David Macaulay - In typical Macaulay style, the story of planning and constructing a fictional Roman city is presented and detailed with lots of illustrations. Fascinating for all ages.
 (SCM family book. Rated 4.8 stars. This one is really neat. It could be used near the end of Volume 1 around lesson 95 or in this volume at the very beginning.)

Peril and Peace (History Lives series, Volume 1: Chronicles of the Ancient Church) by Mindy and Brandon Withrow - Living stories that introduce important men in church history. Students in grades 10–12 will read all of this book, while the Family reads selected biographies from it.
 (SCM family book, Am grades 3 and up. Rated 4.5 stars.)

The Story of the Romans by H. A. Guerber, edited by Christine Miller (Nothing New Press edition) A living narrative that weaves the story of Ancient Rome. This edited version removes evolutionary comments and honors the Biblical accounts.
 (SCM family book. We really like another book in this series, The Story of the Greeks, so I anticipate that we’ll like this one also. There are several editions of it, so be sure to get this one. The publisher must be “Nothing New Press.”)

Living Books by Level for Mystery of History Volume 1: Creation to Christ

Key:  MOH = Mystery of History, SCM = Simply Charlotte Mason, SL = Sonlight, TT = Tracy's Treasury

I'm just going to jump right in to posting this book list. If you're feeling a little lost and want to know what this list is or how to use it... OR if you want to find my similar book lists for other history timeframes, click here! Without further adieu, here we go! 

Family Books...

Bible

Children’s Illustrated Bible by Selina Hastings – (TT grades preschool and up, Am grades 1 and up. 4 stars. This is our bible story book, which I scheduled along with all the corresponding MOH lessons. Don’t confuse it with this one b/c it’s TINY and the illustrations need to be full sized!)

The Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann - A story of the Great Pyramid and the people who built it. Similar to David Macaulay’s Pyramid, but shorter and not as much construction detail. (SCM Family Book. 4.7 stars. Great book. MOH lesson 11.)

 The Great Pyramid by Elizabeth Mann – Meet a nation of farmers living on the green edge of a harsh desert with a king who was a god in life and in death. Tens of thousands of farmers left home each year to chisel hard stone without iron tools and move 10-ton blocks up steep grades without the use of a wheel, all to the glory of the Pharaoh. (TT K-8, Am 4-8. SCM recommends other books in this series. It was great! It shows what a massive undertaking it was to build a pyramid. It's similar to David Macaulay’s Pyramid, but shorter and not as much construction detail. My first grader and I both loved it. Rated 4.7 stars. MOH lessons 11, 22-24.)

The Ultimate Book List!!!

I love Charlotte Mason style “living books”, and think they are a great way to teach history! My favorite two sources for finding these fabulous books are Sonlight and Simply Charlotte Mason.

I’ve taken the time to go through the SCM (Simply Charlotte Mason) book lists and SL (Sonlight) book lists, and organize them chronologically and by age to easily go along with our Mystery of History study. Anyone who's looked at either list knows what a massive undertaking this is. But looking for the books as we went didn't really work for me, not to mention that I found myself looking more than once at the same thing which is really not an efficient use of my time. So I bit the bullet and went through them both in their entirety... once... and made a master list.

This list is for:

• Anyone wanting to supplement Mystery of History with Sonlight
• Anyone wanting to supplement Mystery of History with Simply Charlotte Mason
• Anyone who plans to use any combination of MOH, SL, or SCM over the years and wants to avoid buying duplicate books. 
• Anyone interested in finding carefully-chosen quality literature book suggestions organized by time period and reading level. This may be to supplement ANY history curriculum. 

My New & Improved Home Education Planner (With Downloadable Cover Art)

As we're wrapping up this school year and I plan for the next one, one step is making my planner to track our school days. You may remember My DIY-Planner from last year. It worked out really well for me so I used much of the same format when printing one for this coming school year, BUT I got a major upgrade for the cover! I love the artwork, complete with a couple Charlotte Mason quotes.

Isn't it lovely? The artist is Ally, a fellow home school mom in the Simply Charlotte Mason Facebook group. She shared it with the group saying that she thought a few other ladies might like to use it, and was kind enough to give me permission to post it on my site as a free download as well. I just love it! Thank you so much for sharing Ally!!!

To view or download Ally's Home Education 

Planner Cover, click the links below...

Outdoor Learning

Reading through "Home Education," by Charlotte Mason impressed me with the importance for children to spend quality time outdoors. "Never be within doors when you can rightly be without." She encourages mothers to secure their children with quiet growing time and plenty of fresh air. Actually, she encourages moms to dedicate much of the afternoon to outdoor time. Children may run and romp around, making noise and having fun. When they come back to Mom, she may send them on a "sight seeing" expedition to see who can see the most and tell the most about such and such. This exercise (which is play to the children) helps train their observation skills, perceptive power, vocabulary and ideas. She encourages lavish descriptions and children learn the art of discriminating observation. Children build up a series of familiar images in their mind, and learn to really see and enjoy their environment. In later schooling years, he'll learn facts about familiar things, rather than facts about things he's never seen or noticed before. His familiar images will also help him imagine those things that he hasn't seen, by comparing them to the familiar.

Home School vs School at Home

This page has MOVED... You can find it HERE! :) 

Home School Methods

Below I list short summaries of the main home schooling methods.  There are probably as many philosophies on home schooling as there are home schoolers, but these are the main home school methods you'll hear referred to by name. I think there's something to learn from each method.  Perhaps that puts me in the "ecclectic" category!  :)

    The thing to remember is that there's no one-size-fits all method or curriculum, which is why many families use a custom blend that works best for them.  Read about the different methods and slowly develop your own approach, taking into consideration your educational philosophy, and your child's learning style.