Homeschooling families often experience wells of internal pressure, wondering, “how will we complete all of this?” The pressure can also be external as well-meaning family and friends express concern over learning gaps (and socialization). This pressure can positively wreck a new homeschooling family’s peace of mind and drift their course off path if sharp enough.

I need to let you know that of all the sticky notes of information that we put before our children during their homeschool years only some will stick and crinkle with age, most won’t remain on the mirror.

Homeschooling quickly becomes a lifestyle, and you begin to think less and less of ‘school-lessons’ and instead, just ‘life’ as the years press on. Diligence in academics (over recalling facts), consistency in character-building, perseverance in physical training, fellowship with peers and family, extracurricular experiences, and a growing faith in God create a solid and holistic soul.

Consider examples from my family. I have students who are flustered by a lot of math yet push through the discomfort to do about 10-15 minutes per day, even in the summer. It is this diligent character that I want to stick. Stories stick and so it is the moral lessons that are built upon living books that will stand the test of time. It is the routine and habit of moving our bodies along with the seasons (lake swimming, hiking, etc.) that will reach into their adulthood and make a difference. And the community that is built with regular church attendance and the faith that is built as we face challenges and are witness to God’s love, care, correction, and goodness that we want to see still sticking as time goes on.

Swap out a few activities and your family is just like mine. Perhaps you have not considered yourself to be nurturing a whole person because these things don’t tick off provincial learning outcomes. The majority of your homeschooling role is to bolster the person and celebrate the sum of the whole, not just complete the small academic portion of each individual. Even during difficult seasons where one may feel that schooling falls by the wayside, there is still forward motion.

The human brain is curious and driven to keep learning and parents hold the rudder, guiding our young children on what to learn. But they will inevitably be the ones to keep the boat going. And whether a lackadaisical summer-day row, a fever-pitch race, or a leak in the boat, every bit is momentum towards who they will become. We have a grand privilege to watch every part of it and God uses it all including our persistent work and love.

The sticky notes that stick? Those are the glimpses of the people they are becoming. The student may forget the dates of past wars, or might not remember how to solve quadratic equations, but does any of this matter in the formation of a human being who is developing to reflect God’s glory? Also, those sticky notes that stick contains their gifts, talents, and aspirations; they will remain and likely blossom into something beautiful over time. Feed and nurture those! As you look back, the crinkly and aged yellow paper that is still on the mirror were previews to who they are becoming. We will never get to all the read-alouds, or every science lab, but we can reorient our expectations to provide security and love to the growing immortal soul in front of us.

“How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? G.K. Chesterton

____________________________________________________________________

My name is Sarah Mast and I homeschool my two kids in Ft. Langley, BC. One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is the community gained, and I  volunteer with a local support group to help foster that and connect others. My family loves the outdoors and traveling, and our weekends include skiing, swimming, hiking, or biking depending on the season. I found Classical Education Books at a conference and noticed their well-curated selection of children’s books. I kept tabs on their collection of the classics and hard-to-find books and reached out. Now I get to help customers hone their collections, and work on the ever-growing inventory here at CEB!

The post It Won’t All Stick appeared first on Classical Education Books.

I have long been a listener to famed homeschool parent and author Sally Clarkson and her podcast At Home With Sally. Her words drip with encouragement for parents with children of any age (including adult children) as she shares the struggles and joys of both raising children in the Christian faith and homeschooling over many decades.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that all of her four homeschool-graduated children are creative in unique ways, and I’ve gone on to follow their work as well. It is challenging, relevant, and unique within their own skill-sets and personalities. The child I “knew” the least about was Joel.

He is perhaps most well-known for his narration in The Green Ember series; or even his compositions and music on Spotify, but his debut book, Sensing God, was as beautiful as his melodies, and just the right read to put me back in touch with the physical manifestations of joy and creation after a very long and draining season.

Joel writes about music, story, nature, feasting, fine arts, and more, and brings in examples in every chapter of ‘high’ and ‘low’ artistry in these avenues. He points back to the Creator God, who first demonstrated beauty in the senses by creating. Joel encourages the reader to fully indulge and delight in these experiences throughout our lives as a form of worship.

I am not someone who is known for ‘feeling’. I have a stiff upper lip and work through my to-do list and life as a general. My husband’s nickname for me, “Spartan wife”, can be painfully accurate. As I read through Sensing God, I know that on more than one occasion my posture relaxed. Clarkson had me looking up composers I’d never heard, just to play the song mentioned in the chapter while making breakfast. I researched art that I was given context to; grasping the visual meaning and my soul feeling richer in the meantime. My mind and my spirit were engaged and fed through each chapter. It felt joyful.

I am going to read through this book again this upcoming Advent and will be pairing it with my second year of feasting on the visual images, poetry/music, and the context written by students and faculty of Biola University’s Advent Project.

If you are feeling parched from this past season, and need some spiritual refreshment that is both beautiful and meaty, I strongly recommend Sensing God to help recalibrate your heart and mind; and worship God in the many ways He has gifted us through the senses.

My name is Sarah Mast and I homeschool my two kids in Ft. Langley, BC. One of my favorite aspects of homeschooling is the community gained, and I  volunteer with a local support group to help foster that and connect others. My family loves the outdoors and traveling, and our weekends include skiing, swimming, hiking, or biking depending on the season. I found Classical Education Books at a conference and noticed their well-curated selection of children’s books. I kept tabs on their collection of the classics and hard-to-find books and reached out. Now I get to help customers hone their collections, and work on the ever-growing inventory here at CEB!

The post Sensing God Book Review appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Almost 20 years ago, I was listening to a radio broadcast on Christian radio and heard the host describe a list of things that were statistically known to help children walk well along their Christian journey. One of the items on that list was “having an adult, other than parents, who spurred them on in the faith”.  I encourage you to be that person. And if you are the grandparent of a homeschooler, you have an extra special opportunity.

Understand the Benefits

The homeschool community is growing but still contains only a fraction of school-aged children in Canada. Many parents waffle a bit as they entertain the idea of homeschooling, and it can be a challenge for grandparents too; I encourage you to get on board early. Here is a list of benefits that might help you understand why your children have decided to take this on.

1. There is more time to bond as a family
2. Children are not immersed in competing worldviews day in and day out
3. Families are less reliant on the government
4. There is more time available to spend with grandparents
5. Increased opportunity for one-on-one instruction
6. More time to pursue interests
7. Freedom to avoid the hurried pace of the typical school experience
8. Children can more easily work at their own pace

If you are still struggling with the idea of your children homeschooling your grandchildren, consider being supportive despite your reservations. Over time you will witness the benefits and may even become an advocate.

The Nuts and Bolts

If you’ve decided to jump in and support your children and grandchildren there are a few key things that would be helpful for you to know.

1. Each province and territory in Canada has a different set of homeschooling regulations. Find out what they are in your area.
2. Some homeschool families remain connected to the public school system while others are able or choose to be independent. For families connected to the public system, there are often checklists to complete throughout the school year; maybe there is something that you can take on.
3. Here is a starter list of common homeschool terms for you to research
   1. classical education
   2. charlotte mason education
   3. unschooling and deschooling
   4. traditional homeschooling
   5. eclectic homeschooling
   6. outdoor/forest/wild schooling
   7. read-alouds
   8. copywork, dictation and narration
   9. living books and twaddle
   10. unit studies

Support

Once you are armed with basic information, you are ready to find out where you can fit in. You have talents, passions, interests, and wisdom to pass on to your grandchildren. Talk about it with the parents to see how you might be able to serve, but be sure to figure out what will work for them; maybe it will be once a week, maybe it will be once a month. I know an involved homeschooling grandma who is planning to teach German to her grands, but the subject matter does not have to be academic in nature. You can pass on your gardening skills, mechanical giftedness, start a book club or a weekly bible study.

There is no shortage of ways to serve a busy family even if you are not interested in teaching. Take the time to figure out what might be a good fit for you. My Mum has been a huge blessing to us over the years. Once a week she came to help with laundry, make dinner, play games, and visit with the children. Those days often became my appointment and errand days, and I was regularly able to take time for phone calls and visits with friends.

What I’ve described so far might seem like too big of a commitment for you or maybe your family is just too overwhelmed, at the moment, to figure out how to include you. Honestly, the smallest gesture can be so helpful. In an attempt to feed my family healthy food, I often found snack time challenging. Making homemade muffins, or dropping off a fruit or veggie plate might be just the thing to help your family.

If you have the means, consider helping financially. When a family decides to homeschool, they take on a significant financial commitment, often living on one income and having to purchase all the needed curriculum, lessons, books, and supplies. Offer to pay for a set of swimming lessons, buy the art supplies, or fund a book-a-month club.

Try to Avoid

A key benefit to homeschooling is the opportunity to develop an individualized education that is tailor-made for each student. Therefore, it is counterproductive to compare one grandchild to another, either within a family or between families. It is completely acceptable to have students who start reading at age 4 and in grade 4.

Avoid using spot quizzes to gauge how well this homeschool thing is working out. Instead, look at the relationships, and the developing character, faith, and love.

Socialization is not something you need to worry about unless your grandchildren never leave the house. If they are going to the grocery store, getting together with other families for walks, hosting visitors in their home, and visiting you, they are learning how to socialize.

Instead of being offended by your adult child’s decision to do something differently from you, take it as a compliment; you have raised a brave, courageous, independent, and responsible adult.

Final Thoughts

Your adult children are pulling a wagon and it contains the vision they have for their family and it’s a heavy load because they have a host of forces that are trying to pull that wagon in other directions. They need you to come alongside and help pull that wagon. Take the time to discover what their vision is and then, even despite not understanding all the parts of the vision, pitch in.

Note to Parents

If your children have a grandparent that helps pull your family wagon in the direction that you are trying to go then Grandparents Day is the day to give them extra praise. They really are a valuable resource.

Thanks to my own sweet Mum. I want to be just like her when I grow up.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post My Adult Children are Homeschooling My Grandchildren – Now What? appeared first on Classical Education Books.

We don’t run a rigorous homeschool, but I like to be productive and can get discouraged when the hours float away with little to show for it. I am on a constant quest to improve our mornings and am a firm believer in the idea that winning the morning is key to winning the day; those days become weeks and months before you know it.

In part one, I wrote about Homeschool Morning Time/Morning Baskets as part of a successful morning; you can read about that here.

Habits help your mornings.

Another key ingredient that I aim to include in our mornings is good habits. If we were to all sit-down and share our visions for a successful morning, none of us would include spending 20 minutes looking for the grammar textbook before starting the grammar lesson! Instead, we should be building in ourselves and our children some foundational habits of orderliness. Good habits are important, and your morning habits set you up for the rest of day; poor morning habits have a way of reaching into your evening, and poor evening habits reach into the next morning (morning girl hates late-night girl).

Values and Habits

You need to decide for yourself what habits are important to you. Start by thinking about what you value and go from there to build habits in yourself and your children. We don’t all value the same things, in the same order of priority and that’s ok. There are many categories of habits: health & wellness habits, spending & financial habits, social & relationship habits, cleanliness & orderliness habits, productivity habits…the list goes on. It really is worth sitting down, thinking things through, and coming up with a plan to incorporate the habits that align with your values.

What works for me, might not work for you.

I’m someone who values orderliness and so in my world, washing the breakfast dishes right before having to make lunch is a madness maker but really there is no law that says breakfast dishes must be washed immediately after breakfast. I believe what’s important is that you have a plan and live with a quiet confidence in your plan. Those breakfast dishes need to get done and if washing them at noon fits better into your day then go with that. What I think is hard to live with on a day-to-day basis is to arrive in the kitchen at noon and realize, “Oh right, I haven’t done the breakfast dishes yet”.

The morning is key!

As you work through the process of identifying your values and then deciding on what habits need to be worked on, focus on morning habits for now. There is no need to tackle an entire days’ worth of habits or every single beneficial health and wellness habit all at once. Instead, focus on what you want your mornings to be like and evolve from there.

Training your Children

Your children are building habits whether you guide them in this or not and they will be habits that will serve them well in the future or compound the challenges of life.

Training the habits of children is challenging and sometimes slow going. If we were enjoying a cup of tea together, I would encourage you to start young but with a long view in mind; avoid too much too soon as small changes over time make a big difference. Begin with a few foundational habits that are important to you, master them and then add more; be gentle but consistent, and inspect what you expect.

Classical Education Books carries a stack of resources to help you with your habit training.

Laying Down the Rails

Teaching Character Through Literature

Manner of the Week Wall Chart

Healthy Happy Habits

Good Manners for Kids

Myself & Others

Mind Your Manners

New Americal Cursive – manners

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Do Mornings Well part 2 appeared first on Classical Education Books.

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Titus 2:3-5

Here’s what I know for sure.

1. If we need to be trained, the standard must not come naturally.
2. Loving our husbands and children is an imperative, a command, an obligation. It’s compulsory!
3. That last phrase, “that the word of God may not be reviled”, is an enormous consequence. It leaves me feeling like I have work to do.

A little bit of background

The Greeks had several different words that we would translate to the English word, love.  The scripture being studied here focuses on the Greek word, “philios”. It is the love for a friend; someone dearly loved in a personal way. It is experience/action-based love.  It’s the same love that Jesus calls us to in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

At first, it struck me as strange that the same word used to describe love for a friend would be used to instruct wives and mothers on how to love their husbands and children.  Surely, the love for one’s own husband and children is in a whole other category; at a whole other level.  The love for a friend seems a bit general.

I don’t always love what is revealed as I ponder these things, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that I have lacked understanding and my actions reflect it.  I started to think about the love I show to my friends and the love I show to my husband and children and I noticed a few things.

I handle offenses differently

If I’m honest, I overlook offenses much more easily when it comes to my friends.  Oh sure, it’s easy to justify these differences.  Living day to day with hurts from a husband is more challenging than the occasional hurt from a friend and I’m responsible to train my children so I need to point out what they are doing wrong.

I’m not suggesting that we don’t communicate with our husbands how their words or actions affect us.  And clearly, we should not forsake training our children.  I am suggesting that more could be overlooked, grace could flow more freely, and communication and correction should come from a better place; a place bathed in prayer; a place where there is a sincere hope for the relationship to be better; a place of genuine concern over their actions and behaviour.

Instead, our communication and correction often come from anger, fear, insecurity, selfishness, embarrassment, pride, perfectionism, and laziness.

I’ve learned a few things about handling the sin of others.

Handling the sin of another is tricky business.  I’ve seen this played out humbly and horribly, and I’m guilty of botching this one with friends and family.  My top takeaway when I’ve witnessed this played out well is that the “confronter” comes alongside as a fellow sinner, with humility, and compassion.  I imagine they were able to do this because their own sin was not some far-off unfamiliar thing.  Sincerely confessing our sins to God and others is a key ingredient to this familiarity.  We need to be well acquainted with our own sins and shortcomings if we are going to be able to come alongside our husbands and children in humility, compassion, and hope.  There is a way to interact with our sin that keeps us humble, compassionate, and merciful without burying us under guilt and shame.  You will need a full understanding of the gospel to do this.

My friends call upon me regularly to pray for them and I do pray. My husband and children don’t. Why?

I pray for my husband and children every day. I’m not sure why they don’t call on me for prayer but I know what I want to do about it. I have a very loyal prayer warrior friend.  I don’t know what her system is.  Maybe she has a list of names that she loops through, maybe my name is written on some calendar, maybe it’s something that just happens naturally when you are such a devoted prayer warrior, I don’t know, but she sends me a message every few weeks asking how she can be praying for me.  There is a well-worn path between her and me when it comes to prayer and she has been the one to clear that path!

My final thoughts:

There is a direct connection between our love for others and our witness for Christ; our love shows that we are his disciples.  This is so much bigger than having a good marriage or having children that turn out ok.

May we all seek the Lord in prayer, asking Him to reveal to us how we are falling short in the area of loving our husbands and children. May we display wisdom, restraint, and care as we communicate. And may we all have well-worn paths between us and our husbands and children, where we seek them out, asking them how we can pray for them.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Love Your Husbands & Children appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Today, I’m writing a letter to my past self.  There is so much I’d like that young mama to know and my hope is that it can make a difference for you.

Dear Young Mama,

You are struggling to make a decision about whether to homeschool your children or to enroll them in public school.  There are many things to consider but here is the truth.  It will be easier to send your children to school if you decide that homeschooling isn’t a good fit than it will be to pull your children from school if you decide that school isn’t a good fit for you.

Consider finances.

I know the plan is for you to go back to work once your children are school age but the finances are going to be there as you need them.  The Lord is going to provide and it’s going to be faith building to see how He does it.  You are going to have to budget, there will be sacrifices, and lean times but there will also be amazing financial surprises along the way.  Start today by praying for financial wisdom.  Ask the Lord to reveal to you any financial beliefs, desires, and habits that are contrary to His word.  Spend the needed time uprooting financial idols.  Confess the worldly desires of your heart, He knows what they are anyway.  You will need His grace to change, you can’t do it in your own strength.

Once you have started to work on your heart, you need to implement some tools.  Start by writing out a budget and then figure out a system to keep track of the spending.  There is no need to buy a program for this, pen and paper will work just fine but I am a fan of YNAB (You Need A Budget).

Take some time to figure out exactly what your husband makes per hour (after income tax and all the other deductions).  This will help you when you are tempted to spend beyond what is needed.  Ask yourself in that moment, “Is this item worth my husband having to work X amount of hours for us/me to have this?”

Finally, figure out what you can do to earn some “Proverbs 31” income.  The size of this endeavor will depend on the time and energy you have, the level of responsibility your husband has at his job, and the amount of home and family responsibilities that he’s able to take on.  But please realize that even if you can only earn and save $100/month, it will richly bless your family 20 years from now.

Consider relationships.

Your friend group is going to change and not all family members are going to be supportive of homeschooling.  Don’t worry, you are going to meet heaps of incredible families and you’ll meet your most treasured friend amongst those families.  Try to remain quietly confident and strong-minded but tender-hearted towards the critics.  The fruit grows slowly, be patient, they’ll start to see.

Don’t consider whether you are smart enough.

Others will question and you’ll wonder if you are smart enough to homeschool your children.  Don’t waste your time pondering this question.  There will be an incredible variety of curricula for you to choose from that will help you educate your children.  Many people have gone before you and they will be a blessed resource.  Ask lots of questions, take notes, don’t be afraid to tweak the advice to fit you and your family, and twenty years from now you’ll be writing a blog post encouraging mamas with your own thoughts.

Consider your priorities.

Develop a firm grasp of what your priorities are.  Build a habit of being in the Word daily, become a prayer warrior, and worship, and serve on a regular basis.  Make your husband your next priority.  It’s a mistake to neglect this relationship and it’s so easy to do.  Next in line are the children.  It can get tricky here as you figure out how to serve the Lord as both a mama and teacher to your children; mama should show up first.

Consider how you will organize.

If you have a kitchen table, then you have space to educate your children.

What you will need are bookshelves.  I’ve yet to go into a homeschooling home that doesn’t have walls full of books.  Homeschool mamas develop a special relationship with books so get yourselves some bookshelves.

Paper!  There is so much paper.  It enters your house in many forms: workbooks, worksheets, journals, creative writing, reports, printables, artwork, and more.  Spend some time thinking about what you are going to keep and how you are going to store it.  Do Not, I repeat, Do Not buy a plastic bin to store all the paper thinking that you’ll get to it another day.

Consider time.

• Theatre Class
• Dance Class
• Creative Writing Class
• Art Class
• Self-Defence Class
• Martial Arts
• Soccer
• Football
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Hockey
• Gymnastics
• Homeschool Co-op
• Youth Group
• Swimming Lessons
• Skating Lessons
• Outdoor Club
• Archery
• Field Trips

There is no shortage of good things to participate in.  Take time to create a vision and some boundaries regarding how you will spend your time and then make decisions that align with your vision and boundaries.

Don’t ever consider that homeschooling will save your children.

There is no checklist or formula that ensures your children will become followers of Christ.  If there were, you would be owed the glory for the salvation of your children.

Homeschooling will protect your children from worldly influences for a time, but it won’t protect them from their own sinful nature.  Make no mistake, sin can still breed in the absence of worldly influences.

Be encouraged, young mama. He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in Him.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal. (Isaiah 26:3-4).

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Dear Young Mama appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Keep-er
/ˈkēpər/
1. a book that has worn edges, dog-eared corners, and pencil markings because it has been poured over many times
similar meanings: treasure trove, gold mine, cache

The books listed here are all keepers.  Many of them should probably just remain in your “to periodically review” pile as there really is too much to be mined during the first read-through.

Mere Christianity is a Christian classic and Pride and Prejudice is a literary classic.  Don’t miss out on either of these.  For the Children’s Sake is an educational classic and is a title commonly seen on recommended reading lists for homeschooling mamas along with The Well-Educated Mind.

Other titles that are sure to inspire you on your mothering and homeschooling journey are Mere Motherhood and The Life-Giving Home (on my personal wishlist). Pick up a copy of 30 Poems to Memorize or On Reading Well and you’ll be encouraged to fill your mind with beautiful things.  In Age of Martha, you’ll be challenged to rest, allowing time for contemplation.  Finally, amongst all the moving parts of a homeschooling family, you’ll never regret the time you spend reading aloud to your children.  The Read-Aloud Family will help you get started or revive you whether you have toddlers or teenagers.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

The post Book Stack for Mamas appeared first on Classical Education Books.

There is something here for all dads. A few of these books will take you back to glean the timeless wisdom from writers who lived before you. Beowulf the Warrior is the retelling, in modern language, of a fictional classic, it would be a great one to start as a read aloud. The Emperor’s Handbook is a translation of Marcus Aurelius’ meditations. Major themes include character, leadership, and duty. You could explore the meaning of life in the 17th-century classic, Paradise Lost, or sink your teeth into G.K. Chesterton’s, Orthodoxy.

Are you looking for something more specific to homeschooling? Try The Liberal Arts Tradition or The Well-Educated Mind.

The Name of the Rose is part historical fiction, part mystery, and part theology; a fictional piece that challenges.

If you are looking for something to fulfill the pragmatic side then try State of the Arts, Total Truth, or Good Man.

Undecided? The links will take you to a full description of each title.

by Adrianne Curwen

Adrianne is a wife to a public-school educator/administrator and a homeschooling Mama to seven children, ranging in age from 7 to 23. She believes that we have a unique opportunity as homeschoolers to design individualized education that suits giftings, interests, and passions. She and her husband have used a blend of registered homeschooling, enrolment with independent DL schools, and participation in public trade school programs to design individualized programs for their children.  She is passionate about using as many read-alouds, picture books, novels, and conversations to educate her children but also gets excited by the amazing homeschool-designed curriculum that’s out there.  Adrianne is thrilled by her new role as Communication Specialist for Classical Education Books and is grateful to have an opportunity to learn something new.  She is grateful, every day, for her saviour, Jesus Christ, and has no greater joy than when she sees her most important missions field walk with Him.

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