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.

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.

The post The Story of Science Review appeared first on Classical Education Books.

“Win the Morning, Win the Day!”

I see this quoted often in books, on blogs, Instagram feeds, and Facebook pages that are dedicated to productivity, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and habit development.

I’m not an entrepreneur, but I’m a bit of a productivity/habit/organization nerd, and over the last several months, I’ve been wondering how some of the excellent advice that is given in the business space might apply to homeschooling. One of the key concepts that I come across on a regular basis is the idea of setting yourself up to win your mornings. In the business world that often means being up at 5 am, getting in a good workout, answering emails, reviewing the day’s schedule of meetings, and planning out a list of tasks.

Winning the morning is a concept that can be applied to anyone’s life and I’ve got three topics that I’d like to share with you over the next several months that will help you win your homeschool mornings.

1. Morning Time
2. Building Habits
3. Bullet Journaling

Morning Time:

Mornings with my children have always been a treasured time. So much so that it was a challenging adjustment as my children grew and started to be out of the home most mornings with work and post-secondary classes. The memories of first morning smiles from my babies, first hugs of the day from my toddlers, and big kids who always seemed to be in the mood to snuggle first thing in the morning are some of my favourite mothering moments.

Our homeschool mornings have always been gentle and slow-moving, but productive. The nighttime nursing years rarely saw me out of bed before the little ones, but now, with my nursing years behind me, I’m able to get out of bed before my children and accomplish a few things before waking them up to get started with their day. I encourage you not to miss the opportunity we have to make special morning memories. It’s worth seeking out how to do them well.  And winning the morning sets you up for a great day.

I first heard about morning time at a homeschool conference (also called morning baskets, lunchtime learning, together time, morning meeting, family learning time, and circle time).  The concept is simply gathering your children together to learn something together and it is a great way to start the day.

We have tried implementing this concept at other times of the day, and you should do what works for you, but I think there are real benefits to sticking to mornings. Morning Time starts your day with order and routine, ensures that enrichment studies get done, and my favorite…if the rest of our day falls apart, we have still engaged in meaningful learning.

Getting Started with Morning Time

You don’t need heaps of time.  Start by setting aside 20-30 minutes and build up from there. I like to use several resources each morning, but you can start with one, and add on as you go.  If you are already doing a regular morning devotion, add one more component to your Morning Time to get you started.

Storage for Morning Time Resources

When I first heard about Morning Time, it was referred to as a Morning Basket and I opted to use an actual basket. We outgrew that basket quickly so I currently use a 3-tiered rolling cart, but you could use a bookshelf or box. Portable storage is ideal if you think you might want to do morning time curled up on your bed one day and at the kitchen table the next.

Scheduling your Homeschool Morning Time

Once you have built up a stack of resources you will want to consider scheduling.  My preference is a flexible loop schedule. I set things up so that I can move a resource that I’ve used one day to the back of the stack to wait for another day.  The only one I use daily is the bible resource.

You could opt for a set schedule too, where you have particular resources that are used on certain days.

I prefer to keep things flexible.  I make morning time a priority but there are times where I have to set it aside or we have to cut our time short so looping through the resources seems to work best for us.

Ages & Stages and Morning Time Resources

I’m currently spending my mornings with my four youngest (ages 7-15).  I have found that when we have used a resource that is geared towards younger children, the older ones have found the review helpful; when the resource is geared towards older ones, the younger ones still seem to be able to glean bits of information that build over time. I would encourage you not to fret over the age for which a particular resource is intended.  The bible resource we are currently reading is designed more for my 10-year-old but I know that it is a helpful review for my 12 & 15-year-old and my 7-year-old is making connections to the resource we used last year that was geared towards his age.

Key Components of Your Morning Time

Devotions. Reading a chapter-a-day from the bible works well or you can opt for a Bible storybook. At times we’ve added bible memory work. And when we attended a large church, we had a special prayer project where we rotated through praying for our missionaries (a practical geography lesson too). I would highly recommend any of these resources; we’ve used many of them.  The Ology and Wonderfull are next on our list after we are finished with The Children’s Illustrated Bible.

Other Bible Storybook Resources Include:

The Big Picture Story Bible

The Children’s Illustrated Bible

The Child’s Story Bible

The Story Bible

The Golden Children’s Bible

Jesus Storybook Bible

Story Bible for Older Children

The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History

When you’re ready, add a creative component: drawing, picture studies, poetry, a simple seasonal craft, and music study are a few ideas.  Keep in mind that the idea isn’t to do all of these every day. You want to loop through them throughout the week.

Bible Picture/Picture Study Portfolios

How to Draw…

A Child’s Book of Poems

Favorite Poems Old and New

The Gift of Music

Great Composers

A Child’s Introduction to the Orchestra

Read Alouds are my favourite resource.  I’m always finding books that I want to read to my children and have quite the stack. Read Alouds help you introduce your children to all kinds of topics; during a typical week, we might learn about owls, a far-off land, a historical figure, and how cities are built.  Read alouds are the best!

Katy No Pocket

Random House Book of Fairy Tales

King Arthur

My Side of the Mountain

Call It Courage

Wingfeather Saga

Buford the Little Bighorn

Blueberries for Sal

All of a Kind Family

The Green Ember Series

Listening for Lions

Review in the form of games, flashcards, and discussions.  This is a new component for us.  I’m trying to be more purposeful in our discussion topics and have recently purchased a few games to help us review math facts.

…Facts That Stick (Math Facts)

If you were a…(grammar picture books)

I haven’t tried long-term projects but I think this could work too.  Personally, I would avoid projects for morning time that will be too time-consuming with set up or clean up.

While everyone is gathered, I like to spend a few minutes on the administrative details of our day and week.  This is where I assign chores, give reminders about appointments, and review expectations about the grocery store trip that is planned for that day.

I love a well-written homeschool curriculum but the resources that I find that are easily pulled into our family morning time are my absolute favorite!

Check out our Morning Basket Whiteboard Video on our Youtube channel. It’s a great summary about how to get started with a Morning Basket/Morning Time.

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 1 appeared first on Classical Education Books.

If you want your kids to use the skills they’ve carefully and patiently built up over the last ten months over their summer break, or if you want to bolster your fine arts repertoire, or if you simply want to expose a curious child to music education to see if they might be interested in music lessons come the new school year, then this blog post is for you!

Five easy tips to keep the love of creating music alive in your kids during their summer break. 

Listen

Listening to Classical music is an easily missed component of learning music. Students can get so caught up in perfecting their pieces that they forget the bigger picture of what they are a part of. Go through their music books and find the composers that they’re playing (names are usually in the top right corner on the page), then take to Youtube and Spotify and find out what else they’ve written. Bonus points if you can find videos of professional performers and symphony orchestras to expose your kids to good posture, performance practice, and stage presence.

Books like Meet the Orchestra (for smaller children) and The Story of the Orchestra (for somewhat bigger children) also do a fabulous job of introducing kids to the different instruments used in Western Art Music and can be especially beneficial if your child only has experience with one instrument. The Gift of Music is another fabulous tool if you want to study a particular composer in depth. 

Research 

Using books like The Story of the Orchestra (for middle children) and The Gift of Music (for older children), take the composers you’ve found and listen to their pieces with some background knowledge of the composer. Did you know that Beethoven was already going deaf as he wrote his infamous Fifth symphony? Did you know that Schumann was likely schizophrenic? Did you know that Bach had twenty children? Did you know that much of Mendelssohn’s music was likely written by his sister, Fanny? This sort of background knowledge can inform how you and your children listen to and appreciate the music, and will also benefit them as they go on to play music by these composers. 

Colour

Colouring is a remarkably efficient and flexible way to engage children of all ages in music appreciation. Using colouring books like the Musical Instruments colouring book, the Great Composers colouring book, and the Music Activity Book gives your children a double whammy experience, combining both creative work and studious work. Simply giving them a piece of blank paper and telling them to draw a story that they think the music sounds like is another simple and quick way to get them to listen and use their imagination. Program music (instrumental music that was written to purposefully depict a story) is a great place to start. Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals, Tchaikovsky’s Peter and the Wolf, Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons are great pieces that come with stories already. If you think your child is ready for something more abstract, go for pieces like Beethoven’s 5th symphony, Handel’s Water Music Suite, or Schoenberg’s Piano Suite. 

Expand

Take the opportunity in the summer to expand your child’s (and your own!) taste in music beyond whatever is on the radio or on your playlists already. Listen to Harry Connick Jr. if your child has never been exposed to jazz. Find a family-friendly musical like Newsies and memorize all the lyrics. Discover different styles of folk and fiddle music like Bluegrass, Irish, Old-Time, and Metis. Or go farther abroad and listen to music from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. You’ll find instruments not found in the resources above, and your kids will develop an ear for a wide variety of styles!  

Create

While serious composition can scare off the perfectionists in your children, getting comfortable exploring their instrument outside of structured music is a great exercise that will only serve them in their study of music. Learning simple songs by ear (trying to play a song without looking at a score, just going by how it sounds) is a good place to start. Imitating nature is a good next step – can they make their instrument sound like rain? Like a thunderstorm? Like birds singing? Like a kangaroo jumping around? Like leaves swirling? What about events like a race, or a ballet, or going to church? Exploration like this strengthens familiarity with the instrument and pushes children to take ownership of their tone. 

I hope that after reading through these tips your creative juices are flowing! The ability to appreciate music of all types and forms is an invaluable gift you can give your children, and I encourage the parents reading to nurture this God-given gift in your home. The study of music brings beauty, perseverance, expression, and satisfaction to everyone who digs a little deeper into the history and technique of how music is built. All the best in your summer studies! 

Abigail is a Royal Conservatory of Music graduate; she completed her ARCT in Piano Pedagogy in 2020 and she teaches piano and violin. Abigail is the oldest of 7 and was homeschooled from start to finish. She likes to listen to Bach, Beethoven, and jazz. Other interests include reading, watercolours, and crochet.

The post Summer Music – Tips & Resources appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Mission of Motherhood
Mom Heart Moments
The Ministry of Motherhood

Sally Clarkson also has a Podcast called At Home with Sally Clarkson & Friends.

I wasn’t a Christian when I began my mothering journey. I was several years in when I became a Christian and the Lord has used many wonderful resources over the years to shape my view of motherhood for the better.

There was a time when I had a very poor attitude towards motherhood. I struggled to see the value in the day-to-day details of mom life and I felt overwhelmed by a task list that seemed neverending, unmanageable, far too repetitive, and very menial. I’ve received wonderful mentorship in the pages of books written for moms but admittedly, I have had The Mission of Motherhood sitting on my shelf for quite some time, unread. I have really enjoyed listening to Sally’s podcasts and can testify from listening to her that she is a resource that you will benefit from!

Whether you are struggling in your role or at a place where you just need some affirmation, these books will bless you!

Rest assured that you are spending heaps of time on tasks that do have real value, both for the here and now and for eternity. You have a sweet missions field that lives right in your home and I encourage you to set your mind to that on a daily basis. My best days start with the Lord, in his word, and in prayer. Remember that there is nothing we can accomplish apart from his grace and there are things only the Lord can do in the lives of our children.

Be encouraged as you spend another day doing mom things.

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 Sally Clarkson Books appeared first on Classical Education Books.

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada and we’ve gathered a stack of books to help you and your family learn about the heritage of our Asian community. Use the links to find complete descriptions of each book.

Anno’s China

The Five Chinese Brothers

Ruby’s Wish

Water Buffalo Days

Chu Ju’s House

The Story About Ping

Tikki Tikki Tembo

The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks

The Story of Little Babaji

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Inside Out and Back Again

Rikki Tikki Tavi

El Chino

Ming Lo Moves the Mountain

The Lotus Seed

Something Beautiful for God

Crow Boy

Once A Mouse

Grandfather’s Journey

Taste of Asia

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 Asian Heritage Month Book Stack appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Overview

Exploring Creation with Marine Biology is a high school level, college-prep, lab science (Biology is a prerequisite) yet it is also captivating to teens that are not majoring in science.  The course covers a complex topic using a conversational style that is engaging for students.  Parents will appreciate that it can be completely student-led.

Apologia offers several ‘add-on’ components to the course, including a DVD, tests, and solutions, and a student notebook to complement the textbook.  We used the text, test booklet, and the notebook, which we found indispensable. It offers a daily schedule which was easy to follow and includes a chart for grades.  There are pages for notes, definitions, study guide questions, an experiment and lab report section, and space for the ‘On Your Own’ questions found throughout the text.  The test manual includes solutions for the study guides, a test and solutions for each module, and quarterly tests.

The course contains 16 modules, intended to be completed in 34 weeks using the lesson plan schedule of 45 minutes per day, 5 days a week.  One module with lab experiments and tests should be completed every 2 weeks.

*Our daughter found this pace quite relaxed and often would complete 2 lessons in 1 day.  After completing the study guide for a module, she would start the next module, while studying for the test of the previous module.  She completed the course in approximately 28 weeks.

The Pros and Cons

Pros included the easy-to-read delivery and the abundance of information on fascinating sea creatures. She also appreciated that while the focus of the course is on creationism, other viewpoints were presented as well for a balanced view of both sides.  Cons were the large amount of time spent on microscopic creatures (not her personal favorite topic) and she found that often the study guide was not an accurate representation of the test questions.

Final Thoughts

While not considering herself a science kind of kid, our daughter really dove into this course (water, get it?…) We often heard her narrating fascinating tidbits at the dinner table, showing that she absorbed a lot of detailed information without the course being overly time-consuming.  The ‘On Your Own’ questions were a great way to explore new knowledge on a deeper level, instead of just repeating learned facts and she liked that the author wrote for a high school audience in a way that was not overwhelming but was also not condescending.

After going through all of the elementary Apologia science courses as well as several high school courses, we are excited to continue exploring creation!

Other Apologia Titles for Highschool Science:

Exploring Creation with General Science

Exploring Creation with Biology

Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Exploring Creation with Chemistry

Exploring Creation with Physics

Exploring Creation with Advanced Biology

Exploring Creation with Advanced Physics

Julia lives in Langley, BC with her husband and four children. Their adventures include traveling as The Springmans, a family band. Yes, that means that Julia homeschools on the road! This last year has made them available online for everyone to enjoy. Visit their Facebook page for live concerts, and follow Ryan, Sarah and Jacob as they search for treasure in the wilds.

The post Apologia Exploring Creation with Marine Biology appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The Easter Egg

A Tale for Easter

The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross

The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross – Coloring and Activity Book

The Passion of the King of Glory

National Wildlife Week – April 4th-10th

Encyclopedia of Animals

Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of Animals

Call of the Wild and White Fang

The Jungle Book

Vimy Ridge Day – World War I – April 9th

Airplanes of World War I – Coloring Book

The post Teach Through April Book Stack appeared first on Classical Education Books.

We have a selection of art curriculum that you can work through with your children but also consider taking the time to introduce your children to famous artists and their work. We have used several of these Katie books; they are a fun way to introduce your children to the art world.

Add a package of watercolour pencils, paintbrushes, and a new watercolour art book and you have the ingredients for making beautiful homeschool memories.

Katie and the Mona Lisa

Katie and the British Artists

Katie and the Waterlily Pond

Katie’s Picture Show

Katie and the Bathers

Katie and the Starry Night

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 Stacks – Katie Books appeared first on Classical Education Books.

It’s important that our children hear the bible read to them on a regular basis as hearing the words, wisdom, and instruction over the years builds a strong foundation. What at times seems to be information that is beyond young ones does build over time.

A solid bible storybook is another tool we can use to build a solid foundation. They help young ones access wisdom and truth early in their lives and they give a high-altitude view of the bible, using stories as a way to communicate. As well, cycling through these stories year after year becomes the basis for more advanced learning, making these great resources for the grammar stage of learning.

The Big Picture Story Bible

The Jesus Storybook Bible

The Story Bible

A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories

The Golden Children’s Bible

The Child’s Story Bible

The Children’s Illustrated Story Bible

Story Bible for Older Children – Old Testament

Story Bible for Older Children – New Testament

Journey Through the Bible

The post Bible Storybook Stack appeared first on Classical Education Books.