Homeschooling Art and Music with Living Books

I can’t believe I made a whole series about #homeschooling with living books and totally missed art and music. Duh! You don’t need to spend a ton of money or replicate school in order to get a comprehensive education in these subjects.

Using Charlotte Mason in Our Relaxed Homeschool

I often describe our #homeschool as relaxed with a bit of #unschooling, unit studies, and Charlotte Mason methods. While I’ve spent a ton of time addressing the unit study and unschooling aspects, I realized that I was all but ignoring the method that seems to have influenced the bulk of what we do – #charlottemason. It’s time to fix that oversight.

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Are Living Books as Effective as Textbooks?

Very often, when I mention to someone that we prefer real books to textbooks, I’m asked this question:

BUT ARE THEY AS EFFECTIVE AS TEXTBOOKS?

First, let me point out that the effectiveness of textbooks is debatable, especially when it comes to history and science, yet they’re still placed upon a very unjustified pedestal.

So my answer to that question is YES, ABSOLUTELY. In fact, even more so. Today’s video, which miraculously has enabled comments (until YouTube notices), explains WHY.

Historical Fiction Books with a Dash of Science!

As a relaxed homeschool mom of many, finding ways to pack as much learning into shorter lessons has become my “specialty.” When you have as many kids as I do, spending 6 hours a day doing homeschooling lessons just isn’t possible, or even desirable if I’m going to be honest!

Bring Ancient History to Life with Beautiful Feet Books

When I was growing up, I hated history. I hated everything about it: the boring textbooks, the required memorization of dates and other (what I thought was) useless trivia, the multiple choice tests that were easy to ace but served no purpose when it came to retention, and the boring documentaries accompanied by worksheets designed to make sure we were paying attention.

Yup. It was awful.

Using Read-Alouds as the Spine of Your Homeschool

Imagine a homeschool day with no textbooks, no worksheets, and no busy work. Imagine a homeschool day quietly spent reading aloud to your children, all the while feeling perfectly confident that this was enough. Imagine a homeschool day devoid of disconnected subjects and seemingly impractical lessons but instead filled with quiet conversations and sometimes passionate debate.

Sound impossible?

This, my friends, is a homeschool that is centered on read-alouds.

How to Homeschool with Living Books

I love homeschooling. And I love books, so what better than to combine the two?

Now I’m not talking textbooks here – no thank you! As a homeschool mom, it is extremely important to me that my kids are learning in a way that is interesting and engaging, and, unfortunately, textbooks just don’t fit those criteria in my humble opinion. 

Homeschooling History with Beautiful Feet Books

Have you ever found a homeschool curriculum that literally made you giddy with excitement? 

(I received this product for free and was compensated for writing an honest review. This post contains affiliate links.)

One that not only did what it promised to do, but also seemed to simultaneously fit your teaching style, your children’s learning style, and your homeschool philosophy? No?

Believe me, I hear you. As a homeschool mom of many, finding a curriculum that meshes well with our hectic lifestyle can be tough. Our ideal learning resource has to be interesting, cross-curricular, living books-based, and gentle, all rolled into one. 

Teach Your Kids History Through Literature with Beautiful Feet Books

I love history. 

Let me rephrase that. I love history now. As a student, it was probably my least favorite subject (besides math, of course).

All of those boring textbook assignments left me feeling like I didn’t care if I never read another history book again. And the memorization. Oh my Lord. In my opinion, if you’re looking for an effective way to kill any desire your child might have to learn about the past, make them memorize a slew of dates that have no meaning to them.

I didn’t want that for my kids. One of my main reasons for homeschooling is that I want my kids to actually want to learn. 

Are You Feeling Overwhelmed By Homeschooling Your Big Family?

I know I write an awful lot about how keeping your homeschool simple will save you a lot of headaches.

 But one thing I feel the need to point out is that it will never be perfect. You may certainly find a routine that fits your lifestyle very well, but there may inevitably be a time when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the same schedule that you once thought was a godsend.