Resources

I order the Charlotte Mason Companion last week from Amazon and when it came UPS on Monday, I decided to start reading it and have not been able to put it down since. This book has been suggested to me a lot since I "went public" on my choice to homeschool. The little rebel in me refused to read it! Obviously reading it now was God's perfect timing. When I was going through the process of praying whether or not to homeschool, I did not read books about it or even talk about it with other moms. I knew the decision had to come 100% from God and I wanted to hear His voice loud and clear so I stayed away from all outside influences and waited for the Lord to speak to me. He did! Sometimes we need a clear answer from Him and He knows it so He gives it!

Many of you have asked what curriculum I am using. I have chosen A Beka for our first year. There are some things I love about A Beka and some things I don't care for. A Beka encourages cursive writing in kindergarten but I chose the manuscript route. I am not using the reading curriculum because we have been using the Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons and it is amazing. I highly recommend it! Josiah has already learned to read. It is still at a very basic level but for his age, I think he is exactly where he should be and probably further along than most 5 1/2 year olds. I don't say that to brag on me either. I have a very smart child who blows my mind daily with his vocabulary and way of thinking. He did not get this from me! We took a break during the Summer so we have lots of refreshing to do. My point is, this book is incredible so I am not switching.

I have been doing lots of research on curriculum and A Beka seems to be more text book driven. This is definitely not my style. But the great thing is, I can teach what I want and how I want! I believe A Beka is a great start for Kindergarten so I am happy with my choice. I'm really excited about me growing in this too. I am praying I can "get my craft on" because I have never felt "crafty".

When it comes to Science , I have created a "Nature Notebook" for Josiah. Last night as a thunderstorm rolled in, Josiah became totally amazed by the thunder and lightening. Funny because all day long I had been praying God would give me a creative idea on something to do with Science or Nature. Next week I have some really cool ideas about things he can learn from the weather. He can draw pictures of rain in his nature notebook or maybe we can collect some rain water if it rains again (praying it does). The list goes on and on of things we can do. This is why I LOVE homeschool!

As I said in another post, we are going to learn about the U.S. Flag for the first week or two. Then move to National Monuments. I have lots of plans and I know that my plans may not all work out or happen. In fact, I know they won't! But I am amazed at how God is speaking to me about my children and their needs through this Charlotte Mason book.

Last night I read things I had highlighted in the book to Jeremy. Jeremy got excited and he does not show excitement much. :) He began to tell me how he wants me to meet with this wife of a guy he works with who is considering homeschool. He then says, "Babe, I am so proud of you. I am so glad we made this decision and I love how you made that room for Josiah." THIS WAS HUGE!! HUGE!!! I need to call him today and tell him AGAIN how big that was for me! My husband validated me! It's so important for the husband to be on board and Jeremy is! I pray God can use me in my church and in my community to show mothers how approachable and fun homeschooling can be! Jeremy told me last night that he believes God will use me to encourage other women considering it. AGAIN, HUGE affirmation! I love hearing that from my husband! Can you tell how excited I feel after him saying that? Notice all my exclamation marks!!! :)

If you are considering homeschool, I really recommend this Charlotte Mason Companion. It has encouraged me and affirmed me. I feel like I have already been doing so much of it already. Here is something I read in the book and now have posted in our school area.

Be sure that your children each day have:

*SOMETHING OR SOMEONE TO LOVE

*SOMETHING TO DO

*SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

After reading this, I cannot get it out of my head! I am so excited God has called me to this. At times I am shocked because I was one of those mothers who said, "I could NEVER homeschool." I hear women say it almost daily and I chuckle on the inside because I said the same thing. The more I nurture this Mom in me, the more I feel like I am sitting smack-dab in the middle of God's will for my life. What a place to be!

Here are some links of my resources for the year!

A Beka
Reading
Ambleside
Simply Charlotte Mason
Enchanted Learning

(P.S. Does anyone know of a book about Holidays? I know there are tons out there but what are you using?)