a bit about homeschooling [and a giveaway]

I have some lengthy blog drafts somewhere on our reasons and philosophies for homeschooling and such, but I'm beginning to sincerely doubt that I will take the time to find them, much less finish them anytime soon. Instead, I thought I'd share a brief update about where we're at on the homeschooling journey.

After beginning to consider all the methods for homeschooling and feeling really overwhelmed by the myriad of options, I read a book about this time last year called Homeschooling Methods. It basically highlights (from a Christian worldview) all of the main homeschooling methods and gives a really good introduction to each. I felt that I needed this because even though I was willing to dig into books about leadership education and the Charlotte Mason method and the classical education model and all that, I was just really hoping for something that would help me narrow down the options without having to read through quite so many lofty tomes first.

Homeschooling Methods is seriously amazing in that it gives a really good introduction to each method by people who are actually doing each particular method. I had hoped at the time that I was reading it to write down all the positives and negatives that I saw in each, but Ezekiel was born at around that time and I just never really got back to it. If you're looking for an introduction to some of these ideas, though, I really recommend this book.

Anyway, after mulling it over for many months and thinking about it and praying about it and considering how each method would actually work within our own family structure and rhythm and with our particular goals, we decided last fall that the WholeHearted method would be an awesome, perfect, beautiful fit for our family. I AM REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY EXCITED THAT WE FOUND THIS METHOD AND THAT IT SUITS OUR FAMILY SO BEAUTIFULLY!! If you're interested, the book Educating the WholeHearted Child is the centerpiece (besides the Bible) of this education model and although I've only barely started, I feel like it's everything I've ever wanted in a homeschooling method. Think something like the Charlotte Mason method but with a more central focus on Scripture and character development... at least, that's my unprofessional, new-to-homeschooling summary.

To clarify, we haven't yet started with some would call actual homeschooling. But we've known since before having children that we intended to homeschool, and so in that way we have always been homeschooling, because we have always been working to lay the foundation for all the years of education that are yet to come. I do lean strongly toward a Montessori method with preschool-age children, though, and so our current homeschool practices look a bit more like Montessori and WholeHeart mixed together... that is, if you can tell them apart from all of the things that we do together in our days anyway.

I've read another book by Sally Clarkson (co-author of Educating the WholeHearted Child) which I really wish I could give to every mama. It's called The Mission of Motherhood and I just love it. I'm also reading her book The Ministry of Motherhood right now and really savoring it. And I've just started a book that Clarkson's daughter wrote called Read for the Heart: Whole Books for WholeHearted Families which lists and describes all of the best and most lovely books that their family has found for children through the years (similar to Honey for a Child's Heart in that way, which is also a good resource).

Anyway, I wanted to give that update about where we're at with homeschooling choices these days. On a more practical, daily level, homeschooling simply looks like being together and learning through daily life. My children are learning about God, learning about themselves, learning about others, and learning about life. We are introducing beautiful books and lovely music and carefully chosen experiences into their lives, but mostly our true homeschooling times look like cooking together, doing laundry together, praying together, playing together, learning how to love one another well, and gathering at set times in the day to read stories and explore ideas together. I feel like we have recently recovered that sweet rhythm to our days that really makes every moment beautiful, and I am truly, deeply rejoicing over that.

One more note on homeschooling materials. There is a deal on Amazon this week for Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series, all six volumes, for 99 cents (usually close to $60) if you have a way to read it electronically. I don't personally expect to read it very soon, but I feel that it will likely be a good resource to have for later years, and I know some of you might like that one. Also, if you're interested in homeschooling blogs, I really like Simple Homeschool. I haven't been reading it or any other blogs much lately but I'd be interested too if anyone else has more to share. Or other homeschooling books to share, for that matter! I'm currently content and excited with where we are in our journey but I definitely appreciate ideas, suggestions, and recommendations as we continue on our chosen path of homeschooling.

Because this is my 250th blog post on this site and I'm pretty excited about homeschooling in general and these books in particular, I'm doing a giveaway this week. Leave a comment on this blog post sometime before Wednesday, February 13th, and I will select at random one commenter to receive one of the books that I've mentioned here. Just tell me which book you'd like to receive if you'd win! Or if homeschooling isn't your thing or none of these books sound all that appealing to you, I'll give you some other book that I've recommended on this blog in the past, or maybe one from our current favorite children's books (something I intend to write about later this week). Just my way of saying thanks for reading my blog.