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by Alicia Hutchinson

My Favorite Homeschool Resources-Old and New

I spent all day Saturday ALONE at a homeschool conference. It was lovely. Not only did I get to look at (and smell) approximately 50,000 books and art supplies, I got to listen to some fabulous speakers and come home rejuvenated and refreshed about homeschooling.
I love getting ideas from other homeschool mom and the encouragement is priceless. I go and listen and take notes like a crazy person and leave feeling good about implementing those new tools.
Since I love getting ideas and tips from other moms, I thought you would too. I’ve come across so many great books and websites lately…not to mention my list of books I’ve loved for years, that I thought I’d compile a list of some of my favorite homeschool resources; old and new:

Favorite Homeschool Resources

Beyond Survival by Diana Waring. I heard Diana speak at a conference last year and I loved her. She has such wisdom and this book is all about letting go of some of those things we freak out about and really enjoy your homeschooling life. She has many other great books too and a fabulous-looking history curriculum that I’m sure I’ll have to try one of these years.
A Charlotte Mason Education series by Catherine Levison. These books are some of my very very favorite. They are easy and quick to read, she gives very practical tips and ideas, and her books are what really made me understand what it means to have a Charlotte Mason-type education. I have implemented many of her tips in our homeschool and I’m planning on rereading them again for a third time this summer.
Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. This is a terrific Charlotte Mason resource as well. It’s a great book to read a chapter here and a chapter there because that are short, simple, forward chapters all about having a great Charlotte Mason homeschool.
Homeschool Supermom…NOT! by Susan Kemmerer. I haven’t read this book yet, but I bought it because I listened in on a workshop by the author and she was fabulous! Her talk was about homeschooling boys and everything she said about the subject was so good! I think she said she had SIX boys or something crazy like that!?! She gave such practical tips like having your little guy stand at the counter to do math if they’re too wiggly to sit and let your child run with their interests. Good good stuff. I can’t wait to dive into her book. It’s about homeschooling life in general…not just boys.
Laying down the Rails : A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook
by Sonya Shafer

. I have wanted to hear Sonya speak for a long time. I have read some of her other books and she is basically the guru on Charlotte Mason teaching. I was able to go to her workshop on habit training your kids and I am SO glad I did. Her whole talk was about the habits our kids should (and shouldn’t) have and how to ingrain those habits as moms….AND how much easier life is when they do grasp those habits. It was SO good. I haven’t read this book yet, but I have started it and  I think it’s going to be wonderful. We have been dealing with REMEMBERING things that we’ve told the kids and I’m thinking that Sonya’s tips will help with some of those issues.

The Big WHAT NOW Book of Learning Styles by Carol Barnier. Carol was my most favorite speaker at the convention I went to last year. She was an absolute doll and BRIMMING full of knowledge on learning styles and how to implement different tactics in your homeschool. This book is simple and easy to read. There are chapters on different subjects and suggestions and LOTS of ideas for making those subjects sink in for your kids. She loves using ditties and has a CD of a whole list that she’s recorded for helping kids remember certain things. Even Sophie, who is four, could recite: In Ireland Eighteen forty and five; they ate just potatoes, it kept them alive; then a blight came along and the crops failed for years; one million they died and two million came here.
Great stuff!! I love her book and her CD.

 

Two other resources we’ve been using a lot lately are:

–www.bookadventure.com is a lot like Accelerated Reader if you remember that program. You can choose a list of books for your kids and after they’ve read them, they take a quiz and earn points. My boys are loving it so far. The prizes are a little hokey, so I’m going to come up with some prizes on my own…like an ice cream cone at DQ or something.

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–www.learner.org/jnorth…Journey North has been SO much fun for us this spring! You can track Hummingbird Migration and see when they’ll be coming your way, track American Robins and tulips popping up. They also have a bunch of printables that you can print and add to your nature journals. It’s been a really fun resource.
So that’s my list…it’s ever-growning though 🙂 Hopefully you can use some of these too!
Happy Monday, friends!

 

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Comments

  1. bird and tree says

    Soooo I have to tell ya, I have been soaking up all of your homeschool posts!!! We decided to take luca out of preschool last semester & homeschool him instead. AHHHHH!!! hahah I have to say I am still overwhelmed by it all a little but we are having fun with it! I would so love to pick your brain!!! Especially about these conferences I keep hearing you talk about…are they close by?!? Your posts have really been a help to me though, and I just wanted to say so. Thanks Friend!!! You are awesome!

  2. Tiffini says

    i would have eaten you up and picked your brain back in the day
    i do miss homeschooling somedays. not all cause now i get to do somethings i enjoy. after raising 3 and still 2…although they are teens i have been raising kids since i was 17 so now i can finally breathe a little. i thought the day would never come and now it has. my how time flies. slow down! enjoy this time friend…xo

  3. Farmgirl Paints says

    i don't homeschool, so i don't really have a comment…but i love your cute HEADER. oh and HAPPY birthday sweet SOPHIA. we love you!!! wore my "He hold the future" cuff all day as a reminder;)

  4. Dara E says

    Thanks, Alicia! I'm heading to Amazon right now to pick up a couple of the ones I don't already have! 🙂

  5. Kaitlin @ Homemaker Design says

    This is great, thank you for sharing! I hope to get to a conferance soon – we're just early into homeschooling and some days I feel like throwing in the towel – so encouragment and resources like this are a blessing! ♥

  6. Blissful Blooms says

    Ah yes . . . smelling all the books- so delightful!
    So happy for you that you had this delightful day. Will definitely have to plan a year to go together! What a hoot that would be!
    Thank you for your resource list! I will definitely be checking these out!

  7. Christi says

    We LOVE Journey North -we've been using it for a couple of years now. We also love doing the eIditerod, lots of fun!

    Thanks for sharing!

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