MidWest Homeschool Convention

Are you going???

I am and I'm incredibly excited about it.

The convention will be in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 8-10...That's next week!

I've attended the last two years, and it always breathes new life into this homeschool Mama.

To see more details and to register, visit the convention website.

It's very reasonably priced, and there are some great speakers and workshops scheduled.

Here are the speakers I hope to hear when I'm not in the huge vendor hall...

•Amanda Bennett

•Katherine Levison

•Carol Barnier

•Karen "Spunky Homeschool" Braun

•Valerie Bendt

•Cathy Duffy

•Barb Cash

• Susan Wise Bauer

•Doug Phillips

Now to figure out my game plan for which workshop to go to and when. :)

Let me know if you're going to be there - I'd love to meet you!

One More Easter Item...

In my last post I forgot to mention one of our favorite books to pull out at Easter time...



This is a beautiful story about a boy who lives in Jerusalem and his encounters with Jesus throughout the week before Jesus' death and resurrection. It was written to go along with the Resurrection Eggs that I mentioned, but it is also a wonderful stand-alone read.

May you and your family have a blessed Holy Week.

Easter Books and Activities

Easter is quickly slipping up on me!

I thought I'd take just a minute and repost my article on Resurrection Eggs...
We're pulling ours out tomorrow!

Also, here is our Easter unit we did three years ago along with some fun we had with bunnies - lots of sweet memories!

How are you and yours celebrating Easter?

And the Winners Are...

Marci Jo wins the HWT Printing Power workbook.

Edwena wins The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling.

Congratulations, ladies! Please email me with your mailing addresses, and I'll get your prizes out to you.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Spring Cleaning Giveaway! :)

Spring Cleaning Curriculum Give-away!

Spring is in the air, and I am loving it!

We've spent lots of time outside this week, but I've also been busy inside our house doing some decluttering.

So...I'm doing two give-aways as a part of the Spring Cleaning Blog Hop hosted by The Curriculum Choice.

First up is The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell (2001 edition). I'm pretty sure this is the first homeschooling book I ever purchased. It covers a ton of information, and the author is funny and encouraging. It's like new.



Next is a like new copy of Handwriting Without Tears' Printing Power workbook. We use HWT, but I bought this level accidentally, and we won't be needing it.



Just leave a comment on this post letting me know which drawing you'd like to enter. For bonus entries into your preferred drawings, you can follow and/or subscribe to Song of My Heart and leave a comment letting me know you did. :)

Winners will be selected by random.org on Monday, March 22nd at 10 AM.

Don't forget to leave your email addy or blog address so that I can get in touch with you.

Oh, and if you've done some curriculum spring cleaning yourself and want to participate in the blog hop, click on the button at the top of the post.

Have a great weekend.

Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival: St. Patrick's Day Edition

I am very pleased to be able to share this edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival with you. It's chock full of inspiring posts that are going to be a real treat for you, so sit back and enjoy!

By the way, I know Miss Mason was not Irish, but I could not resist sprinkling in some vintage St. Patty's Day greetings since the 17th is right around the corner. :)


Nature Study

Barb shares some breathtaking photos and interesting finds from her family's recent hike in which they focused on the Douglas Squirrel as a part of the Winter Series Challenge for Mammals.

Lynn at Eclectic Education writes about making nature study a priority and even shares some helpful free resources with us in her article titled Nature Studies.

In Gilcrease Orchard Study, Shannon of On This Glorious Homeschool Journey reveals the vegetable treasures she and her sons found and sketched at a local orchard. What a delightful nature study!

Hodgepodgemom at Homeschool Highlights shares a fun nature study that her children completed in Outdoor Hour: One Small Square. This is a great activity and lots of good pictures have been included which will inspire you to try it.

Join Jill at Children In the Midst as she and her children enjoy their first nature walk of the year together in a post titled Pine Villages.



Science

Barb at Harmony Art Mom shares how she uses textbooks in a Charlotte Mason education in her article Making Apologia Science Texts Work for Our Family. Barb has also given us some real nuggets of wisdom here concerning helping our child work through disinterest in a particular topic.

Pamela from Blah, Blah, Blog shares a neat science experiment that takes an unexpected turn in Spillin' the Beans. I want to try this one with my own budding scientists.

In Rocks the Charlotte Mason Way, Jimmie from Jimmie's Collage shares how her 5th grade daughter made use of living books along with several other resources to make real connections of her own about rocks and the rock cycle. I love all of the learning that took place here! Jimmie includes some helpful rock links and resources as well.

Living Books

MasterpieceMom has learned that reading aloud Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder can result in some yummy fun in the kitchen. Read all about it in Farmer Boy = Doughnuts.

Nancy at Sage Parnassus shares how her eight-year old is understanding and enjoying the reading of one of Shakespeare's works in The Point Hath Gone Missing. She points out the importance of children hearing the bard's original work and that it's not so much what Shakespeare says but how he says it.


Narration and Writing

Bugs, Knights, and Turkeys in The Yard shares a rollicking and hilarious school-time adventure that resulted in a vivid narration of the Battle of Yorktown. How to Know When They Really Get It is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face!

Jamie from Jamie's Rose Cottage shares with us a delightful tale written by her 9-year old daughter in Creative Writing - another post guaranteed to make you smile!

Handicrafts

Angie at The One Thing provides us with a treasure trove of meaningful activity ideas and informative, how-to links in Handicraft/Life Skills Challenge #8. I'm printing this out for my planner so that we can try making one of these handicrafts later in the week.

Hodgepodgemom shows us some of the lifeskills that her children have been learning in Lifeskills Challenge. This is something I want to focus on more, and there are some great ideas in this post to help me get started.


Music and Art

The Beauty of Pastels is a sweet story and a delightful, do-able art lesson all wrapped up in one. Hodgepodgemom writes about Nana sharing her special talent, as she teaches her grandchildren how to paint with pastels. A precious read.

Dawn from My4Sweetums writes about her family's challenges and triumphs with composer study and shares some wonderful tools that have worked well for her children inMusic Appreciation.

Charlotte Mason Potpourri

Keri at Sunny Scholars shares a thought-provoking post, Habit is Ten Natures. She shares what she's learned from Miss Mason about habit training and provides helpful tips for us as we strive to train our own children.

Holistic Homeschooler gives us her Overview for the new school term which her children will begin in April. I was inspired by the format of this overview and am thinking of using this idea when it's time to plan again. There are also several titles included in her overview that I'm curious to check out.

Finally, I hope that you'll find some ideas for nurturing yourself in my post, A Bit of Mother Culture.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. Your writings have inspired me, as I'm sure they will others.

If you are interested in submitting a post to the next CM Carnival, just click on the button at the top of this post.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all!

A Bit of Mother Culture

Charlotte Mason never used the term Mother Culture, but she was a strong believer in mothers infusing themselves with calm and serenity by having "courage to let everything go when life becomes too tense, and just take a day, or a half a day, out in the fields, or with a favorite book, or in a picture gallery..."

Karen Andreola, one of my favorite homeschooling authors, coined the term Mother Culture and says this about it:

"When a busy homeschooling mother takes part in Mother Culture she safeguards her enthusiasm, so she will be better able to cope with her responsibilities. To partake in Mother Culture is to feed herself with the Word of God, with ideas from books, nature, art, music, etc., thus taking care to keep growing spiritually and mentally. If there is such a thing as the joy of childhood, there is also such a thing as the joy of motherhood..."

Mother Culture is something I have been trying to make more time for lately. Sometimes I am able to leave the children with my husband or a sitter for several hours, but more often I might indulge myself in a few minutes of something as simple as sitting out on our porch and stargazing after the children are in bed. These moments always leave me refreshed and better able to carry out my ministry of motherhood.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite "Mother Culture" experiences with you...

-Birdwatching from my kitchen table with a pair of binoculars and my favorite beverage...before the children are up or while they're playing.

-In the spring I enjoy taking walks through our yard and looking for any new green shoots poking up through the earth or any new flowers that have bloomed.

-I already mentioned I love to go outside after dark, sit on the porch and stargaze or just listen to the sounds of the night. This ministers such peace to my spirit.

-Spend even half an hour of a pretty day just sitting at a local park or walking a nature trail and soaking in the sunshine and all that nature has to offer.

-Steal away for a couple of hours to a favorite bookstore or coffee shop and enjoy a good book.

-My husband often works a late shift, and when he does, I sometimes head to bed early and curl up with an enriching book. My favorite titles are well-written historical fiction, maybe because they are both enlightening and enjoyable to me.

-Attend my monthly homeschool moms support group. The fellowship and friendship of likeminded Moms always encourages me in this journey.

-Having a daily quiet time of prayer and reading God's Word. This nourishes my spirit more than anything else.

It's my hope to attend a symphony concert and/or visit our local art museum with a group of Mom friends sometime in the near future. I'll report back when this becomes a reality. :)

Are you able to make time for a bit of Mother Culture in your life? I hope that you have been inspired by some of these simple ideas.

Call for Blog Entries!

Finally, my blog is up and running again...at the old address, but that's O.K.!

Next Tuesday I'm hosting the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. If you have a blog post, past or present, that relates to Charlotte Mason's methods, I invite you to submit it to the carnival.

Anything having to do with nature study, artist or composer study, habit training, short lessons, mother culture, handicrafts, etc. is fair game. Don't be shy...we want to hear how you're applying CM methods in your homeschool!

Your entries can be submitted here. The deadline for submission is Monday, March15th, at 8:00 pm EST.

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Please Pardon the Dust!

Hi Everyone!

We returned home a few days ago from a three-week trip to Georgia to visit family. We enjoyed visiting with everyone, soaked in some sun and slightly warmer temperatures, took a couple of fun field trips, and even managed to do school while we were there.

I wanted to let you know that I've swapped my blog over to a custom domain, and in the process lots of things have gone all haywire. In fact, I'll be surprised if anyone is even able to read this right now. Most of my links appear to be broken, and currently I can't even view my main page. All that to say that I'm trying to contact Blogger and get things fixed as quickly as possible.

Thanks so much for your patience!