homeschooling

For those of you thinking about homeschooling or if you're already in the trenches, check out Susan Wise Bauer's book The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home. It was my homeschooling bible and has been indispensable as a reference every year. (I've been homeschooling 8 years now.) It may seem like a big book, but it covers K-12th grade, so you wouldn't necessarily need to read it all right now. Her discussion of homeschooling at the beginning of the book is really encouraging and helps things not feel so muddled. Here's the website. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/

Below are some articles that I've found interesting in the subj.

Why Urban, Educated Parents Are Turning to DIY Education http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/01/29/why-urban-educated-parents-are-turning-to-diy-education.html

I want to homeschool, but don’t want the responsibility http://simplehomeschool.net/i-want-to-homeschool-but-dont-want-the-responsibility/

Why I Homeschool, and What My Approach Is http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2010/03/why-i-homeschool-and-what-my-approach-is/

Why We Are Homeschooling (From a Gal Who Tried Everything) http://carrotsformichaelmas.com/2012/08/15/why-we-are-homeschooling-from-a-gal-who-tried-everything/

6 homeschooling misconceptions erased http://simplehomeschool.net/homeschooling-misconceptions/

Why we homeschool http://tshoxenreider.com/why-we-homeschool/

My advice? Don't take yourself  or your plans too seriously. Have fun! Keep the big picture in mind so you don't get bogged down. Drink coffee!

And here are a couple of videos that my nerdy homeschoolers think are funny. (They like the second one better.)

April Reading

Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy
Read for the second time, and knew I needed to read it a third time the moment I finished. Not because it's so hard to understand, but because it is so necessary. I don't usually like introductions, but Victor Watt's introduction was helpful. (Hopefully more on this book after another reading.)

What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan
The title of this book looked promising and I was not disappointed. The author knows his way around Miss Austen's novels, and pointed things out that I had missed. I enjoyed the whole book, but my two favorite chapters are, "What Do the Characters Call Each Other?" and "What Do Characters Read?"

The Luck of the Bodkins by P. G. Wodehouse
With characters named Monty Bodkin, Gertrude Butterwick, Miss Lotus Blossom, and Ikey Llewellyn how could one go wrong? Mr Wodehouse never disappoints and this was no exception. See my favorite quotes from the book HERE.

The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise
I wanted to re-read this before homeschooling next school year. It has many resources that I have found helpful.

What are you reading?