Over the past 30 years, I have read over 100 books on how to homeschool. After all, shouldn't you keep growing in  your career as a wife, mom, homemaker, and homeschool mom? 

I have read so many great books over the years that have enriched my life and home school. I will blog the next time on the top 20 books I've read on homeschooling. 

Today, however, I just want to focus on the ones that instilled confidence and resonated with my heart in a deep way. 

When I read Educating the Wholehearted Child, I found myself saying over and over again, "They are kindred spirits. They get me!" Now I've never met Clay and Sally Clarkson, but their book on homeschooling ministered deeply to my heart. My copy is falling apart from all the times, I've flipped through it's pages again or reread a section. 

Let Us Highly Resolve: Families Living for Jesus in the 21st Century by David and Shirley Quine is amazing! David and Shirley introduce us to the biblical worldview and challenge us to live that Christian worldview out in our daily lives and our educational choices. I was so inspired by this book! And, I can tell you, it influenced my curriculum choices and teaching from that moment on! This book challenged me to life for Jesus in every area of life and to teach my children to do the same. I have heeded their call to build into my children so that they can base their life on truths and absolutes from the Word of God! Wow! This book is awesome! 

I also never met Dr. Ruth Beechick in person, but I love, love, love her heart. As a young mom, I finished reading The Three R's booklets and You Can Teach Your Child Successfully and thought, "I can do this!" She broke educating children down to bite-sized pieces and instilled confidence. I read so many of her articles over the years. Adam and His Kin and Finding Our Roots in Genesis were family favorites in our home, so when she came out with another book on homeschooling, A Biblical Home Education, I had to read it right away! It was another huge blessing! Again, I felt like we were on the same page and I was so thankful to be encouraged in my heart. Of course, for the heart's purpose to come to pass, there must be a practical walking out. Ruth Beechick is full of practical wisdom. 

Gregg Harris's book, The Christian Home School, is precious to me because my husband read it and loved it! It put us on the same page as I was investigating homeschooling. He introduced delight-directed studies and raising arrows pointed for life to me. This book just covered all the basics in such a Christ-honoring way. 

Finally, For the Children's Sake: Foundation for Home and School by the daughter of one of my heroines (Edith Schaeffer), Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. This book is not light reading. She applies the Charlotte Mason method and like her mother, she goes deep. She has such a passion for Jesus and educating for His glory. There is also so much to ponder in every chapter. I was inspired and encouraged by this book! 

Let's look at each of these books. 

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Henry Stanley, the newspaper reporter asked the Scottish doctor. "The whole world is looking for you." 

​"I'm not lost," the doctor replied in his hearty voice, that belied the illness he had been fighting. 

Dr. David Livingstone (1813- 1873), born in Scotland, spent most of his childhood working hard in a mill. His heart was set on being a doctor, so after his long days at the mill, he took night classes, eventually graduating with a medical degree.

​One day, David heard a missionary doctor speak about how missionaries with medical knowledge were needed in China. As David prayed about it, he felt called, not to China, but to Africa.

​David spent many years in Africa, traveling to places that no white man had ever gone before. It was quite an adventure! One time he was attacked by a lion! Another time a terrible accident destroyed his left arm. Best of all, he discovered beautiful rivers and majestic waterfalls.  

I love this book! 

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs by John D. Morris and Ken Ham is a fun look at the Pre-Flood world where dinosaurs and other animals lived alongside humans. 

In this imaginative, fun-filled adventure Tracker John and his pet dinosaur D.J. learn more about dinosaurs. 

It is refreshing to read a child-friendly and beautifully-illustrated picture book that is written from a biblical perspective about dinosaurs. I get so tired of hearing and reading about the worldly myth of evolution. I love being able to read a book aloud to my kids that is truthful when it comes to Creation and dinosaurs. 

My children loved this book, especially my son Jimmy. Of course, what boy doesn't love dinosaurs? They are just super-cool animals!

In addition to being a great story that will capture children's imagination, I have used this book in our ancient history studies and our science studies. I found the information to be accurate and helpful in our homeschooling. 

​We have five grown children who love Jesus.

This little book is one of the tools we used to raise godly children.

You see, Mike would read a story to the kids each night before bed, often a Bible story and we would read the Scripture to the kids in the morning.

When we had outgrown our favorite picture Bible books, we wanted something that would be meaty, but accurate. 

365 Read-Aloud Bible Bedtime Stories by Daniel Partner is a great next step for young children ages 3 to 8 who are ready for the next step.

We love this book! So many stories, such a good adaptation from Scripture. We give a copy to every new parent we know. 

There is a story for every day of the year and each story is straight from Scripture.

I love telling you about great books to put on your library shelves. But, don't leave this one on the shelf. Pick it up and read it cover to cover!

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is a Christian classic that was written in a jail cell. John Bunyan (1628-1688) was a Puritan pastor in the seventeenth century (1600’s).

​John was arrested for his faith and teaching which did not line up with the Anglican Church viewpoint at the time. From his jail cell, he wrote down a dream. Wow! What an intricate dream!

This allegory (symbolic story) follows Christian, the hero of the story and a pilgrim on a journey from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City. An allegory is a story on two levels. On the first level Pilgrim’s Progress is a literal adventure story with all kinds of twists and turns. But, there is a second level to the story. The symbolic story is the story of every Christian who tries to live a pure Christian life. We each have our own adventure of trials, temptations, and tribulations.

John was not a godly little boy or young man.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss is a wonderful family classic! What a marvelous role model for homeschooling families!   

Our children love to hear this book read aloud. And we love reading it!       

The adventure story begins with a couple and their four sons being the last aboard a ship that wrecks.

The family prays, puts their hope in God and with creativity and ingenuity escapes to a deserted island where they begin a new life of adventure and hard work in isolation for ten years. During this time they maintain habitual morning Bible reading and prayer, as well as family worship services on Sunday. (Hmmm—I don’t remember those scenes from the Disney movie version of the book—go figure!)

Would you like to learn more about this amazing family and exciting adventure novel?

They are able to rescue many valuable things from the ship. Then the family explores and “subdues” their island home: acquiring pets, cultivating the land, hunting, building summer and winter homes, inventing machines, creating all types of things, making improvements, building bridges, facing disappointments, and overcoming obstacles. As they go about their daily lives, every opportunity is taken to teach their sons about nature, animals, morals, and other educational aspects of life. The parents share a deep and committed love with one another. The wife is treated with honor and respect by her husband and sons.     

Early on in their adventure the wise father tells one of his sons, “’I want to see my sons strong, both morally and physically,” said I. ‘That means, little Franz,’ as the large blue eyes looked up inquiringly at me, ;brave to do what is good and right, and to hate evil, and strong to work, hunt, and provide for themselves and others and to fight if necessary.’” (pg. 131 The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss)

"Oh, no! It's that time of year again already?" my husband grimaced. 

"Don't worry. It's only one week." I smiled brightly. 

"It feels like a lot longer," he sighed. 

"Let's have pizza tonight," one of my children interjected. "I love this week. We get to eat out!" 

​For years I have taken one week each summer and planned out the entire school year. 

Setting aside this week enables me to stay on target for the whole year. It is worth the time and mess to tackle the year all at once. 

Some folks prefer to plan a week at a time and that's fine. For those who are interested, read on and learn my strategy for lesson planning the entire year in one week. 

An online unit study? I felt scared.

And the unit study is written by Techie Mom? Oh no. I can barely turn on my computer. 

Wow! Was I in for a big surprise. This online unit study was the coolest thing ever!

Famous Birthdays by Beth Napoli is a unit study, just like other units, that starts with a topic and integrates multiple subjects to make learning easier and more fun.

Now, here is the twist: EVERYTHING in this unit study is done online! 

Getting started is easy. You follow "Techie Homeschool Mom" on Pinterest and create your own "Online Unit Studies Project" Pinboard on Pinterest. Next, you join "Techin' Your Homeschool" Facebook Group. 

Students make a fabulous online timeline with Prezi, adding all the birthday men and women as they meet them in each lesson. They are also encouraged to use Grammarly for proofing and VidAngel for streaming videos. 

After you finish each lesson, you press the "Complete and Continue" bar to go to the next lesson. Are you ready to talk about the Birthday Men and Women?

When you think of Ancient Egypt, what immediately comes to your mine? Pyramids and mummies? Me too.
​
While we study Ancient Egypt at our homeschool co-op, we want to bring it alive for young and old alike. We watched David Down’s archaeology video Pyramids of Ancient Egypt to learn more about various dynasties, pharaohs, and pyramids. 

I told the children about the mummies I saw at the British museum. It was fascinating the way you could see inside the clothes with an X-ray machine. How on earth did the Egyptians know how to preserve a body so that thousands of years later, you it would still hold its shape?

The next step was to make our own mummies.
​
Don’t worry! We did not use real people or animals. We used my old Barbie® dolls. ​

​We divided the children in groups of two or three and gave them each a Barbie® or Ken® doll, some organ cut-outs, a roll of toilet paper, a straightened-out paper clip, and a face mask cut-out.

Sarah read the real mummification process aloud and we adapted it, giving directions to the children who acted it out with the dolls.
​
By the way, we left their clothes on to keep everything modest. We laid the cut-out body organs on top of the dolls where they belonged. ​

Step One: Insert a hook through a hole near the nose and pull out a large section of brain.

We just put the paper clip near the nose and pretended to pull out the brain. Then we moved the brain off the face.

Step Two: Remove all the internal organs through an incision on the left side of the body near the waist. Leave the heart inside the body. The Egyptians believed that the heart was where the soul resided.
​
Step Three: Let the internal organs dry.

​After making a sundial out of cardboard at homeschool co-op, I discovered a human sun dial during a trip to Sugar Mill Gardens in Port Orange with my friend. The human sundial was in the midst of a beautiful garden. Stones were carefully laid out. These stones were labeled with numbers. Other stones were labeled with the months of the year.


To tell time, you had to stand next to the month stone and face the number stones. Your shadow would fall across the number, revealing the time. If daylight savings time was in effect, you had to add an hour.
 
I tried it out and it worked! I was so thrilled. 

​A sundial is a device used since ancient times to tell the time of day based on the apparent movement of the sun across the sky. It has a flat plate or dial with numbers on it. There is a also a gnomon, or shadow casting apparatus, to cast the shadow across the dial numbers.
 
Sundials work by casting a shadow across the correct time. Though we are the ones who rotate, the sun appears to move across the sky at by 15̊every hour. As the sun “moves” across the sky, the position of the shadow changes, thus revealing the time.
 
Sundials are easy to make. We used a flat foam board and a cardboard tube. 

You’ve heard that homeschooled kids are smart.

What about your kids?

Are they smart enough? Do they measure up? How can you tell if you are doing a good job homeschooling? How can you tell if they are learning what they need to learn?

When I was a nurse, I had to take vital signs on all my patients every shift. I had to check their temperature, pulse, respiration rate, and blood pressure. This was just a quick way to check their overall health. If the patient in 202B had an infection, his temperature would rise. If my post-op patient was in pain, her blood pressure might be high. 

As a mom, I like to assess my children’s academic health by looking at 5 key factors that reveal their academic progress. These are the tools of learning my child needs for a lifetime of success.

Reading

“Jimmy can you read this page aloud to me while I fix dinner?" I hand him a book that is a little harder to read than he is used to. This gives me a picture of his reading ability.

“Shine, did you like Wuthering Heights? Tell me about it." This gives me insight into her reading comprehension.

Math

This is easy. When I grade their math work, I see how many answers they get wrong. I see if there is a pattern. Are they getting the same type of problem wrong each time? Are they making careless mistakes or are they missing the concept.
​
Communication​

​Bertie’s War by Barbara Tifft Blakey takes you back in time to the early 1960’s when America was facing the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was a stressful time for everyone, but especially for our protagonist, Bertie, the youngest of three children. Her father is strict and Bertie tries very hard to please him, but it is the threat of missiles pointed at the United States that is hard for Bertie to understand.

When her father builds a bomb shelter for her grandparents, she is baffled. Why isn’t her father protecting his wife and children too?

Barbara takes us inside Bertie’s heart to feel her struggles and fears. We see the world through her eyes. We meet the people she loves and those she struggles to relate to. Children and young adults reading the book will relate to Bertie and her inner thoughts. 

​"Are you serious? You want me to color a coloring book for science class? I'm in high school, Mom." 

"I know sweetie, but this coloring book will be such a blessing!" 

Aren't teens to old to color?

The Human Anatomy Coloring Book by Margaret Mott is an amazing asset to any course on human anatomy, whether its health or human physiology.

There is nothing that makes memorization of body parts easier than to color them. 
​

Flip 3 Pancakes with 1 Spatula by Cheryl Bastian is book filled with hands-on learning ideas for teaching math without a textbook. It's a handbook to teach to the heart of your child, who most likely LOVES your kitchen and is constantly asking if he can "help." Cooking is fun. Math can be learned by cooking with mom in the kitchen. Ergo, learning math can be fun. That sounds logical to me!

You will love this book! Set up like a cookbook, it is divided into the following categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks & Desserts, and Holidays & Celebrations. Each page contains a complete math lesson set up unit study style with a yummy recipe. You start out by reading one or two picture books. After gathering the needed materials listed on the page, the math lesson takes place while you are cooking. There are also Add Ons. The Ad Ons include additional math lessons, social studies activities, more books to read, science projects, writing or language assignments, and art projects. All are easy and fun!

Celebrations are never complete without stories.

And our American Thanksgiving is full of stories.

Here are two chapter books that are lovely to read aloud to your children or grandchildren during the week of Thanksgiving.

Divide the chapters up so that you can finish the whole book in a week. The children will love these books and they give them a look back in time to the very first Thanksgiving.  

Another year is winding down. Sigh. In so many ways it's been a great year. But, if you are like me, you can think of things that you wish had happened differently. Maybe your days were hectic and stressful instead of peaceful. Maybe you encountered learning struggles that you weren't prepared for. I hope that you will look at all of these things as learning experiences rather than failures.

No matter how long, or short, your homeschooling journey has been, there is always hope for transformation.

Peace & Joy from the Inside Out

Mom sets the atmosphere for the home. No matter how we try to hide it, if we are struggling with stress and insecurity, our homes will be filled with tension. If we carry our burdens to the Lord and trust Him to take care of us, real peace will be inside our hearts. This peace will flow into our husband and children too.

We can transform our home school in an instant by being positive instead of negative. So often, we focus on the negative instead of all the blessings surrounding us. From flowers in our gardens to chubby little smiles, we can see the gifts of God all around us. Learn to thank God for all the things you enjoy: health, family, teaching, good food, pleasant smells, beauty, music, art, friends, and celebrations. A momma filled with joy spreads life to everyone around her.

Major on the Majors

Sometimes we can get caught up with things that are trivial while the important things are neglected. We can focus on the problems with our son's handwriting instead of his hatred for reading. It is more important that he learn to read. We can focus on our daughter's difficulty in drawing, but ignore her inability to memorize addition facts. What are the most important things? What should your priorities be? I encourage you to read my book, The Seven R's of Homeschooling. I talk about Relationships, Reading, wRiting, Rhetoric, aRithmetic, Research, & Right Living.

Back to a Lifestyle of Learning

We started doing Grace Home Schoolers Friday Enrichment Classes when my oldest daughter was in middle school--back in 1997. We have enjoyed the addition to our education at home. My teens have made friends and gotten to dissect, act, sing, paint, debate, and learn psychology from a Christian perspective. 

This year, we have a great line up of classes for the 2013/2014 school year. I thought I would share them with you in case you are looking for enrichment classes. 

Interested? Contact Grace Homeschoolers through their website: http://gracehomeschoolers.com/

My children have never attended public or private school but have been educated at home.  Homeschooling is a HUGE source of JOY in my life. I enjoy spending time with my children so much that I never wanted them to be at school for six hours a day instead of at home with me.  They are curious and interested and excited--easy to teach! I love learning together with my children--there is always something new to discover!

My educational goals tend to be higher than anything except the most expensive of private schools. What a privilege for my students to have a personal curriculum scope chosen specifically for them according to their strengths and giftings. I can focus on my children’s interests and strengths, targeting their education so that they are ready for the life God has called them to live.

They have had the privilege of reading many, many excellent works of literature. Living books practically breathe—they are interesting and exciting. Our home is filled with books. My children can pull a book off the shelf and get lost in an adventure that takes place in another time or place.

Love is in the air! St. Valentine's Day has just been celebrated and all the chocolate in pink and red wrappers in 50% off. My favorite time of year! Pink and chocolate combined...at a great deal! The roses are still lovely, gracing the dining room table. Heart shaped cards are on the buffet, a reminder of being loved by my family.

Love is an emotion that wells up inside my heart when I watch my children sleeping, see them win an award, listen to them. or hear them talk about the Lord. So often, I am proud of them, not just for their achievements, but for who they are and who they are becoming.

Love, of course, is more than an emotion; love is a choice to do good for someone else at cost to your own personal comfort. Love is all about the other person, giving them your best, trusting God to take care of your own needs. We are commanded by God to love one another deeply from our hearts, to seek their good, to lay down our lives, to care about their interests, to honor them above ourselves.

So, we experience love as a daily decision and we experience love as a delightful emotion.

But, of course, there are those times, when it is hard to sing the songs of love and devotion, when I must cry out to the Lord....

Teach me to love when my son walks around the house in his socks, wearing them out and getting them filthy dirty, after telling him at least 877 times to put his socks on or go barefoot. After all, we live in Florida. We really don't need to wear socks and shoes.

The stores are filled with hearts, chocolate, and roses in every shade of pink and red imaginable. As a lover of pink, chocolate and roses, this just may be my favorite time of year to shop!  It's St. Valentines Day! Yes, St. Valentine's Day--I know that sounds a little odd to your ears. When I was a little girl, that's what we called it. But in recent years, as all holidays are secularized and materialized more and more, St. Valentine's Day became Valentine's Day. 

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate love on the day we've set aside to remember him?  Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emporer Claudius. He was know for his kindness and selfless love. He was arrested for his faith and imprisoned, but managed to send and receive letters from his friends and fellow Christians. Emporer Claudius tried to convert him to Roman paganism to spare his life, but Valentine shared the Gospel with the emporer instead. Before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus, he healed the eyes of his jailor's blind daughter.  

In the Late Middle Ages, when courtly love and romance became the rage throughout Europe, St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and romance. Both romantic love and Christian martyrdom are things to celebrate.  St. Valentine stands in the "great cloud of witnesses," in Hebrews 12, cheering us on! St. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in either direction, or both directions. We can celebrate the romantic love we share with our sweethearts or we can remember those who have given their lives for the Gospel of Christ.

If we are celebrating St. Valentine's Day with our sweetie, there are many options.  He, of course, can buy us a dozen long-stemmed roses and a big box of Godiva chocolate.  We can go out to a lovely dinner and gaze into each other's eyes.  But, of course, those things cost money.  So, what are some inexpensive ways to celebrate the romance you share with your husband?  Here are some things Mike and I have done:

• Pack china, crystal goblets, a tasty lunch, and sparkling grape juice. Go on a picnic in a pretty spot.  Bring a beautiful comforter to sit on and be careful with the china and crystal!
• Buy a package of Valentines for children.  Write little notes to your husband on each one and hide them throughout the house.  Make most easy to find, but hide some so that they won't be found until later
• Make a CD of romantic songs and dance outside on the patio in the moonlight
• Make a scrapbook of your relationship from its conception until now. Look at it together. 

• Tell your children how you met, how your husband proposed, and other fun stories. Your children will love this!
• Wait until the children are in bed and have a romantic dinner by candlelight ALONE!
• Read old love letters out loud to each other!

"When do you want to go home?" I asked my almost-college grad daughter, Julianna.

"Mom, we just got here," she chided.

"It's freezing, Julianna," her best friend, Marla backed me up.

But, Julianna was determined. It was the first day of spring break and she wanted to ENJOY the beach. Hah! It was chilly and windy. But, I had promised to go, so I slid my sweat pants down to my bathing suit. Immediately, goose bumps rose and I felt chilled to the bone. I grabbed a winter blanket and cuddled inside of it, wondering why Christians have to keep their word anyway.

The hours dragged on unmercifully until it was time to leave. Now, keep in mind, the beach is my very favorite place on earth and had I been wearing a parka that day, I would have enjoyed myself. But, timing is everything.

In homeschooling, timing is everything too. Just like Julianna tried to rush summer fun ahead of schedule, we can rush into teaching subjects ahead of our children's time table. Children are unique and learn at different times and paces.

When to Start Formal Education

 Katie Beth, my oldest daughter, was ready to learn her to read at the age of 4. How did I know. Well, I copied pictures of each of the letters from the phonics program I intended to use and hung them on the wall in the dining room of our small seminary apartment. I made paper, scissors, glue, markers, crayons, and other art supplies available for her in a large drawer in the china cabinet. When she began to copy the letters on her own and ask to write her name, I knew that interest was there.

I had been reading aloud to her several times a day and she loved to pretend to read books to her dolls. We started a fun phonics program that involved learning phonics rules through songs.

Another daughter was not ready to learn to read until the age of 6, almost 7. I tried a couple of times to start reading instruction and she was just not ready. But when she was finally ready, it went smoothly.

The Early Years

The early years of childhood are the perfect time to prepare children for a lifetime of enthusiastic learning. Reading well-written, beautifully illustrated storybooks aloud, picnics at the park, and playground fun can fill your days. All the things mothers do naturally: teaching animal sounds, make up silly rhymes, singing songs together, and talking to children about family history introduce your little ones to learning in a fun way. Baking together, cleaning together, setting the table together, and shopping together introduce educational concepts to your sons and daughters. You can stop and look at leaves, bugs, flowers, and small critters when you go on natures walks. Or bring along a sketch pad and fill it with your discoveries.

Don't rush this time or turn learning into hard work. Enjoy living life together with your family, knowing they are learning so much in their memory-making moments with you. There will be plenty of time for formal education in the future. Fill the preschool years with precious memories that last a lifetime.

Your Child's Pace

"There is just so much to cover this year!  How can I get it all done?" has been asked of me more times than I can count. 

  My favorite subjects to teach are music and history!  What fun we have had exploring these subjects over the years. But I have found that it is important to "major on the majors" and "minor on the minors."

There are subjects and then there are tools and skills that are needed to learn all subjects.  When we give our children the tools of learning, they can explore every subject to their heart's content. 

After homeschooling for 21 years with a sixth, eighth, and eleventh grader still being educated at home, I have found that there are seven things (7 R's) that make a big difference in the success of our family's homeschool.  From Kindergarten through twelfth grade, I try to keep these things predominant in my homeschooling: relationships, rhetoric, reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic, research, and right living.  I weave them in to all that I teach or that our family explores through unit studies. These are not the only subjects in our homeschool curriculum, but they are the ones that get priority.

Relationships

Lives are changed in the context of relationships!  People, including your children, hunger and seek to be loved and understood.  The security that comes with healthy relationships allows people to learn and grow, reaching their full potential and destiny. 

The most important relationship that your child will ever have is his/her relationship with the Lord. Let your little ones see how much you love the Lord, especially by setting aside time each day to spend in prayer and Bible reading. Be committed to church, tithing, obedience, and serving because you love Jesus with all your heart.  Teach your children to have a relationship with Him too!

Children (and adults too!) want to model people they admire and trust, especially if they believe those people have their best interest at heart. When your child enjoys a healthy relationship with you, he/she is more likely to try to imitate your life, as well as attempt to please you!  This desire to please parents is present in almost all children, but ebbs away in teenage years if the relationship does not remain strong.

Rhetoric (verbal communication)

Rhetoric refers to communication both written and oral, but I'll use it to refer to verbal communication from casual conversations to formal speeches. 

Casual conversation, questions, and answers are the beginning of education for young children. "Why is the sky blue," your toddler asks you and prattles on with more questions.  From the time your little ones can talk, engage them in conversation. "Did you like the pretty pictures in the book?" you might ask after you finish reading them a book.  "What was your favorite part of our day," you query as you and your toddler set the table.  Don't shoo children away--talk to them about everything!  Speaking requires thought processes that stimulate intellectual growth! Ask questions and answer them!  Put down what you're doing if you need to and give your child undivided attention. But learn to talk with your child as you wash dishes, run errands, and cook dinner.

Before formal speeches, give your children plenty of practice reading the Bible, stories, and poetry aloud.  Encourage expression, inflection, and enthusiasm in the presentation. It is a great idea for older siblings to read to younger siblings, especially for the three years after they've learned to read. 

Eventually you will graduate to speaking in front of people to formal speeches to debate.

Reading

Listening to well-written beautifully illustrated story books make toddlers and pre-schoolers look forward to the day that they will read for themselves. As Christians, what joy there is in reading and obeying the Word of God!  No matter what career they choose or lifestyle they live, we all want our children to be Bible readers, understanding everything the Lord has to teach them. Reading is a necessary skill for growing in your walk with the Lord!

Phonics is the method I have used to teach all my children to read (Sing, Spell, Read, and Write) and they have all learned in about a year's time. The goal was to get them reading!  My son was less enthusiastic about reading then all his older sisters, so I had to "make him read."  I had to search for books he liked.  The "Three Cousins Detective" series and "Childhood of Famous Americans" were both series that he enjoyed, so I bought every book I could find in the series. 

To foster a love for reading, I allow the children to choose the books the want to read within parameters.  I have book lists for various ages (feel free to download these lists:  http://joyfulandsuccessfulhomeschooling.com/readinglists.aspx ) that are based on my actual bookshelves. 

Reading aloud is fun to do together as a family or with only one child at a time. We love reading aloud and snuggling. Reading and speaking lay the foundation for writing.

'Riting

Writing concretely, concisely, and graciously is the goal of Understanding Writing, the writing curriculum I have used through the years. Written by a homeschool mom, she stresses writing to glorify God. We have added poetry, stories, journalizing, and other fun writing assignment to our writing lessons over the years. 

Reading good writing and expressing yourself clearly through speaking set children up to write well. You need both to lay the foundation a writer needs. 

Start with sentences. A sentence has five things. (noun, verb, complete thought, begins with a capital letter, and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point) Teach your children to examine their sentences for these five things.  Once that is down, help them to write clearly. Teach them to use adjectives and adverbs to express themselves and to avoid clutter words such as very, a lot, and really.

The next step is paragraphs. My children write a paragraph once a week from second grade until sixth grade.  Sometimes they write longer papers, but they always at least write a paragraph, I correct it, and then they rewrite it. Re-writing should be part 2 of every writing assignment. A good writer always rewrites! Don't be negative about it, though. Praise their papers and then move on to the next part of the assignment--making their paper better!

'Rithmetic