I was not expecting this book to be one of my favorites this school year! From the moment we started reading Helen Keller's first autobiography I was caught up in how much her education resembled a Charlotte Mason education. This is truly one of the best books to read aloud with your children. I am… Continue reading Helen Keller – The Story of My Life
I was a little worried that I might be too late in our foraging for this plant as our nature study object lesson. As the days get cooler the pokeweed begins to wilt and many of the plants are picked over by the birds and animals that love feasting on the leaves and berries! One… Continue reading Pokeweed – Inkberry
Our nature study this month was all about the sassafras tree! One thing that I love about foraging is that it feels like a treasure hunt while out on the trails. I was telling the students in class that I first noticed sassafras several years ago and made a mental note of where to remember… Continue reading Sassafras
Our first book club of the 2024-2025 school year was a fun classic - The Phantom Tollbooth! This book was full of creative word play that inspired a lot of fun discussion throughout the month of reading. I remember reading this book as a homechool middle school student and falling in love with all the… Continue reading Phantom Tollbooth Book Party
I find it so fitting to begin a class that I am passionate about with the passion flower! Nature study, foraging, and getting together with friends has been a staple in our homeschool schedule for many years. When Christian was in kindergarten we would go to Bowie Nature Center (about 45 minutes away) for nature… Continue reading Maypop / Passionflower
We had so much fun at this book party. There are a lot of great food ideas in the book for your party but we kept it simple with goldfish (for the goldfish in the story), peaches (an important symbol of China), and dragon fruit (to represent the dragons in the story!) One of the… Continue reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
A great book for students - https://archive.org/details/cicada0000hutc/page/6/mode/2up We are in the crazy season right now where two broods of cicadas are currently mating and flying around everywhere there is a tree! I've even heard hilarious stories of lawn care companies that get dive bombed because of the sounds of their machinery - even a woman… Continue reading 2024 Cicadas
Linda Mullaly Hunt is becoming one of my favorite middle grade authors! We enjoyed Shouting at the Rain last year and how the author is able to create complex characters with some wonderful discussion topics on real life issues. Fish in a Tree also opens the door to discussion about the relationship between teachers and… Continue reading Fish in a Tree Book Party
A plant that has been showing off this week and I knew needed to have its own nature study lesson is the variety of clovers that we have been noticing around Middle Tennessee! The crimson clover is one of the most stunning varieties in the fields, but my personal favorite is the red clover! For… Continue reading Clover
In the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years I began a community science club where we met once a month to discuss the reading assignments and have a time of "labs" where students could participate in some hands on learning. In 2021 the focus was on Simple Machines and Human Anatomy, and in 2022 the focus… Continue reading Teen Science Club
KIND + CULTIVATED 