Prairie Lily Arts

Curriculum Reviews and Giveaways

Join me each Tuesday at The Homeschool Village as we review curricula, books and resources which not only offer options for homeschool instruction but provide resources for your journey as a family.  To provide a variety of perspectives, homeschool moms from our review team will link with my review each week.  And the fun part?!  Each publisher/author sponsors a giveaway to a participating reader!

Today we are reviewing a delightful Spanish language immersion program, Speekee.  I hope you'll stop by each week and discover some new gems for your family!

Come explore the community we call The Homeschool Village! 

Susan

Paper Treasures

 
We entered in silence.  A bit of reverie.... or perhaps absolute reverie!  The walls towered over our heads... warm, dark, smooth and rich.  The staircase beckoned to layers and layers of volumes untouched in silence.  Sumptuous chairs sat empty.  I drew in the fragrance of old books, like the scent of a cherished friend.  In complete stillness, I stood in awe as if in the quiet I would hear these treasures speak themselves.  Such history.  A room of riches among riches.  The Biltmore library.  I am quite certain I could live contentedly among these four walls. 

Our family values books as voices, experiences, places, events, culture, history, perspective, discovery, adventure and dreams offered by another as a gift placed in our hands.  Our favorite gifts become supple, as worn and tattered the covers convey the accumulation of shared moments.

A Fresh Box of Crayons

 
There is something special about that fresh box of crayons.  Every hue tapered to a perfect point.  It is the quintessential smell of back-to-school.  Crisp new books line our shelves.  Unopened.  Beckoning little eyes, hands, ears, minds to discover... to create... to learn... to grow.  Learning is an amazing, lifelong journey. 

On these days of fresh beginnings, I pause to reflect on the gift that my family is blessed to know... this gift of learning with and from one another.  Each person has gifts to share.  Each has lessons to learn... including Mama... especially Mama.  I learn more from this journey than I could ever impart in these treasured days... years.

Manners: Love Reflected

There he was, my little man, standing tall in a starched shirt and silk tie, meeting new people.  I heard the guy-to-guy talk with a family friend. 

"Shoulders back.  In the eyes... look me in the eyes.  Now shake my hand like you mean it.  There you go."

I smiled. The art of a gentleman's agreement.  Has he heard it before?  Yes.  Do children need reminders as they grow and experience new situations?  Yes.  He looked at me, proud.  And he smiled, too.

While it is true that manners are "caught" as our children learn from example, they must also be taught.  There is an art about engaging others well.  Phone etiquette, letter composition, proper introductions, table settings, chivalry... these are skills which must be intentionally taught if we want our children to be well-received.  These aren't behaviors reserved for evenings of coat and tie, but a daily reflection of our appreciation for others.

I looked at this image and I thought, "Love Reflected".  The love my boys openly shared with one another not only reflected in the glass, but spilled out to my heart. 

First Vlog: Celebrating The Homeschool Village

To quote one of my favorite authors, "Judge tenderly of me..." as I post my first vlog to celebrate the growth of The Homeschool Village and introduce myself on a more personal level!

Today at The Homeschool Village we are sharing resources which have been the most useful in our homeschool endeavors.  My resource is not a title... but rather a family... the Clarkson family.  Many of you are already familiar with Clay and Sally Clarkson.  I hope you are also coming to know their children as they, too, are publishing books and releasing CDs which will inspire your family.

Summer Recharge

 
It's been an exciting first week at the Homeschool Village!  It is our collective, heartfelt desire that this will be a place for you to connect, to learn, to share... to recharge!  So how do you, as a homeschool mom with a scrolling to-do list, recharge each summer?

I try to allow more time for things I enjoy doing and creating... but seldom find opportunities to accomplish during the school year.  Stacks of beautiful raw dupioni, silk brocade, and cotton velvet beckon for stolen moments of sewing to become something lush and inviting.  Paint swatches, spread in a colorful array, are torturing my power of selection! Page layouts for my first homeschool book await refinement.  Fresh summer recipes call for the garden's first picking!  (Come back and visit for recipes!)  And I confess... I love books and curriculum!  Tucking away the old and organizing the new feels a bit like Christmas!

What's Next...

My girlfriend, Stef, is building a village... The Homeschool Village... a place to meet and grow with other homeschool families... and Sue, Robyn, and I said we'd move right in!  (You'll want to drop by and visit these girls!) Each Thursday Stef will host the Homeschool Village Blog Fair.  It's easy to join in!  Post a few thoughts about the week's topic with links to three of your favorite homeschool blogs and link up!  Add Stef's button if you'd like!  We'll be looking for you! :)  This week's question...  What are your homeschooling activities for the month of June?

Homeschooling at the Hearth: The Heart of the Family

First, I must say, the interaction I've had with so many of you  mama hearts this week has blessed me beyond measure!

 
We've talked about why I homeschool, what curricula I'm using and how it is that I think we are able to reap so much from this journey... by connecting to my little men at the heart level.  As we wrap up the week, I just want to take the how, the heart piece of this, a little further and broaden our attention to not only tending to the heart of your child, but the heart of your family.  A loving, Christ-centered home will be successful on any journey He lays on your heart.  

     
  So many of you write to me with aching hearts.  You visit me here and idealize my family and my life... and I will be the first one to tell you that I am indeed drinking from my saucer because my cup overflows.  I am blessed beyond all anticipation and expectation!  However, no life, no person, no family is perfect. 

Homeschooling at the Hearth: Are You Speaking Their Language?

While my homeschooling friends are asking, "What are you doing next year?" my non-homeschooling friends are asking, "How do you do it?!"  (Here's where we get to the good stuff.)  I am learning that, secondary to who we spend our moments with, the how of our days may be the next most important aspect of life.  Not what I did, when I got it done, or where I've been... but how did I arrive at wherever I am.  The story. 

Likewise in homeschooling our success or failure is bound up in how we do what we do.  There has only ever been one answer to the question of how I homeschool... the only answer there ever will be.  I must hold the hearts of these children... my little men. 

Homeschooling at the Hearth: Answering the "What" Question

 
Ok, maybe it's the leftover reporter in me... wanting to poke and prod at the who, what, when, where, why and how of everything.  After writing a guest post about why I homeschool recently for Stef, a dear URL friend, several tender mama hearts have offered me the honor of sharing with them in their journey, of opening the book of my walk for them to see, of helping them find their way, or simply the privilege of listening.

This time of year so many families begin to reevaluate the education and discipleship of their children.  Homeschoolers reflect on the past year in determining goals for the next.  Each child's needs are unique, and the only constant is change.  Some families are taking a closer look at the possibility of homeschooling for the first time.  Their hearts are convicted that this is their calling... because it is indeed a calling upon the whole family... yet that conviction comes with a mingled sense of uncertainty and excitement.

Cooking Up Curriculum: Spring

The Old Schoolhouse magazine is featuring Cooking Up Curriculum on their Facebook Fan Page each month. 

Come on in the kitchen, and let's start Cooking Up Curriculum!  This ten-part series will encourage your family to join one another at the counter top for hands-on learning!

I am Susan, homeschooling mama of two vibrant little men and freelance writer.  We have been using the kitchen as an engaging component of our learning since my biggest little man was able to rap a spoon on a pan! We've left no subject unturned... and no dish undirtied!