Ambleside Online has influenced our family in many ways, not the least by introducing us to great books. One that we’ve been using for many years is English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall, written in 1909. We are blessed to have a century-old copy for our teens, complete with roughly cut pages [...]
English
Resources for Shakespeare’s Henry V
Last term we spent some time with Henry V, Ambleside Online’s Shakespeare selection. It’s the action packed story of how, as a young king, Henry fought for the French throne and then won the French princess Katharine. It’s about Christian kingship, leadership, responsibility, and war or, in modern terms, about national pride, Christian politics, and [...]
Review: Say What You Mean: Beginning Debate by JoJo Tabares
So, your teens are full of worthwhile opinions and great ideas. That’s a joy for any parent, especially a homeschooling parent. Now the next question is: can they communicate their ideas winsomely? Can they discuss them articulately and graciously with opponents? Can they convince others of the truth of a matter? Based on the [...]
Learning from Real Writers
Last spring I discovered The Writer’s Workshop by Greg Roper, a little gem of a book meant to teach college students how to write. Its philosophy was appealing and its teaching fabulous, so I determined to use it with my children, ages 9-16. A college level book for such young children? Yes, with some (major) [...]
Review: The Writer’s Workshop by Gregory Roper
When Miss 10 had to write an argument about which was the most valuable sense, sight or hearing, she was very unhappy. She dislikes writing in any case, and she couldn’t see any chance of success with this assignment. I had just skimmed through The Writer’s Workshop: Imitating Your Way to Better Writing, and its [...]
NaNoWriMo: Novel Writing for Kids (and Adults)
How does the idea of getting your children to write a novel in a month sound to you? Incredible? Well, it might be, but last year 35,000 kids were involved in NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Last year Miss 17 and Miss 12 participated. For the entire month of November they [...]
Review: Time4Learning
As I mentioned earlier, we have been trying out Time4Learning free for a month in order to review it. Our month is finished, and all three of the children have learned a fair bit. They also have some strong opinions to share. Summary Time4Learning is an interactive online learning package for Preschool to Grade 8. [...]
Curriculum Choice Review: Rod and Staff Grammar Series
My first review with The Curriculum Choice was posted last week! I’m excited and thankful to be part of this group of thoughtful homeschool curriculum reviewers. If you want information about a wide range of curriculum, do search their archives. Here is an excerpt of my review of the Rod and Staff grammar series: When I [...]
