Summer Reading for Mom

This post contains affiliate links.

Summer is here!  Well, at least the weather feels like it, and most folks are getting ready to take a break or at last change pace for the next couple of months.

That means that you, mom, might have a little extra time on your hands, or at least a different type of time.  Fewer formal school lessons, less time in the car taking your kids to and from co-ops and such.  More time enjoying the outdoors and watching your children have fun playing in the sun!  Perhaps you will even have a vacation in there somewhere!

I encourage...no, challenge...you to take advantage of this change of pace by making time to READ!

If you are anything like me, you do plenty of reading in the school year.  I read tons and tons of picture books, living books, children's chapter books, text books, teacher's guides, etc.  What I don't always get around to is reading books for me!

It is so important that we, as moms, are also nourishing our souls with good and beautiful writing, and continuing to pursue our own education.

So, what are you going to read this summer?

Can we brainstorm together?  Here are some ideas that I have, and you leave a comment sharing your ideas with me!

Books to encourage you as a teacher:

Classic Works of Fiction:



Easy E-Books to Help you Prepare for Next Year:

The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas: 55 Moms Share Their Expertise on 103 Topics

published by iHomeschool Network

(everyday value $5.99)

How We Teach: the real lives of homeschoolers from classical to unschooling and everything in between

published by iHomeschool Network

(everyday value $5.99)

Homeschooling: What to Do When You Want to Quit

published by iHomeschool Network

(everyday value $5.99)

 

Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling Older Kids With Success While Loving the Little Ones at Your Feet

written by Kendra Fletcher

(everyday value $2.99)

Weekly Planner: With Meal Planning

written by Marlene Griffith

(everyday value $13.00)

Plan to Be Flexible: Designing a Homeschool Rhythm and Curriculum Plan That Works for Your Family

written by Alicia Michelle

(everyday value $8.99)

And the Word Became Flesh

written by Kathy Gossen

(everyday value $5.99)

Creating A Schedule That Works – Your Life, Your Schedule

written by Marlene Griffith

(everyday value $10.00)

iBlog

published by iHomeschool Network

(everyday value $5.99)

iBlog Pro

published by iHomeschool Network

(everyday value $5.99)

The Cherished Home

written by Mary Clendenin

(everyday value $9.99)

A Life That Flourishes

written by Alisha Gratehouse

(everyday value $7.99)

Understanding Copywork

written by Amy Maze

(everyday value $2.99)

Beautifully Broken: Finding Joy and Purpose in the Pain

written by LaToya Edwards

(everyday value $7.00)

So You're Not Wonder Woman

written by Melanie Wilson

(everyday value $4.99)

Schooling at Home

written by Misty Bailey

(everyday value $2.99)

Homeschooling High School: It's Not As Hard As You Think

written by Meredith Henning

(everyday value $7.95)

Homeschooling with ADHD

written by Selena Robinson

(everyday value $5.99)

Circle Time

written by Kendra Fletcher

(everyday value $3.99)

Do any of these books look like something you would like to pick up this summer? 

What are your suggestions for the rest of us?  Please share because I'm looking for a new book to start!

Can You Homeschool for Free? (And lots of other great ideas!)

This post contains affiliate links.  Don't miss the giveaway at the end!

I have always been a little cheap.  I have a hard time spending money unless I absolutely have to (though, admittedly I've gotten better at that over the past year or so).  When I was a kid, I loved to earn small amounts of money and then sort and count my coins over and over.

So, of course that mentality translated into my homeschooling.  Like I said, I've loosened up a bit, but I generally get sticker shock when I see curriculum prices and have tended to a more do-it-yourself style of preparation.

Yes!  You Can Homeschool for Free (or very cheap)!

In my search to find great resources for teaching my children, I have found so many great old books that really are treasures.  Many of them are available in print for just a few dollars (and they often are used for 2 years).  Some of my favorites are the McGuffey Readers, Primary Language Lessons, and Ray's Arithmetic, though there are many more if you just look around.

My love for finding a deal led me to writing a chapter about finding free ebooks, audiobooks, and other curriculum for the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas.  This book is an amazing compilation of ideas that will give inspiration, direction, and new life to your homeschool.  It covers ideas for all age children and is over 560 pages, so you know it covers a ton of topics (103 to be precise)!

Right now you can get an awesome deal on the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas when you purchase it in a bundle with the iHomeschool Studio mp3s.

Big Book of Homeschool Ideas Giveaway

You can even enter to WIN one of 10 copies of the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas!  Don't worry, if you purchase the book and end up winning the giveaway, your money will be refunded to you.

Also, the authors of the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas have been sharing a bit about what they wrote in a Blog Tour all month long.  You can visit their blogs to learn more about the book and to enter more fun giveaways!  Yesterday, we stopped by Amy Matkovich's blog (A Journey of Purpose).  She wrote the chapters Making the First Day of Homeschool Special, and How to Make a Homeschool Budget and Stick to it. She is giving away Dave Ramsey?s Total Money Makeover book and The Graduate's Survival Guide (book and DVD).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big Book of Homeschool Ideas Blog Tour & A Sale!

This post contains an affiliate link to a book that I contributed to!

I've got two neat announcements for you today!  From now until November 10th you can get both the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas and the 23 mp3s from the iHomechool Studio for just $15.  That is over half off!  Snag the deal now...you won't be sorry!

The next announcement is that to go along with this sale, we are doing a blog tour though some of the chapters from the book!  This is going to be really fun.  Each day in October, a different author will talk about the chapter that she wrote in the book and many even have fun giveaways to go along with it!

Here's the line up:

• October 1 - Heather Woodie from Blog, She Wrote. Author of the chapters Teaching Geography with Geography Quests, Teaching Sewing in Homeschool, and Being a Homeschooling Mentor Rather Than an Instructor.
• October 2 - Stephanie Harrington from Harrington Harmonies. Author of the chapters Everything You Need to Know About Gardening and You CAN Teach Art. Stephanie will be giving away a Teaching Art Basketful of Goodies.
• October 3 - Joan Otto from Unschool Rules. Author of the chapter Learning from Video Games. Joan will be giving away a $20 GameStop gift card.
• October 4 - Mary Prather from Homegrown Learners. Author of the chapter How to Teach with LEGO. Mary will be giving away free LEGO scripture copywork.
• October 5 - Amy Stults from Milk and Cookies. Author of the chapters Learning with Maps and Genealogy for Kids. Amy will be giving away a copy of WonderMaps from Bright Ideas Press.
• October 6 - Eva Varga from EvaVarga.net. Author of the chapters How to Use Postage Stamps for Learning and Inquiry Science with Middle School Students. Eva will be giving away Getting Started with Inquiry Science.
• October 7 - Colleen Kessler from Raising Lifelong Learners . Author of the chapter Hands-on Science. Colleen will be giving away Science for Smart Kids: Electricity.
• October 8 - Sallie Borrink from SallieBorrink.com. Author of the chapters Allowing Play to be Your Child's Preschool, Parenting a Spirited or Highly-Sensitive Child, and Parenting an Only Child. Sallie will be giving away a $25 shopping spree at Sallie Borrink Learning.
• October 9 - Karyn Tripp from Teach Beside Me. Author of the chapter Homeschooling with Games. Karyn will be giving away a printable Build a House - Math Bingo Game.
• October 10 - Selena Robinson from Look, We're Learning. Author of the chapters Teaching Foreign Language, Active Learning Ideas for Kinesthetic Learners, Using Movies for Learning, How to Add PE to Your Homeschool Day, and Homeschooling Through the Summer. Selena will be giving away We Got Jazz.
• October 11 - Janine LaTulippe from True Aim Education. Author of the chapters How to Encourage Math Haters, How to Answer the Critics of Homeschooling, and Character Development. Janine will be giving away a Character eBook Set and a Free Character Building Activities printable.
• October 12 - Marci Goodwin from The Homeschool Scientist. Author of the chapter Nature Study. Marci will be giving away a field guide.
• October 13 - Jennifer Dunlap from Forever, For Always, No Matter What. Author of the chapters Homeschooling in a Large Family and Homeschooling through a Move. Jennifer will be giving away a couple of Florida learning resources.
• October 14 - Ticia Messing from Adventures in Mommydom. Author of the chapters Tools to Teach the Bible to Your Kids and Hands-on Learning. Ticia will be giving away an Old Testament Bible study.
• October 15 - Alicia Hutchinson from Investing Love. Author of the chapters Children's Literature, Homeschool Conferences, and Unit Studies. Alicia will be giving away Mrs. Hutchinson's Classroom Guide: Homeschool Basics.
• October 16 - Michelle Cannon from Heart of Michelle. Author of the chapters Transitioning from Elementary to Middle School, Homeschooling the Child with Bipolar Disorder, and Navigating from High School to College with a Dyslexic Child. Michelle will be giving away a one-hour homeschool consultation.
• October 17 - Jennifer Janes from Jennifer A. Janes. Author of the chapters Special Needs Homeschooling and 25 Ideas for Ministry and Volunteering in the Community with Kids.
• October 18 - Renee Brown from Great Peace Academy. Author of the chapters How to Find Resources for Gifted Child Homeschooling, How to Homeschool During Job Loss, and Prioritizing your Marriage While Homeschooling. Renee will be giving away a $25 Amazon card.
• October 19 - Adelien Tandian from Blessed Learners. Author of the chapters How to Start Research With Your Logic Stage Kids. Adelien will be giving away Basic Science Notebooking Pages and Graphic Organizers.
• October 20 - Heidi Ciravola from Starts at Eight. Author of the chapters Making Tweens and Teens More Independent Learners and High School Literature. Heidi will be giving away The Ultimate Homeschool Planner and The Ultimate Weekly Planner for Teens from Apologia.
• October 21 - Dianna Kennedy from The Kennedy Adventures. Author of the chapters Keeping Babies and Toddlers Occupied While Homeschooling, Managing Extra Curricular Activities and Homeschooling, and Homeschooling While Pregnant. Dianna will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card.
• October 22 - LaToya Edwards from Learning to Let Him Lead. Author of the chapters Homeschooling Elementary Aged Boys, and Single Parent Homeschooling.
• October 23 - Carisa Hinson from 1+1+1=1. Author of the chapter Homeschooling Tots. Carisa will be giving away Animal ABCs Bundle.
• October 24 - Shannen Espelien from Middle Way Mom. Author of the chapters Getting Started with Credit-by-exam, Where to Buy and Sell Used Curriculum, and Transitioning to a Virtual School from Public School.
• October 25 - Marianne Sunderland from Adundant Life. Author of the chapters Homeschooling Teen Girls, The Power of Interest-led Learning, and Raising Kids With Vision. Marianne will be giving away a DVD/study guide bundle of Intrepid: The Zac Sunderland Story - Part 1, Part 2 and Wild Eyes: The Abby Sunderland Story.
• October 26 - Kyle Suzanne McVay from Aspired Living. Author of the chapter Classical Homeschooling. Kyle will be giving away A Home Educators Guide to Living Math.
• October 27 - Mama Jenn from Mama Jenn. Author of the chapter Homeschooling Twins. Jenn will be giving away an Education Cubes Set (membership AND cubes/photo blocks).
• October 28 - Amy Matkovich from A Journey of Purpose. Author of the chapters Making the First Day of Homeschool Special, and How to Make a Homeschool Budget and Stick to it. Amy will be giving away Dave Ramsey?s Total Money Makeover book and The Graduate?s Survival Guide (book and DVD).
• October 29 - Amy Maze from Living and Learning at Home. Author of the chapter Free eBooks and Audiobooks.

So stay tuned for lots of practical homeschooling goodness, and while you wait, snatch your own copy of the Big Book of Homeschool Ideas and be filled with tons of ideas and encouragement for this year!

Charlotte Mason Quotes

This post has an affiliate link to the book that the quotes are from. 

I had a really nice time reading through Home Education by Charlotte Mason this summer with all of you!  I loved underlining quotes and then sharing them with you on the blog.  I thought it would be neat to gather all of my favorites quotes from the book into one place.  So here you go!  I hope you enjoy them and find yourself encouraged =)

"Do not let the children pass a day without distinct efforts, intellectual, moral, volitional; let them brace themselves to understand, let them compel themselves to do and to bear; and let them do what is right at the sacrifices of ease and pleasure."  Charlotte Mason

"There is no knowledge so appropriate to the early years of a child as that of the name and look and behavior in situ of every natural object he can get at."  Charlotte Mason

"The parent's chief care is, that that which they supply shall be wholesome and nourishing whether in the way of picture books, lessons, playmates, bread and milk, or mother's love."  Charlotte Mason

"Never be within doors when you can rightly be without."  Charlotte Mason

"Mothers work wonders once they are convinced wonders are demanded of them."  Charlotte Mason

"Habit is Ten Natures."  Charlotte Mason

 "Let children have tales of the imagination, scenes laid in other lands and other times; heroic adventures, hairbreadth escapes, delicious fairy tales, even where it is all impossible, and they know it, and yet they believe."  Charlotte Mason

"Whatever the natural gifts of the child, it is only so far as the habit of attention is cultivated in him that he is able to make use of them."  Charlotte Mason

"Thinking comes by practice."  Charlotte Mason

"Whatever be the advantages of kindergarten or other schools for little children, the home schoolroom ought to be the best growing-ground for them."  Charlotte Mason

"A morning in which a child receives no new ideas is a morning wasted."  Charlotte Mason

"All children have it in them to recite."  Charlotte Mason

 "Composition is as natural as jumping and running to children who have been allowed due use of books."  Charlotte Mason

 "It is a delightful thing to have the memory stored with beautiful, comforting, and inspiring passages."  Charlotte Mason

"Let him linger pleasantly over the history of a single man, a short period, until he thinks the thoughts of that man."  Charlotte Mason

"Give the children one thought at a time, and every time some lovely example of loving-kindness that will fire their hearts with the desire to do likewise."  Charlotte Mason

This week only, you can find amazing resources at a deep discount to help you with your Charlotte Mason plans for this summer and next year!

Want more Charlotte Mason goodness?

Get the book, or join or discussion!