Meet My Sweet Son and Hear His Thoughts on Homeschooling and More

Watch the Meet My Sweet Son And Hear His Thoughts About Traditional Foods and Homeschooling video

Today, my sweet son Ben joins me and shares his thoughts on homeschooling and being raised on traditional foods.

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Homeschooling Our Son

In case you are contemplating homeschooling, new to homeschooling, or jumped in feet first to homeschooling—unexpectedly—this year, I thought you might enjoy hearing the perspective of my son Ben who is all grown up now but was homeschooled!

We homeschooled Ben from first through eighth grades. He shares his memories about those lower grades and his thoughts on making the transition to a “brick and mortar” high school and eventually going on to college.

Homeschooling with Learning Differences

Plus, for those of you who may have a child or children with dyslexia or other learning differences, you may find Ben’s homeschooling journey (and beyond) intriguing and helpful.

Ben has dyslexia, along with dyscalculia and dysgraphia, and he shares the tools he used to help him with his schoolwork in the video. He also talks about the importance of learning how to self-advocate once he left the homeschooling environment.

Our Homeschool Program and Books

As Ben and I discuss in our conversational video, we used the Charlotte Mason Method for our homeschooling “curriculum.” But I use the word curriculum very loosely because the Charlotte Mason Method does not require you to purchase any packaged curriculum. It is so much richer than that!

Charlotte Mason was an educator who lived in the 1800s and into the early 1900s. She recommended teaching children through the use of what she called “Living Books.” These books provide a unique way to learn and remember. In contrast, many people usually write regular textbooks.

Learn more about Living Books

Living Books bring a subject to life and make it unforgettable! This is best way to learn and remember. And the good news…your local library is filled with Living Books that include many of the ones that we used when homeschooling:

Aesop’s Fables (for Copywork)
Pagoo (for Science)
James Herriot’s Treasury (for Animal Studies)
Snowflake Bentley (for Science)
Measuring Penny (for Math)
Mapping Penny’s World (for Geography)
A Child’s Garden of Verses (for Poetry and Copywork)
Shakespeare Tales (for Literature)
Song of Sixpence (for History)
Boxcar Children (for History)
The Boy Who Drew Birds (for Science)
The Friar Who Grew Peas (for Science)
Beatrix Potter Tales (for Literature)
Simply Grammar (for Grammar)

The following Living Books are excellent for learning about history, geography, and so much more about life. They also have accompanying cookbooks, so your homeschoolers can learn about traditional foods in the kitchen too.

If you find this method of homeschooling intriguing, I highly recommend reading Miss Mason’s primer Home Education.

Along with Miss Mason’s book, I highly recommend these additional resources:

Favorite Free Homeschool Lesson Plans

The wonderful thing about using the Charlotte Mason Method of home education is that most of the books you need will be available at your local library or through an interlibrary loan. You’ll also find many resources online, including a bounty of free lesson plans.

Here are two of my favorite resources for grade-specific lesson plans:

Traditional Foods and Homeschooling

For our family, traditional foods and homeschooling went hand in hand, so Ben also shares his thoughts on being raised on a diet of traditional foods, including kefir and raw milk.

If you are beginning a journey from a processed foods kitchen to a traditional foods kitchen in your home, be sure to check out the Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon.

This book started the Traditional Foods Movement in the twentieth century. This essential reference is my go-to book for all things nutrient-dense, from bone broth to ferments, cultured dairy, sourdough, and more!

What is Nourishing Traditions?

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