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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

July 13, 2022

No.663: Homeschool Curriculum We’re Trying for the First Time in 2022-2023

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

In an attempt to breathe some excitement and life into our homeschool, I have been creating a new plan that encompasses some family favorites and a few new curriculum pieces too!  I tried to spend my money wisely and only purchase things that will compliment my children’s interests and learning styles.  I won’t know for certain if I’ve accomplished that goal until next spring, but here’s hoping!  Here are five new-to-us curriculums that we will be trying in the 2022-2023 school year:

SPELLING YOU SEE

One of my sons has been fighting an ongoing battle with language.  After working so hard to overcome a speech delay, his latest obstacle is reading.  (Dyslexia strikes again!)  Thankfully, we’re not quitters and we just keep plugging along, patiently waiting for that beautiful day when it all “clicks.”  Anyway, I found this spelling curriculum called Spelling You See and I think it will help reinforce his reading lessons.  We’re going to start with Level A, even though it looks pretty easy at first.  It may help with his confidence!  (I purchased this on Christianbook, but you can also find it on Amazon.)

SIMPLY CHARLOTTE MASON LEARNING ABOUT BIRDS WITH THORNTON BURGESS

I was seeking a nature study option that would have a little more structure and this seemed like a good fit.  I like that there’s a storybook (perfect for my little two) and the topic of birds is perfect for us since we see/hear a ton of them around the property.  I’m going to add an art element for my middle two and picked up a used copy of Identify and Draw North American Birds for that purpose.  I may join in on the fun as well!

APOLOGIA ADVANCED BIOLOGY: THE HUMAN BODY

My sophomore is considering the EMT field after high school, so I thought we’d get his feet wet by choosing anatomy for science this year.  I don’t usually love Apologia textbooks, but this one looks pretty straight-forward.  I also bought the Anatomy Coloring Book to reinforce the text in a different way.  Lots of memorization is in his future this fall!  (I purchased the curriculum on Christianbook, but it is also available for purchase on Amazon.)

LEGENDS & LEAGUES GEOGRAPHY

Our geography skills need some reinforcement, so I purchased part of a book series called Legends & Leagues.  I bought the original Legends & Leagues story (along with the workbook) but after browsing through it, I think we’ll complete it during the first term.  Thankfully, I also bought the next in the series, “South”, so we can keep going for the rest of the school year.

SIMPLE SPANISH

I don’t follow the Charlotte Mason method completely, but I do like a lot of her ideas.  I recently learned about how her students studied multiple foreign languages and I thought, surely we could learn some of at least one in our own homeschool!  I wanted something really casual and non-intimidating and Simple Spanish fit the bill.  It’s broken into units, so I downloaded the first one to see what we think.

July 11, 2022

No.662: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.30

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // I am determined to figure out how to fortify the hens/ducks from a pesky predator.  Probably a racoon?  The girls are all safe in their coop, but he certainly has enjoyed opening the buckets of feed.

As I look around the house // I’ve been bit by the homemaking/home decorating bug!  After months of being on the back burner, I’ve been slowly cleaning and tidying and organizing each room.  My “Things I’d Love to Find” list is growing!  (One of the lessons from the 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge that has really stuck for me.)

Watching // all the curriculum review videos on Youtube.  For the past two years, I’ve been so distracted by life that I feel like our school has been (sadly) unexciting.  I’m ready to breathe some new life into our school days!

On this week’s to-do list //
– figure out how to eat these adorable pattypan squashes
– order materials for the winter permanent pig shelter
– fertilize the fruit trees
– continue moving wood chips to the food forest
– buy a small roller to paint the back doors
– list a handful of things on ebay/Poshmark
– work on the laundry room project

Currently reading // 

  • Fiction: Plainsong by Kent Haruf
  • Nonfiction: “I Have Nothing to Hide” and 20 Other Myths About Surveillance and Privacy by Heidi Boghosian
  • Religious: Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age by Bishop Athanasius Schneider

On the menu this week //

Monday: rigatoni with sausage, tomatoes and zucchini
Tuesday: taco bowls
Wednesday: Refrigerator Cleanout Night
Thursday: spatchcock chicken (either in the oven or grilled) and potato salad
Friday: breakfast for dinner – maybe a frittata?

July 6, 2022

No.661: The Wednesday Five #29

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

A QUOTE

I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. – Helen Keller

TABS OPEN IN MY BROWSER RIGHT NOW
  • a possible option for elementary grammar next year (and free!)
  • this recipe for sourdough applesauce muffins
  • these fermentation weights
  • these free recycling programs through Terracycle
A CREATIVE PROJECT IDEA

I LOVE this idea!  So creative and thrifty.  Adding this one to my “Things I’d Like to Make Someday…” list.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND
  • Fiction: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
  • Nonfiction: Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, An Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work by Jeanne Marie Laskas
  • Religious: Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age by Bishop Athanasius Schneider
HOW DO YOU USE UP HOMEGROWN SQUASH AND ZUCCHINI?

I planted a ton of squash and zucchini this year with the plan to eat it fresh, but also to preserve it for later.  What are your favorite recipes at your house?  Here are a few I’ve recently found and hope to try this summer:

+ Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Zucchini
+ Sweet and Sour Zucchini Pickles
+ 20 Minute Skillet Sausage and Zucchini
+ Zucchini Gratin with Yellow Squash

July 5, 2022

No.660: What I Read in June 2022

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

#34. THE BOUNDLESS by Kenneth Oppel // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This middle grade novel was a recommendation from my 11 year old son.  It takes place on a train and is action packed and just a little bit scary!

#35. THE FILTER BUBBLE: WHAT THE INTERNET IS HIDING FROM YOU by Eli Pariser // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // better world books)

Even though this book was written over 10 years ago, I found it very relevant and thought-provoking.  There were quite a few, but one of the biggest takeaways for me was that “over-personalization” of your online experience greatly decreases the ability to think creatively.  As an example, he talks about serendipity, the process of stumbling across the unintended.  I recently experienced this as I used Pinterest to find a recipe.  Years ago, I would be able to see a wide variety of things on my home page, especially what all of my friends were pinning…now all I see as I scroll is more of the same topics I have searched for in the past.  It’s becoming harder to discover something fresh and new, something that excites me and raises my curiosity.  Like Pariser says in the book, “Google is great at helping us find what we know we want, but not at finding what we don’t know we want.” (p.104)  It takes intentional effort to pull yourself from the bubble the Internet creates for you, but I’m inspired to try.  (I chose this book as part of my non-fiction Alphabet Reading Challenge.)

#36. THE GOOD DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR OF MY MOTHER’S HIDDEN LIFE by Jasmin Darzink // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This memoir was so good.  The author is an Iranian immigrant who moved to the US when she was young.  In her early twenties, she was helping her mother move when a photograph fell from a stack of old letters. The photograph showed her mother wearing a wedding veil, but the man at her side was not her father.  When Jasmin inquired, her mother refused to speak about the photograph.  Months later, however, she received from her mother a handful of recorded cassette tapes that would bring to light the story of her family’s time in Iran.  I flew through this book and found it both fascinating and utterly heartbreaking.  The writing was beautiful.

#37. THE FOUR WINDS by Kristin Hannah // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

Elsa had never thought of land that way, as something that anchored a person, gave one a life.  The idea of it, of staying here and finding a good life and a place to belong, seduced her as nothing ever had. (p.52)

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I’m on the fence about whether Kristin Hannah’s books are a good fit for me.  I loved The Nightingale but had issues with The Great Alone…where would this one fall?  I’m fascinated by the Great Depression and thought the book was good, but it felt like a hundred pages too long.

#38. THE NEW NEIGHBOR by Karen Cleveland // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop)

Karen Cleveland wrote one of my favorite thrillers, so I was excited to get my hands on her latest book!  Super fast read and I didn’t guess the twist at the end.  Need to Know is still my favorite, but this was fun.  (The New Neighbor will be released on July 26, 2022.  Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!)

#39. THE END OF THE PRESENT WORLD AND THE MYSTERIES OF THE FUTURE LIFE by Father Charles Arminjon // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This is a beautiful book, but for whatever reason, it took me forever to get through!  I would definitely like to read it again sometime in the future.

#40. ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH by Alexander Solzhenitsyn // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This one is about a grueling day in the life of a prisoner serving time in a Siberian labor camp.  So brutal.  (This was also my 1962 pick for the 20th Century in Literature Challenge.)

#41. NOTHING TO HIDE by J. Mark Bertrand // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)

This is the third and last book in the Roland March Mystery series.  Fast paced with plenty of twists and turns.

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