With school right around the corner, I have been revisiting a lot of the books about homeschooling that made an impact on my journey. The first one I read was For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, and I was hooked. I fell in love with the idea of Charlotte Mason, and her love of books and nature. I am not a Charlotte Mason purist, but I always find myself gravitating back to her ideas. So here I am, at the beginning of another year, getting my goals in place, and pulling out my "compasses" to get my bearings set. Pictured Below in Order -Bible -Books Children Love -Teaching Children -For the Children's Sake -The Three R's -You Can Teach Your Child Successfully -Charlotte Mason Companion -Pocketful of Pinecones - Educating the Wholehearted Child -Gather:Exploring the Wonder, Wisdom, and Worship of Learning at Home -Plan Your Year

Talking with our children, especially young children, about sexual abuse is a tough subject. In today's world it has to be done! Our kids need to know about private areas and that they have the right to say "NO" when any touch makes them feel uncomfortable. In God Made All of Me by Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb the job of having this discussion becomes easier. Both are involved in REST ( Real Escape from the Sex Trade) and have extensive credentials and experience working with victims of abuse. The book is well written and very clear about acceptable touches and unacceptable touches. It defines secrets and surprises, and when gifts are appropriate. If you feel that you have not successfully had this discussion with your kids, this is a great resource!

A few more beach picks to consider if you are still looking forward to vacation! -2 Magic School Bus books - one about sharks and one about the ocean floor. Claire especially loved the Magic School Bus series. The idea of traveling to where you were studying was magical! I always loved what Mrs. Frizzle was wearing, and the last page always foreshadowed where they were headed next based on her outfit! Oh to be Mrs. Frizzle and have her wardrobe! -2 Usborne books - First Encyclopedia of the Seas and Oceans and Under the Sea. Callie loved and still loves the Usborne series called Usborne Beginners that Under the Sea is a part of. She grabbed the book to read for the upteenth time after I snapped the picture! -Nate the Great and the Boring Beach Bag - who can resist this young detective and his dog Sludge who always stops midcase for a pancake think session! - The heartwarming story of The Puffin Keeper- beautiful illustrations, beautiful theme of rescuing! -Caldecott Award winner - Hello Lighthouse -Easy reader, Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie -Bats at the Beach - ever wonder what bats do for vacation? Now you know! Their food choices are hilarious!

PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY: OUR WORLD EXPLAINED IN 12 SIMPLE MAPS. Illustrated by Grace Easton and Jessica Smith Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (Illustrated Young Readers Edition) by Tim Marshall is not your ordinary atlas. Right off, the title is an eye catcher. What does "Prisoners of Geography" mean? Marshall explains within the first few pages that the geography of the land, its mountains, rivers, climate, natural resources, etc. affects so much within a country. It affects wars, government leaders, culture because of the boundaries it places. He acknowledges that technology has helped us to overcome some of these boundaries, but geography still raises barriers. Looking at geography from this point of view is so much more interesting than the traditional geography study. Each map has little balloons of information about the country. Following each map are a few pages dedicated to key geographical features that have benefitted the country and the history of the country. HOMESCHOOL HELPS - This book paired along with the book Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski (reviewed earlier on this FB page) and blank maps would be a great start to an elementary geography study. There is so much you could dig deeper in depending on the interests of your children!

NO FIXED ADDRESS by Susin Nielsen This is one I won't be continuing. First off, I have read only 38 pages of this book. I will comment more on that at the end. The idea of No Fixed Address by Susan Nielsen is a great one. An almost 13-year-old boy, Felix, and his mom, Astrid, are homeless and living in a van. It's a sad descent that happens from living in their home to ending up in a van on the street. However, Felix has grown up watching a trivia type game show on TV. He has a chance to be on it. If he wins, the prize money would change their lives. So why am I quitting this one? Here's my list -In one of their step down apartments, a few times a week Astrid fixes Felix supper, then goes downstairs to the manager's apartment for a couple hours. Felix remarks, "I guess he was her sort-of boyfriend, even if he never took her out on a proper date." -Then we have a guy move in for a while. No inappropriate scenes are shared. -Astrid is obviously a habitual liar. There are 4 pages dedicated to her different levels of lying. It is clear that they are all okay in her mind and often needed. The story does tell how several of those occasions have come back to bite her in the rear, but it is still understood that it is acceptable. -Astrid and Felix are at the mercy of a secretary, who is a man, to get Felix into a certain school. Astrid makes up a huge story and then asks the man if he has children. The man replies that he and his husband are trying to adopt. This is a middle grade reader, but it feels like it's stretching to reach the YA a little. It is true that our children walk side by side with all kinds of kids in multiple types of situations. I love to use books to walk through difficult topics that my kids will encounter or do encounter in real life, but I sometimes start to feel like we're throwing every possible situation at them to navigate to make a story. There are times and maturity needed to navigate difficult situations. Like I said, I've only read 38 pages. So it is very possible that the book will right itself. It just has deeper issues than I want to navigate with the lower end of the age recommendation.

NEVER MIND THE JONESES by Tim Stafford This week I revisited an oldie but a goodie. I love this book, and I love the title, Never Mind the Joneses. Ladies, myself included, we often wonder what other families are doing, where they're going, what they're buying etc. We often are so busy " keeping up with the Joneses" that we are neglecting our own blessings at home. Tim Stafford, former editor of Christianity Today Magazine, focuses on 14 core values that impact our families, but then he shows a myriad of ways how those values can be accomplished. Money and possessions often don't impact the final result in a positive way. It's our commitment to Christ and to our families that make the biggest differences. ALONGSIDE ACTIVITY - Momma, it's time to start or end each day with an attitude of gratitude! Pick a number, 5 or 10, and physically name out loud things you are thankful for. I am thankful for hot water. I am thankful for breakfast cereal. I am thankful for gas in the car. On and on. Jason recently talked to an acquaintance of ours who returned from a medical mission trip with Samaritan's Purse to Ukraine. His words to Jason, "Hug your kids every night and be thankful for what you have, because you don't know how quickly it can change." We have so much to be thankful for!

PRIDE AND PREMEDITATION by Tirzah Price If you are a Jane Austen fan and love mysteries this YA book is for you! Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price is a delightful, hook-and-reel-you-in type of read! I mean, who really can get enough of the "speak her mind" Elizabeth Bennet and the brooding Mr. Darcy? Mr. Bingley has been accused of murder. Darcy, the heir to his father's well known law firm, has been hired to represent him. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has been trying to find a way to prove to her father that she is capable of becoming a solicitor in her father's mediocre firm, and this case may well be her ticket to do it! When she finds out that Darcy only desires to get Mr. Bingley off and not solve who really committed the murder, Elizabeth is all in. After all, there is a murderer on the loose. Filled with the rest of the infamous Pride and Prejudice characters, get ready for a twist on the classic that will leave you guessing who did it until the end! Guess what else? On top of it all, this is a squeaky clean YA novel that even adults will enjoy!

HOPE AT SEA: AN ADVENTURE STORY by Daniel Miyares Hope At Sea: An Adventure Story by Daniel Miyares starts with a line that resonates with my heart, "Whenever my world feels small, I turn to the sea." Hope is a young girl that doesn't want to just hear her father's adventure stories when he returns from the sea, she wants to live them, so she stows away on board his ship. I love the picture of her in the dark waiting to be discovered, wondering if her father will be angry and then the sequence of pictures where her father finds her.. Now she's a part of the crew and must do her share. Of course, they cannot make it home without a huge storm which alters what Papa (and the rest of the family) will do with his life! Beautifully illustrated by the author in pen and ink with watercolor, you will want to slow down and enjoy the illustrations! You can almost feel the spray and breeze as you read! Alongside Activity- Be sure to note the end pages after you are done reading. They are great! Also for the fun of it, look up what state has the most lighthouses. The answer really surprised me!

THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL by Stacy McAnulty Middle grade read The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty is an interesting read. Lucy Callahan was a normal girl UNTIL she was struck by lightning. Due to some "brain damage" from the strike she is a savant. Extremely gifted in math, her brain talks to her in numbers all the time until her OCD kicks in, and she does a repetition of 3 actions such as tapping or sitting and standing to quiet her brain. She also feels the need to Clorox wipe everything she comes in contact with. Lucy lives with her Nana and has been homeschooled. Due to her condition and her dislike of public places, all her social connections have been on a math chat group. Lucy's Nana and uncle (recently returned from the military and a slight father figure in Lucy's life) decide it's time for her to enter the world of 7th grade public school. Between her repetitions of 3 and wiping everything down, Lucy knows she is already going to be at a disadvantage with the other students. She decides to hide her math gift until she's a part of a group project where she knows she can make a difference. This middle grade novel is full of the usual predictable, current trend subjects such as bullying and the love of dogs at the local pet shelter. I can honestly say there was a point where I was ready to move on to another book. However, this one saved itself towards the end with how all the threads come together. It was the under lying theme of needing saved and saving that probably kept me going. It's deeper than friendship. HEADS UP - one of the students has 2 moms. That is all that is said about it.

BEACH TRIP For some of you this post may be late, but us Killianys tend to take our vacation towards the end of the summer. So as I wrap up homeschool planning for next year, I know VA-CA is on the horizon! Following on the heels of yesterday's guides for butterflies posts, the same holds true for vacation. If we are heading to the beach I throw in my beach guides, because we are on the hunt for shells and sea life. I also keep my eyes open as we check out local shops for books and guides about the area. Some of my favorite beach guides are these simple laminated pamphlet style guides. When you find one in a shop they are tailored to the surrounding area, and I always find them to be a great resource for naming our finds! I also included an Usborne book in the picture. My kids loved this series of 1001 Things to Spot. Of course the sea one is full of all kinds of under the surface critters that you may or may not want to run into! Sometimes throwing a book like this in the activity bag while your traveling helps to amp up the excitement and pass the time!

THE LIFE CYCLES OF BUTTERFLIES by Wayne Richards and Judy Burris Butterflies  are out and about! My older girls, especially Annie, loved catching them, keeping them for a few hours and releasing them. Now Callie is starting to get into it! What a joy it is to go through the cycles of summer from watching the garden grow, to picking blueberries, to lightning bugs, to butterflies, and on and on! Charlotte Mason (a big name in the homeschool world) was a huge nature walk enthusiast who wanted parents to step out of the way of their children's learning. She encouraged parents to let the children discover nature and then be on hand to assist with what they were finding! (This doesn't mean that the parents not share their own interesting finds.) Even if you don't own acres of land, she wrote that you can map out a small space and weekly watch the changes that happen within that space. It is so true! One way to "be on hand" is by offering resources for your kids. Whether you own them or check them out of the library, nature guides and nature books are wonderful resources to refer to. Pictured below are my resources on butterflies. The Life Cycles of Butterflies book is neat because it shows you the life cycle of each butterfly featured. It will show you by true picture the egg, the different caterpillars as they grow and shed, the chrysalis/cocoon, and the butterfly. It is fantastic! The other two books are nature guides. I find the Golden Guide to be lighter (for carrying if you are hiking) and easier to use, however the Audubon Guide has more species. If you want to take your nature study a bit farther (Please do NOT feel ANY pressure to have to do this! It is only if you would enjoy doing this! Don't make nature be a dread to your kids!) Charlotte Mason would then have children draw into a "nature notebook" what they found. You can do this if you have a child who loves to draw, but you can also snap a photograph and glue it into a nature notebook with a few notes about what it is, the date, where you saw it. If you really get into it, add things like the Latin name and more detailed information. Nature is an amazing gift from God that we could all benefit from by spending more time in it! Now go discover!

GROW by Rix Reyes Grow by Rix Reyes is a very meaty, stunning picture book! There are 15 plants featured, each within its own section. There are some typical varieties you might find outside in your garden or orchard such as lettuce, tomato, kale, carrot, apple, etc. Then it includes some not so typical varieties such as the mushroom, aloe vera, bamboo, etc. Each section is 4 pages long and is chock full of info on the plant itself, root structure, Latin name, other varieties in the family, the history of the plant etc. Beautifully illustrated by Sara Boccaccini Meadows, this book is a true delight to look through if you love plants!