misty of chincoteague

i recently finished reading this book to miriam. it is a wonderful story, but the most exciting part for me was discovering throughout the course of reading that it is based on true facts. the island of Chincoteague really exists off the coast of Virginia/Maryland and its neighboring island, Assateague, still swarms with wild ponies, as the book depicts. "pony penning day", also described in the book, is still an annual event there. this destination is definitely going on our list of family vacations to take. i love how reading opens up new worlds right from your living room sofa.

computer wackiness

our computer has been whacked out for the past week or so, so for the two of you who actually check my blog regularly, sorry about that. :)

angel encounter at wendy's

one day last week we met matt at wendy's for lunch. there was nothing in the house to eat and i was too unorganized and tired to go to the store. it had been a rough morning, and i was in a really bad mood. it was one of those days of feeling like my kids would be better off if i was not their mom.

toward the end of our meal, i looked up and there was this sweet older woman standing over our table, who began in a very soothing voice, "do you know how blessed you are to have this family..." and then proceeded to look each of us in the eyes with compliments and encouragements. i was fighting back the tears, because it was SO what i needed right then. and it came from a total stranger.... or was it?

me & music

when i hear good music, something comes alive inside me. i am amazed at how a certain song can come on and, either because of profoundly relevant lyrics or even just really well-done music, it can just instantly crack me open.

i am adding a music feature to my sidebar. sometimes it may be an album or sometimes just one or two songs that i am enoying or that have blessed me in some way. i don't personally own nearly all of my favorite stuff, so sometimes it will just be a song i've heard somewhere or snippets i have heard online.

great family flick

earlier this year i read the book Because of Winn-Dixie to Miriam, and this past week we watched the movie. it is sweet and innocent for kids, and still entertaining for adults, with a good message, too. i was also pleasantly surprised to see (and hear) in it one of my favorite musicians, Dave Matthews. i would recommend it!

charlotte mason

as you can probably tell by my last post, i really get into charlotte mason's philosophy of education. it resonates with my interests and style (and ours as a family). and though i doubt the way we teach our kids will fit perfectly into her methods and ideas, overall i think they will impact much of what we do. one writer on the web gave what i thought was a nice synopsis of what was important to mason in regards to educating children here.

you can also find/read charlotte mason's entire original homeschooling series online here. i still have much learning and reading to do!

book lists

book lists have become one of my favorite things. our kids love books and love being read to, which is a great thing considering that is one of the main things we want to do as a homeschooling family. as a result, my (and my husband's!) love for books has been growing, as well. i am so appreciative of those who have gone before and have put together some great lists of classic, quality books to read to/with our kids. those that i have referred to most often are found within the following books and websites (there's a lot of overlap between them):

• Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt
• Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson
• Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson
• Ambleside Online
• Simply Charlotte Mason
• A Charlotte Mason Education

i thought it might be fun to post in my sidebar some favorites that we come across as we go.... maybe it will give you some good ideas, too!