Reading Aloud and Brain Development

Anyone who is familiar with Beautiful Feet Books knows that we're huge advocates of reading aloud. Reading aloud at all ages is something we believe in strongly and know from our own experiences that reading aloud can have profound effects on children and their families. When the decision is made to commit to reading aloud as a family, some almost magical things happen. New research from Pediatrics confirms that reading aloud to young children is key to developing their ability to tell stories, to use words, to imagine scenarios and much more! You have all probably experienced this as you make the decision to turn to books instead of screens, as your children fall in love with the characters of classic children's stories, and as you look forward each day to the time when you all snuggle up on the couch to read.

As you embark on this new school year, keep in mind that some of the best learning occurs when you're simply reading aloud. "The researchers found differences in brain activation according to how much the children had been read to at home." As the study found:

Children whose parents reported more reading at home and more books in the home showed significantly greater activation of brain areas in a region of the left hemisphere called the parietal-temporal-occipital association cortex. This brain area is “a watershed region, all about multisensory integration, integrating sound and then visual stimulation,” said the lead author, Dr. John S. Hutton, a clinical research fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Interestingly this very area of the brain is very active when older children are reading to themselves, leading researchers to believe that the early and frequent exposure to reading aloud leads to easier and more developed reading ability later.

So, plan in reading aloud time. It's easy when you choose literature based curriculums! And make sure your children have easy access to beautiful well-written books. Frequent trips to the library, thoughtful purchases for the family library–these are all investments in your children. Of course, reading Going on a Bear Hunt fifteen times before noon can be the epitome of mundane but what you're doing is so important! For more, check out this article on the study.

While intellectual ability is obviously important, we're also going to be talking about reading and emotional development later this week, so stay tuned!

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

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BFB Fundamentals: Is BFB Classical?

This is Part IV in our BFB Fundamentals Series. 

Click on the links to read Part I, Part II and Part III. 

By Rea C. Berg

Dear Friends,

In Part IV of our series BFB Fundamentals, we are exploring the question of whether or not Beautiful Feet Books is classical in nature. As we noted in the previous post, until the definition of classical is clarified, the question can become one of semantics and may lead to simplistic conclusions.  Because classical is currently the homeschool paradigm de jour, examining some of its well-accepted tenets should prove helpful as you determine which path is right for you and the students you serve.

What does contemporary classical homeschooling mean?

Classical education as a home schooling model first became popular as the 20th century gave way to the 21st and has remained so since. For those of us who began home schooling in the 1980s, classical education was the new kid on the block.  As with any fad, it swept many in its wake and provided some folks with solutions to the failing standards they saw in public education as well as in the more relaxed homeschooling model.  Its emphasis on a rigorous academic approach seemed to guarantee the creation of scholars who would take positions of leadership in law, medicine, government and so forth.  This would be achieved through implementing the trivium as we noted in our previous post.

Stage One: The Grammar Stage

Early Greek educators did not view education as the process of three distinct stages; as soon as students could read and write they were reading the classic Greek texts.

Modern classical proponents ascribe to the notion that learning takes place in three distinct 4-year phases of a student’s life. While these phases may seem to correlate to the physical and intellectual development of the child, the bland acceptance of them can prove problematic. In the grammar stage of the classical approach (also known as the poll-parrot stage), emphasis is placed on pouring into the student facts (indeed “masses of information”-as one promoter put it) as children are supposedly sponges ready and willing to soak up facts of every kind, and can easily memorize these facts. Theoretically, later on, in the logic stage, these facts will be drawn upon as the child begins to reason. While this approach fits some students well, especially those gifted in memorization, other students, particularly those not gifted with the ability to retain masses of disparate facts, flounder. The focus on pouring information into a young child is based on the notion that in the grammar stage children will unquestioningly accept what is offered.

But is this 4-year cycle based upon a truly classical approach to education?  Did the ancients view education through this 12-year paradigm to which modern classical proponents ascribe?  As Diane Lockman points out in her helpful article “Classical Education Made Easier“, the ancient Greeks did not separate the grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages. Students became proficient in reading, reasoning and speaking as they studied the classic texts of Greek literature with an emphasis on copy work and reading and reciting aloud.

An authentic classical Christian education, as developed during the ancient Greco-Roman world and later refined by the Western Europeans and American colonists, involved mastering three fundamental skills so that the student could then explore the deeper meaning of abstract ideas for the purpose of influencing society.  Three chronological stages were never part of the original interpretation.

The Charlotte Mason approach asserts that all children, regardless of age, are capable of reason, delight, appreciation of beauty, and  that “Education should aim at giving knowledge touched with emotion” (For the Children’s Sake). Pouring information into a child for the mere goal of “filling the brain with facts” defies the essential nature of classical education–the desire to teach children to think. True education cannot ignore the spirit of the child, his basic need to feel connected in some way to the studies at hand.  At Beautiful Feet we believe this is done through literature’s emotional connection–the ability to identify with others through the power of stories of literary beauty and historical import.  A quick narrative read of historical facts (standard fare in most classical approaches) that offers no literary beauty and no connection to the great questions of the human condition, fails to meet the standards of a truly classical education.

Begin at the beginning: the four-year cycle of history study?

Additionally, the current classical notion that history studies must begin at the beginning (with ancient history in first grade) is another layer of artificial construction upon an already artificial 12-year model.  Classical education’s promotion of a four-year cycle of history instruction seems reasonable and the repetition (“what we don’t get the first time around, we’ll be sure to pick up next time!”) provides reassurance.  While the four-year cycle approach does provide that revisiting, it doesn’t consider the question of age and developmental appropriateness for subject matter. This concern is dismissed by promoting the notion that while studying ancient history with your first grader, one can just focus on mummification, gladiators, and chariot races; in effect this belies the basic notion that ancient history can be taught to a first grader.  The resultant “classical” studies are cultural in nature, not historical. Indeed, Oxford Reference defines history as “the study of past events, particularly in human affairs”–the study of history necessitates the focus on events.

History, taught classically  . . .

So how does one approach historical studies with a truly classical view to nurturing in young students reading, reasoning, and speaking skills? In essence, this can be accomplished in much the same way as the ancient Greeks did it–by exposing children to the best age-appropriate literature which is relevant to their times and culture.  For a young American child this means the best children’s books on the early saga of America’s great story, much as the Greeks read Homer and studied Plato–the stories of their ancestors, the history of their nation.  A child gifted with the knowledge and appreciation of his own historical heritage better understands his or her place in the world and from that foundation can embrace the beauty and the heritage of other nations and cultures.

So, how does this answer our question, “Is Beautiful Feet Books classical?”  If one looks at some contemporary notions of classical, then the answer would be, “No.”  On the other hand, if one perceives classical as incorporating Socratic reasoning and discussion, engaging with timeless literature (age appropriate), eschewing the use of textbooks and bland narrative works, and involving students in the Great Conversation about the important issues of the human heart, then yes, Beautiful Feet Books is classical.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below! 

Royal Education

 (source)

Although I grew up in the 1980s when Princess Diana was all the rage I never really developed a fascination with her. My family did not have television and so the very idea of celebrity was somewhat foreign to me. My heroes, without exception, resided on the pages of books. During my first experience of living abroad while studying at Oxford, I began to grow more familiar with the British royal family. I, in a typically American way, sort of wrote off the whole idea of the royals and giggled at the more outrageous behavior exhibited by some of the royalty.

Seven years later I moved to Edinburgh and that is when my education in royalty truly began. While many of the members of the royal family are continually finding themselves the subject of less than flattering headlines, Queen Elizabeth has managed to maintain a remarkable dignity and grace. She's been queen since her ascension on February 6, 1952 and has met every US president since then with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson. In all her years as the most public representative of the British people, she has conducted herself with a thoughtfulness and poise that is rare and admirable. Never reactionary, Queen Elizabeth seems to be able to respond to both the most embarrassing of situations and the most serious occasions of state with a poise not often seen in the capitols of either the US or UK. And so, when I came across a 1943 article on her education, I was intrigued. How was this remarkable woman trained? What did her education look like?

Queen Elizabeth with President Truman (source)

It was surprising to me to learn that Elizabeth was raised not in a palace but in a house on Piccadilly Street in London. There she was surrounded with the ebbs and flows of normal London life and her education was undertaken by her mother, who taught her to read, and a private tutor. The emphasis was on reading and writing, as well as French, piano and ballet. At the age of seven a Miss Crawford, a graduate of Edinburgh University took over. Miss Crawford was Scottish and brought with her a knowledge of the world gained through extensive travel and was also an avid outdoors woman. Miss Crawford would share the responsibility of educating the future queen with various tutors. The author of the article describes this royal education as follows: 

Princess Elizabeth today reads history with the Vice-Provost of Eton, on the basis of such works as Trevelyan's History of England, which could not be improved on, and Muzzey's History of the United States (how many English girls of seventeen read any American history at all?), together with European history in outline. In Biblical history Canon Crawley, of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, has been her guide. A natural linguist, she speaks French and German fluently and with an excellent accent. She has read some Moliere, some Corneille, some Daudet, and she knows many of "Les Cent Meilleurs Poemes Francais" by heart. 

The Princess's explorations in the field of English literature are of greater interest and perhaps of greater significance. Time for reading at large is limited, for the formal educational regimen is treated seriously. But in or out of "school hours" she has read most of Shakespeare; The Canterbury Tales; a good deal of Coleridge, Keats, Browning, and Tennyson; some of Scott, Dickens, Jane Austen, Trollope, and Robert Louis Stevenson; while in lighter moments she turns to Conan Doyle...

That is a wide and wholesome range that would provide a sound basis of literary knowledge and taste for any girl in her last year of school.

Queen Elizabeth with President Ford (source)

This solidly literature based education was paired with time for exploring the outdoors, swimming, hiking, horseback riding, and singing. Just as we have often talked about the importance of free time and letting kids enjoy their childhood, it appears that Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were afforded ample time to be themselves - putting on plays, running freely. Princess Elizabeth was also a Guide, the British equivalent of a Girl Scout, eventually graduating to the level of Ranger.

Now the Princess is a Sea Ranger—most Guides become Rangers when they are about sixteen—and gets manifest interest and enjoyment from the weekly meetings. The scope of the Rangers is wide. A system of war training has been developed, known as the Home Emergency Service, which includes First Aid and Home Nursing, Child Welfare, and various forms of Civil Defense. Princess Elizabeth is concerning herself particularly with the last, and acquiring incidentally a good all-round knowledge of electricity.

Who would have thought Queen Elizabeth could serve as an electrician should the need arise? It appears that this varied and thorough education was excellent preparation for a rule that would last over sixty years. When Elizabeth assumed the throne upon the unexpected death of her father, she was a mere 25 years old. Nine years before that day, the article referenced above concluded with these lines:

The Princess may have years of service as heir-presumptive before her. She may at any moment by the caprice of fate be summoned to the most exalted position in the greatest Commonwealth in the world. Enough is known of her upbringing to show how well the preparation for either lot has been achieved by a training that has never threatened to dim the freshness or mar the simplicity of her girlhood.

Queen Elizabeth toasting President Reagan

An education grounded in great literature and history has served Queen Elizabeth very well. One can only assume that the broad perspective of ideas encountered in the hours spent with Austen, Shakespeare, Chaucer, studying biblical history, and learning British and American history gave the Queen the ability to place contemporary events into proper perspective. As a child of World War II, she knew the gravity that accompanied political action. Ruling through various economic bubbles and crashes, social changes and revolutions, the continually shifting political ideologies of the masses Queen Elizabeth has remained consistently measured. Of course her reign is not without fault, but one has to recognize an ability to remain grounded in the face of six decades of change. 

To learn more about Queen Elizabeth, here are some fun links:

~Princess Elizabeth's First Broadcast. At age 14 Princess Elizabeth appeared on the popular radio broadcast The Children's Hour. The purpose of her appearance was to speak to the thousands of children who had been sent out of London to the countryside and to other countries to escape the Blitz in London. Absolutely endearing. Listen here. 

~The wedding of Queen Elizabeth to Prince Phillip, click here. 

~Information and video of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth available here. 

~Photos of Queen Elizabeth with 12 US Presidents, click here. 

All quotations in the above post are taken from "The Education of a Queen" by Wilson Harris.

Information on using literature to teach history in your home or classroom. 

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Homeschooling Statistics and What They Mean

Source: TopMastersInEducation.com

Another fascinating info graphic on homeschooling has been circling the internet. Like the one we wrote about previously this one shows homeschoolers excelling by nearly every possible measure when compared to their contemporaries in public schools. I was once again struck by the equalizing effect of homeschooling. No matter if both or neither parent holds a college degree, students in those families still score in the 80-90th percentiles. Differences in family incomes creates a small difference of 4 percentage points on tests, but that is far less than the differences exhibited by public schooled children from poor school districts when compared to students from wealthy districts. The parental possession of a teaching certificate barely makes a difference for educational outcomes. What this says to me is that parental educational background, income level, certification, educational dollars spent, and a dozen other factors are so much less important than parental involvement. While the other factors often take center stage in our national debates about education reform, it really is the parents and family commitment to education that makes the real difference in student lives. This is strongly demonstrated in these statistics on homeschooling and I think that it applies to our students in private and public schools as well. A whole world of educational issues, problems, and challenges could be solved if parents took ownership of their children's education and were more involved. So, kudos to you, our readers, for your investment in your children's lives! You are making a significant and measurable difference in the lives of your children and are to be commended for your efforts and diligence. We know that it isn't always easy and you've picked a more challenging road, but your time and energy are not wasted. Here's to the new school year - may you enter it inspired by the knowledge that your investment is well worth the effort and is making a difference.

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Meet Lisa!

Good morning! I am excited to introduce you to another homeschooling mom who is going to be sharing her experience using Beautiful Feet Books. Lisa Sulewski, like Samantha and Vanessa, made a switch from a popular curriculum in the classical method to our literature based study guides. Here Lisa shares her experience and I think you will all find it encouraging and inspiring. Lisa has included a lot of photos of her children's notebooks and I am so glad that she did because I personally love seeing what people come up with for the notebooking assignments. Lisa does a great job of showing how these notebooks can be a creative outlet for your children. Be sure to click on the pictures of the notebook pages to enlarge so you don't miss out on any details. And now I'll turn it over to Lisa:

“I love history and literature!” my daughter said this for the FIRST TIME after this year with Beautiful Feet Books! I love love love Rea and Beautiful Feet Books. They have changed how and what we are reading this year­–beautiful books that will stay in the hearts of my children forever. She has taught me a philosophy of teaching that has grown in my heart and I am so grateful. She guided me on the path to good literature and I am never going back!

My name is Lisa Sulewski and I have the privilege and sometimes just plain hard labor of homeschooling my beautiful and artistic daughter, Chloe (11) and my energetic, singing, dancing, all around funny man Jack (7).  I have so much to share about what we are doing with BF Books and how we got to this amazing place but I don’t want to overwhelm you all so I will give you some now and some later! I have fallen in love with books and I love looking for them. Here I am on my birthday with some friends who, of course, took me to a used bookstore!

 I had pretty much been following a classical education method and had a desire to do more with literature. We had been going along and reading for three years, drawing pictures and putting them all in a binder. I know, I know, I will get to the journaling part but that is after I met Rea! Well, I had this thought that I needed to do more. Maybe journal? During a home school convention, I was invited to go to Rea’s class by some friends. Mind you, I have no idea who she is and I get in line afterwards (this should have been a clue) and ask her about taking my literature to another level. She kindly invites me to spend time with her at the Beautiful Feet Books booth. I get there and am captivated. After many questions, discussions, and laughs, I am sold. I buy a few curriculums and I go home and later on buy one more! I am so grateful for that time of transition into what I am teaching now. Rea has done extensive work in this field with her Masters Degree in Children’s Literature and it shows!

Fast forward six months and we have are being filled with knowledge from all our beautiful books. I want to share with you some of our journals that we have been working on to go with our books. This was a new concept for me and was hooked when Rea showed me her children’s journals at a Literature Soiree she hosted in her home.  At the end of the year to have these precious journals with my children's ideas is priceless to me. It is hard work with much more time invested since my children can spend quite a bit of time working on a picture for their journal but it's worth every moment.

Jack's notebook pages on Owl Moon, a book read in the Teaching Character Primary Study Guide. 

First, I want to show you a journal from Beautiful Feet's Teaching Character Primary Reading Pack that Jack has been working through. I have enjoyed reading all of these books and in curriculum gives so many more books than is pictured! She lists authors and other favorite books which is so helpful for me as I'm starting on this “only the best literature for my kids" journey. Thank you Rebecca! These are two of the almost 40 stories that Jack has worked so hard in putting together. These were below his reading level but I didn’t want him to miss out on anything and we are talking about character, something we can all relate too! I know I need to be reminded of “hope never fails you”.

Jack's notebook entry for The Pink Tulip by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, a story read in the Teaching Character Through Literature Study Guide. 

Chloe has read through the some of the books in the Early American History for Intermediate Grades and here are her journal pages on the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Reading Abe Lincoln Grows Up by Carl Sandburg brought history alive. Spending that time listening to the details of his life, we learned so much more than we would have in a short text on the subject. I also added her pages on Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. Spending time reading, drawing/coloring, and writing has helped us to really absorb the subject. You get to know the person you spend time with.

Chloe's journal pages on Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman

Chloe's journal featuring a timeline of the Civil War and map of the United States

Chloe's journal entry on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Here is journal page from Jack’s Early American History books. We started with Leif the Lucky and are now learning about Benjamin Franklin. Here are two pages from Jack's work on The Matchlock Gun a story about a brave boy who obeys his mom. OK, so there's more than that but I like that part!

Jack's notebook pages for The Matchlock Gun

We love Beautiful Feet's Geography Through Literature study! I have a co-op of five kids and we spend our time reading, writing in our journals, and working on our maps. Here is Jack’s journal (below) from Seabird by Holling Clancy Holling. When we read the first book, Paddle to the Sea, I love that Jack noticed that the pictures were “amazing because they are very detailed. . . and look real and true.” I had him write that in his literature journal as well.

Jack's journal entry featuring the travels of Nate in Seabird from our Geography Through Literature Study Guide

Chloe is also part of an all girls book club where they are reading through the Teaching Character Intermediate books. The mom puts a spread of food and hot chocolate and the girls have a great time reading and learning together!

I have definitely put more hard work and thought into homeschooling this year but it is more rewarding! There is so much more I couldn’t share,  the best illustrators, timelines, summer reading lists, Christmas books, the influence is endless. Thank you for enriching us with good books and memories to last us a lifetime!

Thank you, Lisa for providing us with a window into your homeschooling experience and for letting us peek into your children's beautiful notebooks! I love the idea of your daughter's Teaching Character Through Literature book club. Does anyone else do that? Would people be interested in doing an online book club for their kids?

If anyone else is interested in their children's notebook pages being featured here, please send me a picture of them. I absolutely love seeing what sort of creative ideas you all come up with and know that other homeschooling families and educators would be inspired as well. Just email the pictures to rebecca@bfbooks.com and I'll let you know when they'll be posted. 

Thank you again, Lisa, for sharing your story with us. We look forward to hearing more in the future! 

You may also enjoy these other entries written by homeschooling moms:

Introducing Samantha

Update from Samantha

Connection and Love, an entry from Vanessa

"I love homeschooling!" an update from Samantha

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Struggling Student? Here's food for thought

The other day I was running errands and had the radio on in the car when I heard a story from Morning Edition. It made me stop in my tracks (or at least sit through an entire green light) because I think that it addresses a very important issue and highlights the need for an educational perspective shift. 

In my years of working at home schooling conventions, talking to educators and parents, it is inevitable that I will encounter teachers with students who "struggle" with one subject or another, or maybe even have a hard time with the whole school thing altogether. This is invariably expressed as a negative thing. Teachers and parents with students who "struggle" can be frustrated, saddened, or disappointed but they are rarely happy. And this has a lot to do with our cultural understanding of intelligence. If you are smart, things come to you easily. Those who struggle to comprehend subjects and concepts taught in school are often shifted to remedial classes or fall through the cracks. I've spoken to many homeschooling parents whose child was failing to learn in a traditional classroom and so they made the decision to bring them home where they could help their child learn in an environment that was more conducive to his or her learning style. Often times the student make great strides following this change, but that is not always the case. Some students simply find academics more challenging than others. In the radio program, Jim Stigler an educational researcher, argues that this should be embraced more.

Stigler, a professor of psychology at UCLA has studied teaching and learning around the world. In this research he has noticed a very different approach to struggle in Asian cultures. "I think that from very early ages we [in America] see struggle as an indicator that you're just not very smart," Stigler says. "It's a sign of low ability — people who are smart don't struggle, they just naturally get it, that's our folk theory. Whereas in Asian cultures they tend to see struggle more as an opportunity." Isn't that fascinating? In the radio program Stigler relates a story that has to be heard! You can listen by clicking this link. While much is made concerning the widening educational gap between US and Asian students, I'm not so much concerned with that in this entry as I am with how differently our cultures value struggle. 

Stigler goes on to say that he thinks Asians teach their children something that I'm not sure we communicate very well to our students: "They've taught them that suffering can be a good thing," Stigler says. "I mean it sounds bad, but I think that's what they've taught them." And what a valuable lesson. While our Facebook pages, Pinterest boards, and boardroom walls may be littered with inspirational quotes about overcoming struggle and triumphing, how many of us incorporate struggle into our curriculums? Are we embracing the challenge posed us by struggling students and children? Are we willing to give those students to whom things come easily assignments that are too difficult in order to teach them the value of tackling a problem head on and not quitting until it's solved? I know that this is a lot to consider. When faced with a struggling student, it's hard to see this as an opportunity. It's difficult and it requires more time, more effort, more energy, and for your average homeschooling parent, these are commodities already in short supply!

In my education, most subjects came pretty easily to me until I got to high school when algebra, geometry, and biology rocked my confident little mind. In my algebra and biology classes my teachers had no time for someone like me who struggled with the topics. There was no encouragement, no guidance. I struggled alone and did poorly because these teachers devoted all their energies to the students who quickly grasped the subjects. I remember feeling as though I was drowning under an avalanche of incomprehensible material. This feeling was entirely new to me and I did not know what to do with it! I did not want to admit struggle because I equated that with failure. 

My geometry teacher was different. She did not write off students who found the material challenging. She embraced the students who struggled and worked with us until we understood the concepts. And I can tell you that the A- I earned in that class meant so much more to me than the other classes I sailed through.

And yet, even in my own experience, I never equated struggle with something that was fundamentally important. Academic struggle has been devalued in our culture and I think it's to our detriment. Struggle has many benefits, not immediately seen by young students in the midst of the difficulty. Those who struggle and triumph gain a confidence that will take them a long way. It can also create empathy. If you have never struggled to grasp a concept, it's difficult to feel for those who do. And, I believe that struggle, academic or otherwise, creates a fortitude of person. Of course, these benefits only come if a person is able to work through that struggle and come to a successful end. If the problems placed before a child are too difficult and the struggle is futile and this experience is repeated on a regular basis, this can be severely damaging. As with most things, it's in the balance that one finds the benefit. So, I would love to hear from you! Are you prone to minimize any struggles your student may encounter? Do you embrace it? At what point do you step in and limit struggle? For students who are naturally gifted, how do you challenge them so that they can experience the process of struggle? Do you think our culture will ever be able to adapt a more Asian perspective on struggle and incorporate that into our classrooms? And in case you haven't clicked it already, here's another link to the radio show and here's a link to the transcript in case you'd rather read it. 

You may also enjoy:

A Dangerous Trend for Boys

Unstructured Creativity a.k.a Boredom

Homeschooling as Equalizer

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Photo Credit: greenbaychic

Introducing Samantha

I am so excited about this new section on our blog. At the beginning of this school year we had the pleasure of getting to know Samantha Lam. She's a homeschooling mom of three boys and this year saw her making a shift from a classical approach of teaching to a Charlotte Mason approach. She began using our Early American History for Primary curriculum and is going to be blogging about her experience. She'll be providing snapshots throughout the year and I know her experience will speak to many of you. So, without further ado, I am going to let Samantha take the floor:

My name is Samantha Lam and I am a homeschool mom of three amazing boys; Josh and Jordan who are seven-year old twins, and Jacob who will tell you he is “super three”. My husband Jonathan and I have been married for 10 years this December.

I had seriously considered homeschooling when the twins were two after reading Marilyn Boyer’s book Home Educating with Confidence. But as my boys turned three, Joshua was diagnosed with Autism. Overwhelmed and confused, I was convinced by psychiatrists and specialists that Joshua needed to be in the public school system where he would get the expert care he needed. After two weeks at our local program, I knew something wasn’t working. I was not willing to continue to subject my sweet boy to an environment where he was clearly miserable. I pulled him out and placed him and his brother into a private preschool. We were so fortunate to have a wonderful and amazingly loving teacher who took great care of my Joshua his first year. But by his second year, at age 4, I was being pressured to allow the teachers more control over any emotional issues he was having. After the first half of his second year, we made the decision to pull both of the boys from preschool and have them home with me.

I was extremely fortunate that there was already an established homeschooling group in my church. Many of them had become part of a national classical group that was very structured and “all laid out,” making the transition easy for me. Not to say the first year was easy. I had a perfectionist on my hands, an autistic child, and a new baby. I was just plain tired.

For two years, I was grateful to have the support and structure of this wonderful classical group. Many of the women in this group had been long time friends. We had been single together, been in each other’s weddings, and entered into motherhood together. And now what a joy to be homeschooling our children together. Our group met together once a week and followed the outlined structure of this classical program. We put on plays, had picnics and field trips, the kids built great friendships and we had it all laid out for us. It really left little to research. I added language arts and math, and we were complete.

Over this past summer, a portion of this group planned to attend the local homeschool conference. I actually wasn’t planning on attending the first day, but God seemed to have a different plan. Convinced

by a friend we should go hear a particular speaker, we headed out Thursday afternoon to hear Rea Berg. The title of her talk was "Homeschooling with Creativity and Passion". As I had heard many different talks on homeschooling thru the years, I was a bit surprised how much this talk had an effect on me. There was something in the way she talked about education and  connecting with our children thru great literature that really moved me. We spent most of the afternoon and evening on the exhibit floor at the Beautiful Feet booth, picking at both Russ and Rea’s brains. What an amazing opportunity, but it was also a bit unsettling. I had known what I was doing in the fall already. I had a plan, a roadmap, and all my friends were already doing it too. I had no desire to change. None, whatsoever! But something was tugging at my heart and I felt the spirit leading me to be open to more than what I already knew.

Over the next few months, after much reading and research and prayer, I made the decision to make a major shift in my homeschooling philosophy. I had read Susan Schaeffer Macauley’s For The Children's Sake, and Karen Andreola’s Charlotte Mason Companion. I had purchased a number of the study packs from Beautiful Feet at the conference and had been reading many of the books with the boys over the summer. I was amazed by the way it affected them. We all know those days when all the children seem to have a hard time being “nice” to one another. Unkind words fly through the house like little weapons aiming at desired targets and causing havoc and tears. I would pull all the kids in to snuggle on the couch with a book and read. First I need to say this was a very different tactic than my usual “You kids need to be nicer! Stop acting that way!” speech. But the way these stories opened their hearts and truly changed the atmosphere in my home was amazing! And all without a mommy lecture!

We are now in the throes of what has started out as a wonderful third year. We have officially switched from a classical approach to a Charlotte Mason approach. I have begun a small group in my home where we have eight kids going thru the Early American History (Primary) pack. What an amazing time we all are having studying these historical figures.

I am so grateful to the Berg’s and the sharing of their hearts! It has changed my path and helped me to hear the call God has for me. I can’t wait to share more of my journey with you all! Come back and see what God continues to show me and how he plans to change me and my family!

Thank you Sam, it's going to be exciting to follow your experience throughout this year. For those of you interested in learning more about teaching history through literature and the Charlotte Mason approach, check out these previous blog posts:

Back to the Beginning: How we got started

Introducing the Classics to Youngsters

Answers to your FAQs

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