Let’s All Keep Chickens

This book has a delightful story-teller quality to it while being paired with the kind of point of view that we at Plumfield love and appreciate. Dalia is very knowledgeable and experienced with chicken keeping. She has done it on a small scale and on a large scale. She has a real passion for the birds themselves and the culture and traditions of chicken keeping throughout history.  In this completely practical book, she shows you how to enter into chicken keeping in a variety of different ways so that you can choose the best possible option for your situation. 

Rascal Study Guide

Near the end of Sterling North’s Rascal, Sterling and his aunt Lillie discuss what Sterling might want to be when he grows up. Aunt Lillie thinks Sterling’s deceased mother would have wanted him to be a writer. When he asks why, she says; “And then you could put it all down, the way it is…

Literature Course II

Last year I had the privilege of teaching a literature class for four high school-aged homeschooled girls. I explained my goals and best attempt at planning the school year here.   We get to do it again! This year two of my girls are seniors. My thought as I considered selections was to attempt to…

Fall 2018: Memory Walk

I am not a morning person. I am, by nature, a night owl. I have, however, discerned that I need a quiet and prayerful start to every day. Stealing the term from Jen Mackintosh, I have dedicated 30-60 minutes every morning for my Mother’s Morning Basket. “Everyone of us needs half an hour of prayer…

Life on the Mississippi

This part of Diane’s Literature Course I Series I didn’t get time to read Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi before I had to decide on my Literature Course I syllabus this past school year. I did get through the first couple of chapters, which are full of the geography and history of the Mississippi River….

Having Our Senses Trained

“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives…

1860s American Literature

This is part of Diane’s Literature Course I Series This is a good time of year for the load to lighten a bit.  Not knowing for sure what kind of progress we might be able to make through the list, I couldn’t have planned it this way, but our 1860s selections have fallen quite nicely between…

Literature Course I

In my review of The Last of the Mohicans, I mentioned that I was reading it for an American Literature class I’m teaching this year. My students are four homeschooled girls, ages 13, 14, 15, and 16. We meet once a week for two hours. We devote the majority of our first hour to the…

Pronunciation

Part of our Spelling Series: Five days a week I spend a large portion of each morning teaching spelling.  I watch children working, like ancient scribes, to represent their speech sounds with the symbols I am teaching them.  I do teach standard spelling.  I do not teach them to spell any way that feels right, but…

Magic in Fairyland

“Material facts are good enough for him. Until it comes to religion. And then, suddenly, the child who has been forbidden to believe in Jack the Giant Killer must believe in Goliath and David. There are no fairies, but you must believe that there are angels. The magic sword and the magic buckler are nonsense,…

Landmark Books on Audio

Like many living books homeschoolers, I am falling in love with Landmark books. Some Landmark books are available via Audible! If you are not an Audible member and have been curious about the costs and tricks of having a membership, check out our article here. Alexander the Great by John Gunter The Barbary Pirates by…

Childcraft: Time To Read

We are working on a project related to the Childcraft books which will take many months to complete. As we are working on that project, we do not have time to wrap our heads around every volume as quickly as we would like. We don’t want families to have to wait to see inside any…

Childcraft: Make and Do

We are working on a project related to the Childcraft books which will take many months to complete. As we are working on that project, we do not have time to wrap our heads around every volume as quickly as we would like. We don’t want families to have to wait to see inside any…