The Carnival of Homeschooling: Loving Summer Edition

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! Down here in the South, all the stores are in a Back-to-School frenzy. Our city's schools start back next week, and the rest are soon to follow. Having grown up in New York, where school starts back the day after Labor Day, I find this late July/early August return-to-school policy bordering on criminal. What about the hot days of August, when the grass is crispy and the pool water finally warm?

For our family, that's just another huge reason to homeschool: we can make our own schedules. Whether you school year round, follow a traditional schedule, or take your "summer break" in October, you get to choose what works best for your family. And that's what it's all about.

We have some great posts this month, and scattered amongst the posts are photos of some of our family's favorite things about summer. Because I am not ready to let go yet!

Rest is not idleness,
and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.
~John Lubbock

Why do you homeschool? Christine at The Thinking Mother says It Boils Down to One of Three Reasons to Start to Homeschool. Take a look and you'll probably find yourself there!

Alasandra responds to Sylvia Biu's post Homeschooling is a bad idea with "Homeschooling Advantages Far Outweigh Any Preconceived Notions" As Alasandra says, "Don't you just love it when homeschool critics like Sylvia Biu start making stuff up?"

Christine at Our Curious Home shares "Memories of Learning" with her parents and how this has helped her in her own homeschooling journey.

In summer, the song sings itself.

~William Carlos Williams

There was some sweet butterfly magic going on this week at Reese's View of the World. Check out what happens when magnifying glass meets Paper Wings!

Kerry of The Ten O'Clock Scholar shares Ideas for Memory Work with Classical Conversations in mind but applicable to any memory work.

Judy at Consent of the Governed has graduated her youngest child, and she posts some Homeschool Reflections after her 12-year journey. I love this post, which includes something we're all no doubt familiar with: "I can't even begin to tell you the ludicrous things I have heard, but no doubt if you are a homeschool parent, you have heard those ridiculous things as well. " Don't miss this one! No matter where you are in your journey, you'll appreciate Judy's reflections.

Then followed that beautiful season...
Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;
and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Making friends requires effort on the part of the parents and the child, and Kim at Kim's Play Place suggests ways to make this happen in Finding Friends While Homeschooling.

I love lapbooks, and Maureen at Spell Out Loud has patterns for toddler-sized books at Little Lapbooks Jungle Puzzle. Adorable!

In the post Night Rider, Ms. Julie shares a criteria-based art lesson that incorporates American history and literature. I loved seeing the kids' drawings!

To see the Summer
Sky Is Poetry,
though never in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.
~Emily Dickinson

Lara at Texas Homesteader doesn't want her kids going off to college unprepared for taking care of themselves! She shares her ideas for starting them young in Raising Self-Sufficient Children.

Rana at Free to Learn and Loving It muses about her upcoming year in Making Plans: "I guess if someone were to ask they would be considered first graders. To me they are just my boy and girl who want to learn about everything. I'm going to try my hardest to help them find the answers to what they are asking about." Isn't that what it's all about?

Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.
- Sara Coleridge

Barbara Frank posts on what can become a detriment to homeschooling parents: "With so much personal revelation out there, it’s way too easy to compare your family and your homeschooling experience to others." She offers ways to have the right attitude when reading about other homeschooling families in Finding Ideas, Not Discouragement.

Ruby at Freehold2 looks at a very simple way to help kids avoid summer learning loss with Getting the Ball Rolling: Learning Through Movement.

Do you remember watching the moon landing on television in 1969? Jill at Praiseworthy Things shares some wonderful resources in To the Moon to help study the anniversary of the first man on the moon. My kids loved this!

Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit.
– Henry David Thoreau

With social/emotional curriculum in the schools, Susan at Corn and Oil wonders how it affects the perceptions about real socializing in Homeschooling as Family Therapy.

In One Thing I Love About Homeschooling, my friend Tina at The Life of Riley responds to my post about Doing a Good Job. Her last line should resonate with anyone who is a homeschooling parent!

Tami of Tami Fox's Thoughts and Views presents A Review of Astronomy Notebooking Journal by Jeannie Fulbright, based on Fulbright's popular Exploring Creation with Astronomy. If you're considering this curriculum, be sure to check out her insights!

Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring, for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of birds.
- Carl von Linnaeus

Seems like we really do need to think about the upcoming year, and Tammy at Adventures on Beck's Bounty shares her lessons plans for her six cherubs at Our Plans. Looks like a great year!

Amy at Hope is the Word provides a post that is packed full of great resources at Our Pre-K Reading Experience. I love how she says, "What I lack in knowledge I make up for in enthusiasm and in desire for my daughters to succeed…"

Henry Cate of Why Homeschool, grand chief of the Carnival of Homeschooling, points homeschoolers to Facebook as another great resource in Homeschooling on Facebook. As an avid Facebooker myself, I second his post!



And that's it for this week's Carnival of Homeschooling. I hope you'll take some time to visit these participants and to consider submitting to next week's Carnival at About Homeschool.
Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of homeschooling using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. The deadline is Monday August 3 at 6 pm PST.

And may you keep enjoying summer!