I was wondering, have you ever seen the traveling
group post called The Carnival of Homeschooling? I've
been thinking that it would be great to have a
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival! Is that something you
might be interested in? If you are unfamiliar with the
way carnivals work, it's fairly straightforward.
Different CM bloggers "contribute" links to one of the
posts they have put on their personal blogs. Usually,
there is a broad, preset theme requested for the
contributions. For instance, if I was hosting the
first carnival and I made the theme "back to school CM
style", all of the post submissions would have
something to do with that topic area. Then, after a
week of accepting submissions, the "hostess" would
post one long entry on her personal blog, writing an
article of sorts while working in the links for all of
the contributions that participating bloggers have
made that week. Then, there is that one post where
everyone can go to read through many different blog
entries all about one CM topic. It's a great way to
share and learn - not to mention get some increased
traffic to your site. Host blogs, in particular, get
the spotlight. Would you please let me know if you
would be interested in submitting a blog entry for a
carnival like this? Would you be interested in hosting
a carnival one week? :) Thanks!
Jacci (CM mama of 4)

1. We home school all-year-round. Why not? We do so much that our children need to learn about in the summertime, why would I send them to the park or the swimming pool or try to plan other activities to take up time, when they can learn about life all summer, up close and personal?
2. We use the Bible as a large part of their schooling. I have studied books and listened to Cd's/watched videos by Vision Forum, SM Davis and the Bradford's - to name a few, and I am learning so many things I wish I had known when I started on the parenting journey! The Bible HAS to be the foundation for EVERYTHING! - Not just things that our culture tells us applies to faith, but EVERYTHING, from the way we look, to the way we think, to how we spend the time God Himself has given us.  I feel I would be doing the children God gave me a disservice if I do not train them that way.  I do not want them to have to re-train themselves as they train their children.
3. We train our children for life by training them around our home.   If working is a part of life, isn't that one of the best ways to train a child? Give him a good work ethic. A boy will become a young man all too soon, who can help his Dad and Mom around the house. He needs a good (Biblical) work ethic if he will be a man with a wife and family. A little girl will soon become a young lady who can help around the house, too. Then, she will be a HelpMate to a Godly man. So, we integrate all of that into training our children. 
4. We use our Family business to train our children also.  It gives them skills they will use as an adult man or woman.  It also teaches them to think in real-life situations before they are actually in that situation, so we can help them with a right decision.
5. We will be gardening all summer long and into Fall. This is an excellent way to teach science, math, home/life skills, history, and whatever else you add. It is hands-on, and if you do it properly, it doesn't have to be a chore. It can be fun, and children can see it is necessary even when it is work.
6. We have a 'reptile tank' on our porch. We turn a light on over the tank all summer and watch the bugs fly in and the frogs, toads and turtle eat them.  We did have a turtle, but he died a couple of months ago. We were sad.  He wouldn't get out of the water and eat, and then we found him dead in the water. We kept him all winter, and were hoping to keep him for awhile.  4ds9 just brought in one of our 2 salamanders - when we found them, they were about 5 in. long. This one is now somewhere around 9in. Wow. I guess all the earthwworms and crickets were what he needed.  So, we have 2 salamanders, a small frog and 2 small toads.  We just found the frog. We had another one all winter and he grew to about 4x in size since last summer. We let him go in April.
7. We have several projects that we have unschooled our children:  quilting, sewing, baking, gardening, keeping a home. Matt teaches them about mowing the lawn, taking care of vehicles, building projects.  We all took part - and still are - in siding, roofing, and drywalling our home. We will be tearing out and replacing some of the electrical wiring in the additon next week. All a part of learning, and unschooling is the best way to teach it. 
8. Goats... They researched them and then had to find them.  They earned the money to pay for them. They helped put up the fence, and now, they must take care of them.  They will also be looking into how goats can benefit our family in the area of groceries and diet.  Another area to research is what businesses goats can afford a family and what they entail.
9. The girls are still working on Algebra.  We decided a year ago that we were not going to push them through it, but work it until they truy understand it. 1dd16 can work it mostly on her own. 2dd15 is hanging in there. She is working on Consumer Math, too.
10. 4ds9 and 5dd6 are really craving to learn to read. I told 4ds9 that he has all the tools, and knows what he needs to know, he just needs to practice, thereby putting the ball into his hands.  3dd12 did this same thing. I was pushing her at 7 and 8 to read, and we were both just getting frustrated. She just was not ready. She read Caddie Woodlawn through on her own at 9. So, I am not worried, I think 4ds9 is getting the bug and will be blogging soon! And, 5dd6 will be right behind him, b/c she is just that way, God love her!!  ( ;

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Related Tags: Large Family,  Bible , Homeschooling,   Homeschool,  Home School, Reading,   Unschooling,  Algebra,  Work Ethic,  Family Business,  Goats,   Gardening,  Tiller,   Tilling,    Planting,   Garden,  Reptiles, Bugs,  Salamander,   Frogs,   Toads