Simple Wonders

Drawing is one of those skill-based subjects that every person should learn, like math and language arts.Knowing how to express your thoughts and ideas visually is so important! But how do you teach it at home? Especially if you’re not confident in your own drawing abilities. Luckily, there are so many drawing resources available to us. Here's how I teach it and the books/resources I've used to teach my three boys to draw well.LINKSCreative Form Drawing by Angela LordDrawing with Children by Mona BrooksDrawing Textbook by Bruce McIntire

Sentence diagramming, learning the technical terms for parts of language, direct writing instruction... does it REALLY work? NO!The way most of us have been taught grammar -- sentence diagramming, direct instruction, separate writing classes -- isn't actually effective in making us better writers. In fact, it can create paralysis for some people (like me!) and make writing WORSE.So how should we teach writing and grammar? In this video I summarize years of research in writing and grammar and discuss how it should be taught. Next, I talk about the stages of writing and how each stage builds on the next. Most importantly, I combine Charlotte Mason's methods/philosophy with current teaching methods to meet your child where they're at and confidently teach writing and grammar at home. 📺 watch the YouTube Video⬇️LINKSStudy on Grammar InstructionMore research and professional adviceKnow and Tell by Karen GlassThe Writing Revolution 2.0 Patterns of Power by Jeff AndersonGrammar Lessons _____👩‍🏫MEMBERSHIP (PATREON)If you want to dive deeper and see how these methods are applied with real kids, my membership is only $5/month:

Teaching math can be DAUNTING. Parents considering homeschool may doubt their ability to teach math if they don't have a degree in math or teaching. But you can do it! And in this video I'll show you how. I share research-based teaching methods that you can use with any curriculum, some basics on how to teach math in a way that is developmentally appropriate, as well as my preferred curriculum (Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic series) that I've been using for 6 years now. I'll also share my favorite books, games, and other resources I've found essential for teaching math. How to Teach Math at Home blogpost:https://simplewonders.org/2025/04/10/how-to-teach-math-at-home-using-charlotte-masons-methods/YouTube Video:https://youtu.be/7kiWjFRrQWI

Charlotte Mason used a lot of "living" books to teach history. It makes sense since she considered it the "pivot" upon which her whole curriculum turned. So, which books did she recommend? And how did she use them? What purpose did they serve? In this video I discuss the different books that Charlotte used in her schools  and how to use them, as well as my family's favorite living history books!A SPINE is an overview of a historical period. It could be 10 years or 100 years. The main purpose is to give a birds-eye view of that period. A BIOGRAPHY was used to focus on a person, from birth to death. It could be a famous person (like an inventor, musician, or politician) or a common person. The point is for kids to form an relationship with a person from that time period and step into their shoes for a time. I like to also use "biographies" of buildings as well (I show you some of my favorites in the video). A HISTORICAL FICTION helps kids jump into that time period by capturing their imagination through story. Historical fictions add details where we don't have any. The help bring everything together. These are the true living books of history. They can be written in recent years (like Prairie Lotus) or written about that time period during that time period (like Little Women). Watch this as a video: https://youtu.be/JcPxXzklfw0____📚Click on the link below and I'll send you my family's FAVORITE US history books!https://simple-wonders.kit.com/93ef17ee0e____AMAZON STOREFRONT https://tinyurl.com/bdhka2ctPATREON (my membership -- only $5/month) https://www.patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creatorWEBSITEwww.simplewonders.org

Books and primary sources aren't the only tools we should use when teaching history. Timelines, century charts, and the Charlotte Mason's signature "Book of Centuries" are all tools to help our kids grasp the abstract concept of time. In this video I share the tools I use to help my kids keep track of the many centuries (and people and events!) we learn about in history. Not only that, time is an abstract concept for kids, they need a strong foundation in how time works to fully understand how long a century is (not to mention a millennium!). I share how I lay this foundation from first grade so they're read to use timelines and their book of centuries. What I love about Charlotte Mason's Book of Centuries is that its a melting pot of all the subjects. A place where the child can draw pictures and mark down dates from literature to geography to music. This is the place where magic happens --- connections are made, patterns are discovered, and ideas are born. If you'd like to purchase these charts I've made, they're available on my website (coming soon!): If you're a member of Patreon expect to get my PDF charts this month 🎉 Membership is only $5 and you get all kinds of goodies, like my personal lesson plans, mini-podcast episodes, and more! https://patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink The Book of Centuries is from Riverbend Press: https://www.riverbendpress.com/shop/p/book-of-centuries #homeschool #charlottemasoneducation #homeeducation #howtoteachhistory #ushistory #historytimelines #teachingtools