Charlotte Mason & Special Needs Children
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Summer 2008, had a couple of articles that spoke directly to me. In their “Style” section they featured Charlotte Mason and her methods with: Charlotte Mason and Susan Schaeffer Macaulay – Mentors of the Modern Homeschool Movement, and Charlotte Mason: Our Heroine for Special Needs, and The Love and Lure of Nature Walking.
A couple of articles also addressed the needs of raising and educating special needs children: Charlotte Mason: Our Heroine for Special Needs, and 10 Reasons to Homeschool Your Child With Special Needs, and Rising to the Call to Care for a Special Child – an interview with Norm Wakefield.
It touched my heart when Norm Wakefield spoke about his daughter Amanda and said, “Although Amanda doesn’t have the capacity to know and understand many theological and spiritual truths, she isn’t as handicapped by many of the sins with which most “normal” people frequently struggle.” He then went on to “wonder if God often sees those of us who appear to have greater intellectual and physical abilities as more spiritually disabled or handicapped.” This made me think about my own son and his sweet, sensitive nature.
Criticisms of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine are few, and far between. What would be great, though, coming from someone who loves Interior Decorating, is a 4-page spread of trendy, efficient schoolrooms. That would make this magazine PERFECT!!
I was so glad my homeschooling magazine came this week. I was unsure what to expect, but was happily surprised by the high-end look of the magazine and its articles. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine – Right on target for homeschooling families.
See Part 1 for beginning of blog on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
Right on Target
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine just arrived at my house this week, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. I was impressed with the great-looking, thick publication and numerous, up-to-date articles on the homeschool community. Quite a few were of interest to me personally and full of relevant information that directly applied to my homeschool situation. I've been smiling from ear to ear since I've received it.
Full of abundant and pertinent information, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine was equally perfect for those ‘brand new’ to homeschooling as well as “seasoned” veterans. It was chock-full of in-depth articles - not simply cursory examinations of the topics.
A “Real Science” section in the Summer 2008 issue, included: Theistic Evolution, Intelligent Design, and an article about Darwin.
The “Homeschool Units” section abounded with: Men and their Flying Machines, Take Flight with Science, and Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
Teaching gifted children, raising and educating special needs children, personal homeschool stories, and legal aspects of a home education were just a few of the other topics covered. Too many to mention - all interesting.
The look of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine impressed me greatly! Conveniently, this wealth of information was delivered all online, in digital format. Navigating through it was so simple, and there was a particularly useful, built-in magnification option. The pages were laid out well, and easy to read.
Homeschool product ads were positioned throughout, supplying ample opportunities to get to know what’s available out there for the homeschooler. The online magazine was a joy to look through from beginning to end.
Criticisms of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine are few, and far between. What would be great, though, coming from someone who loves Interior Decorating, is a 4-page spread of trendy, efficient schoolrooms. That would make this magazine PERFECT!!
I was so glad my homeschooling magazine came this week. I was unsure what to expect, but was happily surprised by the high-end look of the magazine and its articles. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine – Right on target for homeschooling families.
See Part 2 for rest of blog on Charlotte Mason & Special Needs Children
Making a Plan for School and Home
Cheery, delightful, inspiring – not words usually used to describe a homeschool planner. The people from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine combined their creativity and professionalism to produce their newest product, the Schoolhouse Planner.
From unschooling, to the eclectic, to the classical home school, the Schoolhouse Planner has all the forms and charts a parent will need, answering the concerns of the organizationally-challenged home school parent, while providing the creative inspiration for the well-organized mom.
The Schoolhouse Planner, available in digital form, comes complete with over 200 pages of information, with different versions of many of the forms and charts - some for one child, some for multiple children.
Various forms included are: a Curriculum Planning Sheet, Weekly Planning Forms, Nature Journal Sheets, Educational Objectives, Field Trip Log, Science Lab Sheet, Test Score Record, End of Year Evaluation Form, Course of Study, Annual Plans, Yearly Goals, Unit Study Form, Progress Report Sheets, and End of Year Report Card. One great feature is the ability to type right into each form and personalize it for the child, then print it out.
The Schoolhouse Planner is divided into monthly sections, each with a 2-page calendar spread, starting from July, ending with June. Within each monthly section there’s an essay to inspire and encourage the homeschool setting - Lessons Learned Around the Table, Fun with Unit Studies, Tips for Teaching Writing, “Hands-On” History, and several others.
Each monthly section also includes lists of important people, dates and events to remember – Timeline of Inventions, Famous Composers and Artists, Presidents and their Wives, Countries and Capitals, and much more. There is also a complete section of U.S. documents with the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, and the transcript of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The look and feel of the Schoolhouse Planner is cute and bright, right from the beginning, with colorful and whimsical illustrations of an old house and schoolhouse, and pleasing page layouts.
Download a sneak peek sample pack of the Schoolhouse Planner at TheOldSchoolhouseStore.com. It includes July’s monthly section with a calendar, essay, resource list, Cheeseburger Pie and Tropical Chicken recipes, the Annual Plans chart, Yearly Goals, Beginning/Ending Page, Curriculum Planning Sheet, and Course of Study.
Additionally, the Schoolhouse Planner comes complete with a section of over 30 Household Forms, ranging from Chore Charts to Prayer Journals, from Weekly and Daily schedules to Gardening forms.
The Schoolhouse Planner is perfectly made for the homeschool environment. It’s inclusive of every form needed and extremely comprehensible. The editable features are wonderful.
Overall, there’s great structure, great look, and great feel! Visit TheOldSchoolhouseStore.com to buy your own Schoolhouse Planner today. A great resource!
