Olivia, three months

We're spending this week in Holland seeing the tulips. I'll share some lovely photos next week, for now you can enjoy these chubby little cheeks!

Choosing a literature based homeschool curriculum

"I'm new to homeschooling (or thinking about homeschooling), how do I choose a curriculum?"

This is THE most common question I get asked about homeschooling, and the most difficult to answer. There are dozens of ways to homeschool, and I am no expert by any means, but I'd like to share how I decide what to teach my children.

Art Appreciation

My boys don't need a whole lot of encouragement when it comes to art, however I also want them to gain an appreciation for fine art from a young age. I was never taught to value fine art and I think pretty sure I'm not alone in this.

Common Core: what it means for YOUR children

I had heard bits and pieces about Common Core but honestly wasn't too interested in it since we homeschool. Then I kept hearing it come up in news articles and on blogs and realized it's something we ALL need to be concerned about whether we homeschool, send our kids to public school, have grandchildren, niece and nephews, etc. it's something we all need to learn and voice our opinion about.

What is Common Core?

As with any issue, there are always two sides. This issue is no different. As far as the supporters (those making money off it) are concerned it's simply a national curriculum designed to make sure everyone gets the same level of education. Sounds great right?

Let's dig a little deeper.

Our 2013-2014 Homeschool Curriculum and Free Homeschool Planner

*Updated planners are available here!

_______________________________________________________________

Since I am trying to be better at following Charlotte Mason's ideas this year, we are using a lot more living books and very few "curriculum" type books. This may seem like a lot of books and in reality we will read way more books than I've listed here, however these are the primary books we will be using. 

This may seem like a lot, however we will be traveling all over Europe this next year. This fall we have a 3 week trip to Italy and Greece, a trip to the UK next spring and will possibly traveling to Scandinavia in the summer. Our primary focus will be to learn about the history and culture of the places we will be visiting and if we don't finish all our literature we will save them for next year. A few of these I'm going to get audio versions and listen to in the car while we travel. 

Up next, I'll share some ideas on how to choose a literature-based curriculum. I've also updated our Free Homeschool Planner for 2013-2014 to help you organize your ideas for this upcoming school year! I updated last year's version plus added a new design.

      

Free LDS Temple Pictures

If you haven't already seen my other website http://freeldstemplepictures.com, I offer free pictures of all the temples I have the opportunity to photograph.

And if you haven't visited in a while, please do, there have been a lot of additions lately. First, and most prominent, is the beautiful soundtrack provided by the talented songwriter Sara Baril. She is amazing, as are the singers on her upcoming album Thy Healing Hands. 

Some of my temple images will be featured in Sara's upcoming music video for her song "A Place to Heal". She would love to have a variety of temple images from around the world. If you or anyone you know has any professional quality photographs of temples in Canada, Asia or Central and South America, please email me a sample!

Gaining a Charlotte Mason perspective (and free printable quotes!)

I know blog posts are supposed to be short, sweet and to the point, but I have so much to say about two books I just read that I simply can't condense it any further than this. I hope you'll bear with me, and just for doing so I've created a few Charlotte Mason quotes you can print for free!

I’ve been contemplating for a while now the things I’d like to study with my boys this next school year.
This year has gone pretty well considering all the changes we have gone through from moving back to
Kentucky, having daddy come home, moving to Germany, living in a hotel for a month, finally getting a
house and settling in, sending my oldest to German school, etc… However I kept feeling like things were
not running as smoothly as I’d like. It was starting to become more of a chore than a joy and I knew I
needed to make some changes for this next year.

Paris Arc du Triomphe and Sacré Cœur

There are so many places in Paris to see incredible views. This is from the top of the Arc du Triomphe.

Paris Marathon, camping, and more

Where can a family of six stay in the city of Paris, make as much noise as they want and have fresh baguettes and croissants for breakfast?

Paris, Musée d'Orsay & Seine River Cruise

We spent the weekend in Paris for the marathon. We hadn't planned on going with my husband since we were just here a few months ago, but at the last minute we decided to join him. I'm so glad we did. I just can't get enough of this city!

Random cuteness and a favor...

If you are a blogger you've probably heard by now that Google Reader and Friend Connect are going away. If you're not a blogger what this means is that it's harder to follow up on your favorite blogs and know when they add new posts without manually going out to each blog site. PAIN.

SO...if you want to continue to follow my blog (you know you do!) There are three ways to do so:

1. Follow via Blog lovin' http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4517235
2. Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Intentional-Life/258523914220660?ref=hl
3. Follow me via email http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheOsbornes&loc=en_US

Pick one. Pick all three. Pick your nose. Or not...Just pick one and if you want me to follow you back post your link in the comments!

Now for the random cuteness promised. Here are some pictures of the littles for your enjoyment. Entrepreneurs in the making...

And of course I have to show off my little girl. Two months old!

Don't hate me, but I'm spending this weekend in Paris (yay for macaroons and chocolate croissants!) If you haven't already entered to win a copy of Monumental, enter now! Tell your friends and get more entries. Winner will be announced when I get back next week. Good luck!

P.S. if you've ever wondered what we Mormons are all about, check this website out on Saturday or Sunday at 10am and 2pm MST (12 and 4 EST) where the Prophet and Apostles will speak to the world!

German school

I've had several inquiries about my son's German school, so I thought I'd share a bit about it. Many people wonder why we chose to send him to German school, even the principal of the school wanted to know why since apparently not many American's do. My answer? To learn the language. I have studied German on my own and through a couple classes and while I can get by just fine as a tourist, I cannot have an intelligent conversation in German. The best way to learn conversation is through immersion.

Some of the benefits of German school are that it's only 4 hours a day. He is home in time to eat lunch every day of the week. Also, because he is in first grade and was in second grade in homeschool, he is not learning anything new academically, so he can focus solely on learning German.

Happy Easter

A day late. I was enjoying time with family and couldn't pull myself away... We dyed our eggs using natural dye for the first time and while it wasn't quite as successful as I anticipated, it was a lot of fun and the boys thought they turned out great.

Music appreciation

In this world where the vulgar and crude are considered acceptable and even desirable, we desire to teach our children an appreciation for things of quality and beauty. Elder Douglas L. Callister said it best:

"The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things...When some music has passed the tests of time and been cherished by the noble and refined, our failure to appreciate it is not a condemnation of grand music. The omission is within. If a young person grows up on a steady diet of hamburgers and french fries, he is not likely to become a gourmet. But the fault is not with fine food. He just grew up on something less. Some have grown up on a steady diet of musical french fries." (emphasis added)

Monumental Giveaway

The more I learn about the pilgrims and founding fathers the harder it is to comprehend how our country has strayed so far from the ideals and beliefs that it was founded on. From career politicians to socialized healthcare and lifelong welfare, banning prayer and all references to religion in schools (yet teaching about sexual practices contrary to their beliefs), infringing on second amendment rights, reckless national debt, and so on.