Education is a LIFE!

I am SO excited! I am trying something new and fun! I am recording this week’s ezine for you guys to HEAR. It was fun to put it together. Leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

This week’s topic:
Education is a LIFE
By Cindy Rushton

Download Audio Article

Download PDF Version (to print out–this will not be available every week so subscribe below to not miss even one issue!)

Like this?

You will LOVE our new format for our ezines. Subscribe at:
http://www.CindyRushton.com/Subscribe.html

Also, you will love our online radio shows:
www.MomtoMomRadioShow.com
www.WritersRadioShow.com

AND…if you are really hooked, stock up this week on our mp3 audio downloads and our audio seminar sets! They are available at INSANE prices! Check all of them out at: http://cindyrushton.com/bbfsale.html

It is Spring! Why Not Begin a Science Notebook?

Article excerpts from Cindy’s books, Notebooking! YES! You Can be a Binder Queen Too! and Nature Study the Easy Way. BOTH are on sale with our SPRING SALE! Check out our sale here: CLICK HERE
Today being inside just tortures me! It is STUNNING outside! Even the little birds are begging us to go outside.

Are you like me, dying from “cabin fever” and ready for spring? This is the perfect time to begin Nature Notebooks! Not only will you have an abundance of treasures awaiting your exploration, but these are perfect days to try something fresh. Ready? Let me help…

Chances are you already have many things that could be included in a Science Notebook around your home. Look for those “goodies” that do not have their own special place and add them to your Science Notebooks. This is the perfect opportunity to develop “a place” for those “goodies” while developing a nice product for displaying all the growing knowledge of nature all while your children are keeping special memorabilia! One of the things that I like about using supplies intended for scrapbooking is that there are so many products that enable us to keep bulky materials safely inside of our notebooks. Not to mention, scrapbooking makes EVERY notebook so much cuter! And…to imagine that we call this “school!” Read more

It Might Only Take a Notebook… by Cindy Rushton

It was a normal day, just like so many others, but my life was changed. In fact, it was a conversation similar to so many throughout my life…just girl talk in the kitchen over meal preparation. Who would imagine that it would change my life and lead me toward my life call? Who would imagine that it would put together all of the pieces to my jumbled-up life?

Mamaw Alma Lee Rushton was my husband’s grandmother. I remember the first day I met her. We had an instant bond. It was amazing. Not long after Harold and I became officially “connected at the hip” as my dad called it, I remember one conversation with her where she shared that I was everything that she had prayed Harold would marry. Those words of vision touched me to the depths of my soul. Oh! He was everything that I had prayed to marry. He was my Prince Charming. He was my Knight in Shining Armor…or Izod, who is particular about those details in HOT Mississippi? ha!

When Mamaw spoke, she spoke vision…instruction…inspiration…and a deep passion for Godly womanhood. Her opinions meant so much to me. Her insight was always biblical. Her instruction was patient and kind. I clung to her words. They were steeped in a love for God, a love for family, and a deep love for me. Read more

The Importance of Routine by Cindy Rushton

Good morning dearies! I just got an email from Mary Beth asking me to share this article. She remembered reading it before, but couldn’t remember where to find it. She asked if I could post it here. YES! Hope all of you enjoy! This is an oldie. Fun to read now that my crew are grown and graduated. I could not recommend better tips today. This one is timeless. Enjoy….

Homeschools come packaged in all sorts and types.  Homes all have their own atmosphere…their own discipline…and their own life.  What will make for happy homeschool days?  My vote goes to routine!

As we look at different homes, we find that many people use many instruments to establish discipline.  In our home, we have used primarily two tools–instruction and routine!  You can probably see the need and benefits for instruction but why routine?  Routine is the means by which we lay down the tracks of discipline.  In our family routines, we take away much of the pain of who does what, when they are to do whatever, and how much they are to do.  It has become part of our character to do all that we do with excellence…diligence…and of course, speed!  So, what are some ideas for bringing routine into the home?  The following thoughts are a hodgepodge of my thoughts on routine and form that I have jotted down as I studied this month… Read more

Notebooking! Easy as A, B, C! by Cindy Rushton

Heard your buddies talking about Notebooking? Intrigued? Want to know more? OR…have you been Notebooking for years? Just need a bit of encouragement? Some fresh new ideas?

Well, wherever you are…however you prefer to teach your children…regardless of your children’s abilities, or even disabilities, you will find that Notebooking is EASY as A, B, C!

There is something precious about Notebooking that can transform any writer into an “addicted writer,” especially when they see that their work is precious to those they love the most. Notebooking can help us all to document those almost impossible studies that we really need to document. In fact, Notebooking is one idea that can revolutionize your homeschool. It has ours! This one idea can take your most reluctant writer and turn him into a researcher, who loves to write.

Want to know more? Let’s take a closer look at some Notebooking ABC’s…

A…Anybody Can Notebook!

Read more

The Formation of Habit by Cindy Rushton

“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; on the other hand, she who lets habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction.” “If we fail to ease life by laying down habits of right thinking and right doing, habits of wrong thinking and wrong doing fix themselves on their own accord.” ~Charlotte Mason

We all come into homeschooling bringing our own personality…our beliefs of what school should be like and how children learn best…and of course, these little ones in which God assigns for us to teach. We find immediately that homeschooling is so much more than just teaching subjects. It requires so much more of us! As I look back at the over the past years of homeschooling, I find that a large majority of my efforts have not changed much since we began that spring of 1991. I am still battling the to-do’s of homemaking, the pull of all the extras out of my home, and even more so, the formation of habit.

Read more

Fall! Don’t Miss Nature Studies! by Cindy Rushton

Fall is here!

Anybody else having “fall fever?” Ready to get outside to soak up the beauty and fresh air? Oh! I LOVE the fall! This is the perfect time to make up any excuse to get outside. But, what if we call it “school” as we enjoy this gorgeous fall?

Yep! It is fall and and time for fall themed nature studies. Yep! Time for that weekly nature walk! Time to pull out those nature notebooks and begin a fresh new study. NO pressure. Just with atmosphere of fun and delight!

Want some ideas that are EASY? How about some of our favorites? Let’s dig in… Read more

Let’s Make a Memory…Over Tea!

A cup of tea???

Tea…What comes to your mind?

As I think back over the years since that first cup of tea, I think beyond the various types of tea…the beautiful tea rooms and homes that have welcomed me for the ritual…the unique cups and teapots, each with its own story…all those details blur.  But, one thing brings me back to “tea” over and over again…relationships!  Relationships forged over moments shared over a cup of tea. Sweet, sweet memories that forge forever relationships.

My very first memories of tea were on the front porch, truly Southern Style with Iced Sweet Tea.  There was never a meal served or a family gathering without plenty of Iced Sweet Tea.  Just visiting Mamaw, I could always expect a big, tall glass of Sweet Lemon Tea whether we were working in her kitchen or swinging on the front porch enjoying her flowers and sweet conversation. Read more

A School Day in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool by Cindy Rushton

So, what does a Charlotte Mason Education look like in the home?  There are as many applications of the Charlotte Mason Approach as there are families.  There is no right or wrong way to implement these ideas…just take these wonderful ideas and implement them your own way!  That is just what we have done…our own way!

In our home we have implemented a well-rounded plan for our lifestyle of learning.  Our plan includes seven aspects of a Real Education.  Come join us as we walk through our typical day in our Charlotte Mason Homeschool…

Quiet Times…Our days begin with each family member having his/her own personal quiet time.  This is not pre-determined by me.  Each member of our family spends their quiet time based on their own abilities and preferences for study and worship.  The one thing that is determined as a standard is the set time and the respect for the quiet time of one another.

Chores… Read more

Let’s Make a Memory…Over a GREAT BOOK! by Cindy Rushton

Hummm…was it the giggles the whole way through adventures with Pooh?  My constant sobbing through every page of The Little Preacher? Our total addiction to every single page of Pilgrim’s Progress? The giggles and strategy as the children would run off to “play” every single bit of Daniel Boone’s life—with stiff warnings from Mom that NO ONE really got the hair-cut!  Peeking outside to see the hard, hard work as forts were raised and mud pies “baked” for our beloved “soldier.” Oh, the precious, precious memories! Precious memories that are OURS forever!
Want the best homeschool year yet?

Why not make it a priority to curl up as a family over the pages of a great book each day?  Get the water going…pull out some nice snacks…settle down for tea (or hot cocoa!!)…and dig into great books!

Game, but have no idea where to begin?? Read more

Next Page »