Harvest Home Academy

I am a thirty-something home educating mom to seven children, and step-mom to four more. We have been home educating for eight years, and have gone through several different philosophies, curriculas, and books on our journey. We have settled on an eclectic mix. I’ve read A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille, A Charlotte Mason Primer by Cindy Rushton, Teaching the Trivium by Harvey and Laurie Bluedorn, and many, many other homeschooling books. I’ve noticed several threads in all of these philosophies that seem to be undercurrents of truth. These truths are where I begin my homeschooling:

Truth One: Everyone is responsible for their own education.
Truth Two: We, as parents, are responsible for inspiring our children to educate themselves.
Truth Three: Late is better than early in learning skills. Every new skill learned should be a celebration of achievement, not a feeling of release from prison.
Truth Four: Classics are better than textbooks. Classics are not only found in literature – there are classics in every single subject you could imagine and include books, movies, music, pieces of artwork…pretty much anything. A classic is something that one gets something new out of every time they read (or listen, see, watch, etc.) it.
Truth Five: Everyone needs a central classic – for a Christian, it should be the Bible.
Truth Six: Everyone has a God-given mission for their life and each person’s education should help them along the path that God is leading them. Education should not be the same for everyone.