https://heritage-history.com/index.php  

This isn't a fancy new method. It's just phonics.

I learned both phonics and whole language when I went through my teacher training. I only taught phonics in all the schools where I worked and taught first grade. 

Ironically, Caroline is one of the kids the teacher mentioned who actually learns to read without phonics. Phonics was like a foreign language to her when she was little and I gave up. She basically taught herself to read from us reading to her and turning on the closed captioning on TV shows like Curious George, Little Einsteins, Little Bear, etc. 

https://youtu.be/WTkkpq4Oa3M 

I recently found a complete YouTube playlist for Familia Rōmāna, the first book in Hans Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata series. This has been my favorite Latin book for a long time. If you are learning Latin, I recommend Visual Latin (naturally) and Familia Rōmāna.

Now you can listen to the book for free on YouTube. Best of all, the reader uses the Ecclesiastical pronunciation, also called the Italian pronunciation.

Here is why Dwayne likes it.

Here's what makes Familia Rōmāna so unusual:

It's a Latin textbook written entirely in Latin.

No English translations. No vocabulary lists telling you what every word means. Instead, you begin with extremely simple Latin:

Rōma in Italiā est.

From there, the book gradually introduces new words and grammar in a way that allows you to figure things out from context.

Here is the first book on Amazon: Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana

You can find all of Familia Romana read aloud on the YouTube playlist. 

Here is the first video in the list.

https://youtu.be/HpUxN01Ew_4 

https://youtube.com/shorts/J47IC-aKQEw?si=FKjFWc-iumhBelMk  

How much do we require our children to learn or commit to memory?

How much do we focus on making them life-long learners and problem solvers? 

Early homeschoolers struggled to put together enough curriculum to homeschool. They made do and made their own. 

Homeschoolers are literally drowning in curriculum options now.

And that doesn't even get into AI. 

We chose this book and it has worked very well. 

For a motivated older student or adult, this is a great choice. 

I believe a basic understanding of music is necessary to be an educated person. Our goal is for Caroline to be able to read music, understand basic music theory, and play pieces on the piano. How far she goes with it will be up to her. She will, at the least, have the tools to understand music discussions throughout her life. 

https://amzn.to/4tnuyfQ 

Telemann is one of my favorites so Caroline is already familiar with him, but this was a good article for learning a bit more.

Georg Philipp Telemann: Good Taste in Music

https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2025/11/georg-philipp-telemann-good-taste-music-michael-de-sapio.html  

Telemann Canonic Sonata - Flute & Violin

https://youtu.be/wlTQp0P1WFE  

https://sallieborrink.com/a-red-red-rose-by-robert-burns/  

https://youtu.be/umIsmOIGogU 

All those years on the edge of poverty so that I could homeschool the kids were most definitely worth it all. As I see so many kids from broken families come into the office, I've realized that my kids weren't disadvantaged at all. They had two married for life parents who gave them as much stability as possible. They had the best life could give them—a mom and dad who loved each other in spite of hard circumstances and sometimes hard hearts, who were selfless and selfish and discouraged and hopeful, who trusted that somehow, some way, the LORD would provide. He did. He has, in many ways, restored what the locusts have stolen.

https://harvestlanecottage.blogspot.com/2026/03/summing-up-childhood.html