Most of our homeschool lessons come from literature. Good literature, that has stood the test of time. Literature that builds character and reveals beauty.
One of my favorite authors is James Herriot. His stories are heartwarming and embody hard work, kindness, and humor.
We start our lessons by reading one of his many children’s books. Only One Woof, Smudge the Little Lost Lamb, Moses the Kitten, there are so many wonderful ones to choose from.
Then, depending on which animal book we’ve chosen to read, we look up different breeds of that animal. We look this up in the dictionary or kids encyclopedia. We discuss where the different breeds come from and what they are known for.
Next, the boys draw their favorite breed of the topic animal in their journals. We make a comparison chart. We chart wild cat breeds vs. domestic cat breeds or race horse breeds vs. work horse breeds. I’ll write the chart on the chalkboard for them to copy in their journals. This usually concludes our lesson. We sometimes follow it up with other pieces of literature that discuss the animal if the boys have been particularly interested in the topic. For example, horses are always a favorite and we love reading Billy and Blaze books by C.W. Anderson to accompany our horse lessons.
We’ve also all been enjoying the new PBS Masterpiece family show All Creatures Great and Small where we can see James Herriot’s stories brought to life.
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