Simple Wonders

By JessicaParenting Kids & Family

Simple Wonders episodes

June 10, 2025 How to Teach Drawing at Home
Drawing is one of those skill-based subjects that every person should learn, like math and language arts.Knowing how to express your thoughts and ideas visually is so important! But how do you teach it at home? Especially if you’re not confident in your own drawing abilities. Luckily, there are so many drawing resources available to us. Here's how I teach it and the books/resources I've used to teach my three boys to draw well.LINKSCreative Form Drawing by Angela LordDrawing with Children by Mona BrooksDrawing Textbook by Bruce McIntire
22 min
May 26, 2025 How I Teach Writing and Grammar at Home
Sentence diagramming, learning the technical terms for parts of language, direct writing instruction... does it REALLY work? NO!The way most of us have been taught grammar -- sentence diagramming, direct instruction, separate writing classes -- isn't actually effective in making us better writers. In fact, it can create paralysis for some people (like me!) and make writing WORSE.
So how should we teach writing and grammar? In this video I summarize years of research in writing and grammar and discuss how it should be taught. Next, I talk about the stages of writing and how each stage builds on the next. Most importantly, I combine Charlotte Mason's methods/philosophy with current teaching methods to meet your child where they're at and confidently teach writing and grammar at home.
📺 watch the YouTube Video
⬇️LINKS
Study on Grammar Instruction
More research and professional advice
Know and Tell by Karen Glass
The Writing Revolution 2.0
Patterns of Power by Jeff Anderson
Grammar Lessons
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👩‍🏫MEMBERSHIP (PATREON)
If you want to dive deeper and see how these methods are applied with real kids, my membership is only $5/month:
26 min
April 29, 2025 How to Teach Math At Home Using Charlotte Mason's Methods
Teaching math can be DAUNTING. Parents considering homeschool may doubt their ability to teach math if they don't have a degree in math or teaching. But you can do it! And in this video I'll show you how. I share research-based teaching methods that you can use with any curriculum, some basics on how to teach math in a way that is developmentally appropriate, as well as my preferred curriculum (Charlotte Mason Elementary Arithmetic series) that I've been using for 6 years now. I'll also share my favorite books, games, and other resources I've found essential for teaching math. How to Teach Math at Home blogpost:https://simplewonders.org/2025/04/10/how-to-teach-math-at-home-using-charlotte-masons-methods/YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/7kiWjFRrQWI
31 min
February 07, 2025 My Favorite History Books and How to Use Them
Charlotte Mason used a lot of "living" books to teach history. It makes sense since she considered it the "pivot" upon which her whole curriculum turned. So, which books did she recommend? And how did she use them? What purpose did they serve?
In this video I discuss the different books that Charlotte used in her schools and how to use them, as well as my family's favorite living history books!
A SPINE is an overview of a historical period. It could be 10 years or 100 years. The main purpose is to give a birds-eye view of that period.
A BIOGRAPHY was used to focus on a person, from birth to death. It could be a famous person (like an inventor, musician, or politician) or a common person. The point is for kids to form an relationship with a person from that time period and step into their shoes for a time. I like to also use "biographies" of buildings as well (I show you some of my favorites in the video).
A HISTORICAL FICTION helps kids jump into that time period by capturing their imagination through story. Historical fictions add details where we don't have any. The help bring everything together. These are the true living books of history. They can be written in recent years (like Prairie Lotus) or written about that time period during that time period (like Little Women).

Watch this as a video: https://youtu.be/JcPxXzklfw0
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📚Click on the link below and I'll send you my family's FAVORITE US history books!
https://simple-wonders.kit.com/93ef17ee0e
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AMAZON STOREFRONT
https://tinyurl.com/bdhka2ct
PATREON (my membership -- only $5/month)
https://www.patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
WEBSITE
www.simplewonders.org

16 min
January 27, 2025 Book of Centuries, Timelines, and Other History "Things"
Books and primary sources aren't the only tools we should use when teaching history. Timelines, century charts, and the Charlotte Mason's signature "Book of Centuries" are all tools to help our kids grasp the abstract concept of time.
In this video I share the tools I use to help my kids keep track of the many centuries (and people and events!) we learn about in history. Not only that, time is an abstract concept for kids, they need a strong foundation in how time works to fully understand how long a century is (not to mention a millennium!). I share how I lay this foundation from first grade so they're read to use timelines and their book of centuries.
What I love about Charlotte Mason's Book of Centuries is that its a melting pot of all the subjects. A place where the child can draw pictures and mark down dates from literature to geography to music. This is the place where magic happens --- connections are made, patterns are discovered, and ideas are born.
If you'd like to purchase these charts I've made, they're available on my website (coming soon!):
If you're a member of Patreon expect to get my PDF charts this month 🎉
Membership is only $5 and you get all kinds of goodies, like my personal lesson plans, mini-podcast episodes, and more!
https://patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
The Book of Centuries is from Riverbend Press:
https://www.riverbendpress.com/shop/p/book-of-centuries
#homeschool #charlottemasoneducation #homeeducation #howtoteachhistory #ushistory #historytimelines #teachingtools
13 min
January 13, 2025 How to Teach History Using Charlotte Mason's Methods
When it comes to teaching history homeschool parents have a lot of decisions to make -- Should I study US or world history? At what age should a child begin learning about history? There is SO MUCH history, where do I begin? How do I teach it? How do I choose a curriculum or how can I make my own? 🤯
In this video I go over why we should teach history and how Charlotte Mason taught it in her schools. Teaching history to kids of the same age is different than teaching it to a variety of ages, so I share my experience teaching it family-style at home with my 4 kids. There are many ways to approach history, but I've adjusted Charlotte Mason's method to fit the needs of my family. I hope you find answers to your questions and idea to implement in your own home! In future videos I'll share:📚 my favorite living history books📆 the notebooks and "things" we use to enrich our history lessons
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Click on the link below to watch this episode as a video:
https://youtu.be/rRHxNHS9ees
AMAZON STOREFRONT
https://tinyurl.com/bdhka2ct

PATREON
https://www.patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
WEBSITE
www.simplewonders.org
#homeeducation #homeschooling #homeschool #howtoteachkidsathome #history #charlottemason
20 min
November 27, 2024 Nature Study Object Lessons
Nature study is a hallmark feature of a Charlotte Mason education, but how do you teach nature study? What plants and animals should you study? What questions should you ask? And what does a lesson look like?
In this video I share what I've learned in my 6 years of experience (and counting!) teaching nature study through OBJECT LESSONS.
I use Charlotte Mason's methods and the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock. This one book alone is all you need to effectively (and simply!) teach nature study. I talk through my process of picking subjects to study, where and when we do object lessons, what it looks like, and how I use the Handbook of Nature Study.
The best part? It only takes 15 minutes of your week to teach an object lesson, and the benefits are well worth it! Studying nature is linked to better mental and physical well-being, as well as honing observation and attention.
LINKS ⬇️
AMAZON STOREFRONT
https://tinyurl.com/bdhka2ct

YOUTUBE
https://youtu.be/ttWZ60Kl8hM

PATREON
https://www.patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

WEBSITE
www.simplewonders.org
10 min
November 16, 2024 Getting Started with Nature Notebooks
You've heard about nature notebooking (AKA journaling) or seen some beautiful shots of children's nature journals. But you have reservations...
Your kids are not artistic (and neither are you!).
It seems so simple, is it really worth my time?
How do I encourage and inspire my kids to record in their notebooks?
Nature notebooking is your child’s first science notebook. They learn how to wonder, observe, record, and make connections. These skills are essential for success in future STEM subjects. Nature study is truly the foundation of science. But most importantly it develops lifelong learning habits and an eye for beauty.
In this video I talk about the principles and how to begin nature notebooking – the supplies you’ll need, what it looks like in real life (I’ll show you samples of my boys’ notebooks), and some troubleshooting in case your child isn’t as enthusiastic as you are!
⬇️ LINKS ⬇️
YOUTUBE VIDEO

PATREON

MY FAVORITE NATURE STUDY SUPPLIES
SIMPLEWONDERS.ORG
19 min
October 28, 2024 Make the Most of Family Nature Walks
Nature study can be a daunting subject, but it doesn't have to be! Simply start with a weekly nature walk around a park, or even around your neighborhood. Charlotte Mason put a lot of weight on the importance of nature study throughout a person's life, and it can be as easy as taking a weekly nature walk as a family and noticing:
1) seasonal changes
2) plants and animals
3) geography
In this video I summarize Charlotte Mason's methods and along with some tips and tricks I've learned over the past 6 years of teaching nature study.

WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEO
https://youtu.be/KV2jm6nJ3eQ
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AMAZON STOREFRONT
https://tinyurl.com/bdhka2ct
PATREON
https://www.patreon.com/SimpleWonders557?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator
WEBSITE
www.simplewonders.org
12 min
October 21, 2024 How I Teach Nature Study
Nature study is one of the most important subjects in developing the mind and heart! For this reason it is my FAVORITE subject to teach. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to Charlotte Mason's method of education.
In this episode I briefly discuss the principles behind nature study and how I teach it at home with 3 simple steps -- weekly nature walk, object lesson, and nature notebook.
Over the next few episodes I will go into detail about each one of these steps. For now, I hope you get a general idea of what it looks like and (hopefully) some excitement to begin!
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YouTube Video:
https://youtu.be/KdiFG5w6EMA
14 min

About Simple Wonders

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Simple Wonders supports parents in their role as teachers by discussing big ideas about education and parenting. We’ll cover topics like how children learn, which teaching methods are most effective, and how to nurture a child’s heart and mind.

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