Edumakational Blogs I like

Elaine asked for some of my favorite homeschooling blogs a little while ago (actually, it's been a long while now - sorry!) and since I'm asked about what blogs and resources I find useful about every 2-3 months, I figured I should just make a page. So I'm posting this here but I'll also be adding it as a page for easier future referencing. I've decreased the number of blogs I have in my feed over the last few months, but if I'm trapped by a sleeping baby with my kindle fire and have time, I'll still peruse them. Basically, it's me, not them :-) 

Montessori blogs:

I used to read a lot of Montessori blogs but slowly I've found that the many of them just aren't a good fit for me, mainly because they get me distracted from what I really want to do. I've realized that what I really want to do is NOT recreate a Montessori school at home. Many moms do a version of that and it works great for them and I'm glad they can find encouragement and inspiration from those types of blogs, but it's not for me.

And for a while I thought I was becoming less Montessori focused but I realized that isn't really true, it's just that I had stopped thinking of many of the things we do as being driven by a Montessori concept even though they originally were. When I'm talking about them on in an email/blog post/forum, I'll describe them as Montessori so people know what the heck I'm talking about but really in my mind, it isn't a "Montessori bed" or a "Montessori weaning glass" - it's just how our kids sleep, how our babies learn to drink from a glass, how we arrange toys, how Lucy puts on her jacket, etc. Which brings me to my hands down favorite Montessori blog:

•  How We Montessori. A great glimpse into a montessori home. Technically, she isn't a homeschooler but does a wonderful job of incorporating montessori ideals into her home. I will warn you that if you have a perfectionist nature, you might have trouble keeping up with her but if you just allow yourself to glean ideas and inspiration, there is a lot to learn there. And Kylie is incredible sweet, she sent me a montessori book because I happened to mention in on my site. 

• Living Montessori now. Has great round-ups. It's my go to source if I'm looking for information on a specific topic or theme.

• Sew Liberated. She doesn't post much anymore but the archives have a lot in them, especially in terms of setting up bedrooms, living spaces and that sort of thing. 

Charlotte Mason blogs. My new love is Charlotte Mason so CM blogs now take up the majority of my homeschooling feed.

• Afterthoughts
• Higher Up and Further In
• Ordo Amoris
• Sage Parnassus

Those are a just a few of the ones I check out on occasion. If you're interested in Charlote Mason style teaching, the easiest way to find blogs you like would be to check out the blog carnival a couple times and you'll probably find a few sites that mesh well with you.

General Homeschooling blogs: Most of my blogs fall into one of two categories.  Blogs whose authors have kids my age or slightly older and blogs whose kids are grown-up or close to it. And because my plans for homeschooling involve more of a lifestyle of learning, they aren't all official "homeschooling blogs" but rather blogs by people who homeschool and who talk about their lives, including homeschooling.

• Like Mother, Like Daughter - Probably my favorite blog of all time. I get such a dose of encouragement every time I go there. I really wish I could go sit in Leila's living room and have a cup of coffee with her, and I don't even drink coffee! So you should read it consistently but her archives are also very well sorted so if you just want to read some of her thoughts on education, you'd be spending your time wisely. I love her daughter's posts too. I put this in the general category but I feel like she's got a definite CM bent.

• The Common Room - Another not quite a "homeschooling blog" but pretty close. The Head mistress loves k-drama so we're obviously kindred spirits but the Esquuschick's descriptions of dealing with her son make me think we'd probably have a lot to talk about too.

• Weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers - Has a great carnival. Its fun if you are looking for inspiration. 

• Simplehomeschool - Would it be rude of me to say, "Duh" here :-)

For the younger set: 

• Hubbard's Cupboard. A website not a blog but it is the inspiration for the "Joyful Learning" we've been doing this year. I'll be attempting a wrap-up posts with my thoughts about our joyful learning year but overall, I'm pleased with how this year turned out.