It is no where near finished yet, but a group of us are working together to put together a free online Charlotte Mason/Classical type of curriculum that will have a heavy emphasis on patristic literature. Here is a sample of what we are developing. We still need to select a history spine for logic/rhetoric and there still are some other things that need to be tweaked. But once these decisions are made, the rest of the weeks should come together pretty easily.

Copywork made from church hymns for the Apostles can be found at: Lives of Saints. More copywork is currently being developed for hymns found in the New Testament and excerpts from the Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem, the most ancient liturgy in existence attributed to be originally written by St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem and Brother of the Lord as described in Acts. here two (nonOrthodox) guides:Handbook of Patrology and Guide to Early Christian Writings which might be helpful as an introduction to the history of these patristic texts.

I do have a lot going on in my life. We have two home businesses, one of which we are hoping will supplement my husband's retirment when he gets out of the Air Force in the next year or two. He would really like to go to St. Tikhon's Seminary and we will need a home-based business to supplement his retirment if that is to be a possibility. So I am working to organize that and put together a new website. (I am busy!)

I used to love to read aloud to the children, but now I do find it very difficult with the baby always wanting to get in my lap (and into the book chewing it, tearing it, etc). So I have started having my oldest daughter read aloud to the younger children. She reads both "The Law of God" and "Story of the World" to them. Then either her or one of our older sons will read another historical children's book aloud to the children. This has really helped me. I just supervise, clean as I can and take care of my infant and toddler. My daughter is learning to have the children narrate what they hear after she reads. She is learning some teaching skills through this. The big boys read the daily Scripture reading aloud and my husband reads aloud the Prologue from Ochrid.

We do use a math curriculum for 4th grade and up. But we use games and life experiences for basic arithmatic in the early grades. That seems plenty sufficient.

I am the one that works with the younger ones in their phonics. But sometimes I will have them read to one of the older children.

I have struggled so much over the years and I do believe one of the contributing factors for my struggle with depression has been an unrealistically high expectation of what I should be able to do at home as a wife, mother and homeschooler. The reality is that I cannot live up to those expectations.

I have never been the epitome of self-discipline. And this weakness in my character has made it very difficult for me to keep up with all my household responsibilities. Then depression and the hardships of pregnancy, etc, would only make it worst. In many years, I have been pretty pathetic and useless. But in spite of this, I am amazed by the development of my oldest children. I am amazed by their literacy, knowledge and writing ability. This did not come from me, any curriculum we have used, or my teaching ability. It is not my desire to boast, but I feel it is important for others to know that even if they cannot live up to the high expectations we often place on ourselves in this society, they are not necessarily failures and their children won't necessarily turn out ignorant, weak in faith, or of low character. God's grace is sufficient most especially in our weakness.

Even now, I do not have great habits and there continues to be many weaknesses in our homelife. Yet now, I feel stronger and more confident, that I have narrowed down my focus to something that is achievable for us as a family.

No, we will never have the educational experience and discipline of TWTM. No, our house will never be immaculate. And no, I will never be the perfect wife, mother and teacher. Yet if we focus on the little things, on developing good habits each moment of our day, I think we can build on the strengths and successes of our homelife as they are revealing themselves in spite of everything. And we can overcome the spiritual sicknesses that continue to hold us back in our walk towards Christ. And most importantly, the home will continue to function whether I am there or not, because my children will no longer be so dependant on me leading them (their good habits will keep things moving). This is important as I age and the difficulties of future pregnancies become potentially more concerning (I had a very difficult time with the last one and I do worry about future ones).

I am convinced that a life of good habits, whether they are in the spiritual, work or academic sphere, will do more than any great curriculum or me as a great teacher. And as our children get older, I am finding it extremely helpful to find Christian tutors outside the home to help teach/guide our highschoolers. I no longer look at myself as the one who has to be everything and do everything. I only have to manage the household and find ways (sometimes creatively) to meet the constantly changing needs of our household.