Summer Schooling Rituals with Amber Johnston

Welcome back to the Homegrown Sonshine Podcast. In this episode, with great delight and honour, I got to sit with a remarkable woman, an exceptional mum, a great encourager and friend whose work and contribution to the Home-Ed sphere I greatly admire- the radiant Amber O'Neal Johnston, @heritagemom. This week, Amber and I focus on her rituals and practices around Summer Schooling, as part of our series on Home-Ed rituals and practices. Amber talks about the factors that led to her family’s transition into Homeschooling as well as what their first few years of it looked like. She also gives an absolutely entertaining and endearing explanation of the gap she was trying to meet when she set up a summer curriculum for her children, fondly referred to as ‘Black Term’, and how this transitioned into Summer Schooling. Most importantly, Amber takes us on an enchanting journey into her plans for a special summer school project this year as an extension of her new resource “Sweet Tea & Cookies: A Family Celebration of the American South”. Through this journey, she hopes to journey with her children into the Deep South to reclaim stories of redemption and beauty out of America’s difficult mixed heritage. So grab your drinks and get comfy because you're in for some soulful sisterly camaraderie treat with this episode. I would love to hear your thoughts. Join the discussion via our Facebook group: A Liturgy Of Love Morning Time Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/765110780907740 Other ways to connect: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homegrown.sonshine/ Website https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/blog/ Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/homegrownsonsh1 Resources from this episode: Morning Time Resources: A Liturgy of Love https://homegrownsonshine.co.uk/a-liturgy-of-love-alol-2/ Amber Johnston’s Heritage Mom Multicultural Lesson Guides: https://heritagemom.com/index.php/heritage-mom-shop/ Amber’s new Resource An Atmosphere of Learning - a digital bundle of Charlotte Mason influenced resources including “Sweet Tea & Cookies: A Family Celebration of the American South”https://heritagemom.com/index.php/downloads/sweet-tea-cookies-heritage-pack/ Thank you! Amber’s article with ideas for celebrating Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry can be found in Ainsley Armett’s new book, Wild + Free Book Club: 28 Activities to Make Books Come Alive, available to pre-order now on Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0062998218/ref=cmswrcpapigltfabcF22YG2ZC3V56A84SQRRR Poem Sassafras Tea by Effie Lee Newsome (African American poet from the Harlem Renaissance) - Featured in Sweet Tea & Cookies. Music/Song Sixteen Tons - A folk song (Coal miners’ work song) featured in Sweet Tea & Cookies. Sung by The Johnston Family with an extra surprise solo by 5-year old, Brooks Johnston. Backing track to Sassafras Tea poem – Burning Van, Big Mean Machine, WFMU, Courtesy of Free Music Archive. https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Big_Mean_Sound_Machive/Live_on_WFMUs_Transpacific_Sound_Paradise_Sep_19_2015/Burning_Van