Philosophy Confusion and Summer Reading

When we started thinking about homeschooling, I had very little exposure to other homeschoolers.  There were two families at our church who were graduating their youngest children about the time we were getting started.  One of them gave me some tips, like to combine in the subjects where it made sense.  I had four babies in five years. Combining history and science made a lot of sense.  Like most homeschool moms do, I think, who know they want to homeschool, I started too soon.  She was "ready," she was excited, she was an early talker, she loved books.  Still, I know that I pushed.  Doesn't everyone say that they wish they had waited?  I'm another of those.

I didn't really have a philosophy.  I looked at blogs and catalogs, at Ambleside Online and Sonlight.  For reasons I don't recall, what I knew of Classical Education (basically nothing) painted it as rigid and joyless in my mind.  Charlotte Mason?  All I remember knowing about CM was "hours out of doors" and "living books."  Nothing concrete, nothing I actually understood or could dig in to.

In addition to our own four small children, we had the boys at the children's home.  We were working a (very) full-time job.  We were so. busy.  I did too much, and didn't really learn any about the philosophies.  I had good ideas, we read good books, we did a year of Sonlight, a year of Heart of Dakota, and a couple years of making it up as I went.  Now, as my oldest is pushing into upper elementary, I'm feeling the need to plant ourselves.  To find a philosophy that feeds our family's vision for homeschool.  I think the place we can put down roots and nourish our vision is on the Charlotte Mason side of Classical Education.  All of the children are old enough for me to read again, and my brain is un-fogging a bit so that I think I might be able to figure this philosophical stuff out a bit.  As long as I take notes.

Here's the summer reading list I hope will get me a little closer.

Consider This by Karen Glass (currently on Chapter 8)
For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
The Liberal Arts Tradition by Ravi Jain and Kevin Clark
The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (Not related, but on my list!)

I'm sure I won't get to it before we are back to school at the end of June, but Josef Piper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture  is next on my list after those.

Are you doing any reading for professional development this summer?