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BLACK CULTURE, HOMESCHOOLING, TRAVEL (AND OTHER THINGS FROM MY SWEET, IMPERFECT LIFE)
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I’m Amber
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My name is Amber O’Neal Johnston, and I started this website to document and discuss the joys and trials of raising my kids to love themselves and others.
The Latest Posts
Stories From Modern Day Africa
For world history and geography studies, I like for my kids to read plenty of stories from modern-day Africa. I've shared picture books and chapter...
20th-Century Black History Books
These 20th-Century Black History Books cover a period of history during which segregation tightened and racial oppression escalated across the...
Early Chapter Books Featuring Black Girls
I love books about Black history, including biographies and historical fiction. It's important for our children to learn about the past tragedies...
Morning Time Plans (1900s)
These morning time plans cover the subjects and activities that we'll do together as a family. Some things are done daily; others are one to three...
Black American Fiction (1900s)
Most of the titles in this booklist of Black American fiction are truly historical fiction, taking readers to a past time and place. However, a...
Topical Nonfiction Black History Books (1900s)
I rely heavily on topical nonfiction Black history books in our school lessons. As mentioned in my post on Infusing Black History into a Traditional...
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Hallelujah! Booklist: Bible Stories With Images of Black People
My path to including black Biblical images in our home started with a treasured photograph that I keep on my desk. It's an up close picture of me...
Book Club Notes: The Toothpaste Millionaire
I'm excited to share our experience with The Toothpaste Millionaire with you. Each month, I try to share the notes I use while leading a book club...
Soulful Hymns for a Culturally-Rich Hymn Study
I recently wrote about how we approach Charlotte Mason hymn study in our home. One of the things that continues to bring us joy is incorporating a...
Books as Mirrors & Windows With Simply Charlotte Mason
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to chat about books as mirrors and windows with Sonya Shafer from Simply Charlotte Mason. We had a great...
Book Review: Christmas Gif’ by Charlamae Rollins
I just have so much to say about this book. It is not a typical Christmas book and I mentioned it in African American Christmas Books We Love,...
Hymn Study in a Charlotte Mason Home
One of the hesitations I've heard from some moms who are considering a Charlotte Mason education is the sheer number of subjects being covered. They...
African American Christmas Books We Love
I am not sure whether to break out in a version of "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" or "Deck the Halls" because this list is both: all of our...
Charlotte Mason Handicrafts: Clay Modeling
I had (most of) the equipment ready to go for clay modeling last Friday. Admittedly, I had to google "armature" and decided we were going to be...
Setting the Spark: Podcast Interview
I recently had so much fun speaking to a couple of homeschool mamas from my own neck of the woods. I chatted Lorien Magnus and Destiny Kosarick, the...
Book Club Notes: Ansley’s Big Bake Off
Our local homeschool support group has read a variety of books over the years, and we're always on the hunt for something fun and interesting to...
How I Teach My Kids to Read
One of the questions I often get from new homeschooling moms is, "How did you teach your children to read?" On one hand, I love answering this...
Multicultural Holiday Gift Guide: Diverse Book-inspired Gift Ideas For Children
In the midst of the holiday frenzy, I work hard to keep our home environment peaceful and focused on the "reason for the season." Rather than shun...
Charlotte Mason Poetry Series
Over the past few months, I've taken a deep dive into poetry study and its application in our homeschool. Fortunately, Charlotte Mason researcher,...
Homeschooling Outside the Box Podcast: The Importance of Heritage
My daughter advocated for herself when she wasn’t getting what she needed, and she taught me that what may look like “acting out” could just be...
Charlotte Mason for All Podcast: Parallel Narratives
“Charlotte Mason for All” is not only the name of a new podcast. It’s a rallying cry! In fact, the concept of Charlotte Mason for...
Modern Miss Mason Podcast: “Where Charlotte Mason Wears an Afro” Interview
What price will I pay if I choose to be vulnerable? That question has threatened me into silence so many times. But then I’m prompted to push...