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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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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...
The Charlotte Mason Show Podcast – Heritage Matters: How to Incorporate Heritage into Your Own Homeschool Journey
My journey to a culturally-rich homeschooling environment started with a single question: Was I more committed to my ideals or to the little girl...
African American Poetry Books for Children: Selections from Black Poets for Poetry Teatime and Charlotte Mason Poetry Study
Poetry holds a special place in my heart. Admittedly, I was a reluctant lover of verse, but my personal path to poetry has mirrored my entire...
Gladiola Garden: My Most Cherished Volume of Children’s Poetry
When I began to introduce my children to poetry as a daily practice within our homeschool, I was struck by the homogeneity of the sweet images...
Book Club Notes: Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
Our local homeschool support group runs five age-based book club meetings each month (teens meet weekly), and I lead the Juniors which roughly...
Tween Devotionals and Fun Novels I Can Trust
When my girls were younger, I read everything to them. As they became independent readers, I handed books over for them to read on their own, but...
How to Start a Culturally Rich Book Club
One of the homeschool activities I'm asked about most is our Heritage Book Club. It's an off-shoot of the local support group I run for black...
Breaking the Homeschooling Stereotype (BYU Radio Interview)
I am so pleased with the breadth of people and organizations that are seeking to explore the idea of homeschooling within the Black community. I...
Confronting Prejudice in Catholic Homeschool Curricula
When I was first approached about doing an interview regarding the lack of diversity in homeschool curricula, I was totally on board. I enjoy...
Growing Up Invisible
I am so excited! I've been wanting to collaborate with Erika Alicea for a while now, but we both kept getting wrapped up in other worthy projects...
Book Club Notes: Clubhouse Mysteries by Sharon M. Draper
In 2017, I started a book club for the children in our local homeschool support group outside of Atlanta, GA. Since then, the group has read dozens...