It’s no secret: Â American homeschoolers are predominantly white. Â And as white folks, there is a lot about black history that we do not know and do not understand.
Our history books are primarily written by white authors and feature the white perspective of history. Â Despite the fact that the history and perspective of all Americans is what makes the complete story, we often only get the white pieces and just a few of the other ones.
In the world of the arts, one could easily come to the conclusion that such things were solely the domain of White Men, forever and ever. Â Yet I have discovered prominent women artists from as far back as the Renaissance. Â I’ve discovered Black composers that pre-date Mozart. Â I researched and found many beautiful works of art featuring Black people that are normally overlooked. Â (Get it here) Â Men and women of so many races and nationalities have been creating, inventing, and exploring since time began! Â But you’d never know it, would you?
There seems to be a lot of pressure to Not Mess It Up when talking about race issues, yet it also seems that there is always somebody willing to point out how it’s been done wrong. Â It has been intimidating to me to see how much criticism there is for people that are Doing It Wrong when they dare to bring up race issues. Â My attempts may be clumsy. Â I am not an expert on this. Â However, I believe that this is important, so I’m talking about it. Â Hopefully you all can hear my intent to be an encouragement in this periscope broadcast I did.
The two biggest reasons I know of to make sure we’re learning about and teaching black history in our homeschools:
 It isn’t just “Black History.”  It’s History.  A wider, true, more well-rounded version, particularly important for Americans.  (making it a priority to learn about the experiences of other non-white-male perspectives will also make your knowledge of history truer, wider, and more well-rounded!  Women’s history, Native American history, immigrants from everywhere, and so on)
 Understanding Black History helps us have a somewhat better understanding of current events and racial issues today.  It’s related.  And it matters.
 This is one way I can help fight racism.  I forgot to talk about this on the scope, but it matters to me very much that my children go out into the world as a force for good, and that includes fighting racism.  As homeschoolers in our area of the country, we don’t often have local opportunities to be activists, but I can at least continue to make myself and my children aware of things that are going on and things that have gone on throughout history, in an effort to not repeat history and to make this world a better place going forward. Â
Learn more about The Negro Traveler’s Green Book, a publication that provided African American motorists and tourists with the information they would need to board, dine, and sightsee safely and comfortably during the era of segregation.  More on the Green Book here.
If you are looking for a toe-tapping good time while learning about modern-day American history and Jazz music, you will LOVE our Jazz Composers collection! This is also perfect for February, which is Black History Month.
Our Jazz collection is about half way through getting upgraded to the new layout, and the 5-Day Tours will be coming along as we’re able. We are moving through the process to upgrade all of the collections, so you’ll get to enjoy that when it’s all in place as well. 🙂
Right now this set is on sale for 25% off when you use coupon code JAZZ. Sale ends Feb 15.
In honor of Presidents Day, all of our U.S. Presidents products are on sale. This includes U.S. Presidents 1-6 and 7-12, as well as the coordinating Quotes from U.S. Presidents Penmanship and Copywork books. I have really loved using these books with my sons this year. Not only has it been good penmanship practice, but the quotes are so good, they often spark a meaningful conversation.
All of our president resource pages have now been upgraded to our beautiful new layout, so it’s easy on the eyes and better than ever! 5-Day Tours will be coming up as soon as we’re able to create them.
We have a beautiful new collection of printable art for you this month, and it’s perfect timing for Valentine’s Day! Â Best of all, you can get it FREE this month if you are a Subscriber Perks Member! Â If you aren’t already on board, you can sign up for FREE right here. Â Right away you’ll get a coupon code that will get you your Visions of Love Fine Art Pages totally FREE!
I am often looking for practical ways to share wisdom with my sons without making the message overly preachy or creating a dislike for what the Bible has to offer. Â I was really pleased to get to preview Luke and Trisha Gilkerson’s new book, Parenting with Proverbs. Â They do a great job of encouraging parents to apply lots of grace while also sharing the wise advice found in Proverbs when discipling their children.
The suggested way to use the book is to specifically focus on a topic of concern (laziness, truthfulness, pride, and so on) and share the coordinating verses, possibly with the help of discussion starters.  However, I have been using it as a daily reading with my boys.  My at-home guys are 12-17, and I do not think this resource is too “young” for them.  Really, families with kids from kindergarten on up could benefit from this.  We have enjoyed the quick lessons and have had some good conversations about how to apply the concepts to our everyday lives.
One thing I am excited about that’s included in this ebook are memory cards for each verse that’s used in the book.  I printed mine out on card stock and we use them for copywork/handwriting practice!  So easy and practical.
There have been at least a few times that I’ve shared with you how much I love Notebooking Pages. As a sponsor and affiliate, as well as a happy customer this past year, I’ve gotten to see first hand how great these products are! Whether you are studying composers, artists, a particular piece of art, or any famous person or school subject, Notebooking Pages is a natural way to reinforce what your children are learning, while also building a portfolio of their work that you and your children will actually enjoy looking over for years to come!
Right now Notebooking Pages is having their big Mid-Winter Sale, where you can get their lifetime collection at any even better price than usual, PLUS a bunch of great bonuses, including one from Enrichment Studies! I know that many of you have already gotten your free composer and presidents sample collections in the past (and if you haven’t, you can click and get them here) so you probably already know how helpful all of this is. Notebooking Pages is great for K-12, no matter what kind of learning style or personalities you have at your house.
For those of you that purchase a Lifetime Membership today, tomorrow, or Friday (Jan. 27-29) I will give you a FREE Enrichment Studies collection of your choice! This is in addition to the bonus gifts you are already getting! Simply forward me your email receipt (Erica@EnrichmentStudies.com) after your purchase and tell me what collection you want. I’ll take care of the rest!
*This offer is only for people that purchase during this sale. Thank you. 🙂
Read on for full details about this terrific sale!
Now through Friday, Jan. 29th:
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Welcome to the Enrichment Lifestyle Blog! I'm so glad you're here. :) I'm Erica Johns, and I love to encourage homeschool moms and help them enjoy more of the beauty of the arts in everyday life.
About me: I started my homeschooling journey in 1997 and graduated the last of my six children in 2021. Amidst all the hard work, crazy days, uncertainty, and lost pencils, what I think we really gained was the gift of a lifetime: TIME TOGETHER. So awesome! Click my pic to learn more.
It’s no secret: Â American homeschoolers are predominantly white. Â And as white folks, there is a lot about black history that we do not know and do not understand.
