While in Arizona, Sarah and I watched a training DVD based on the Charlotte Mason Education philosophy.  There were SO MANY great ideas that I am excited to implement.  One of my favorites was her idea of starting a book of centuries.  Starting at 4,000 B.C., each 100 years constitutes a 2-page spread.  Then, as you study new items you add them to your personal book of centuries.  Sonya offers a free download on her website.  Visit www.simplycharlottemason.com and scroll down.  Toward the bottom (on the lefthand side), you will see “Time Savers.”  Under that heading is the link to the download.  I have been storing away things I want to add to mine; when Renior lived, when Charles Dickens wrote the book “Hard Times”, when the first Olympics were studied, when Jacques Cousteau made his first underwater expedition, etc.  These are all things we have studied in our homeschool and I know that if I don’t get them recorded, I will forget to add them.  I am excited to keep a record that will not only help me remember the things we have studied, but also gain a sense of relationship between things I learn.  For example, I learned that Renior was an artist in the same era that Debussy was a composer.  I feel like I will gain an understanding of history on a whole new level!  So, last night I printed out my copy and am anxious to get them put into sheet protectors in a binder so I can begin compiling my own Book of Centuries.