Simply Charlotte Mason — Charlotte Mason method homeschool helps.

Last November we launched the Simply Charlotte Mason community forum with the prayer that it would be a place of encouragement, grace, and help for all those using the Charlotte Mason method.

We’re thrilled with the community that has grown over the past year! We’ve discussed topics from habits to narration to math to schedules to gardens, and so many of you have joined in. Those who read, those who only ask questions, and those who post answers are all part of the community that makes the forum what it is.

We especially want to recognize the top ten post-ers on the SCM Forum. [Continue reading SCM Forum Celebrates One-Year Anniversary …]

We hope you’ve enjoyed the habit-training articles from the past few weeks. They are just a sampling of the thirteen articles and more than fifty Charlotte Mason quotes included in our new 2009 calendar journal, A Year of Smooth and Easy Days. [Continue reading 2009 Calendar Now Available …]

“Trust me, you’re not going to like it.”

My little girl’s big brown eyes peered solemnly across the table. “But I want to try it.”

“If you try it, you will have to sit there until you drink it all. Do you understand?”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes.”

“All right, you may try it, but you’ll have to drink the whole thing and it won’t taste good.”

My daughter learned two important lessons that day. [Continue reading Natural Consequences …]

“I nag them and I nag them, but it does no good.” Most of us can testify to the truth of that statement. But I never understood why nagging doesn’t work until I started to study Charlotte’s habit-training principles. Now it makes sense.

Let’s say that you’re trying to teach your child to hang up her coat when she takes it off. In order to make that action a habit, she needs to [Continue reading Why Nagging Doesn’t Work …]

I recently got a new printer for my computer, and as I was unpacking it I came upon a huge stack of user documents. My heart sank. The amount of information was a bit overwhelming. It was all helpful, to be sure; but the sheer volume of it all looked intimidating, and I didn’t know where to begin.

Then my gaze fell upon these welcome words: Quick Start. [Continue reading Habits Workshop Now on DVD! …]

Have you ever driven to the grocery store and, after you pulled into a parking place and shut off the car, you realized that you didn’t remember the drive there? It was almost as if you drove on auto-pilot. Whenever that happens to me, my next thought is, “Oh, I hope I didn’t run any red lights!”

[Continue reading Take the Same Route …]

I can still picture the textured wall, the shiny smooth top of the spinet piano, and the white kitchen timer with its seemingly unmoving dial. I was supposed to be practicing my piano lesson, but I probably spent half of the allotted time listening to that timer’s ceaseless ticking. I knew I was supposed to practice every day, but I usually waited until my mother told me to.

Then something happened that changed my whole outlook on practicing [Continue reading Her Own Idea …]

Last month we did a little deep cleaning around our house. Well, okay, not a little — a lot. At least it seemed like a lot. Cleaning can be hard work! By the time we had the furniture moved, the closet emptied, the light fixtures disassembled, and the curtain rods dismantled, I was tired. And only one thing that kept me going was that picture in my mind of how nice the room would look when we were done.

We moms will work hard if we know that the goal is worth it. [Continue reading Smooth and Easy Days …]

The past few months have brought about some changes for our SCM books. We think they’re good changes! Here are the details for you. [Continue reading SCM Book News …]

Welcome to this Narration edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival. We’re happy to be hosting the carnival this week.

As you know, narration is a fundamental part of the Charlotte Mason method. We’re sure you will find a lot of encouragement and great ideas as you peruse the posts listed below.

Now, if you want to get a real taste for this art form and experience a little of what we’re requiring from our children when we ask them to narrate, here’s a challenge for you: [Continue reading The Art of Narrating …]