Simply Charlotte Mason — Charlotte Mason method homeschool helps.

Ah, spring! The time of year when thoughts of planning fill the minds of homeschool moms. What worked well? What isn’t working? What do I want to keep? What do I want to change?

For some moms, the planning process brings a comfortable “now-we’re-accomplishing-something” feeling. For other moms, thoughts of planning bring a sense of floundering and uncertainty.

I must admit that I’m in the first group, the “now we’re getting something done” group. Organizing and planning come naturally to me. And over the years that we have homeschooled, I have refined the process I use to plan and schedule. Now I’d like to share it with you. [Continue reading New Planning Series …]

Before you get into the nitty gritty of scheduling particular books, you need to take a step back and look at the big picture. What is it that you want to accomplish by homeschooling? What is your goal for your student?

That may seem like an unrelated philosophical question, but your answer to it will affect your plans. [Continue reading The Big Picture …]

Last week we talked about determining which subjects you plan to teach in each grade. Did you outline them? That information will make the next step much easier: planning your year. [Continue reading Your Year …]

One of the most common problems moms have when planning is trying to jump directly from their Year Plan to their Daily Schedule. I’ve found it a lot easier to take smaller steps rather than that one big jump. [Continue reading Your Term …]

“How many days per week should I do science?” “What about history?” “Do you think I need to do math five days a week?”

This step in the 5-step planning process will show you how to answer those questions. If you have already completed steps 1–3 (the Big Picture, Your Year, and Your Term), planning your week will be pretty simple. Here’s how. [Continue reading Your Week …]

We’re in the home stretch! We’ve talked about planning the Big Picture, Your Year, Your Term, and Your Week. (If you’ve miss any of the first four steps, you can read them on our blog.) Planning your day is the final step of the simple 5-step process. [Continue reading Your Day …]

Certainly one of the biggest challenges facing a homeschool mom is trying to teach with little ones underfoot. You might have laid out the best plans in the world, but those plans might never become a reality if you fail to consider the preschoolers in your home. [Continue reading Preschoolers in the Mix …]

We’ve all seen those looks: the glazed-over eyes, the dulled expressions, the partly-concealed yawns. Let’s face it, sometimes our children just “check out” during the school day. Are those dull wits an unavoidable part of homeschooling, or is there something we can do in our planning to encourage “fresh wits”? Charlotte Mason had a great suggestion. [Continue reading The Secret to Fresh Wits …]

We hope that you found the planning series helpful. We’re very pleased to announce that our new Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education book and DVD are now available on our Web site. We’ve taken all the goodies from the planning series and added even more practical tips, ideas, and worksheets to help you plan your best year ever. [Continue reading New Planning Book and DVD …]