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The ladies over at Analytical Grammar recently sent out an excellent post in support of delaying formal grammar instruction until the student is at least 10 years old—just as Charlotte Mason advocated. Read Erin and Robin’s timely advice and be…
Pocketful of Pinecones is one of my favorite books to read in the springtime. It is such a gentle and uplifting story, with so many Nature Study nuggets woven throughout, that you can’t help but be inspired to get outdoors…
Some friends of ours are getting married this summer. As I’ve watched their relationships with their spouses-to-be grow, it struck me how silly it would be if one of them would say, “Okay, I now know my fiancé’s telephone number,…
It’s amazing how much our daily lives are shaped by our habits: getting up, getting ourselves ready, what clothes we put on, getting our children ready, taking care of pets, where we sit at the table, how we talk to…
When I first heard about the Charlotte Mason Method, we had already been homeschooling for a year. That was my oldest’s kindergarten year, and we had been doing a unit study approach. During that year I had discovered that unit…
About a year ago, my husband John and I were driving home from a convention and discussing how we might be able to help more people understand the Charlotte Mason Method. (We’ve found that drive times are perfect times for…
Not far from my house is a beautiful park called Vine’s Gardens. We went there today to meander around the path and enjoy springtime in the garden: the bright pink azaleas and the dainty white ones vying for our attention;…
Think back to the most recent time you were in one (or all) of these scenarios and let them replay in your mind: You walked into a store and encountered a salesperson. You got a telephone call from a survey…
This year marks my husband’s and my 30th wedding anniversary. If you had asked me 30 years ago why I loved John, I would have given many of the same answers that I would still give today: he is one…
I remember pulling some all-nighters during my high school and college years. A test was scheduled for the next day, and there were so many random facts and pieces of information to be recalled for it that every moment counted.…
Perhaps this isn’t the prime time of the year to talk about resolutions. Usually resolutions are discussed around New Year’s Day. However, it is homeschool convention season, and many good resolutions are made at conventions too. You hear a workshop…
The past few weeks I’ve been having a grand time “living” in 1800 thanks to two friends of mine. Christie you may already know. She designed My Book of Centuries with its helpful guides that give gentle direction for the…
Since 1994 Practical Homeschooling magazine has hosted annual Reader Awards for homeschool curriculum. This event is a little different in that the Reader Awards are not a “popularity” prize, but a “satisfaction” prize. First, homeschoolers nominate their favorite products in a wide…
With society’s push for starting formal education earlier and earlier, it feels like a breath of fresh air when an article or a study takes a stand against that trend. Charlotte Mason was a strong advocate of safeguarding a child’s…
Every weekday evening that I am home, I watch an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with my youngest daughter. (Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!) From the time my girls were little, Mister Rogers has been a staple around our house.…
There is such a feeling of anticipation and wonder that sweeps over a person when she walks into a library full of resources! I remember standing in the main entrance of one such library and thinking, This place must be…
As February winds down and March peeks around the corner, the promise of spring somehow starts to grow even before the daffodils. And with the promise of spring comes the urge to spruce things up a bit. Seed catalogs, paint…
Pressure. Most of us homeschoolers feel like we have a firsthand knowledge of that word. We feel pressured to succeed as we educate our children: pressure from standardized testing, from well-meaning (or not so well-meaning) relatives, from friends and neighbors,…
We’re looking forward to traveling the country and meeting up with many of you at homeschool events throughout 2014! In just a couple of weeks we will begin traveling from Minnesota to Florida and from Maryland to Colorado, with stops…
It seems there is a movement afoot that encourages people to slow down in order to prepare and eat real food in delicious ways, to enjoy the process as well as the health benefits. It’s called the slow-food movement because…
