When my oldest child was a little one, the thought of teaching her how to read hovered in my mind as a huge challenge. I don’t remember waking up at night, wondering if I would be able to teach her to tie her shoes or to drive a car; but I do remember staring at […]
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 first six years of life as a time for individual development through free play, exploration, […]
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, even from other homeschoolers we know. But do you experience that kind of pressure about […]
Several months ago we received a note from a homeschool mom who was teaching her son how to read using Charlotte Mason’s method. (If you’re just joining this discussion, you can read our articles about Charlotte’s method of teaching reading.) This mom had pulled together some wonderfully rich reading selections and seemed to have a […]
Last week we talked about how to introduce the alphabet to your child through fun, informal play activities. Once your child knows his alphabet and the sounds the letters make, you can begin to put those sounds together to make short words. Two things to keep in mind at this stage. First, remember to keep […]
I well remember trembling when, as a young homeschooling mom, I realized that it was up to me to teach my child to read. My imaginative mind started racing down the path of worst case scenarios. As if on cue, a little voice message started playing in my head over and over, “If you mess […]
We’re wrapping up this series on The Early Years with a few ideas specifically for you moms who have both preschoolers and school-age children. Getting your older children’s school work done with preschoolers in the mix can be challenging. So here is an article from our archives with some tips, Preschoolers in the Mix. We […]
If you remember back to our first post in this Early Years series, we talked about a parent’s chief duties. Do you recall what those two duties are? 1. “To form in his child right habits of thinking and behaving,” and 2. “To nourish a child daily with loving, right, and noble ideas” (Vol. 2, […]
My children have always loved a good book. I remember when my first two were preschoolers, we had two reading times set aside each day. They would come running to the couch with their arms full of their book choices—often from their special favorites—and we would read . . . and read . . . […]
A new arrival always brings excitement, and we’re excited about the new arrival at SCM—The Early Years: A Charlotte Mason Preschool Handbook! This book is filled with Charlotte Mason’s ideas for the preschool years, presented in bite-size chunks with modern-day examples, inspiring quotes, and practical tips. The ideas presented in our series on the Early […]
“In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air” (Vol. 1, p. 43). Did you […]
In my daughter’s baby book are two great “early years” photos. One is a picture of her after she tried to eat a chocolate ice cream cone. The front of her shirt is covered, her hands are dripping,—and how she got it in her sandals, I’ll never know. The other picture is of her standing […]
A few weeks ago I was in the mountains of Colorado and noticed an unusual lamppost. This lamppost was made from a tree. But that wasn’t the unusual part. The unusual part was the complete curly-que that the tree trunk made right beneath the lamp. It looked like one of those silly straws that have […]
Pam balanced nine-month-old Timmy on her hip as we chatted. Three-year-old Tommy peered at me from behind the stroller. This particular homeschool convention had offered many opportunities to encourage young parents. Looking at me earnestly, Pam voiced the same question I had heard from so many moms over the summer: “What should I be doing […]
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. (more…)
I well remember those years when I (Sonya) had only a two-year-old and a four-year-old to keep me company throughout the day, and I wondered, “What should I be doing with them? Should I be teaching them to read? Should I get a set of flashcards and drill the addition facts?” (more…)
We frequently hear the question, “What kinds of Charlotte Mason things can I do with my children in the early years — before we start formal schooling?” First, give them plenty of free-play time outdoors. Let them run, yell, climb, get dirty, and become friends with the various aspects of nature in their community. If […]
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